NFL fans may have to wait an extra week for Super Bowl LVII between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs, but the 2023 Pro Bowl is here to help fill that gap. But just how can you tune it and watch all of the 2023 Pro Bowl action? We've got you covered.
Just an FYI though, the 2023 Pro Bowl is going to look a little different than previous iterations. While the skills competition has been a featured part of the annual event for a while now, it is adding some new challenges, all of which we'll detail below. Then the biggest change is that the actual Pro Bowl game is no longer going to be done with full pads, but instead a trio of flag football games.
Here are all the details on how to watch the 2023 Pro Bowl taking place on Thursday, February 2, and also Sunday, February 5, as well as other key info for the event.
How to watch 2023 Pro Bowl in the US
ESPN is the main broadcast home for the 2023 Pro Bowl, airing both the skills competition taking place on Thursday, February 2, in primetime and the main Pro Bowl slate on Sunday, February 5. While the skills competition is only going to be available on ESPN, all of Sunday's events (including three 7-on-7 flag football games and four additional skills competitions) are going to be on ESPN, ABC, ESPN Plus, Disney XD and ESPN Deportes (for a Spanish-language broadcast).
ABC is a main broadcast channel that is available to anyone who has a traditional cable TV subscription or who uses a TV antenna to receive local channels. ESPN, Disney XD and ESPN Deportes are specialty cable channels, and while they are available through most traditional pay-TV options, it is good to double check that they are included in whichever cable package you are using.
If you're making the transition to a live TV streaming service, at least one of these channels is carried by the four largest platforms, including FuboTV (ABC, Disney XD, ESPN), Hulu with Live TV (ABC, Disney XD, ESPN), Sling TV (Disney XD, ESPN) and YouTube TV (ABC, Disney XD, ESPN). All of these options have Spanish-language options that also include ESPN Deportes.
The last option is ESPN Plus. It is by far the cheapest option ($9.99 per month), but it does limit you to just being able to watch the skills competition on February 2.
How to watch 2023 Pro Bowl in the UK
Sky Sports is going to be the only place to watch the 2023 Pro Bowl action in the UK, which requires a subscription to a Sky TV plan. Pro Bowl events are going to air on the Sky Sports NFL channel.
There's a bit of a different schedule for UK viewers. The skills competition is airing live at midnight UK on Friday, February 3, but it is then going to be repeated a number of times leading up to Sunday, February 5, when the live Pro Bowl flag football games begin at 8 pm UK.
What to know about the 2023 Pro Bowl
When is the 2023 Pro Bowl?
There are two key dates to know for the 2023 Pro Bowl: Thursday, February 2, and Sunday, February 5.
February 2 is the date of the skills competition, airing on ESPN at 7 pm ET/4 pm PT (midnight UK on Friday, February 3). Then on February 5, the Pro Bowl games (three 7-on-7 flag football games) take place at 3 pm ET/noon PT (8 pm UK).
Who will play in the 2023 Pro Bowl?
The 2023 Pro Bowl rosters for the AFC and NFC were announced on December 21 (opens in new tab), but these are not the exact rosters that fans will see at the actual Pro Bowl event.
Pro Bowlers for the Chiefs and Eagles are skipping the game as they prepare for the Super Bowl, meanwhile a number of other players have opted out due to injuries. This means that a number of Pro Bowl alternates have been selected (including the surprising, and somewhat controversial, pick of Baltimore Ravens backup QB Tyler Huntley).
From the original announcement, alternates added for the AFC include Huntley, Trevor Lawrence, Derek Carr, Dawson Knox, Cam Heyward, Bradley Chubb and more. In the NFC, alternates include Jared Goff, Dalvin Cook, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jalen Ramsey.
Who is coaching the 2023 Pro Bowl?
Peyton and Eli Manning may be retired and enjoying just watching football with their alternative ManningCast, but they are going to be competing again as the coaches for the AFC (Peyton) and NFC (Eli).
In addition, they are going to be joined by a group of celebrities and former players. Snopp Dogg, Ray Lewis and Diana Flores (Mexico Women's National Flag Football team quarterback) are teaming with Peyton and the AFC. Pete Davidson, DeMarcus Ware and Vanita Krouch (US Women's National Flag Football team quarterback) line up with Eli and the NFC.
Where is the 2023 Pro Bowl?
All 2023 Pro Bowl events are taking place in Las Vegas, including the Pro Bowl flag football games taking place at Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders.
What at the 2023 Pro Bowl skills competitions?
There are eight different skills competitions that make up the Pro Bowl. Here is quick breakdown of each:
Epic Pro Bowl Dodgeball: the classic game is brought to the NFL, with four teams of five competing. AFC Offense vs AFC Defense and NFC Offense vs NFC Defense will play first to determine who plays in the AFC vs NFC final.
Lightning Round: 16 players compete in a three-part elimination challenge, with rounds consisting of catching water balloons back and forth from increasing distances; catching punts from a JUGS machine; and trying to toss objects to cause a bucket to dump on an opposing coach.
Longest Drive: four players in each conference compete to see who can hit the longest golf drive.
Precision Passing: each of the conference's three quarterbacks competes in a one-minute accuracy competition.
Best Catch: two players from each conference show off their creativity and talent to make the best catch.
Gridiron Gauntlet: side-by-side relay race that tests six players' strength, speed and agility.
Kick Tac Toe: each conference's kicker, punter and long snapper compete in a giant Tic-Tac-Toe game.
Move the Chains: Two teams from each conference compete side by side in a weighted wall pull to see which team will be the first to pull it 10 yards.
What is the 2023 Pro Bowl schedule
With the Pro Bowl broken up over two days, here is the breakdown of the schedule of events of the skills competition and the actual game.
Thursday, February 2
- Epic Pro Bowl Dodgeball
- Lightning Round
- Longest Drive
- Precision Passing
- Best Catch (first round)
Sunday, February 5
- Best Catch (finale)
- Gridiron Gauntlet
- Move the Chains
- Kick Tac Toe
- Three 7-on-7 flag football games
How does 2023 Pro Bowl scoring work?
Rather than having a single game determine the winners of the Pro Bowl, the AFC and NFC are competing to earn the most points from the combined skills competition and flag football games. Here is the basic breakdown:
- Three points are awarded for each skills competition victory (total of 24)
- Six points are awarded to the winner of the first two flag football games
- The score earned by each conference from the combined skills competition and first two flag football games will be the score they start with in the third flag football game
