Super Bowl LVIII is scheduled for Sunday, February 11 at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada (a suburb of Las Vegas). The game between the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers will be broadcast live on CBS, Nickelodeon, Univision, Paramount+, NFL+ and Vix. Kick-off will be around 6:30 p.m. (ET). This year’s big game has the added attraction of the chance Taylor Swift will be a spectator. Below are some facts about the biggest sporting event each year, the most watched TV program each year and the most expensive ads to buy each year.
Teams/Cities
· In Super Bowl LVIII, the San Francisco 49ers will represent the NFC. For the regular season the 49ers had a won-loss record of 12-5 and was the NFC’s top seeded team heading into the playoffs. The Kansas City Chiefs will represent the AFC. In the regular season the Chiefs had a won-loss record of 11-6 and was third seeded in the AFC heading into the postseason.
· The San Francisco 49ers will be appearing in their eighth Super Bowl with a record of 5-2. The eight appearances match the Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos for the second highest. Only the New England Patriots with 11 have appeared in more Super Bowls. The 49ers five wins were in (1981, 1984, 1988, 1989 and 1994). The two losses came in 2012 and 2019.
· The Kansas City Chiefs will be appearing in their sixth Super Bowl, including the fourth time in five years. They have a Super Bowl record of 3-2. The Chiefs won in 1969, 2019 and 2022. The two losses came in the first Super Bowl in 1966 and 2020.
· San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose is the tenth largest TV market. Kansas City ranks #34.
· The Kansas Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers are playing in their second Super Bowl. The Chiefs defeated the 49ers in 2019 by a score of 31-20. This will be the eighth Super Bowl rematch, the Miami Dolphins and Washington met in 1972 and 1982. The 49ers and Cincinnati Bengals met in 1981 and 1988. The Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills met in 1992 and 1993. The Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots met in 2004 and 2018. The Patriots and New York Giants met in 2007 and 2011. The Patriots and St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams met in 2001 and 2018. The Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas is the only three-time Super Bowl matchup (1975, 1978 and 1995).
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· Overall, Kansas City and San Francisco have met 15 times (including Super Bowl LIV) with Chiefs winning eight times. The last time they met was during the 2022 regular season when Kansas City won 44-23. The last time San Francisco defeated Kansas City was in 2014.
· Last year Kansas City defeated Philadelphia 38-to-35 to win Super Bowl LVII. If Kansas City defeats San Francisco it will be the ninth time an NFL team won back-to-back titles. The others were Green Bay Packers (1966-67), Miami Dolphins (1972-73), Pittsburgh Steelers (twice 1974-75 & 1978-79), San Francisco 49ers (1988-89) Dallas Cowboys (1992-93), Denver Broncos (1997-98) and New England Patriots (2003-04).
· According to Forbes, of the 32 franchises the San Francisco 49ers are the ninth most NFL valuable at $6 billion. The Kansas City Chiefs rank #23 at $4.3 billion.
Location/Stadium
· Las Vegas will be hosting its first Super Bowl in Allegiant Stadium.
· By hosting the Super Bowl, it is projected Las Vegas will add $1.1 billion to its economy.
· Las Vegas is the 40th largest TV market.
· Allegiant Stadium is a domed venue located in nearby Paradise, Nevada. The stadium opened in 2020 at a cost of $1.9 billion. It is the home of the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders who relocated from Oakland in 2020 as well as the UNLV football team.
· For NFL games, Allegiant Stadium has a seating capacity of 65,000 and ranks 27th among the 30 NFL stadiums in size. There are 128 executive suites in the stadium.
· In 2019, Allegiant had reportedly paid between $20 million and $25 million a year for the naming rights. At the time of the deal, it was the costliest naming rights for any stadium.
· According to TickPick, as of February 5, the least expensive ticket to get into the Allegiant Stadium costs $6,944.
Broadcast/Streaming
· CBS will be televising the Super Bowl. This will be the 22nd time CBS will televise the Super Bowl, more than any other network.
· For CBS, Jim Nantz will be providing the play-by-play and Tony Romo the color commentary. For Nantz this will be his seventh Super Bowl and for Tony Romo his third. Tracy Wolfson and Evan Washburn will add sideline commentary. Jay Feely will provide special team analysis and George Strerafore will cover rules.
· The game will also be streamed on Paramount+ and the NFL+/NFL.com and NFL app. Vix will stream the game in Spanish.
· An alternative feed of the Super Bowl LVIII game will be televised on Paramount Global’s youth targeted cable network Nickelodeon. On Nick, Noah Eagle will be providing play-by-play with Nate Burleson and Dylan Gilmour adding color commentary. Univision will televise the game in Spanish with Ramsés Sandoval providing play-by-play and Guillermo Schutz adding color commentary. Westwood One will, once again, provide radio coverage with Kevin Harlon (play-by-play) and Kurt Warner (color commentary).
· This will be the first Super Bowl played under a new contract between the NFL and their media partners which increased the rights by about 80%. In the future, ABC/ESPN will be added to the rotation, so all four major broadcast networks will alternate in televising the “big game” through the 2033 season.
· Next year, Super Bowl LIX will be at the Caesar’s SuperDome in New Orleans on February 9, 2025. Fox will televise the game.
Players/Head Coaches
· Kansas City Chiefs Andy Reid will be coaching his fifth Super Bowl and fourth in five years with the Kansas City Chiefs. Reid also coached the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl appearance in 2004. Reid has a Super Bowl record of 2-2. The only head coaches that have won more than two Super Bowls are Bill Belichick (six), Chuck Noll (four) and Bill Walsh and Joe Gibbs with three each.
· The 49ers Kyle Shanahan will be coaching his second Super Bowl. Shanahan was the head coach when the 49ers lost the Super Bowl to the Chiefs in 2019. Kyle Shanahan’s father Mike, had won back-to-back Super Bowls in 1997 and 1998 as head coach of the Denver Broncos. If the 49ers win, it would be the first time a father and son won Super Bowls as head coach.
· If the 49ers win, running back Christian McCaffrey will join his father Ed McCaffrey in becoming only the second father-son combination to win a Super Bowl for the same team. Ed McCaffrey, a wide receiver, had won a Super Bowl with the 49ers in 1994. (Later in his career, the elder McCaffrey also won two Super Bowls with the Denver Broncos). The only other father-son combination to accomplish this feat were New York Giants linebacker Steve DeOssie and his son Zak DeOssie, a long-snapper.
Advertisers
· CBS says a :30 ad in Super Bowl LVIII cost $7 million. In early November CBS had announced Super Bowl LVIII had been “virtually sold out”. The average cost for a Super Bowl ad is double the cost from twelve years ago.
· The production cost of a Super Bowl ad can range $2.5 million to $ 3 million. Also, getting a celebrity as a spokesperson can cost anywhere from $500,000 to millions.
· According to Variety, Nickelodeon has also sold its commercial inventory with the cost of a:30 ad ranging from $200,000 to $300,000. There are 15 “only Nick ads” with such product categories as toys, retailers, fast foods, replacing such “adult advertisers” as beer.
· According to Guideline’s Forward Bookings data, a :30 ad for Super Bowl LVIII currently costs $6.47 million, an 11% increase from last year’s $5.83 million paid unit rate.
· Last year, iSpot reported 72% of Super Bowl ads last year were categorized as “funny and safe” and has been trending upward. Another advertising trend seeing an increase is having a female celebrity as a spokesperson.
· For the first time in 23 years none of the “Big 3” domestic carmakers will not be running a Super Bowl ad. iSpot found automotive ads (domestic and imported) accounted for 10.4% of all NFL ad impressions this season, more than any other product category. There will be several imported automakers advertising.
· Taboola reports among this year’s Super Bowl ads, readership about Budweiser’s reunion of the popular Clydesdales-dog ad has generated interest. Also, the teaser ad with Kris Jenner appearing in an Oreo ad has sparked strong online interest.
· Fox generated roughly $600 million with in-game advertising in last year’s Super Bowl.
Audiences
· Last year’s Super Bowl on Fox averaged 115.1 million viewers, making it the most watched television program in U.S. history. Surpassing the average audience of the 2014 Super Bowl with at 114.8 million viewers.
· For last year’s “big game”, an estmated 25 million had watched the game out-of-home. The Spanish language network Fox Deportes averaged 882,000 viewers.
· Nine of the ten most watched television programs in U.S. history have been Super Bowls. The M*A*S*H finale in February 1983 is the only outlier.
· The average audience for last year’s Super Bowl was more than twice the size of the AFC Championship Game (53.1 million), the second most watched program in 2023.
· The NFL said approximately last year’s Super Bowl had about 200 million unique viewers, roughly 60% of the total U.S. TV audience.
· Globally, 56 million people watched Super Bowl LVII, a 7% increase from the previous year. Canada and Mexico were the two largest markets both averaging over eight million viewers.
· During the regular season, females account for about 30%-to-35% of viewers. For Super Bowls however, females account for closer to half the total audience. This year the percentage could be even greater with the possibility Taylor Swift will be in attendance.
· A survey from Lending Tree found 24% of Gen Z and 20% of millennials said they were interested in watching the Super Bowl because of Taylor Swift.
· According to a Harris Poll and UKG Workplace Institute, an estimated 16.1 million U.S. employees plan on not going to work on “Super Bowl Monday. About 10 million workers have already requested the day off. Millions of others plan to come in to work late.
Super Bowl Economy
· According to the National Retail Foundation and Prospers Insights and Analytics annual Super Bowl survey, a record 200.5 million plan to watch the “big game”. Over half of them (112.2 million), will either host or attend a Super Bowl party. Another 16.2 million will watch the game at a bar and/or restaurant.
· According to the survey, total spending for food and drinks, decorations, clothing, etc. will reach a record $17.3 billion (more than $86 per person). The previous high had been in 2020 at $17.2 billion. (Last year’s survey found total spending was $16.5 billion.) The survey found 80% of consumers will spend on food and drink, 13% will spend on team apparel, 9% on television sets, with decorations at 8% and furniture 6%.
· For 44% of the viewers the game is the most important part of the Super Bowl. Another 19% responded the halftime show was the most important part and 18% surveyed responded the commercials were the most important.
· In the U.S. only on Thanksgiving Day is there more food consumed than on Super Bowl Sunday. For Super Bowl LVIII, its projected 1.45 billion wings will be eaten, 11.3 million pounds of potato chips will be consumed and 10 million pounds of ribs will be sold during the week prior to the Super Bowl. Also, there is typically a 35% increase in pizza sales on Super Bowl Sunday compared to other Sundays. It is forecast 50 million cases of beer will be purchased.
Music
· Usher will be headlining the halftime show at Super Bowl LVIII. The 45-year old R&B singer will perform for about 13 minutes. Similar to previous half-time performers Usher will not be compensated. Overall, Usher has sold 65 million records globally, has nine number hits on Billboard and won eight Grammy Awards. Usher is also appearing in a Super Bowl ad for Uber Eats.
· The NFL and Apple Music will foot the production bill which can total upwards of $10 million. Usher has announced there will be (unannounced) special guests for the halftime show. For the fifth straight year, Jay-Z’s Roc Nation will produce this year’s halftime show.
· Previously, Usher had performed at the 2011 Super Bowl halftime show which was headlined by the Black Eyed Peas.
· On Super Bowl Sunday, Usher will also be releasing his ninth studio album “Coming Home” his first since 2016.
· Before the game, country singer Reba McEntire will be singing the national anthem. Post Malone will be singing “America the Beautiful”. Andra Day will be the vocalist for "Lift Every Voice and Sing."
· CODA star Daniel Durant, will perform the national anthem in ASL. In addition, actress/model/dancer Anjel Piñero will provide ASL for "America the Beautiful" and Shaheem Sanchez, actor/choreographer for "Lift Every Voice and Sing". Sanchez will also be using ASL at the halftime show.
· Last year’s halftime performer, Rihanna had an increase in digital sales of 390%. The average audience for Rihanna’s half time performance was 121 million, the highest in Super Bowl history.
Wagering
· Currently, 38 states (and Washington, D.C.) have passed legislation legalizing sports betting. Nevada ranks second behind New Jersey in sports betting.
· The American Gaming Association reports last year’s Super Bowl had over 50 million Americans had wagered $16 billion. The highest of any one sporting event of 2023.
· It is forecast nearly 68 million people will make a wager in the Super Bowl or about one in four U.S. adults, setting a record.
· The San Francisco 49ers are 2.5-point favorites to win the Super Bowl. The und/over for total points scored is 47.5.
· While there will be the typical wagering in Super Bowl games besides point spread and under/over, such as who wins the coin toss, which team will score first or who will be Usher’s special guests at halftime. However, with Taylor Swift’s relationship with Travis Kelce there will be a number of possible “prop bets” such as will she be in attendance (Swift is touring in Japan), how many times CBS will show her on camera or even what shade of lipstick she might be wearing.
