BREAKING NEWS: Puppy Bowl 2025 to Feature Record-Breaking 142 Adoptable Pups! .giang

Animal lovers know Super Bowl Sunday is all about the pups!

The Puppy Bowl is back for its 21st year. The annual competition features adoptable puppies taking to the football field to make touchdowns, watch the kitty halftime show, and attempt to win the “Lombarky” trophy. It takes place on the afternoon of Super Bowl Sunday, meaning fans can catch all the cuteness before the big game.

For this year’s Puppy Bowl XXI, there are more adoptable puppy players than ever, with a record 142 puppies from 80 shelters across 40 states and two countries, according to a release from Animal Planet, which will host the event on Feb. 9. A full gallery of all the cute competitors is available on puppybowl.com.

For years, the Puppy Bowl has been the “longest-running call-to-adoption television event.” In 2025, the TV event will continue raising awareness about the importance of pet adoption with “Pup Close and Personal” segments that explore the rescue stories behind some of the furry football players.

The 142 puppies competing on canine football’s biggest day are part of two teams affectionately named Team Fluff and Team Fluff. The squads will be led by puppies making history at the Puppy Bowl. Julep, the competition’s first-ever St. Bernard mix, and Smoosh, the first Pekingese at the Bowl, will spearhead Team Fluff. They will face off against Mr. Pickles, a pug-Chihuahua from Dallas, and Tuani, a Chihuahua-German shepherd from Nicaragua, the heads of Team Ruff.

Puppy Bowl 2025 will also highlight 11 dogs with special needs — including Jolene, an American pit bull terrier who uses a wheelchair, and Sprinkle, an Australian shepherd mix who is blind and hearing impaired.

In addition to the coveted “Lombarky” trophy, pups will strive to be named MVP — most valuable puppy — and to take home the Underdog Award or the Krypto Super Play award, which is up for grabs, thanks to the upcoming Superman film.

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Puppy Bowl returns on Sunday, Feb. 9 at 2:00 p.m. ET/ 11:00 a.m. PT and will be simulcast across Animal Planet, Discovery, TBS, truTV, Max, and discovery+.