2010 Pro Bowl Rosters: Come And Get Your Exhibition Bonus Checks, Boys

The 2010 Pro Bowl will be played the week before the Super Bowl for the first time, a move the NFL made in an effort to “heighten interest.” The thinking is that if the game is sandwiched in between the Conference Championships and the Big Game -- and played in the same city -- then maybe some of that excitement and drama will rub off on the Pro Bowl. So, yay -- fun times in Florida!

A slight problem, though: the players that make it to the Super Bowl will not be participating in the Pro Bowl. Why risk injury one week before the biggest game of your life? (NFL.com’s Steve Wyche laughably writes, “We always hear players say they’d rather compete for a Super Bowl title than to play in any other game. Now we’ll really see.” Really? You think a player would pick what amounts to a glorified scrimmage over the Super Bowl?)

And here’s the NFC Pro Bowl roster for 2010. The AFC roster is below (* denotes player is a starter).

The Vikings are sending eight players to South Florida, the most of any team. The Eagles and Cowboys are both sending six players.

Hot off the presses, your roster for the 2010 AFC Pro Bowl roster.

The Colts lead the way with six players, including Peyton Manning, who tallied the most votes. The Ravens, Broncos and Chargers are sending five each, and the Patriots and Texans are both sending four players. No one from the Bengals made the Pro Bowl.

Another NFL season is drawing to a close, and that means it is almost time to celebrate the league’s finest display of on-field talent: the Pro Bowl. Maybe “celebrate” isn’t the right word, but hey, you might occasionally glance toward the television when the game’s on, assuming you don’t have anything better to do. Maybe.

The 2010 Pro Bowl will mark the first time the game has been played somewhere other than Honolulu since 1980. In an effort to create more interest and excitement, the NFL decided to move the game to the same city as the Super Bowl (in 2010, it’s nebulous South Florida, at Dolphin Stadium). It’s also now being played the week before the Super Bowl (it was traditionally the week following the Big Game), Jan. 31, at 7:30 p.m. ET. Can you feel the excitement yet?