The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the North Division of the National Football Conference (NFC). The franchise was founded in Portsmouth, Ohio, as the Portsmouth Spartans and joined the NFL on July 12, 1930. After being purchased by George A. Richards in 1934, the franchise was relocated to Detroit and renamed to the Detroit Lions in reference to the city's Major League Baseball franchise, the Detroit Tigers. The team plays its home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.
Starting with the 1938 NFL season, the NFL instituted an All-Star Game that pitted the league's championship team against a team made up of the best players from the remaining teams. Five of these exhibition games were played, with the last occurring after the 1942 NFL season, before the NFL reduced the number of teams and games in the season due to players serving in World War II. The first official Pro Bowl occurred in 1951 following the 1950 NFL season. From the 1950 season until the 1969 season, the exhibition game was played between teams representing the Eastern and Western Conferences of the NFL. After the American Football League (AFL) merged with the NFL in 1970, the game was played between teams representing the NFC and the American Football Conference (AFC). The conference team format remained until 2014 when the NFL shifted to a fantasy football format with teams selected by captains from the full pool of Pro Bowl selectees. This format only lasted for three seasons before it reverted to the conference team format from the 2016 to 2021 NFL seasons; this period included the cancellation of the 2021 Pro Bowl due to the COVID-19 pandemic (teams were still selected and players were still recognized as Pro Bowl selectees). Starting with the 2023 Pro Bowl after the 2022 NFL season, the NFL again changed the format; instead of playing an exhibition game, the Pro Bowl was converted to series of skill competitions that culminated in a non-contact flag football game.
Pro Bowl selections are made by a cumulative vote by three groups that hold equal weight: coaches, players, and fans. Based on the vote results, each team is filled out based on generic offense, defense, and special teams. Before the institution of the Pro Bowl Games in 2023, the players with the most votes were named starters, while the remainder of the selectees were reserves. If a Pro Bowl selectee is unable to participate in the Pro Bowl, either for health reasons or the fact that they are playing in the Super Bowl right after the Pro Bowl, an alternate is named in the player's place. Alternate players are still considered official Pro Bowl selectees. The coaching staffs for each team have been selected in various ways, with the common option being the coaching staffs of the team with the best record in each conference who were not going to the Super Bowl given the honors. With the onset of the Pro Bowl Games, the NFL now selects the coaching staffs for the flag football game. Players for each team are paid for their participation, with a higher sum going to the winning team. Throughout the life of the Pro Bowl, awards have been given out to recognize the best player or players of the game. From 2016 to 2022, an award was given to an offensive and defensive most valuable player (MVP).
The Lions have had representatives at the Pro Bowl every year since 1950 except for nine seasons. The Lions' first selections in the inaugural Pro Bowl in 1951 were Cloyce Box, Lou Creekmur, Don Doll, Thurman McGraw, and Doak Walker. Four Lions have been given a Pro Bowl MVP award. Linebacker Joe Schmidt and running back Barry Sanders are tied for the team record for most Pro Bowl selections with 10, while Yale Lary (9 selections), and Lou Creekmur (8 selections) round out the top four. Sanders was the first player to play at least 10 seasons in the NFL and be selected to the Pro Bowl in each season they played. The most recent Pro Bowl selections for the Lions were Brian Branch, Taylor Decker, Jack Fox, Jahmyr Gibbs, Jared Goff, Frank Ragnow, Penei Sewell, and Amon-Ra St. Brown for the 2025 Pro Bowl Games.
Selections All-Star Game (1938–42)
+SeasonAll-Star Game of LionsselectedPlayers ( of All-Star Games with Lions)Position 1938 2 (1) Back (1) Guard 1939 3 (1) Tackle (1) Tackle (1) Back 1940 4 (2) Back (1) Back (1) Guard (1) Back 1941 2 (1) Guard (1) Tackle 1942 2 (1) Tailback (2) Guard
Pro Bowl (1950–present)
+Key * Selected as Pro Bowl MVP Selected as the NFL MVP for that season
+ Season Pro Bowl of Lionsselected Players ( of Pro Bowls with Lions) Position 1950 1951 5 (1) End (1) Guard (1) Defensive back (1) Tackle (1) Halfback 1951 1952 7 (1) Center (2) Guard (2) Safety (1) End (1) Halfback (1) Quarterback (2) Halfback 1952 1953 7 (2) End (3) Tackle (3) * Safety (1) Fullback (2) Halfback (2) Quarterback (1) Safety 1953 1954 7 (2) Guard (1) Safety (4) Tackle (1) Safety (3) Quarterback (1) Guard (3) Halfback 1954 1955 7 (2) Safety (5) Tackle (1) Defensive back (1) Linebacker (1) Defensive back (1) Linebacker (4) Halfback 1955 1956 6 (3) Safety (6) Tackle (2) Defensive back (2) Linebacker (2) Guard (5) Halfback 1956 1957 7 (1) Center (4) Safety (7) Tackle (3) Defensive back (2) Safety (4) Quarterback (3) Linebacker 1957 1958 7 (5) Safety (8) Tackle (4) Defensive back (3) Safety (1) Defensive end (4) Linebacker (1) Guard 1958 1959 6 (2) Center (5) Defensive back (4) Safety (5) Quarterback (5) Linebacker (2) Guard 1959 1960 4 (6) Defensive back (5) Defensive back (6) Linebacker (3) Guard 1960 1961 7 (1) End (1) End (1) Defensive tackle (1) Cornerback (6) Safety (1) Fullback (7) Linebacker 1961 1962 7 (2) End (2) Defensive tackle (2) Cornerback (7) Safety (1) Kicker (2) Fullback (8) Linebacker 1962 1963 7 (1) Defensive tackle (2) End (3) Defensive tackle (3) Cornerback (8) Safety (9) Linebacker (4) Guard 1963 1964 6 (1) End (2) Defensive tackle (3) End (1) Guard (10) Linebacker (1) Linebacker 1964 1965 7 (2) * End (3) Defensive tackle (3) Tight end (2) Guard (9) Safety (1) Cornerback (2) Linebacker 1965 1966 6 (4) Defensive tackle (3) Guard (4) Defensive tackle (2) Cornerback (1) End (3) Linebacker 1966 1967 3 (5) Defensive tackle (3) Cornerback (2) End 1967 1968 2 (1) Cornerback (1) Back 1968 1969 2 (2) Cornerback (1) Tight end 1969 1970 3 (3) Cornerback (1) Center (2) Tight end 1970 1971 4 (2) Running back (2) Center (1) Linebacker (3) Tight end 1971 1972 5 (3) Center (1) Quarterback (1) Linebacker (1) Fullback (4) Tight end 1972 1973 2 (4) Cornerback (1) Tackle 1973 1974 2 (5) Cornerback (4) Center 1974 1975 2 (1) Safety (5) Tight end 1975 1976 2 (6) Cornerback (6) Tight end 1976 1977 2 (7) Cornerback (7) Tight end 1977 1978 0 1978 1979 3 (1) Defensive end (1) Defensive tackle (1) Tight end 1979 1980 2 (2) Defensive end (2) Tight end 1980 1981 3 (3) Defensive end (1) * Kicker (1) Running back 1981 1982 3 (2) Defensive tackle (2) Running back (1) Punter 1982 1983 3 (1) Tackle (3) Defensive tackle (3) Running back 1983 1984 1 (4) Defensive tackle 1984 1985 0 1985 1986 0 1986 1987 0 1987 1988 1 (1) Punter 1988 1989 2 (2) Punter (1) Linebacker 1989 1990 4 (1) Nose tackle (2) Kicker (1) Running back (1) Linebacker 1990 1991 5 (2) Nose tackle (1) Tackle (1) Kick returner (2) Running back (2) Linebacker 1991 1992 6 (3) Nose tackle (1) Safety (2) Tackle (2) Kick returner (3) Running back (3) Linebacker 1992 1993 3 (3) Tackle (3) Kick returner (4) Running back 1993 1994 3 (4) Tackle (5) Running back (1) Linebacker 1994 1995 5 (5) Tackle (4) Kick returner (1) Wide receiver (6) Running back (4) Linebacker 1995 1996 4 (6) Tackle (1) Center (2) Wide receiver (7) Running back 1996 1997 3 (2) Center (3) Wide receiver (8) Running back 1997 1998 5 (3) Center (1) Kicker (4) Wide receiver (1) Defensive end (9) Running back 1998 1999 1 (10) Running back 1999 2000 5 (1) Linebacker (1) Defensive tackle (2) Kicker (2) Defensive end (1) Tight end 2000 2001 3 (2) Linebacker (2) Defensive tackle (1) Kick returner 2001 2002 1 (3) Defensive end 2002 2003 0 2003 2004 1 (1) Cornerback 2004 2005 3 (2) Cornerback (1) Kick returner (1) Defensive tackle 2005 2006 1 (2) Defensive tackle 2006 2007 1 (1) Wide receiver 2007 2008 0 2008 2009 0 2009 2010 0 2010 2011 2 (1) Wide receiver (1) Defensive tackle 2011 2012 1 (2) Wide receiver 2012 2013 3 (3) Wide receiver (1) Long snapper (2) Defensive tackle 2013 2014 2 (4) Wide receiver (3) Defensive tackle 2014 2015 5 (5) Wide receiver (1) Safety (1) * Quarterback (4) Defensive tackle (1) Wide receiver 2015 2016 2 (1) Defensive end (6) Wide receiver 2016 2017 1 (1) Kicker 2017 2018 2 (1) Guard (1) Cornerback 2018 2019 2 (2) Long snapper (2) Cornerback 2019 2020 2 (1) Wide receiver (3) Cornerback 2020 2021 3 (1) Punter (1) Tight end (1) Center 2021 2022 1 (1) Guard 2022 2023 4 (1) Quarterback (2) Center (1) Tackle (1) Wide receiver 2023 2024 7 (1) Running back (1) Defensive end (1) Tight end (3) Center (1) Special teams (2) Tackle (2) Wide receiver 2024 2025 8 (1) Safety (1) Tackle (2) Punter (2) Running back (2) * Quarterback (4) Center (3) Tackle (3) Wide receiver
Most Pro Bowl selections
+ Count Player Position Selections 10 Running back 1989–1998 Linebacker 1954–1963 9 Safety/defensive back 1953, 1956–1962, 1964 8 Tackle/guard 1950–1957 7 Cornerback 1967–1969, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976 Tight end 1968–1971, 1974–1976 6 Tackle 1990–1995 Defensive back 1954–1959 Wide receiver 2010–2015 5 Defensive tackle 1962–1966 Safety 1953–1957 Quarterback 1951–1953, 1956, 1958 Halfback 1950, 1951, 1953–1955
Notes
References