NFL spices up 2025 Pro Bowl by adding new events: Here are the nine skills competitions that will be featured

For the third straight year, the NFL won’t be holding an actual football 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 2025 Pro Bowl, which will be held over two days (Jan. 30 and Feb. 2), the NFL will he holding a total of nine competitions, and the league unveiled those competitions this week. The NFL has added several new events, including a “Punt Perfect” challenge. 

If you’re wondering what these events will look like, here’s a look at each competition along with a description of each event from the NFL: 

• Precision passing: “Each of the conference’s three quarterbacks will try to hit targets at various distances around the field worth different point values in 40 seconds. Before the challenge, each quarterback will select a Pro Bowl Games teammate to answer five trivia questions about current Pro Bowl players. For every correct answer, the quarterback gets an additional 10 seconds. The winner of the competition is the team with the quarterback who scores the most points.”
• Satisfying catches: “One wide receiver, tight end and defensive back from each conference will compete in a challenge obstacle course, including catches from a jugs machine at three different distances, to test every aspect of catching a football. Each teammate will complete the course back-to-back with the lowest combined time winning the challenge.”
• Relay race (NEW): “A simultaneous relay-style event where four players from each conference complete a 40-yard dash before handing a football to the next athlete on their team, continuing until the fourth and final leg crosses the finish line. The conferences will compete in three rounds, with the fastest team winning.”
• Helmet harmony (NEW): “A game show to test player knowledge of their teammates, with every correct answer worth one point. The team with the most correct answers wins.”
• Dodgeball: “A three-round tournament of classic dodgeball featuring six teams of five players. Teams will be a mix of AFC offensive, defensive and special teams players competing against a mix of NFC offensive, defensive and special teams players.”
• Punt perfect (NEW): “Two players (one punter, one non-punter) from each conference punt from the 35-yard line, attempting to place as many punts as possible into a set of six buckets in the end zone. Each bucket is worth one point, with every fifth punt worth three points. The two players with the highest combined score will be the winners.”
• Great football race: “Six players from each conference will face off in a relay race consisting of five different challenges, culminating with a sled push. The team to cross the finish line first wins.”
• Tug-of-War: ” A five-on-five demonstration of teamwork, strength and strategy, and 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 into the foam pit twice wins.”

The weekend will conclude with a ninth and final event: A seven-on-seven flag football game that will be held at Camping World Stadium in Orlando on Sunday, Feb. 2. The Pro Bowl Games will be a two-day TV event with competitions airing on Jan. 30 and Feb. 2 on the ABC/ESPN family of networks. The first five events listed above will be on Jan. 30 and the rest will be on Feb. 2. 

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 by fans, players and coaches with all three of those groups counting as one-third of the vote. The fan vote runs through Dec. 23, and once that has concluded, the NFL will unveil the full Pro Bowl rosters shortly after that.