The following players were selected to represent the AFC:
Offense
Defense
Special teams
NFC roster
The following players were selected to represent the NFC:
Offense
Defense
Special teams
Notes:
Number of selections per team
Broadcasting
The game was televised nationally by NBC. The telecast of the game garnered a Nielsen rating of 7.9 nationally. While this represented an eight percent drop over the 2011 Pro Bowl ratings, the game was still the second most watched Pro Bowl of the past twelve years. The game drew more viewers than the 2011 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. NBC also broadcast the 2013 game as Super Bowl broadcaster CBS had declined to carry it.
Social media
The NFL loosened its rules which forbid players from communicating via social media during games, by setting up a computer on each sideline to allow players to use Twitter. Washington Redskins linebacker London Fletcher used the occasion to propose a contest among his Twitter followers to predict the game's final score and MVP. However, the NFL had him rescind the offer and he instead gave away a signed jersey instead of cash, presumably on anti-gambling grounds.
Simon Samano of NFL.com wrote about the game, "Players love the trip to Hawaii but don't care for the game itself. They have no desire to risk injury in a 'meaningless' game, which is why they don't play hard, which is how you end up with 59–41 as the final score. It's that lack of effort that caused fans to boo during portions of this year's game." Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers stated on his radio show, "I was just surprised that some of the guys either didn’t want to play or when they were in there didn't put any effort into it." The Pro Bowl has different rules than a regular season NFL game. Blitzing is not allowed and the 4–3 formation must always be used in defensive formations. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, speaking a week after the game, stated that the 2012 Pro Bowl wasn't "the kind of football we want to be demonstrating to our fans, and you heard it from the fans, the fans were actively booing in the stands.... We are going to either have to improve the quality of what we are doing in the Pro Bowl or consider other changes, or even consider eliminating the game if that is the kind of quality of game we are going to provide." Philip Rivers also questioned some of the players efforts in the Pro Bowl game. Rivers discussed with Bill Williamson during an interview “In general, maybe the whole week should be up for discussion, but I know there are guys in the game whose contracts may be up and they don’t want to get hurt and things like that. Still, we have to think of the fans and try to stay true to the game and not make a joke or a mockery out of the game."
