The 2017 Pro Bowl (branded as the 2017 Pro Bowl presented by

Aquafina Aquafina () is an American brand of water purification, purified bottled water that is produced by PepsiCo, consisting of both water, unflavored and flavored water, flavored water. The Aquafina brand name is also licensed for use on multiple s ...

for sponsorship reasons) was the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

all-star game An all-star game is an exhibition game that showcases the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or division, bu ...

for the 2016 season, which was played at

Camping World Stadium Camping World Stadium is an outdoor stadium in Orlando, Florida, Orlando, Florida, United States located in the West Lakes neighborhood of Downtown Orlando, west of new sports and entertainment facilities including the Kia Center, the Dr. Phil ...

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

, on January 29, 2017. The game was the first in a three-year deal to host the Pro Bowl in Orlando, which also included cross-promotional events (such as a newly established skills competition) held at the

Walt Disney World Resort The Walt Disney World Resort is an entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Walt Disney Company. ...

(which is owned by the primary parent company of the game's broadcaster,

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

). After three years of using a draft format, the 2017 Pro Bowl returned to the previous conference-based format, played between all-star teams representing the

American Football Conference The American Football Conference (AFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest level of professional American football in the United States. The AFC and its counterpart, the National Football Conference ...

and

National Football Conference The National Football Conference (NFC) is a conference of the National Football League (NFL), the highest level of professional American football in the United States. The NFC and its counterpart, the American Football Conference (AFC), each h ...

. The AFC all-stars were coached by Andy Reid, and the NFC all-stars were coached by

Jason Garrett Jason Calvin Garrett (born March 28, 1966) is an American former professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He was most notably the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys from 2010 to 2019. Garrett played college f ...

Background

Host selection process

At least five locations were in contention to host the 2017 Pro Bowl, with four submitting formal bids.Soshnick, Scott (May 19, 2016)
The NFL Pro Bowl Is Moving to Orlando
''Bloomberg.'' Retrieved May 19, 2016. * Aloha Stadium in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

, the site of the Pro Bowl from 1980 to 2009, 2011–2014, and 2016. *

NRG Stadium NRG Stadium (previously known as Reliant Stadium) is a multi-purpose stadium in Houston, Texas, United States. Construction was completed in 2002, at a cost of $352 million and has a seating capacity of 72,220. It was the first NFL facility to h ...

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, the site of Super Bowl LI. *

, where Pro Bowl rightsholder

has operations at

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort is an destination resort, entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Wa ...

. *An unidentified stadium in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. *

Maracanã Stadium Maracanã Stadium (, ; named after the Maracanã River), officially known as Jornalista Mário Filho Stadium (, ; , named after Mário Filho), is an association football stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Located in the Maracanã neighbor ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. The stadium, which had recently been renovated for the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...

and

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

, was discussed as a potential hosting site for the event, but Brazil ultimately declined to place a bid. On June 1, 2016, the NFL announced that it had awarded the next three Pro Bowl games to Orlando.

Side events

Commissioner Roger Goodell announced that the 2017 Pro Bowl would be a "week-long celebration for football and our fans"; a number of family-oriented side events was held at the

and its ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, including practices, a 5K run, youth events, and player appearances. On December 12, 2016, the NFL announced that it would hold a series of skills competitions during Pro Bowl week at the Wide World of Sports Complex, known as the ''Pro Bowl Skills Showdown''.

Game format

On June 1, 2016, the NFL confirmed that the Pro Bowl would return to its previous, conference-based format for 2017, after three years of using a draft-based format with players selected by designated captains. The captains were former NFL players Jerome Bettis, Tony Gonzalez, Ray Lewis, and Charles Woodson.

Rule changes

The game format was nearly the same for 2017 as it had been in 2016, with some exceptions: *Forty-four players were assigned to each team, up from 43 in

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

(a regular game-day active roster has 46). *The two-minute warning that was given in the first and third quarters (in addition to the second and fourth quarters) in previous years was eliminated, and the ball did not change hands after the first and third quarters. *The coin toss determined which team was awarded possession first. There were no kickoffs; the ball was placed on the 25-yard line at the start of each half and after scoring plays. *Defenses were now permitted to play cover two and press coverage. Prior to

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, only man coverage was allowed, except for goal line situations. *A 38-second/25-second play clock was used instead of the usual 40-second/25-second clock, and up from 35-second/25-second clock in 2016. *Replay reviews will be allowed; previously there was replay in the Pro Bowl only when new equipment tests were being conducted. *There are no intentional grounding rules. *Only defensive ends and tackles may rush on passing plays, but those must be on the same side of the ball. The defense is not permitted to blitz. *All blindside blocks and blocks below the waist are illegal. *A tight end and running back must be in every formation. *No more than two wide receivers on either side of the ball. *Deep middle safety must be aligned inside the hash marks.

Summary

Box score

AFC rosters

The following players were selected to represent the AFC:

Offense

Defense

Special teams

NFC rosters

The following players were selected to represent the NFC:

Offense

Defense

Special teams

Notes: :bold player who participated in game :Replacement selection due to injury or vacancy :Injured player; selected but will not play :Replacement starter; selected as reserve :Selected but did not play because his team advanced to Super Bowl LI ''(see Pro Bowl "Player Selection" section)'' :Players must have accepted their invitations as alternates to be listed; those who declined, such as Tyrod Taylor, are not considered Pro Bowlers

Number of selections per team

Broadcasting

The game was televised nationally by

and broadcast via radio by Westwood One.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pro Bowl

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2016 NFL season 2017 in American football 2017 in sports in Florida 2010s in Orlando, Florida January 2017 sports events in the United States American football competitions in Orlando, Florida