Super Bowl Brings in Big Bucks for Food and Gear

In case you’ve been out of the loop, Super Bowl Sunday is just a few days away. The Kansas City Chiefs are heading to their fourth Super Bowl in the past five years. The game also brings back the matchup of Super Bowl LIV, where the Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers 31-20. In this annual championship game of the National Football League (NFL), the National Football Conference champions battle the champions of the American Football Conference for a chance to win the prized Lombardi trophy.  

Whether or not you’re a fan of either team, it’s a hugely popular event. The latest consumer spending data from NRF and Prosper Insights & Analytics’ 2024 Super Bowl survey found a record 200.5 million U.S. adults plan to tune in to the big game. While many of those watching are invested in the actual game, others might just be looking to judge the best commercials. More than a championship football game, the Super Bowl is also, according to CBS News, the biggest day in advertising, with top brands aiming big-budget commercials at the captive audience of viewers.  

While most of the time, consumers avoid commercials like the plague, people often look forward to seeing Super Bowl ads, which often offer fresh humor, nostalgia or sentimentality to create memorable experiences. Businesses tend to put their all into the ads, which this year carry a price tag of $7 million for 30 seconds of airtime during Super Bowl LVIII.  The NRF reports the commercials are most important to 18% of viewers. 

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And while businesses spend on the commercials, consumers are just flat-out spending. Total spending on food, drinks, apparel, decorations and other purchases for the day is expected to reach a record $17.3 billion, or $86.04 per person. One area where fans will be spending is in gear to rep their favorite teams. No question that licensing deals in sports are a big deal, and especially for American football. The National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) consistently ranks in the top 25 on License Global’s Top Global Licensors Report. The NRF reports 13% of the consumers watching the Super Bowl plan to purchase team apparel. 

Circana reports sales of NFL-licensed apparel for the teams headed to Super Bowl increase more than 200% in the areas the Super Bowl-bound teams represent. Which explains ABC 7 News, Bay Area reporting the Christian McCaffrey San Francisco 49ers Nike Women’s Super Bowl LVIII Game Jersey is the most popular women’s jersey on Fanatics. Almost as soon as the Super Bowl teams were decided, Mattel Creations announced three NFL and NFLPA officially licensed Super Bowl LVIII collectibles to celebrate the game. Fans of the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs had the choice of preordering the Fisher-Price Little People Collector Super Bowl set featuring detailed NFL player figures to honor this year’s champions, the first-ever Barbie NFL Super Bowl Champion doll dressed in specialty fan gear and the Super Bowl-themed UNO Fandom deck. 

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Party, Party 

The NRF reports this year, 112.2 million people plan to throw or attend a Super Bowl party, and another 16.2 million plan to watch the game at a bar or restaurant. Circana reports more than one-third of watchers will purchase extra snacks, and an additional 25% will order food from a restaurant. What are fans eating? The top items purchased from restaurants include pizza and chicken wings. Also topping food lists: savory snacks. Savory snack food sales jumped to $796 million during Super Bowl Week 2023, according to new data from Circana, commissioned by SNAC International (SNAC), the leading international trade association for the snack industry representing over 400 companies worldwide. The sales total represents a remarkable 29% increase from Super Bowl Week 2022. Not everyone prefers a big party, though. According to Frito-Lay's annual Super Bowl Snack Index, a staggering 81% of Americans, watching it all from the couch is much preferred. And nearly half of Americans also admit they will prioritize watching the game surrounded by their favorite foods over large social gatherings with friends. 

“The Super Bowl is a cultural phenomenon that we look forward to being an integral part of each year,” says Denise Lefebvre, senior vice president, research and development, PepsiCo Foods. “Whether Americans choose to enjoy it with a quiet evening or at a large social gathering, it’s clear that culinary creations will rule the day.” 

Those wanting to play, but maybe skip the game, can check out the NFL’s collaboration with Gamefam – a SpongeBob-themed Roblox Super Bowl event. The NFL tapped leading Roblox game developer, publisher and strategist, Gamefam, in partnership with Paramount, to launch the Super Bowl cross-game event on Roblox, offering Nickelodeon and NFL themed game-based content. The cross-game quest event is available through Monday, Feb. 19. 

License Global spoke to NFL about its licensing ahead of the Super Bowl.