Where is the Pro Bowl? When is it? Why is flag football involved? Here's everything to know
If you're just tuning into the Pro Bowl for the first time in a while, things might look a little different.
The first shock might be the name: The traditional NFL all-star festivities are now labeled the Pro Bowl Games. The second: There is no actual football game this weekend in Orlando.
Well, not conventional football, at least. There will be a flag football game to close out the event on Sunday, which is more or less what the Pro Bowl had become before the NFL changed the format in 2022.
Before the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers play in Super Bowl 58 in Las Vegas, the rest of the NFL's best are taking part in skills competitions at Camping World Stadium. The event is split over two days, with everything wrapping up on Sunday.
It wasn't always this way. The Pro Bowl has moved around a lot since it began after the 1950 season. It's changed locations, formats and when it's played in relation to the Super Bowl. Here's everything you need to know about the Pro Bowl, from its history to this year's games and TV schedule:
Where is the Pro Bowl 2024?
The 2024 Pro Bowl Games are taking place at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. That's the stadium that hosts the Citrus Bowl and the Pop-Tarts Bowl. Yes, that Pop-Tarts Bowl, the one with the live mascot that celebrated while being lowered into a giant toaster to be eaten by the victors. Florida, man.
Has the Pro Bowl always been in Orlando?
The Pro Bowl in Orlando is a recent development. The annual NFL all-star game was played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum from its debut in 1951 until 1972, when it began touring to NFL cities across the country, including the Orange Bowl in 1975 and Tampa Stadium in 1978.
From 1980 to 2009, it made its home at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii, then spending a year at the Miami Dolphins' home stadium before going back to Honolulu for 2011-14. In 2015, the NFL held the game in Glendale, Arizona, the same site as the Super Bowl, before going back to Hawaii for one more year in 2016.
After that, Orlando became the new home of the Pro Bowl. Camping World Stadium hosted the game from 2017 to 2020. No game was played in 2021 because of the COVID pandemic, and the game moved to the new Las Vegas stadium the year after. But after two seasons in Nevada, and with the Super Bowl being played there this year, the Pro Bowl is back in Orlando.
When did the NFL start doing the Pro Bowl?
The first NFL all-star game took place in 1939 with the NFL champions playing a team of the best players from the rest of the league. That format continued until 1942, and then the game took a yearslong hiatus because of World War II and a lack of interest.
The NFL started again after the 1950 season with the new moniker pitting the best players from the league's two conferences. The first Pro Bowl was played on January 14, 1951, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, with Cleveland Browns quarterback Otto Graham leading the American Conference to a 28-27 win.
Has the Pro Bowl always been before the Super Bowl?
Until 2010, the Pro Bowl had always been held the week after the Super Bowl. The all-star game had struggled for years to generate sufficient interest from fans and players alike, and the NFL thought a reason for that was its placement on the calendar. A two-week buildup to the biggest spectacle in American sports meant another game with athletes trying mostly to not get injured might be viewed as just an afterthought.
So the league decided to move the Pro Bowl to the week between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl, making sure there was a football game (or something resembling a football game) on every Sunday from the preseason in August all the way to February, culminating in the NFL's marquee game of the year. Because of the change, Pro Bowlers who would be playing in the following week's Super Bowl were now left out of the all-star festivities (though they do still get credit for making the Pro Bowl, an important distinction for contract incentives).
The first Pro Bowl under the new schedule was played January 31, 2010. It was played at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, making it the first Pro Bowl outside Hawaii in 30 years.
Is the 2024 Pro Bowl flag football?
Changing dates and venues didn't stop the general apathy around the Pro Bowl for long. So starting in 2023, the NFL changed the format of the Pro Bowl. Gone was the traditional football game of half-hearted tackles, and in were the Pro Bowl Games.
The Pro Bowl now features a series of skills competitions between the best players in the NFL. The centerpiece is a 7-on-7 flag football game, which gave us the highlight of the weekend in 2023 when Jalen Ramsey laid out Tyreek Hill, now teammates on the Miami Dolphins.
Jalen Ramsey showing no mercy to Tyreek Hill at the Pro Bowl 😂
🎥: @NFL pic.twitter.com/178hLtjlnY— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) February 5, 2023
The flag football game in 2024 will take place Sunday afternoon. Peyton and Eli Manning will coach the AFC and NFC teams, respectively.
What is the Pro Bowl Games schedule?
The Pro Bowl Games feature a mix of classic skills competitions, such as precision passing and a tug-of-war, to new events such as a Madden video game contest, dodgeball tournament and full-field relay race. The winner will gain 3 points for either the AFC or NFC, and the conference with the most points at the end of the weekend will be the winner of the Pro Bowl.
Here are Sunday's planned events:
Madden NFL Head-To-Head: Players face off in "Madden NFL 24" video game.
Gridiron Gauntlet: A relay race through a full-field obstacle course.
Tug-of-War: Teams of five will attempt to pull the other into a foam pit.
Move the Chains: Teams of offensive and defensive linemen move 3,000 pounds of weights off a wall then drag the 2,000-pound wall across the finish line.
Kick Tac Toe: Kickers take part in tic-tac-toe with field goal tries.
Flag football: Teams of seven will compete in a flag football game coached by Peyton and Eli Manning.
Here are the events that took place Thursday, which you can see on replay on ESPN throughout the weekend:
Precision Passing: Quarterbacks hit as many moving targets as possible within a minute. Winner: Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Bucs, NFC.
Best Catch: Players make creative catches at landmarks around the city, with fans voting on the best. Winner: TBD
Closest to the Pin: Players drive golf balls as close to the hole as possible. Winner: Bryan Anger, Dallas Cowboys, NFC.
High Stakes: Players catch punts from a JUGS machine, holding onto each successive ball. Winner: AFC.
Dodgeball: Teams of five play in a mini-dodgeball tournament. Winner: draw.
Snap Shots: Long snappers and centers hit as many targets as possible in the time frame. Winner: NFC.
When is the Pro Bowl 2024?
When: 3 p.m. Sunday, February 4
Where: Camping World Stadium, Orlando, Florida
The final day of the 2024 Pro Bowl Games will air 3-6 p.m. Sunday, February 4 from Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida.
What channel is Pro Bowl 2024 on?
TV: ABC and ESPN (Channel 206 on DirecTV, Channel 140 on Dish)
Streaming: WatchESPN and the ESPN app (TV provider subscription needed), fuboTV (7-day free trial), YouTube TV (2-week free trial), Hulu + Live TV (7-day free trial)
The Pro Bowl Games will air on ABC and ESPN. Streaming options include fuboTV, which offers a free trial to potential subscribers.
Can I get Pro Bowl tickets? How much are they?
Tickets are still available for Sunday's Pro Bowl Games. As of noon Saturday, the lowest tickets on Ticketmaster were $25.
Who has the most Pro Bowls in history?
Like most NFL records, that belongs to Tom Brady. The retired (we think?) New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback has made 15 Pro Bowl teams, one ahead of another list of Hall of Famers: tight end Tony Gonzalez, quarterback Peyton Manning, offensive lineman Bruce Matthews and defensive lineman Merlin Olsen.
That doesn't mean Brady has played in the most Pro Bowls, though. When the Pro Bowl moved to the week before the Super Bowl after 2009, players in the big game were allowed to skip the all-star festivities. Of Brady's 11 Pro Bowl qualifications since then, five came in seasons when Brady played in the Super Bowl the following week. He didn't take part in the other six games either because he was nursing an injury or because he just chose not to attend, a common practice among veterans.
What does the winner of the Pro Bowl get?
Each player on the winning team earns $88,000, while each player on the losing side gets $44,000, according to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports. That's a record for Pro Bowl winnings, according to the Sporting News.
Those winnings also go to players on the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs, who can't play in the Pro Bowl because they'll be in next week's Super Bowl.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Pro Bowl 2024 time, TV schedule, tickets, history of NFL all-star game
