It took a once-in-a-century global pandemic to slow the revenue runaway freight train that is the NFL’s Super Bowl. Despite the United States’ COVID-19 restrictions, which hampered event gatherings and consumption in 2021, Super Bowl 55 still generated nearly $14-billion in consumer spending. But how much money is spent on the Super Bowl?
How Much Money is Spent on the Super Bowl in the U.S.?
Time will tell if the omicron coronavirus variant will impact consumer spending ahead of Super Bowl 56 in Los Angeles, but odds are that total dollars spent will be much higher than last February's big game.
Pop Culture
From parties, food & beverages, team apparel, and 30-second ad spots – pro football’s championship Sunday is in a way its own micro-economy. Here are the estimated Super Bowl-related total dollars spent in the United States and the average amount spent per adult since 2011:
| Super Bowl Year | Total Consumer Spending (in Billions) | Average Adult Consumer Spending (Rounded) |
| 2021 | $13.9 | $75 / person |
| 2020 | $17.2 | $87 |
| 2019 | $14.8 | $81 |
| 2018 | $15.3 | $81 |
| 2017 | $14.1 | $75 |
| 2016 | $15.5 | $82 |
| 2015 | $14.3 | $89 |
| 2014 | $12.4 | $79 |
| 2013 | $12.3 | $82 |
| 2012 | $11.0 | $76 |
| 2011 | $10.2 | $72 |
According to the National Retail Federation’s stats, the pandemic slashed total consumer spending between Super Bowl LIV in 2020 and Super Bowl LV in 2021 by $3.2-billion, down 21%. Adults living in the United States spent $12 less, on average, on Super Bowl-related purchases. The 11-year high in adult consumer spending was $89 per person back in 2015 when the Seattle Seahawks faced the New England Patriots in an all-time classic championship game.
And to think, the tens-of-billions of dollars spent doesn’t even include online football betting. Sports gambling sites like Bovada, BetOnline and SportsBetting.ag, are part of a sports betting industry that will likely accept more than $4,000,000,000 in Super Bowl bets each year moving forward.
How Much Does the United States Wager on the Super Bowl?
Ahead of Super Bowl LV, between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the American Gaming Association estimated that more than 23-million Americans would wager more than $4-billion. What’s most fascinating about that figure is that by the AGA’s calculations, a record 7.6-million people would place a Super Bowl bet at the best online sportsbooks, a rise of 63% year-over-year.
How Much Does it Cost to Actually Produce the Super Bowl?
In the spring of 2021, the NFL announced a new 11-year deal with its television broadcasting rights partners — CBS, FOX, NBC, ESPN, and Amazon — valued at $113-billion with an opt-out clause after seven years. With these networks dumping so much money into their NFL coverage, a solid chunk of their return on investment comes every four years when the big four produce the Super Bowl.
Despite the vastness of the internet, it’s difficult to find a true, hard number of total Super Bowl production costs. After all, it’s going to cost CBS more to produce than NBC because color-commentator Tony Romo’s annual salary of $17-million to play Robin to Jim Nantz’s Batman is an industry-high.
The Weeknd performs at halftime of Super Bowl 55.
However, if we look at this year’s Super Bowl host network, NBC, and realize they’ve invested approximately $2-billion / year for the next 11 years to air 18 games (17 regular seasons and one Wild Card playoff game), that works out to $111,111,111.11 per game in rights fees paid to the NFL alone.
You still have to factor in staffing, production, overhead, etc, etc. These networks spend billions of dollars to earn the Super Bowl TV rights every four years and hope they can turn a profit by pushing eyeballs to their other comedic and dramatic weekly programming.
As for the halftime show, the NFL says it covers expenses and production costs (typically through sponsors), but doesn’t pay the artists directly. When Jennifer Lopez and Shakira took the stage a few years ago, it cost the league $13-million. The Weeknd said he invested $7-million of his own money into his performance but was likely reimbursed by record labels and sponsors.
How Much Money is Spent on Super Bowl Commercials?
In addition to selling million-dollar ad spots for the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics, NBC’s sales department was charging $6.5-million per 30-second Super Bowl 56 commercial. That’s up from the $5.5-million 30-second ad spot CBS charged during Super Bowl 55 in 2021.
The total amount of Super Bowl commercial slots available ranges between 40 and 50 historically. So, if you do some back-of-the-napkin math, $6.5-million multiplied by 45 commercials works out to nearly $293,000,000 or about 15% of the $2-billion-per-year NBC has invested in its new NFL television rights deal.
| Super Bowl Year | 30-Second Ad Spot Cost |
| 2022 – Super Bowl LVI | $6.5-million |
| 2021 – Super Bowl LV | $5.6-million |
| 2020 – Super Bowl LIV | $5.6-million |
| 2019 – Super Bowl LIII | $5.3-million |
| 2018 – Super Bowl LII | $5-million |
Data via Statista
While many Super Bowl commercials over the past few years have struck more of a serious tone taking aim at the country’s political divide, it would only be right for NBC executives to dust off the classic Betty White “Snickers” ad from 2010 and pay homage to the iconic actress.
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