Economic Impact of the Super Bowl

Written by Irene Jiang (W’25)

It has been an exciting year for Philly, with the Eagles making it to the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl is an incredibly popular sporting event that determines the NFL champion of the year. This large sporting event gathers millions of fans to root for their favorite teams. Although we know the social impacts of the Super Bowl firsthand, have you ever wondered what the economic impact looks like?

The Super Bowl, also known as the championship game of the National Football League (NFL), is considered one of the biggest entertainment events in the United States each year. Anthony Evans, a senior research fellow for the L. William Seidman Institute (the consultancy arm of the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University), studied the financial impacts of the Super Bowl. He explains, “There is nothing else like it in the U.S. sporting calendar. For seven to 10 days, a host city becomes the place to be for TV celebrities, Hollywood superstars, singers, and sports stars. And many of those lucky enough to have a ticket to the game itself are accompanied by family members who enjoy everything the host city has to offer.”

It is roughly estimated that around 100 million viewers tune in to watch the Super Bowl each year. The event brings large amounts of visitors into the hosting city, meaning more business for regional hotels, restaurants, entertainment venues, and retail businesses. Tim DeSchriver, associate professor of sport management at the University of Delaware’s Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics, explains, “You’re primarily talking about service industry jobs. You need that service when you have those crowds. So restaurant workers, hotel workers, Uber and Lyft drivers. Once the crowd goes away, they don’t need those service workers, but that’s still money in people’s pockets. So even if they’re temporary jobs, that’s still important.” In the 2020 Super Bowl (49ers vs. Chiefs) hosted in Miami, the Super Bowl Host Committee and Miami Beach commissions reported that over 4,500 new jobs were brought to the area for the event.

In short, the economic impact of the Super Bowl is huge, with figures that can exceed $600 million between direct and indirect revenues. The total economic impact of the 2020 Super Bowl was estimated to be $571 million.

In a Linkedin article, Amir Somoggi (Managing Director at Sports Value) published an article titled “Super Bowl's economic impact exceeds US$ 600 million. An analysis far beyond the most expensive 30 seconds on TV.” Here are some key facts from his article that help illustrate the full financial and economic impact of the event:

  • In 2008, the Super Bowl in Arizona generated US$ 501 million between direct and indirect impacts on the economy

  • In 2015, it was re-hosted in Phoenix and the total economic impact was US$ 720 million (with 177,000 people going to the event, 70 mil inside the arena)

  • According to Hive, Sponsoring brands had US$ 170 million in brand exposure value

  • The average spectator spend inside the arena for a Super Bowl event is $167 per fan.

  • According to Billboard, in 2020, Jennifer Lopez and Shakira sold 21 K songs in download format aka 893% growth from before the event due to their halftime show performance

  • Statista estimates that the average consumption of food, beverage and house ornaments is around $85.36 per home

However, it is important to note that not everyone agrees that the Super Bowl brings enormous economic impact. For further reading, Patrick Rishe, in an article published by Forbes, explains the various points of dispute in his article “Why the Economic Impact of Super Bowls is So Controversial.”

Sources:

https://news.asu.edu/20230120-arizona-impact-super-bowl-super-lucrative

https://lasuperbowlhc.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Super-Bowl-LVI-Economic-Impact-Report.pdf

https://lerner.udel.edu/seeing-opportunity/the-business-side-of-the-super-bowl/#:~:text=In%202020%20when%20the%2049ers,economic%20impact%20of%20%24571%20million.

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