NFL spices up Pro Bowl by adding a new event: Here are the 10 skills competitions that will now be featured

For the second straight year, the NFL won’t be holding an actual game for the Pro Bowl. Instead, the league will be pitting the AFC and NFC against each other in a series of skills competitions where points will be awarded. Once the competitions are over, the team with the most points will be deemed the winner of the Pro Bowl Games.

For the the 2024 Pro Bowl, which will be held in early February, the NFL will he holding a total of 10 competitions, and the league unveiled those competitions this week. The biggest surprise this year is the addition of a “Tug-of-War” challenge for the first time. 

If you’re wondering what else the Pro Bowl has in store, here’s a look at each competition along with a description of each event from he NFL. 

• Precision passing: “Each of the conference’s three quarterbacks will battle it out in a one-minute accuracy competition, as they attempt to accumulate points by hitting as many targets as possible. The conference with the highest cumulative score among all participants earns three points. There are a total of 10 targets that are either static or attached to robotic dummies and drones, each worth a different amount, ranging from one to five points.”
• Best Catch: “Best Catch will feature one player from each conference, as they show off their creativity, inventiveness and talent. Fans will vote online to determine their favorite catch, and the player with the highest number of votes will earn three points for his conference.”
• Closest to the Pin: “This golf accuracy competition will feature six players from each conference. They will drive the golf ball, working to hit it as close to the hole as possible. The winner will earn three points for his 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 most sure-handed 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 winner will earn three points for their conference.”
• Kick Tac Toe: “Each team’s kicker will compete in a giant Tic-Tac-Toe competition to showcase their skills. The first kicker to complete a connecting line of three squares or hit five squares total will be declared the winner and earn three points for his conference.”
• Madden competition: “For the fourth consecutive year, EA SPORTS will host the Madden NFL head-to-head Pro Bowl Games event. Two players will represent the NFC and defend their title against the AFC played 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 AFC players and six NFC players who show off their athletic prowess in a challenging obstacle course. They’ll break through walls and crawl under doors, among other obstacles, to get to the final sled push across the field with the ultimate goal of finishing first. The winning team will earn their conference 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 are challenged to pull backwards on the rope, attempting to move the opposing team in their direction. The competition will be the best of three, and the winner who pulls the opposing team across the marker twice gains 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 that 2,000-pound wall across the finish line. The winner will earn three points for their conference.”

The weekend will conclude with a seven-on-seven flag football game that will be held at Camping World Stadium in Orlando on Sunday, Feb. 4. The Pro Bowl Games will be a two-day TV event with competitions airing on Feb. 1 and Feb. 4 on the ABC/ESPN family of networks. 

Although we know what the events will look like at the Pro Bowl, we don’t yet know who will be playing in it. Players are voted into the game with fans, players and coaches each counting as one-third of the vote. The fan vote runs through Dec. 25, and once that has concluded, the NFL will unveil the full Pro Bowl rosters on Jan. 3 at 8 p.m. ET on NFL Network.