NBA great Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna were among the people killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California on Sunday and the news cast a shadow over the NFL's annual all-star clash taking place on the other side of the United States.
Camping World Stadium observed a moment of silence, fans chanted Bryant's name and the NFC defence mimicked the Los Angeles Lakers legend's signature fadeaway jump shot after completing a sack.
Making his first Pro Bowl appearance, star Baltimore Ravens quarterback Jackson threw 185 yards for two touchdowns and one interception to help the AFC to a 10-point half-time lead.
Drew Brees, rumoured to be considering retirement, started at QB for the NFC, who mounted a third-quarter comeback after defensive tackle Fletcher Cox sauntered untroubled into the end zone for a 61-yard touchdown following Harrison Smith's lateral pass.
Davante Adams caught Kirk Cousins' pass to reduce the margin back to three points, before Ryan Tannehill connected with D.J. Chark Jr. on a 60-yard throw to restore the AFC's buffer.
T.J. Watt and Green Bay Packers wide receiver Adams traded scores in the fourth quarter as MVP candidate Jackson paid tribute to Bryant, telling ESPN: "That's a legend. He did so much for the game of basketball. A lot of people looked up to Kobe Bryant, including myself."
The NFL's attention now turns to Miami, where the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers will contest the Super Bowl on Sunday.
The first Pro Bowlers of the 2021 season were revealed on billboards in Las Vegas, which will host the annual NFL all-star game on 6 February at Allegiant Stadium.
The other confirmed players to feature are Aaron Donald (Los Angeles Rams), Cooper Kupp (Los Angeles Rams), Jonathan Taylor (Indianapolis Colts) and Travis Kelce (Kansas City Chiefs).
Brady will overtake Peyton Manning, Tony Gonzalez, Bruce Matthews and Merlin Olsen, who all featured in 14 Pro Bowls.
The legendary quarterback has guided the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a 10-4 record and first place in the NFC South, with just one more victory needed to secure the division title. Brady currently boasts the best 2021 numbers in most major passing categories, including yards (4,348), attempts (602), completions (404) and touchdown passes (36).
The 44-year-old has won more Super Bowls than any other player in history (seven) and also holds the record for most Super Bowl MVP awards (five).
The full reveal of the AFC and NFC teams for this year's Pro Bowl will take place on Wednesday.
Colts' MVP contender running back Jonathan Taylor was among five players confirmed earlier this week but he was joined by six other team-mates as the full NFC and AFC rosters were revealed on Wednesday.
Indianapolis also had center Ryan Kelly, guard Quenton Nelson, defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, linebacker Darius Leonard, cornerback Kenny Moore II and special teams long snapper Luke Rhodes all selected, with the Colts enjoying a run of five wins in six games to sit second in the AFC South.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady had already been named earlier this week for a record 15th Pro Bowl, with Arizona Cardinals' Kyler Murray and Green Bay Packers' Aaron Rodgers joining him as NFC QBs.
The selected AFC quarterbacks were Los Angeles Chargers' Justin Herbert, Baltimore Ravens' Lamar Jackson and Kansas City Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes.
The Chiefs and Chargers had six players selected in total, while the Ravens, Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers and Bucs all had five representatives.
Four rookies were selected in Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase, Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts, Chargers offensive tackle Rashawn Slater and Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons.
The NFC and AFC rosters are determined by a vote of the fans, players and coaches.
The NFL leaders, who sit among the favourites for the Super Bowl with a 13-1 regular season record in 2022, have seen eight players picked for the event.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts headlines a list of Eagles names that also includes wide receiver A.J. Brown, guard Landon Dickerson, and offensive tackle Lane Johnson among others.
Six NFL teams have at least five players selected for the Pro Bowl, which will take place on February 5 at the Las Vegas Raiders' Allegiant Stadium, a week out from Super Bowl LVII.
Hurts will start for the NFC selection against Patrick Mahomes, with the Kansas City Chiefs man headlining a seven-strong selection from his franchise in the AFC group.
Other teams well represented include the Dallas Cowboys with seven, the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers with six and the Minnesota Vikings with five.
The league previously confirmed Los Angeles Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald had made his ninth consecutive Pro Bowl, despite injury struggles that have curtailed his campaign
He is joined by Travis and Jason Kelce, who become the first pair of brothers to earn simultaneous selection for a record fifth time.
The two teams will be coached by a set of siblings in former Super Bowl winners Peyton and Eli Manning too, with the duo having earned 18 Pro Bowl selections between them in their playing days.
With a rescheduled and rejigged regular season having already seen several games postponed due to the virus, the league have elected against going ahead with the all-star game.
Las Vegas had been due to host the event on January 31, though the Allegiant Stadium will be the venue for the 2022 game.
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the 2020 NFL Draft, which was due to be held in Las Vegas earlier this year, being held virtually, while no preseason games were played to reduce the risk of the illness spreading through the league.
Quarterback Mahomes is one of five Kansas City Chiefs players who will drop out of Sunday's game after reaching the Super Bowl.
He is replaced in the AFC team in Orlando by the signal caller he beat in the Championship Game, the Titans' Tannehill, who impressed after replacing starter Marcus Mariota in Week 6 of the season.
The Titans, who lost an entertaining clash at Arrowhead Stadium 35-24, also saw another of their alternates, Jurell Casey, named to the game in place of Chris Jones.
Running back Derrick Henry and punter Brett Kern had already been selected to Pro Bowl for the Titans, with the changes giving them four participants.
Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill and Frank Clark have all been replaced by the Indianapolis Colts' Jack Doyle plus Jacksonville Jaguars duo D.J. Chark and Josh Allen.
Four San Francisco 49ers players – Richard Sherman, Nick Bosa, George Kittle and Kyle Juszczyk – will drop out of the NFC team for the Pro Bowl, with the NFL yet to announce their replacements.
The 24-year-old QB entered the protocol for the second time this season on December 26 after suffering a concussion in the Dolphins' loss to the Green Bay Packers the day prior.
Tagovailoa remained in protocol for Miami's final three games including their Wild Card Game defeat to the Buffalo Bills. Five weeks on, he will also miss the upcoming Pro Bowl Games in Las Vegas on February 5.
The third-year quarterback had been named as a first alternate for the AFC team for the Pro Bowl Games, with either Patrick Mahomes or Joe Burrow to miss due to their participation in Super Bowl LVII.
The quarterback also suffered a concussion in Week 4, prompting a joint NFL and NFLPA review and an alteration of the league's concussion protocol.
Tagovailoa missed five games throughout the season due to concussion, but impressed when available, with a regular-season completion rate of 64.8 per cent for 25 touchdowns with only eight interceptions. The Fins went 8-5 in games Tagovailoa started.
The QB's repeated concussions prompted speculation Tagovailoa may retire, but that has been shut down, including by his father Galu.
"That's [the Dolphins'] guy. They love him," Galu told KHON2 News. "We love them and what they're doing and how they are helping with his recovery and trying to get him back."
In a new format, the NFL decided to scrap the traditional Pro Bowl game as the injury risk of a real football game led to a mediocre product in recent years, with players only going at half-speed.
Instead, they replaced it with a series of mini-games – including dodgeball, and a best catch contest utilising a trampoline – spread over multiple days.
The two teams competed in four events on Thursday, with the NFC only securing victory in the dodgeball event. For the AFC, Buffalo Bills safety Jordan Poyer's 320-yard bomb won the long drive competition, Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr guided them to victory in the precision passing, and the team combined to win the three-event lightning round.
That gave the AFC the lead heading into Sunday's finale, although the NFC trimmed into the margin when Detroit Lions receiver Amon Ra St. Brown won the best catch contest.
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith delivered the winning touchdown pass to Dallas Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb with 12 seconds remaining to take the first of the three flag football games for the NFC, before the AFC won the next to force a decider.
In the second, Bills receiver Stefon Diggs caught the game-winning touchdown, but not before he accidentally threw an earlier interception to his brother, Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs.
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins was the hero in the final game, throwing passing touchdowns to team-mate Justin Jefferson as well as San Francisco 49ers pair George Kittle and Kyle Juszczyk to secure the victory.
NFC players received $84,000 each for taking part and coming away with the win, while AFC players earned $42,000.
In a new format, the NFL decided to scrap the traditional Pro Bowl game as the injury risk of a real football game led to a mediocre product in recent years, with players only going at half-speed.
Instead, they replaced it with a series of mini-games – including dodgeball, and a best catch contest utilising a trampoline – spread over multiple days.
The two teams competed in four events on Thursday, with the NFC only securing victory in the dodgeball event. For the AFC, Buffalo Bills safety Jordan Poyer's 320-yard bomb won the long drive competition, Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr guided them to victory in the precision passing, and the team combined to win the three-event lightning round.
That gave the AFC the lead heading into Sunday's finale, although the NFC trimmed into the margin when Detroit Lions receiver Amon Ra St. Brown won the best catch contest.
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith delivered the winning touchdown pass to Dallas Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb with 12 seconds remaining to take the first of the three flag football games for the NFC, before the AFC won the next to force a decider.
In the second, Bills receiver Stefon Diggs caught the game-winning touchdown, but not before he accidentally threw an earlier interception to his brother, Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs.
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins was the hero in the final game, throwing passing touchdowns to team-mate Justin Jefferson as well as San Francisco 49ers pair George Kittle and Kyle Juszczyk to secure the victory.
NFC players received $84,000 each for taking part and coming away with the win, while AFC players earned $42,000.
