LAS VEGAS (NEXSTAR) – Some of the NFL’s best players will be taking the field Sunday after participating in skills challenges on Thursday as they compete in the 2023 Pro Bowl in Las Vegas.
As players participate in the events, including the first-ever non-contact flag football games, they’ll be competing for much more than bragging rights.
Their earnings — though not as much as what they would have made winning the Super Bowl — are still quite substantial. The NFL’s collective bargaining agreement (CBA) shows players on the teams in any AFC-NFC Pro Bowl game will receive $88,000 if they win (more than if they participated in last year’s Super Bowl) or $44,000 if they lose.
That’s up from $84,000 and $42,000, respectively, from last season.
If a player is injured during the Pro Bowl, they may receive additional compensation. According to the CBA, players who suffer serious injuries, such as a torn ACL, loss of sight in one eye, cancer that “manifests” during Pro Bowl Week and is diagnosed within a month (except skin cancer), or a heart attack caused by “physical exertion while participating in covered events during Pro Bowl Week,” could receive a lump-sum payment of $1 million. If they tear certain ligaments or tendons in their arms or legs, or suffer a fractured foot that requires surgery, the player could receive $500,000 in compensation.
Players who are injured during Pro Bowl Week and can’t participate still qualify for their payout based on their team’s win or loss.
According to the agreement, players could receive additional compensation if they have a Pro Bowl incentive clause in their contracts as long as they were “signed prior to the effective date” of the CBA. Pro Bowlers can expect to receive their bonus pay within 15 days, according to the agreement.
Under the current CBA, Pro Bowl winners are set to receive $116,000 and losers $58,000 in compensation by 2030.
This year’s Pro Bowl events included dodgeball, a relay race, and “kick tac toe.”