Super Bowl LVIII between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers is still over a week away, but there is some gridiron entertainment of sorts for football fans to enjoy in the meantime.
The NFL‘s 2024 Pro Bowl Games kick off in Orlando, Florida, on Thursday and will resume Sunday with a second day of events—including a flag football contest. This marks the second year of the league’s revamped All-Star format. Gone is the traditional tackle football game, and in its place are several random events, which this year range from dodgeball to tug-of-war.
Here’s everything to know heading into the Pro Bowl Games.
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Pro Bowl Games Schedule, List of Events
The 2024 Pro Bowl Games will culminate in a 7-on-7 flag football matchup, but there are plenty of other skills events in Orlando this week. Here’s a full list of them, split up between two days, as described by the NFL.
Thursday, February 1
- Precision Passing: “Three quarterbacks from each conference will accumulate points by hitting as many targets as possible in one minute. The conference with the highest cumulative score earns three points. There are 10 targets that are either static or attached to robotic dummies and drones, ranging from one to five points.”
- Best Catch: “Pre-taped in landmarks around Orlando, best catch will feature one player from each conference, showing off their creativity, inventiveness and talent. Fans will vote online to determine their favorite catch and the player with the most votes will earn three points for his conference.”
- Closest to the Pin: “This golf accuracy competition will feature six players from each conference who will drive the golf ball as close to the hole as possible. The winners will earn three points for their conference.”
- High Stakes: “Starting off with a football in hand, each player will attempt to catch punts from a JUGS machine. Each player that succeeds in catching the football without dropping others will advance to the next round and attempt to catch an additional football. The player who catches the most footballs wins.”
- Dodgeball: “A multi-round tournament of classic dodgeball featuring four teams of five players. In the first match, the AFC offense will face the NFC defense, and in the second game, the NFC offense squares off with the AFC defense. The winners will earn three points for their conference.”
- Kick Tac Toe: “Each team’s kicker will compete in a giant Tic-Tac-Toe competition. The first kicker to complete a connecting line of three squares or hit five squares total will earn three points for his conference.”
Sunday, February 4
- Madden Head-to-Head: “Two players will defend the NFC’s title against the AFC in Madden NFL 24 using the official 2024 Pro Bowl Games rosters. New this year, the winning team will earn their conference three points.”
- Gridiron Gauntlet: “A full-field relay race between six players from each conference in a challenging obstacle course. They will break through walls and crawl under doors, among other obstacles, to get to the final sled push across the field to the finish. The winning conference will earn three points.”
- Tug-of-War: “New this year, tug-of-war is a five-on-five demonstration of teamwork, strength and strategy. Positioned above a foam pit, players will pull on the rope, attempting to move the opposing team across the marker. The competition will be the best of three, and the winners earn three points.”
- Move the Chains: “This offensive and defensive linemen strength and speed competition takes strategy and teamwork. Each team of five players must work together to move 3,000 pounds of weights off a massive wall and be the first team to pull the 2,000-pound wall across the finish line. The winners will earn three points for their conference.”
Pro Bowl Games TV Channel, How to Watch
The Pro Bowl Skills Show is scheduled to air from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. ET on Thursday live from the Nicholson Fieldhouse at the University of Central Florida. The skills competition will air on ESPN. As opposed to Sunday’s portion of the games, for which tickets are still available, Thursday’s event is not open for the public to attend, the league said.
Festivities will resume on Sunday afternoon with the flag football game, plus the four additional events intertwined within the telecast.
This portion of the Pro Bowl Games is slated for 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET on Sunday at Camping World Stadium in Orlando. It will air on ESPN, ABC, Disney XD, ESPN+ and NFL+, while a Spanish broadcast for both days will be available on ESPN Deportes.
2024 NFL Pro Bowl Games Rosters
The Pro Bowl Games rosters originally revealed earlier this month have since been tweaked to account for a variety of factors. The 49ers led the way with nine Pro Bowlers (eight starters), and the Chiefs had five selections. All 14, though, had to be replaced in the Pro Bowl since San Fran and K.C. have to take care of Super Bowl business.
In all, 27 players named to the games—as voted on by players, coaches and fans—weren’t originally selected for the event. Injuries and personal reasons were listed as factors for the non-Super Bowl participants who cannot attend.
Finalized rosters, as listed on the NFL website, can be found here.
The NFL finalized 2024 Pro Bowl Games rosters, with 27 players named to the lineup that weren’t originally dubbed for the all-star event.
Fourteen replacements occurred due to the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers facing off in Super Bowl LVIII.https://t.co/ly5uRRyGSg
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) January 30, 2024
Peyton, Eli Manning Are Pro Bowl Coaches (Again)
The Manning brothers are back to coach their former conferences again in the 2024 games.
Peyton Manning helmed the AFC last year in the first edition of the games, while Eli Manning was in control of the NFC. Eli earned a Gatorade bath after leading the NFC to a 35-33 win over the AFC and his older brother last year.
In this year’s rematch, both Mannings will have some high-profile assistant coaches helping them out. Wes Welker, the former All-Pro wide receiver and current Miami Dolphins coach at that position, will serve as offensive coordinator for the AFC, while fellow former Pro Bowl wideout Keenan McCardell will fill that role for the NFC. Hall of Famers Ray Lewis (AFC) and DeMarcus Ware (NFC) are the defensive coordinators for the game.
Do NFL Players Get Paid for the Pro Bowl?
The Pro Bowl Games may now feature a different format than the traditional football game, but there are several thousands of reasons for the players in Orlando to take the event at least somewhat seriously. The players for whichever conference accumulates the most points across the many skill competitions, plus flag football, will take home $88,000 each (up from $84,000 last year) according to the league’s collective bargaining agreement.
Players of the losing conference will earn $44,000 (up from $42,000).
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