Pro Bowl Festivities Kickoff Tonight, Going Virtual With Madden 21, Versuz

Everything you need to know ahead of the annual Pro Bowl, which has been innovated in reaction to the coronavirus pandemic.

Like all of us, the NFL season was hit with many challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The impact it has had on sports and society has been felt in many ways. 

The annual NFL Pro-Bowl might look a bit different this year as such, but the show will go on in a new and innovative way. The NFL, EA Sports, ESPN and Verizon will collaborate to bring the NFL Pro-Bowl to fans virtually through a Madden 21 game.

The week of festivities will culminate on Jan 31st when the game was originally scheduled to be played in Las Vegas. 

A selected group of players will represent their conferences in an AFC-NFC matchup on EA Sports Madden 21.

Each individual will play one five-minute quarter. Exact head-to-head matchups will be announced at a later date. Each participant will use the official Pro Bowl rosters and will be playing from their homes.

"The consumption of sports and entertainment has shifted from linear to interactive. This puts it in the hands of millions to be able to play the game,” said David Tinson of EA Sports

In addition to a Madden game, the NFL and Verzuz will team up to bring “NFL Pro Bowl VERZUZ presented by Verizon”. Starting tonight, Jan. 26, through Jan. 29 at 8:00 p.m. ET, there will be four days of battles between several NFL players on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and more. 

The event will be hosted by NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders and NFL Network host MJ Acosta-Ruiz. 2021 Pro Bowl players Deshaun Watson, Jamal Adams, Budda Baker, DeAndre Hopkins, Jalen Ramsey and others will go head-to-head in real-time to determine the winners of several categories, showcasing their talents on and off the field.

NFL Media

Tampa Bay outside linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul was named to the NFC Roster for the 2021 Pro Bowl. Pierre-Paul was the only player chosen for the Pro-Bowl from the Super Bowl-bound Buccaneers.

Pierre-Paul is in his third season with the Buccaneers after eight years with the Giants. He recorded 9.5 sacks this year, taking his three-year Tampa Bay total up to 30.5.  This is the third time that Pierre-Paul has been selected for the Pro Bowl, but the first since 2012 and his first as a Buccaneer.

ESPN and ABC will air a Pro Bowl celebration starting at 3 p.m. ET next Sunday. The virtual Pro Bowl will be streamed on the EA Madden NFL Twitch channel and the NFL's YouTube, Twitter and Facebook pages at 5 p.m. ET. NFL Network will broadcast the game at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday night and also at 12:30 p.m. Monday morning.