NFL Announces Big Scheduling Change to Pro Bowl Games in 2026

This year's Pro Bowl Games will take place on Tuesday night heading into Super Bowl week, according to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
This year's Pro Bowl Games will take place on Tuesday night heading into Super Bowl week, according to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The NFL is moving this year's Pro Bowl Games to Super Bowl week, commissioner Roger Goodell announced Wednesday.

The Pro Bowl will be held in the San Francisco Bay Area on Tuesday night (Feb. 3) in primetime during the week of Super Bowl LX (Feb. 8). This marks a significant change from Pro Bowls of recent history, which typically took place in late January to early February. The event has also been held in Orlando in the last few years.

The goal is for fans who are traveling for the Super Bowl to be able to join in on the Pro Bowl festivities and star-studded exhibition as well, according to Yahoo Sports' Jori Epstein. Peyton and Eli Manning, who served as coaches for last year's Pro Bowl games, will remain involved, but there will be two new coaches for the AFC and NFC.

This new change could become a permanent one, as the NFL is reportedly planning to schedule the annual Pro Bowl Games during Super Bowl week each year in an effort to grow the audience, according to the Sports Business Journal. It marks the second big change to the Pro Bowl Games in the last three years; the NFL previously decided to replace the Pro Bowl's traditional tackle game with a skills challenge and flag football contest in 2023.

Coverage of the Pro Bowl will begin on ESPN on Tuesday, Feb. 3 at 6:30 p.m. ET. The Pro Bowl flag football game will be aired at 8:00 p.m. ET.


More NFL on Sports Illustrated

feed


Published
Kristen Wong
KRISTEN WONG

Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL Network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. Outside of work, she has dreams of running her own sporty dive bar.