The Denver Broncos placed an American Football Conference-high nine players, matching the Minnesota Vikings for the most in the NFL, on the all-star squad that will meet the National Football Conference all-stars in the 1999 AFC-NFC Pro Bowl, the NFL announced today.

The Pro Bowl will be played for the 20th consecutive year at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii on Sunday, February 7 at 1:00 PM HT and will be broadcast live at 6:00 PM ET by ABC-TV and CBS Radio.

The Buffalo Bills will send six players to the game, the Baltimore Ravens five and the New York Jets four. Sixteen AFC players were selected to the Pro Bowl for the first time.

The NFL is the only professional sports league that combines voting by fans, coaches and players in determining its all-star teams. The consensus vote of fans counted as one-third of the total. Each team had two equal votes, those of the coach and the players with no one permitted to vote for a player on his own team. The 42-man AFC squad is comprised of 21 offensive and 17 defensive players plus four specialists. A 43rd "need" player will be chosen by the AFC head coach and must be a linebacker or defensive end.

Three quarterbacks are named to each Pro Bowl squad. This year’s starting AFC quarterback is JOHN ELWAY of the Broncos. Elway, who was selected for the ninth time (1987-88, ’90, ’92, ’94-95, ‘97-98), has an NFL-record 147 victories as a starter. His selection ties DAN MARINO and WARREN MOON for the most among quarterbacks in AFC-NFC Pro Bowl history. Reserves are AFC passing leader VINNY TESTAVERDE of the New York Jets, his second selection, and first-time Pro Bowl selection DOUG FLUTIE of the Buffalo Bills.

Starting alongside Elway in the AFC backfield will be teammate TERRELL DAVIS and MARSHALL FAULK of the Indianapolis Colts, the conference’s top two rushers. Davis, making his third consecutive Pro Bowl appearance, has an NFL-high 1,801 yards and needs 199 to become the fourth player in league history to rush for 2,000 yards. Davis was the only NFL player selected as a unanimous choice by coaches, fans and players.

Faulk, who rushed for a record 180 yards in winning 1995 Pro Bowl MVP honors, leads the NFL with 2,090 scrimmage yards and needs 138 receiving yards to become the second player in NFL history with 1,000 rushing and 1,000 receiving yards in the same season (ROGER CRAIG, 1985). EDDIE GEORGE of the Tennessee Oilers is the reserve running back.

Including Davis and Elway, five Broncos choices will be Pro Bowl starters – the most starters for any team in the NFL. Other Denver starters are free safety STEVE ATWATER, selected for the eighth time; first-time Pro Bowl receiver

ED MC CAFFREY; and tight end SHANNON SHARPE, chosen for the seventh consecutive year. Broncos reserves are kicker JASON ELAM, tackle TONY JONES, center TOM NALEN and outside linebacker BILL ROMANOWSKI. McCaffrey leads the AFC with 10 touchdown catches. Elam tied a 28-year-old NFL record with a 63-yard field goal on October 25.

Among the Bills’ six selections are starters RUBEN BROWN at guard and BRUCE SMITH at defensive end. Smith and Tennessee Oilers guard BRUCE MATTHEWS tie Cincinnati Bengals Pro Football Hall of Fame tackle ANTHONY MUNOZ for the third-most selections in AFC-NFC Pro Bowl history with 11. Buffalo also will send interior lineman TED WASHINGTON and three first-time Pro Bowl players – Flutie, fullback SAM GASH and wide receiver ERIC MOULDS. Moulds leads the AFC with 1,171 receiving yards.

The Ravens’ five players named to the AFC squad are starters MICHAEL MC CRARY at defensive end and JONATHAN OGDEN at tackle, reserve inside linebacker RAY LEWIS and a pair of special teamers -- kick return specialist JERMAINE LEWIS and special-teams choice BENNIE THOMPSON. McCrary ranks second in the AFC with 14.5 sacks. Jermaine Lewis is tied for tops in the AFC with two punt return touchdowns.

New York Jets joining Testaverde on the squad are starting cornerback AARON GLENN, starting outside linebacker MO LEWIS and reserve wide receiver KEYSHAWN JOHNSON. Johnson is tied for second in the conference with nine touchdown catches.

Other starters on offense are tackle TONY BOSELLI and wide receiver JIMMY SMITH of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Pittsburgh Steelers center DERMONTTI DAWSON and Tennessee guard Bruce Matthews. Dawson makes his seventh consecutive Pro Bowl trip while Matthews earned his 11th consecutive selection – the longest active streak in the AFC.

Tight end BEN COATES of the New England Patriots and guard WILL SHIELDS of the Kansas City Chiefs complete the AFC offense. Coates makes his fifth consecutive Pro Bowl appearance, while Shields appears for the fourth consecutive year.

The San Diego Chargers, with starters RODNEY HARRISON at strong safety and JUNIOR SEAU at inside linebacker, join the Jets as the only AFC clubs with two defensive starters. Seau earned his eighth consecutive selection.

Other defensive starters include Seattle Seahawks outside linebacker CHAD BROWN, Miami Dolphins interior lineman TIM BOWENS, New England Patriots cornerback TY LAW and Oakland Raiders interior lineman DARRELL RUSSELL. Law is tied for the NFL lead with eight interceptions.

Completing the AFC defensive reserves are defensive end MICHAEL SINCLAIR and cornerback SHAWN SPRINGS of Seattle and strong safety LAWYER MILLOY of New England. Sinclair, who leads the AFC with 15 sacks, makes his third consecutive appearance – the most among any player with NFL Europe League experience. Springs, who is tied for second in the AFC with seven interceptions, and Milloy each make their first Pro Bowl appearance.

CRAIG HENTRICH of the Oilers, who leads the NFL with a 48.1-yard average and a 39.9 net average, is the AFC punter.

The American Football Conference defeated the National Conference 29-24 in last season’s meeting. The NFC leads the series 15-13. The coaching staff will be from the AFC Championship Game runner-up team.

The selected players with the most votes at each position are the designated starters. Under terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, each player on the winning team receives $25,000, while each player on the losing squad earns $12,500.

(* First-time Pro Bowl selection)

OFFENSE

Wide receivers – Jimmy Smith, Jacksonville; *Ed McCaffrey, Denver; *Eric Moulds, Buffalo; *Keyshawn Johnson, New York Jets

Tackles – Tony Boselli, Jacksonville; Jonathan Ogden, Baltimore; *Tony Jones, Denver

Guards – Ruben Brown, Buffalo; Bruce Matthews, Tennessee; Will Shields, Kansas City

Centers – Dermontti Dawson, Pittsburgh; Tom Nalen, Denver

Tight Ends – Shannon Sharpe, Denver; Ben Coates, New England

Quarterbacks – John Elway, Denver; Vinny Testaverde, New York Jets; *Doug Flutie, Buffalo

Running backs – Terrell Davis, Denver; Marshall Faulk, Indianapolis; Eddie George, Tennessee

Fullback – *Sam Gash, Buffalo

DEFENSE

Ends – *Michael McCrary, Baltimore; Bruce Smith, Buffalo; Michael Sinclair, Seattle

Interior linemen – *Darrell Russell, Oakland; *Tim Bowens, Miami; Ted Washington, Buffalo

Outside linebackers – Chad Brown, Seattle; *Mo Lewis, New York Jets; Bill Romanowski, Denver

Inside linebackers – Junior Seau, San Diego; Ray Lewis, Baltimore

Cornerbacks – *Ty Law, New England; Aaron Glenn, New York Jets; *Shawn Springs, Seattle

Strong safeties – *Rodney Harrison, San Diego; *Lawyer Milloy, New England

Free safety – Steve Atwater, Denver

SPECIALISTS

Punter – *Craig Hentrich, Tennessee

Placekicker – Jason Elam, Denver

Kick return specialist – *Jermaine Lewis, Baltimore