When are the Pro Bowl Games?

The Pro Bowl Games are scheduled to take place Thursday and Sunday.

Where will the Pro Bowl Games take place?

The Pro Bowl Games will be held at the Las Vegas Raiders’ training facility Thursday and at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Sunday.

How can I watch the Pro Bowl Games?

The Pro Bowl Games will be televised Thursday from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on ESPN and Sunday from 3 to 6 p.m. on ESPN and ABC.

Why did the NFL change the Pro Bowl format?

The NFL changed the Pro Bowl from a stand-alone game to a series of skills competitions because, in essence, its players no longer wanted to subject themselves to the rigors of a meaningless game played after the season. Some players began to skip the game or play it at half-speed to lessen the risk of injury, and the quality of the contest — which was low even when the players cared more — began to degrade. Even so, the Pro Bowl garnered strong-enough television viewership that it was hard to imagine the NFL canceling it altogether: Though last year’s game garnered only 6.7 million viewers , the smallest Pro Bowl television audience since 2006, that number was larger than the previous year’s NBA All-Star Game, and the Pro Bowl annually was among the most-watched shows on cable television for the week it aired, if not the most-watched. In September , after years of discussion about how to improve the annual exhibition, the NFL announced that it was changing the Pro Bowl format and rebranding it as the Pro Bowl Games.

What competitions are part of the Pro Bowl Games?

The Pro Bowl Games involve eight skills competitions and three flag football games. The winner of each competition earns points toward his conference’s final score, and the conference with the most points wins. Thursday’s competitions Dodgeball: Four teams — the offenses and defenses from each conference — of five players each square off. In the first round, the AFC offense and AFC defense play each other, and then the NFC teams do the same. The winners then meet in an AFC-NFC battle, and the victor gets three points. Lightning round: Sixteen players from each conference pair off into teams of two and compete in a three-part elimination challenge comprising a water balloon toss, a punt-catching competition and a competition during which the remaining players aim at targets attached to a bucket above the head of a coach from the opposing conference. The first team to dump the bucket over the coach’s head wins the challenge and three points. Longest drive: Four players from each conference compete to see who can hit the longest golf drive while keeping the ball within the established boundaries. Each player gets three swings, and the biggest hitter earns three points for his conference. Precision passing: The three quarterbacks on each conference’s roster try to hit as many targets as they can over one minute. The 10 targets are either stationary or attached to robotic dummies or drones, and certain targets are worth more points than others. There also is a bucket stationed 60 yards away that is worth 10 points. The quarterback with the highest score earns three points for his conference. Best catch (first round): Two players from each conference “will showcase their best receptions in highlight reels shot at iconic venues around Las Vegas,” the NFL says . Online fan voting determines which players move on to the final round Sunday. Sunday’s competitions Best catch (final): The top first-round vote-getters from each conference compete against one another in front of a panel of celebrity judges. The highest score wins three points. Gridiron gauntlet: Six players from each conference compete in a side-by-side relay race that involves breaking through walls, climbing over walls and under tables, a tire run and a blocking sled carrying a legendary coach across the finish line. The winner gets three points. Kick-tac-toe: Each team’s kicker, punter and long snapper tries to win a game of tic-tac-toe against the same players from the opposing conference, using their respective skills. The winner gets three points. Move the chains: Four teams of five players each — two teams from each conference — try to pull a weighted-down wall 10 yards as quickly as possible using first-down chains. The winner of the best-of-three final gets three points. Flag football: There are three flag football games Sunday featuring each conference’s skill-position players, with the first two worth six points each. Before the third and final game, the points earned by each conference in the skills competitions and the first two flag football games will be added up, and that will be the starting score of the final flag football game. Whichever conference is ahead at the end will be declared winner of the Pro Bowl Games.

What do the winning Pro Bowl Games players receive?

The prize money for winning the Pro Bowl remains the same as when it was a stand-alone game: Members of this year’s winning team receive $84,000 each, while the losers get $42,000 each. (The amounts increase by $4,000 over each year of the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement.) To earn that money, Pro Football Talk has reported , players must participate in a game-day event, perform at least one skills challenge, take part in media availability and perform an act of community service that does not exceed two hours.

How are the Pro Bowl Games players selected?

The Pro Bowl Games rosters are selected via voting by fans, players and coaches, just as they were for the previous format. This year, the NFL and the players union agreed that players who are voted to the Pro Bowl Games are required to participate, unless they are injured. Since the 2020 collective bargaining agreement went into effect, the Pro Bowl had been a voluntary activity. The AFC roster can be found here , and the NFC roster is here . Peyton Manning will coach the AFC team, while his brother Eli will lead the NFC.

What to know about the NFL’s Pro Bowl Games, from dodgeball to kick-tac-toe

By Matt Bonesteel

February 2, 2023 at 7:00 a.m. EST

Dallas cornerback Trevon Diggs shows off during a skills competition at last year’s Pro Bowl. Moving forward, the NFL has ended the stand-alone Pro Bowl game, and the event will entirely consist of skills competitions and flag football games. (Gregory Payan/AP)

After years of growing indifference from players and fans, the NFL has a new format for the Pro Bowl. Gone is the stand-alone game during which players risked injury for increasingly low stakes. In its place, the league has created what it is calling the Pro Bowl Games, a two-day series of skills challenges capped off by flag football contests.

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