HONOLULU -- Jevon Kearse and his AFC Pro Bowl teammates each earned $30,000 and a year's worth of bragging rights.

"Of course I'm going to rub it in," the Tennessee defensive end said after the AFC's 38-30 victory over the NFC on Saturday. "They would if they won."

The AFC has won consecutive Pro Bowls and five of the last six.

"I guess the AFC was a little underrated," NFC safety Sammy Knight of New Orleans said. "I guess they took it to heart and really tried to stick it to us."

The AFC also has won the last two Super Bowls.

"I think we don't get enough respect," said cornerback Ty Law of Super Bowl champion New England. "I think we get it sooner or later. We'll eventually get it. If not, that's why the game is played."

Law said he's getting used to his underdog status.

"I heard we were underdogs coming in to the Pro Bowl, but it was like that all year long," he said. "Underdog is my favorite cartoon and he won again."

Baltimore tight end Shannon Sharpe said the AFC doesn't get the respect because the conference doesn't have the big-name players such as St. Louis' Kurt Warner and Marshall Faulk and New York's Michael Strahan, the single-season sack leader.

"They can have all the big-name players they want," Sharpe said. "We just play and make it happen when it counts. They got a lot to be proud of, but you still got to play the game, the names don't win you a game.

Oakland receiver Tim Brown said the AFC fares better these days than when he first entered the league.

"My first three or four times over here, we lost every time and the NFC was winning the Super Bowls," Brown said. "That's changed over the years, we've been pretty dominant over here. It's just one of those cyclical things.

"Right now it's just our time and we've got to keep it going as long as we can. We have something to prove, and that's what we've been trying to do."

For Kearse, he wouldn't want it any other way.

"Some guys like to take respect instead of sitting back and getting it," Kearse said. "Like the Super Bowl and the Pro Bowl, we've got to go in and take it. We like to get it the hard way."