7 Wild Statistics about Super Bowl LVI Spending and Viewership

The key indicator of inflation at the end of 2021 showed consumer prices up 7% with much concern over the direction of inflation for 2022. To make matters worse, data released last week by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show U.S. Consumer Price Inflation at the end of January is now running at an annualized rate of 7.5%.

The Wall Street Journal is predicting 5% food inflation in the first half of 2022 with our McNair Center predicting food prices could inflate by 7% or higher by the end of 2022.

Higher food prices in 2022 will be driven by two factors. The first will be our erratic and out-of-sync U.S. and global supply chain. The second and major cause of higher future U.S. food inflation will be the continuous expansionary monetary policy pursued by the U.S. Federal Reserve. Or simply put, the U.S. government will continue to print more money each month, outpacing the economy’s production of goods, services, and assets. With more money chasing relatively fewer goods, services, and assets, prices will continue to rise.

We carefully analyzed data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Federal Reserve Bank, Statista, and the National Retail Federation on issues related to the upcoming 56th Super Bowl and then drew the following conclusions on money spent on and around the Super Bowl and related festivities.

1. We conclude that roughly 185 million Americans — or 55.6% of the U.S. population — will tune into the Super Bowl this Sunday on televisions, computers, handheld devices or via radio. A record 117 million people will watch the game on television and roughly 90 million of the 117 million will either attend or host a Super Bowl party.
2. An estimated $14.6 billion will be spent on Super Bowl parties. The average cost per American attending a Super Bowl party in 2022 will be roughly $79 per person — up from $74.55 for Super Bowl 2021. In other words, if cost estimates for 2022 are correct, Super Bowl parties will cost 5.9% more this year. Just another indicator that inflation has not subsided.
3. Individuals cited numerous reasons for wanting to watch the 2022 Super Bowl, with 40% of Americans tuning in “for the love of the game;” 21% stating they want to watch or listen to the commercials; and 18% listing the halftime show as their reason for watching. Socializing with friends and family were the next two most popular reasons for watching the Super Bowl.
4. Of the $14.6 billion to be spent on Super Bowl LVI gatherings and related items, one or more of the following purchases were most popular with the surveyed. Fully 79% of the money will be spent on food and beverages; 11% on game apparel; 9% on new televisions (a Super Bowl game is one of the most important reasons why Americans purchase a new television annually), with 8% spent on decorations and 5% spent on new furniture.
5. According to Statista, the most expensive Super Bowl parties over the last decade prior to 2022 were 2013 at $82.30, 2015 at $89.05, 2016 at $82.19 and 2020 at $88.65.
6. The super bowl is broadcast to 185 countries in seven languages and attracts an additional 800 million listeners and viewers around the world. As popular as the Super Bowl is in the United States, it is estimated that the World Cup Soccer Championship game, held once every four years, attracts somewhere between 1.5-2.5 billion people globally.
7. In addition, 31.4 million people are estimated to gamble on the Super Bowl this year, spending $7.6 billion in casinos and across living room tables.

Whether you are in a casino, living room, sports bar, or have the money to travel to Los Angeles, inflation will ensure we will pay much more to enjoy Super Bowl LVI.