Research — Feb 13, 2025
Cost of Super Bowl spot reaches $8M as Chiefs aim for three-peat
By Keith Nissen
Super Bowl 2025 is set to be a landmark event as the Kansas City Chiefs strive to make history by becoming the first team to win three consecutive Lombardi trophies. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Eagles are determined to seek redemption for their 2022 championship defeat against the Chiefs. Scheduled for Feb. 9 and broadcast nationally on FOX (US), this game is the premier television event of the year, drawing in massive audiences and commanding significant advertising dollars. This year, the average cost for a 30-second advertisement has grown to over $7 million, with more than 10 commercials reportedly selling for a record $8 million. This reflects an increase of at least 30% compared to the $5.5 million average rate from five years ago.
In addition to the national broadcast, the game will be available in Spanish on FOX Deportes (US) and Telemundo Holdings Inc. FOX Sports will also stream the Super Bowl for free on its ad-supported streaming platform, Tubi, which will feature game coverage along with the "Tubi Red Carpet at Super Bowl LIX" pregame show. Several live TV streaming services will offer the game via FOX, including YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, and Fubo TV. For viewers outside the US, the Super Bowl can be streamed through a DAZN subscription.
➤ The Super Bowl consistently attracts over 100 million viewers annually, making it the largest live linear audience in the US, which drives advertisers to invest heavily in commercial slots.
➤ This year's Super Bowl will be available on multiple platforms, including a free stream on Tubi, ensuring a wide reach for viewers.
➤ The average cost for a 30-second advertisement during the Super Bowl has risen to over $7 million, with some spots reportedly selling for a record $8 million.
➤ Estimates indicate that the expense per thousand viewers for a Super Bowl ad will likely exceed $55 for the fifth year in a row.
➤ Super Bowl 2025 will look to repeat 2024's record-setting audience, which averaged 123.7 million viewers across all platforms.
Advertisers are eager to connect with the largest live linear audience in the US, as the Super Bowl draws more than 100 million viewers each year. In 2023, when FOX last broadcast the big game, the network reported nearly $600 million in advertising revenue from the event. FOX announced in late fall 2024 that it had sold most of the advertising slots for Super Bowl 2025, with companies committing over $7 million for 30 seconds of airtime. A recent report indicated that the broadcaster has now completely sold out its ad spots for this year's marquee game, with some selling for $8 million each.
Last season, CBS (US) Sports' coverage of Super Bowl 2024 between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers achieved the highest viewership ever for a telecast, with a total audience of 123.7 million average viewers across all platforms, as reported by Nielsen Holdings PLC. This included viewership from the CBS Television Network, Paramount+, Nickelodeon, Univision, and CBS Sports and NFL digital properties such as NFL+. The event on CBS alone attracted 120.0 million viewers, marking the largest audience ever for a single network. Additionally, it became the most streamed Super Bowl in history, driven by a record-setting audience on Paramount+.
Although the cost of advertising spots has risen considerably over the decades, the price range had been stable in the two years prior to this season. Advertisers spent approximately $7 million on average for a 30-second spot during Super Bowl 2023 and Super Bowl 2024. That short plateau of the Super Bowl ad market, despite the NFL's unmatched popularity, could have been attributed to several factors, including the steady viewership data and additional purchasing requirements imposed by most Super Bowl broadcasters on brands.
In the lead-up to Super Bowl 2024, advertising prices were outpacing the growth of the televised audience with estimates showing that the cost per thousand viewers (CPM) for an ad had exceeded $55 for each of the three previous Super Bowls. In comparison, the average CPM for an advertisement on a broadcast network during prime time is approximately $40. This upward trend in CPM continued for Super Bowl 2024, which also saw over a 9% increase in viewership compared to 2023.
Companies continue to view the expense of a Super Bowl ad as a worthwhile investment, given the prestige and enhancement in brand awareness it offers, despite the rising CPM in recent years. Live sports remain the most sought-after programming on live television for advertisers, as represented by the record-setting $8 million commercial slots for this year's Super Bowl. Businesses are analyzing viewership trends across various platforms more meticulously than ever, and if viewership numbers keep breaking records, it will likely lead to a new surge in advertising costs for Super Bowl 2026 and beyond.
Media rights at a glance
This season marked the NFL's second year of its media rights agreements with CBS, NBC (US), FOX, ESPN (US) and Amazon.com Inc., collectively valued at nearly $110 billion over 11 years. These contracts extend through the 2033 season, more than doubling the value of the league's prior agreements, which expired in 2022. Under the current arrangement, CBS, FOX and NBC are each paying an average of over $2 billion annually, with NBC's payments being slightly lower than those of CBS and FOX. ESPN is contributing approximately $2.7 billion each year to continue airing "Monday Night Football" and will also have the opportunity to broadcast the Super Bowl starting in 2026.
These network agreements include provisions for their respective streaming platforms, with Amazon featuring "Thursday Night Football" on Prime Video, paying over $1 billion per season until 2032. Netflix Inc. has entered the NFL media rights conversation with a three-year agreement that started this season worth approximately $150 million per year.
The NFL remains the most expensive league to televise, with an average annual cost exceeding $10 billion, far surpassing other league payouts, such as the NBA's new media rights agreement at $6.9 billion annually or the MLB's current $1.3 billion.
Familiar names to take center stage in Super Bowl ads, with more AI expected
The big game is filled with advertisements and features approximately 15% more ad time compared to a regular season NFL matchup. This year, Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV plans to air Super Bowl ads for several brands, including Stella Artois, Bud Light, Budweiser, Busch Light and Michelob Ultra. The new content will be showcased through national and regional campaigns that encompass the general market, Spanish-language ads, streaming broadcasts, retail integrations and out-of-home placements.
Viewers can expect to see a variety of commercials from the usual competitors, including consumer product brands, featuring many celebrity faces. Additionally, there will reportedly be a noticeable rise in advertisements from companies in the artificial intelligence and pharmaceutical sectors.
Kendrick Lamar will headline the halftime show, presented by Apple Inc..'s Apple Music, which invested $250 million in 2022 to secure the halftime sponsorship for five years, taking over from the previous sponsor, Pepsi. Joining Lamar on stage will be Grammy Award winner SZA.
Super Bowl tickets remain in high demand, even with Kansas City's sustained success
The upcoming Super Bowl is setting records for ticket demand, with mixed news on pricing. While tickets are expected to be less expensive than in 2024, they will still cost thousands of dollars, ranking among the most expensive in Super Bowl history.
Ticket prices for the Super Bowl have typically increased over the years, driven by factors such as team history and market demand. However, this year's prices are somewhat lower than 2024's, partly due to the game's location in New Orleans. Last year's game took place in Las Vegas, which was hosting the title game for the first time and is a city with a reputation of attracting fans from across the country.
Despite the slight reduction in prices, the rematch between the Eagles and Chiefs and Kansas City's opportunity to secure a third consecutive Super Bowl win are expected to result in strong attendance from both fan bases. Currently, average ticket prices are reported to be in the $6,000 to $7,000 range, while historically, resale tickets for the Super Bowl have fluctuated between $4,000 and $6,000.
This article was published by S&P Global Market Intelligence and not by S&P Global Ratings, which is a separately managed division of S&P Global.
Consumer Insights is a regular feature from S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan.