We've nearly reached the end of the season, as the Super Bowl is next week in Las Vegas and a champion will finally be crowned.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won't be there, but the team will have some representation at the final checkpoint before the big game. Sunday will mark the arrival of the Pro Bowl Games, which has drastically changed from what it used to be but remains the NFL's All-Star Game.
As has been the case in recent years, the Pro Bowl is a flag football game that has no real relevance or significance beyond being a way to tie a bow around the season for the 30 teams that didn't reach the Super Bowl.
It's a few tiers below other All-Star games, but it still gives us a reason to watch some football on Sunday before we completely lose the ability to do that until next September.
Who is playing in the Pro Bowl 2024?
Peyton and Eli Manning are serving as coaches again this year, with the two teams divided into AFC and NFC squads respectively. Each team will have a full roster made up of players who were voted in by fans earlier this year.
For the Buccaneers, that means only two players will be getting into the action today. Mike Evans would have made it a trio of Bucs in Orlando, but he elected to sit the Pro Bowl out to rest up after another historic season and ahead of a free agency period that will be the first time he's officially hit the market in his entire career.
Both Baker Mayfield and Tristan Wirfs will be representing the Bucs.
Evans was the only Buccaneers player voted into the Pro Bowl as a starter, withAntoine Winfield Jr being among the biggest snubs of the year. He was named an alternate alongside Baker and Wirfs but he won't be playing because not enough players ahead of him decided to sit out. Charvarius Ward is in Vegas at the Super Bowl with the 49ers, but Darius Slay was the next man up rather than Winfield.
Baker is replacing Dak Prescott while Wirfs is stepping up in place of Trent Williams who is skipping due to the Super Bowl.
What time is the Pro Bowl 2024?
It's a midday affair, as the Pro Bowl Games will kickoff (or toss off? However flag football starts) at 3pm ET. Last year the games were held in Las Vegas, but the action switches back to Orlando at Camping World Stadium.
Pro Bowl 2024 time and channel
Amid all of the rumors about the Super Bowl one day potentially becoming a streaming-only event, the Pro Bowl will remain tethered to terrestrial television.
ESPN and ABC will once again be airing the Pro Bowl Games this year, as has usually been the case. It won't be the normal Monday Night Football crew doing the announcing duties, though. Rather than Joe Buck and Troy Aikman being on the call, Scott Van Pelt and Dan Orlovsky will be in the booth with Ryan Clark chiming in as well.
It will be a whole hodgepodge of talent announcing the game, and here's everything you need to know to catch the action:
- Date: Sunday, February 4th
- Start Time: 3 pm ET
- Location: Camping World Stadium | Orlando, FL
- TV Channel: ABC/ESPN
- Announcers: Scott Van Pelt, Dan Orlovsky, Ryan Clark
- Live Stream: Fubo
Pro Bowl 2024 ticket price: How much does it cost to go?
While it's a glorified game of flag football, the price to get into the building and see some of the best and most popular players in the NFL is surprisingly cheap. Average prices for game run for hundreds of dollars, while the cheapest ticket to get into the Pro Bowl is $21 on the resale market.
That's insane.
No one is expecting any of the usual pomp and circumstance of a usual NFL game but that's a crazy price to kill a Sunday afternoon with while seeing some of the best football players in the world.