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The NFL announced Wednesday it will end the AFC-versus-NFC all-star game and replace it with a recognition program honoring 88 players, beginning with the 2026 season.
The decision follows a viewership collapse from 13.24 million at the event's 2000 peak on ABC to 2 million viewers this year, a figure the league acknowledged fell below even preseason viewership.
The ratings decline that forced the change The all-star game's modern format began in January 1951 as an East-versus-West matchup and shifted to the AFC-NFC structure in 1971.
Its television ceiling came with that 2000 broadcast.
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