Last year’s Pro Bowl at Aloha Stadium broke the competitive tie between the AFC and NFC.

Whether the conclusion of today’s game signals a severing of the bond between the state and the NFL’s all-star game remains unclear.

When the stadium clock hits double zeroes this afternoon, a two-year deal between the state and the league to hold the Pro Bowl in Hawaii will also expire. The uncertainty over the game’s future in the islands has been a point of discussion over the week leading up to today’s 2 p.m. kickoff.

This year’s game will be the 32nd held at Aloha Stadium in the game’s 42-year history, with 2010’s appearance in Miami Gardens, Fla., representing the lone interruption since the NFL moved the event to Hawaii in 1980.

Over that time, the game has provided a week of postseason relaxation — with a few practices mixed in, of course — for the players selected to the AFC and NFC rosters. While some have occasionally chosen to skip out on the lengthy trip over the Pacific, others relish the island respite that comes with the recognition of ranking with the league’s elite.

"I’ve been here eight years now, I tell you what, this experience here is unbelievable," San Diego Chargers tight end Antonio Gates said Saturday. "I love the people, the weather is beautiful, just getting the rest and relaxing, there’s no better place than having it here. Guys feel like they actually accomplished something.

"This feels like a vacation. … When it was in Florida it was still phenomenal, but when you hear the word ‘Hawaii’ that’s a goal for all the players to reach, and say ‘I want to go to Hawaii.’ That’s what’s so wonderful about this."

While the players in town have expressed their preference for playing in Hawaii, the decision will come down to the negotiations — or "conversations between friends," as Gov. Neil Abercrombie termed the talks last week — between the NFL and Hawaii Tourism Authority over the contract, which currently has the state paying the league $4 million for the right to host the game, which in turn generates tourism revenue for the state.

Ray Anderson, the NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations, said last Tuesday the league is "very confident we will continue to have good-faith discussions with the state of Hawaii."

With kickoff approaching, Anderson said his focus was fixed on today’s game rather than on what the game’s future might hold.

"It’s been a history that’s been certainly, we think, illustrious," Anderson said as the NFC practiced at Aloha Stadium on Saturday. "The players and coaches will certainly vouch for Hawaii every day they’re here. It’s been a positive history and hopefully that will be able to continue. But I’ll leave that discussion for another day."

If the Pro Bowl were to leave, Carolina Panthers receiver Steve Smith said, if selected, he might not participate in a game held outside of Hawaii.

"I’m all in if it’s here," Smith said earlier in the week. "If it’s not, to be honest, I’d keep my kids in school."

For now, the AFC and NFC all-stars will again take the field in the penultimate event on the NFL calendar, with the Pro Bowl filling the Sunday before the Super Bowl for the third straight year. The time slot means the Pro Bowl again represents something of a consolation prize for the all-stars while the New England Patriots and New York Giants prepare for their trips to Indianapolis.

"It’s nice to be out here with a lot of the top guys in the league, just to come out here and relax," Baltimore Ravens fullback Vonta Leach said. "Obviously, it’s not where I wanted to be, but it’s a good vacation here, so we’re just out here enjoying it."

As for the game itself, the NFC leads the all-time series 21-20 and claimed a 16-15 edge in games played in Hawaii with last year’s 55-41 win.

The play tends to reflect the laid-back nature of the week —for a while at least, as bragging rights and the payouts ($50,000 to the winners and $25,000 to the losing team) come into view late in the contest.

"Ultimately, we still have to win the game," Gates said. "It’s still a pride thing, AFC vs. NFC. We feel like we are the tougher division and they feel the same. So I think it’ll be fun. It’ll start getting heated up in the fourth quarter, as everyone knows."