Pro Bowl
The Pro Bowl, the league's all-star game, has been traditionally held on the weekend after the Super Bowl. The game was played at various venues before being held at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii for 30 consecutive seasons from 1980 to 2009.
However, the 2010 Pro Bowl was played at Sun Life Stadium, the home stadium of the Miami Dolphins and host site of Super Bowl XLIV, on January 31, the first time ever that the Pro Bowl was played before the championship game. The 2011 and 2012 games will return to Honolulu, though the 2011 game was still played before the Super Bowl.
Calendar
Though the NFL only plays in the late summer, fall, and early winter, the extended offseason often is an event in itself, with the draft, free agency signings, and the announcement of schedules keeping the NFL in the spotlight even during the spring, when virtually no on-field activity is taking place. A typical calendar of league events is as follows, with the dates listed being those for the 2010 NFL season:
February 22 – Pro Football Hall of Fame Game opponents announced.
February 24 – March 2—NFL Scouting Combine: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Ind.
February 25—Deadline for Clubs to designate Franchise and Transition players.
March 5—Veteran Free Agency signing period begins. Trading period begins.
March 21–24—NFL Annual Meeting: Dana Point, Calif. Usually accompanied by announcement of scheduling and opponents for first game and opening-weekend night games.
Early April: Teams begin voluntary workouts.
April 20: 2010 schedule announced.
April 22–24 – NFL Draft: New York City.
May 24–26—NFL Spring Meeting: Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
June 27 – June 30—NFL Rookie Symposium, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
Mid-July (varies by team)-- Training camps open.
August 7 – Pro Football Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, Canton, Ohio, including Hall of Fame Game.
August 12–16—First full Preseason weekend.
August 31—Roster cutdown from 80 to maximum of 75 players.
September 4—Roster cutdown from 75 to maximum of 53 players.
September 9–13 – Kickoff 2010 Weekend (Week 1 of regular season)
October 31 – International Series game (Wembley Stadium, London).
November – Pro Bowl balloting, flexible scheduling for Sunday Night Football and the NFL Network's night game package all begin.
November 25 – Thanksgiving games.
January 2, 2011—End of regular season.
January 8, 2011 – Playoffs begin.
January 23 – AFC Championship Game and NFC Championship Game.
January 30 – Pro Bowl.
February 6 – Super Bowl.