Super Bowl Tickets are Less Affordable than Ever

And by everything, we mean everything - from daily necessities like housing, food, and transportation to the things that take the edge off, be it a beer at your local bar or a trip to the theater. Given the inflation being experienced at various places across the globe, including the US, it's no surprise that Super Bowl tickets are less affordable than ever now. Over the last decade, ticket prices have gone up by a whopping 291%, and at the 2024 Super Bowl, an average ticket would've set you back by around $10,000! You heard it right, so the average fan looking to support their team would have to bear a pretty hard pocket pinch. 

What's the Super Bowl Craze All About?

For the uninitiated, the Super Bowl is a one-of-a-kind sporting event that's become a yearly pilgrimage of sorts for American football fans. Essentially, it is the United States’ NFL (National Football League) league championship game. The first Super Bowl was held in 1967 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in California and the game was between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Green Bay Packers. The Green Bay Packers won, going down in history as the first-ever Super Bowl champions. 

Interestingly, the name Super Bowl was coined in 1969, with the game previously being called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game. The trophy given to the winning team at the Super Bowl was named the Vince Lombardi Trophy in honor of football coach Vince Lombardi who guided the Green Bay Packers to victory at the first and second Super Bowls. 

As years passed, the event gained immense popularity among sports enthusiasts across the country, especially after the NFL-AFL merger in 1970. Viewership initially peaked between 1977-87 when it was estimated that around 44.4% of American households with TVs tuned in to watch the game. The Super Bowl is traditionally held on a Sunday and the day it's held is christened Super Bowl Sunday across the US. 

The game is held in a different city each year and has evolved into an unofficial American holiday of sorts with festivities and media buildup in full swing over the week preceding the game. All Super Bowls since the first game in 1967 have been sellouts, despite the rising ticket prices. American football fans who don't make it to the stadium usually gather at local bars or host watch parties, making the Super Bowl one of the most consistent TV-ratings leaders as well. 

The Super Bowl and Television

The event is the most-watched TV show in the US, with many Super Bowls making it to the list of the most-viewed televised sporting events in history. According to a study by Initiative, a media research firm based in New York, it was estimated that the global audience tuning in to watch Super Bowl XXXIX was around 93 million. The record for the highest average US viewership was held by Super Bowl LVII where around 115.1 million people watched the game on their TV screens, making it the television broadcast with the highest views in American history. Super Bowl LVIII in 2024 went on to break that record with around 123 million Americans staying glued to their television screens.

The popularity of the Super Bowl as a televised event of course makes the commercial air-time during the broadcast hugely coveted and extremely expensive. For instance, a thirty-second commercial slot during the 2016 broadcast would have set you back by about $4.8 million! Most of the advertisements airing on these slots feature celebrities and big brands looking to reach out to a large cross-sectional audience. 

Super Bowl Entertainment

The Super Bowl, while primarily being a sporting event, has gone beyond that definition and is now regarded as an entertainment extravaganza like no other.

The Super Bowl provides a platform for performing artists with entertainment segments being held during the breaks in the game as well as at the inauguration and the closing ceremony. The 2024 Super Bowl saw eight-time Grammy winner Usher take the stage by storm during the famous Super Bowl Halftime Show. He was joined by Alicia Keys and H.E.R. who gave brief appearances. 

Over the years, a whole host of brilliant artists such as the legendary Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Rihanna, Beyonce, Eminem, Katy Perry, Bruce Springsteen and bands like Coldplay, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and The Rolling Stones have performed at the Super Bowl and as Usher said at an interview this year, playing at the Super Bowl is a part of any American performance artist's bucket list now.

Tickets and Prices

While the Super Bowl has become a juggernaut of entertainment, let's not forget that the cost of entertainment production is at an all-time high in the post-pandemic world. 

This in turn has translated into a steep price hike where Super Bowl tickets are concerned. As mentioned, there has been a close to 300% hike in ticket prices over the last ten years and average Super Bowl ticket prices continue to rise. The 2024 Super Bowl saw the average ticket price reaching a staggering $10,000. And that's not all, fans traveling to watch the game have the cost of hotels, food, and travel to take into account as well making the Super Bowl less affordable than ever for the average American. Surveys estimated that Chiefs fans who would be traveling to LA from Kansas to watch the 2024 Super Bowl were likely to spend around $13,000 at the very least. 

While crowds continue to gather at stadiums across the US to participate in the extravaganza that is the Super Bowl, one can't help wishing for the organizers to cut sports enthusiasts some slack and make Super Bowl tickets a little more affordable. Until that materializes, the TV at home or a local joint can always be your best friend on Super Bowl Sunday.