Danecdotes: Super Bowl facts and figures

We are now just a few days away from Super Bowl LVII, where the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs will square off for a place in history.

A few years ago, I wrote a column outlining some facts I found interesting about the big game. Well, I have found a few more, so here goes.

The Super Bowl costs everyone

An estimated 17 million people will miss work the day after the big game, which amounts to roughly $4 billion in lost productivity for companies.

Working for free?

When Rihanna takes the stage for the Super Bowl Halftime Show, she will be paid exactly zero dollars.

That’s right. The Super Bowl halftime show performer does not directly make one cent during their show. The NFL only covers the expenses and production costs, but does not pay the performers themselves.

So why would any musician agree to take part? Because the halftime show puts them in front of roughly 100 million viewers. It’s pretty tough to beat that level of exposure.

It seemingly works in their favor, too. Shakira’s Spotify streams went up by 230% and Jennifer Lopez’ went up by 335% after their joint performance in 2020.

Vikings in sad, sad company

The Vikings are tied for a terrible record, if you can believe it. They and the Buffalo Bills have made four Super Bowls, yet have never won the big game.

It could be worse, I suppose. The Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns have never been to a Super Bowl.

The Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers have been to two without winning, while the Arizona Cardinals, Tennessee Titans and Los Angeles (previously San Diego) Chargers all lost in their only Super Bowl appearances.

This commercial better be worth it

A 30-second ad during the Super Bowl will now cost roughly $6.5 million – that equates to nearly $217,000 per second.

Over the past 20 years, the cost of an ad has gone up nearly 200%. More than a quarter of the people who will watch the game say they mainly tune in for the commercials, so I guess that justifies the price tag to companies.

Good to be the Patriots

The New England Patriots are the only team in NFL history whose number of Super Bowl appearances is in the double digits.

They’ve been to the big dance 11 times (nine in this century), walking away with the Lombardi Trophy six times, tied for most with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Steelers, Denver Broncos and Dallas Cowboys have been to the big game eight times, with the Steelers winning six, Dallas winning five and Denver winning three.

Only two teams have been to multiple Super Bowls and never lost – the Baltimore Ravens and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, both winning two.

Cool it, home teams

We went 54 years without a team winning or even playing in a Super Bowl in its home city. It doesn’t help that so many Super Bowls take place in Tampa Bay, Miami, Los Angeles, San Diego and New Orleans, and all of those cities combine for seven or so titles.

Then Tampa Bay claimed a title at home in 2021. As if that wasn’t enough, the Los Angeles Rams did the same thing the very next year.

Now we return to the norm, as Philadelphia and Kansas City will face off in the Arizona desert. Will it take another 54 years for a team to win a title at home? I guess we’ll see

Enjoy the game!

Dan Determan, sports writer/staff writer, may be reached at 218-855-5879 or dan.determan@pineandlakes.com . Follow him on Facebook and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/@PEJ_Dan.