Senior Bowl


The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game played annually in late January or early February in Mobile, Alabama, which showcases the best NFL draft prospects of those players who have completed their college eligibility. Produced by the non-profit Mobile Arts & Sports Association, the game is also a charitable fund-raiser, benefiting various local and regional organizations with over US$7.8 million in donations over its history. The game is sponsored by Panini America and is televised by the NFL Network.

History

The 1950 Senior Bowl, the inaugural edition, was played at Gator Bowl Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida; the game then moved to Mobile's Ladd–Peebles Stadium the next year, where it remained through the 2020 edition. Since the 2021 edition, the game has been played at Hancock Whitney Stadium on the campus of the University of South Alabama, also in Mobile.
Historically, the Senior Bowl was the first chance its participants had to openly receive pay for participation in an athletic event. Players in the inaugural 1950 game each received $343 or $475 ; by 1975, the amounts had been increased to $1,250 and $1,500. The 1988 edition was the last time players were paid. This was one reason that participation was limited to seniors whose eligibility for further participation in college football had expired. Athletes who wished to play spring collegiate sports, such as college baseball, or otherwise remain eligible for amateur sports, had to avoid participation in the Senior Bowl.
The game has consistently been played on a Saturday in January, with the exception of 1976, when it was held on a Sunday. The scheduling date within January has varied – the earliest playing has been January 3, while the latest playing prior to the 2022 edition has been January 30. Since 1967, it has been traditionally set for the week before the NFL's Super Bowl. It is usually scheduled as the final game of the college football season, although for a period during the 1980s and 1990s, it was the next-to-the-last game, followed a week later by either the Hula Bowl or the Gridiron Classic. From 2007 through 2011, and also in 2013, the Senior Bowl was again the penultimate game, followed by the Texas vs The Nation game a week later. In 2020, the revived Hula Bowl was played the day after the Senior Bowl.
CBS acquired national television coverage rights to the 1952 through 1954 games, though they never televised the games nationally under those rights. The first nationally televised Senior Bowl was in 1958 by NBC, and the games have been televised every year since. To commemorate the occasion and the publicity that the televising of the Senior Bowl would draw to the state of Alabama, Gov. James E. Folsom commissioned each player in the 1958 game as Honorary Admirals in the Alabama State Navy, as well as Senior Bowl founder Jimmy Pearre, North squad coach Joe Kuharich, South squad coach Paul Brown, and South squad past-coach Steve Owens; announcers for the televised event, Red Grange and Lindsey Nelson, were commissioned Honorary Colonels in the Alabama State Militia. ESPN televised the game as early as 1982, continuing until the game moved to the NFL Network starting with the 2007 edition.

Sponsors and branding

Sponsors of the game have included Delchamps, a supermarket chain headquartered in Mobile; Food World, a supermarket chain headquartered in Birmingham; Under Armour; and Nike, Inc. Starting with the 2014 game, Reese's took over sponsorship. In January 2018, Reese's announced that they were extending their sponsorship of the game through at least the 2020 edition. The final edition of the game sponsored by Reese's was held in February 2025.
In March 2020, the Senior Bowl registered "The draft starts in Mobile" as a service mark.
In October 2020, Panini America entered a multi-year agreement to produce trading cards for Senior Bowl players. In June 2025, Panini America was announced as the bowl's new title sponsor, with the game officially known as the Panini Senior Bowl.

Game format

For most editions of the Senior Bowl, players have been rostered into North and South teams. In 1991, team names were changed to AFC and NFC, to distinguish where their coaching staffs were from and to stress the professional nature of the game. This was somewhat confusing, as the Senior Bowl is played early in the calendar year, typically several months before players are selected by teams in the NFL draft. Additionally, both coaching staffs for the 1993 game came from AFC teams. In 1994, team designations were reverted to the North vs. South format. In 2021, the bowl moved to American and National team designations.
The two teams are coached by coaching staffs that are selected from two NFL teams. In recent years, the coaching staffs have come from teams who finished near the bottom of the league standings, but whose coaches were not subsequently terminated. Beginning with the 2022 edition, head coaches serve in more of an advisory capacity while promoting select assistants into leadership roles on the staff.
Organizers stipulate a number of specific rules for the game, some of which are intended to reduce the chance of injury, and others that simplify what the teams need to practice and prepare for. The game is also the players' first time competing under the slightly different professional rules.
The week-long practice that precedes the game is attended by key NFL personnel, who oversee the players as possible prospects for professional football. Athletes sometimes decline invitations to participate in the Senior Bowl, opting instead to prepare for the NFL scouting combine or their college's pro day.
The single-season record for number of players sent to the Senior Bowl from one school is 10 by Alabama in 1987, followed by nine sent by Auburn in 1988 and USC in 2008.
Dan Lynch of Washington State was the first player to appear in two Senior Bowls, having been granted an extra year of eligibility after the 1984 game. In 2013, two players with a year of college football eligibility remaining, but who had already graduated, became the first "fourth-year juniors" to be granted clearance to play in the Senior Bowl.

Game results

  • All-time series, through the 2026 game : South ; AFC ; National
  • The first game was played in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1950. All subsequent games have been played in Mobile, Alabama.

    Game records

Coaching appearances

Seven people have served as head coach in four or more Senior Bowls.
GamesHead coachWLTWin pct.
862–
752–
633–
431–
4211
422–
4121

Games coached by NFL teams

Each of the current 32 NFL teams has had members of their coaching staff coach in at least one Senior Bowl. Coaches from the New York Giants have coached in the most Senior Bowls, 13, while coaches from the Baltimore Ravens have only coached in one Senior Bowl.
Records include games played under a franchise's prior names.
Updated through the 2026 game.
GamesNFL teamWLTWin pct.Most recent
13New York Giants2025---
12Cleveland Browns2025---
11Detroit Lions2022---
8Indianapolis Colts1995---
7Oakland Raiders2023---
7Denver Broncos2018---
7Washington Commanders2012---
6New York Jets2024---
6Kansas City Chiefs2000---
6San Francisco 49ers2019---
6New Orleans Saints2026---
5Miami Dolphins2021---
5Dallas Cowboys2016---
5Chicago Bears2023---
4Jacksonville Jaguars2016---
4Arizona Cardinals2002---
4Tampa Bay Buccaneers2007---
4Philadelphia Eagles2026---
4Cincinnati Bengals2020---
3Tennessee Titans2024---
3Seattle Seahawks2002---
3Atlanta Falcons2014---
3Buffalo Bills2011---
3New England Patriots1976---
2Green Bay Packers2001---
2Houston Texans2018---
2Los Angeles Chargers2004---
2Minnesota Vikings2012---
2Carolina Panthers2021---
2Los Angeles Rams1989---
2Pittsburgh Steelers2001---
1Baltimore Ravens1998---