2010 Pro bowl

The 2010 AFC–NFC Pro Bowl was an NFL Pro Bowl, a game to honor the all-star players of the 2009 NFL season as selected by fans and their peers. It took place at 8:00 PM EST on Sunday, January 31, 2010, at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, the home stadium of the Miami Dolphins and host site of Super Bowl XLIV.[2]

The 2010 Pro Bowl was held on the weekend before the Super Bowl, the first time ever that the Pro Bowl is held before the championship game, and the first time that the Pro Bowl was held somewhere other than Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii since 1979 (1978 NFL season).[2] NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the move was made after looking at alternatives to strengthen the Pro Bowl.[3]

The game was moved up in order to prevent a conflict that would have taken place if the game had taken place on February 13 or 14, with the game facing against the NBA All-Star Game, Winter Olympics, and Daytona 500. Due to the change, players from the conference championship teams—the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints—did not participate.

ESPN aired the 2010 Pro Bowl instead of CBS, which will be airing the 52nd Grammy Awards.[2] The television broadcast was Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski and Jon Gruden.[1]

The game was the first Pro Bowl to be legally broadcasted on internet radio. As part of a catch in the league's broadcast contracts, the Pro Bowl has, to this point, never been broadcast on the NFL's FieldPass system due to it being broadcast exclusively by Westwood One. The NFL had negotiated internet broadcast rights with all 32 of its teams, but never did so with Westwood One (since it was seen as redundant); since none of the 32 teams actually play in the Pro Bowl, FieldPass did not hold rights. When contracts were renegotiated in 2009, Westwood One's broadcasts were added to FieldPass, and along with it, play-by-play of the Pro Bowl.[4]

Rosters for the AFC and NFC teams were not allowed to include any players from the teams that will be playing in Super Bowl XLIV to avoid major injuries on either team. However, they were still required to be on site for the game to collect a bonus payment.

Several NFL players have spoken out against the decision regarding timing of the game; ten-time Pro Bowl quarterback Peyton Manning raised issue with the possibility that if the concept were to continue, the 2012 game could be held in a cold-weather city, (Indianapolis, Indiana), not seen as a winter vacation destination.[5] NBC sportscaster Al Michaels was skeptical of the changes, telling the Honolulu Star-Bulletin that "the [NFL] thinks playing it before the Super Bowl will add to the buzz. It won't."[6] Bill Polian also came out against the change, explaining that it seemed disruptive and "stupid" to have players voted to the Pro Bowl, only to have to sit out because they're playing in the Super Bowl, but still have to show up to the game to collect a bonus payment.[7]