FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 11/11/15
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS QB TOM BRADY LEADS PRO BOWL VOTING BY FANS ON NFL.COM
-- All-Stars to be announced on Pro Bowl Selection Show on NFL Network on Tuesday, December 22 --
-- Stars will be realigned during Pro Bowl Draft Show live on ESPN2 on January 27 --
New England Patriots quarterback TOM BRADY, with 141,750 votes, leads all players in balloting for the 2016 Pro Bowl, NFL.com announced today.
Green Bay Packers quarterback AARON RODGERS (120,242 votes) ranks second overall, while Cincinnati Bengals quarterback ANDY DALTON (114,368 votes), Atlanta Falcons running back DEVONTA FREEMAN (103,334 votes) and New England Patriots tight end ROB GRONKOWSKI (101,674 votes) round out the top five on NFL.com.
Fan voting for the 2016 Pro Bowl will continue online and on web-enabled mobile phones at www.NFL.com/probowl/ballot until it concludes on Tuesday, December 15. The Pro Bowl players will be announced on Tuesday, December 22 live on NFL Network.
Players will later be assigned to teams through the Pro Bowl Draft during the week leading up to the game, which will air on ESPN2.
The 2016 Pro Bowl will be played on Sunday, January 31, 2016 and televised live on ESPN from Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. Game tickets go on sale to the general public on Monday, November 16. Fans can register on www.nfl.com/probowl for notifications regarding exclusive ticket pre-sale opportunities.
The 2016 Pro Bowl will continue using the revised game format that debuted with the 2014 Pro Bowl, with NFL Legends captains having final say over Pro Bowl Draft decisions. The Pro Bowl will remain “unconferenced,” with several key playing rules changed. Players will be selected without regard to conference in voting by fans, coaches and players and later assigned to Pro Bowl teams via a fantasy football-style draft.
The 2016 Pro Bowl Draft Show will be televised on Wednesday, January 27 in primetime on ESPN2.
Four leading vote getters – comprised of two offensive and two defensive player captains – will be joined by two NFL.com fantasy football champions to draft players.
The fantasy football champion will have Hall of Fame help. Two Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receivers – MICHAEL IRVIN and JERRY RICE – will serve as NFL Legends captains for the 2016 Pro Bowl.
The Pro Bowl players are determined by the consensus votes of fans, players and coaches. Each group’s vote counts one-third toward determining the 88 All-Star players who will be eligible for the Pro Bowl Draft.
NFL players and coaches will cast their votes on Friday, December 18. The NFL is the only sports league that combines voting by fans, coaches and players to determine its all-star teams. It was the first professional sports league to offer online all-star voting in 1995.
NFL ALL-STAR TOP-TEN VOTE-GETTERS
POS. NAME, TEAM VOTES QB Tom Brady, New England 141,750 QB Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay 120,242 QB Andy Dalton, Cincinnati 114,368 RB Devonta Freeman, Atlanta 103,334 TE Rob Gronkowski, New England 101,674 QB Cam Newton, Carolina 94,810 QB Carson Palmer, Arizona 87,838 WR Julio Jones, Atlanta 85,034 WR Odell Beckham, Jr., New York Giants 80,338 WR Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona 77,709
NFL LEADING VOTE-GETTERS BY POSITION
POS. NAME, TEAM VOTES POS. NAME, TEAM VOTES QB Tom Brady, New England 141,750 DE J.J. Watt, Houston 71,045 QB Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay 120,242 DE Chandler Jones, New England 51,793 RB Devonta Freeman, Atlanta 103,334 DT Geno Atkins, Cincinnati 54,816 RB Todd Gurley, St. Louis 75,592 DT Aaron Donald, St. Louis 48,125 FB Marcel Reece, Oakland 63,967 OLB Thomas Davis, Carolina 44,834 FB Mike Tolbert, Carolina 60,665 OLB Jamie Collins, New England 42,907 WR Julio Jones, Atlanta 85,034 ILB Luke Kuechly, Carolina 48,591 WR Odell Beckham, Jr., New York Giants 80,338 ILB Clay Matthews, Green Bay 42,038 TE Rob Gronkowski, New England 101,674 CB Josh Norman, Carolina 64,915 TE Greg Olsen, Carolina 67,734 CB Darrelle Revis, New York Jets 59,278 T Sebastian Vollmer, New England 32,135 SS Charles Woodson, Oakland 46,698 T Bryan Bulaga, Green Bay 27,149 SS Kam Chancellor, Seattle 25,017 G Zack Martin, Dallas 28,158 FS Tyrann Mathieu, Arizona 31,097 G Mike Iupati, Arizona 25,267 FS Earl Thomas, Seattle 25,932 C Ryan Kalil, Carolina 40,353 P Sam Koch, Baltimore 24,576 C Nick Mangold, New York Jets 33,018 P Matt Bosher, Atlanta 17,166 K Stephen Gostkowski, New England 46,071 ST Matthew Slater, New England 21,457 K Justin Tucker, Baltimore 24,491 ST Joe Webb, Carolina 20,194 RS Tyler Lockett, Seattle 23,006 RS Dwayne Harris, New York Giants 17,976
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Contact: Brenden Lee National Football League 212-450-2742 [email protected]