Editor's Note: This column was co-authored by Kate Hessling, Mark Zimmerman, Tom Rastin, and Jeff Curtis.
As the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs prepare to face off for Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas, Americans all over the country will be paying more than ever for their big game feasts and entertainment.
Who’s Watching and What They’re Expected to Spend
A recently released St. Bonaventure/Siena Research Survey contends roughly 75% of the U.S. population — or roughly 256 million Americans — will watch some or all of Super Bowl LVIII. According to the latest consumer spending data from the National Retail Federation, a record 200.5 million viewers will be adults. Of them, 112.2 million plan to throw or attend a party, and another 16.2 million plan to watch the game at a bar, restaurant or in person.
The National Retail Federation estimates total spending on food, drinks, apparel, decorations, and other purchases for the day will reach a record $17.3 billion — or $86.04 per person.
Just a decade ago, total household spending related to the Super Bowl was $12.4 billion, according to consumer spending data.
Tickets to the game itself — which is set for February 11 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada — are costlier than ever before. According to ticketiQ BLOG, ticket prices range from $7,632 to $81,190, with INVESTORPLACE calculating the average ticket price to be just over $11,000 in 2024. In comparison, CBS reports the average price of tickets to the 2023 Super Bowl was $8,907. For further clarity on the immense changes in growth, scope and popularity of professional football in general, and the Super Bowl in particular, consider the following: beIN Sports reports the inaugural Super Bowl in 1967 between the Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs had an average ticket price of just $12.00. The game was held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and was not a sell-out. Those tickets, if adjusted for inflation would cost only $112.00 today — a mere fraction of their 2024 actual prices.
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NFL owners represent some of the most powerful examples of entrepreneurship in America over the last 65 years. Lamar Hunt took a chance and paid $25,000 for a franchise dubbed “The Dallas Texans” back in 1959. He moved that franchise to Missouri; it is now known as the Kansas City Chiefs and is worth a staggering $4.3 billion. In comparison, $25,000 adjusted for inflation is worth $243,281.31 today…Mr. Hunt made a very wise investment in 1959.
The Impact of Inflation
With more than a quarter-billion Americans watching the Super Bowl around a television at home, in a bar, hotel, or restaurant, or attending the Super Bowl in person, doing so will cost more in 2024. According to data ranging from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis to AAA and Freddie Mac, here’s why prices in general and the Super Bowl in particular, will cost more. Since 2021, general consumer inflation is up almost 18%, gasoline prices are up almost 30%, credit card debt is up just over 40%, 30-year mortgage interest rates have almost doubled and as a result real hourly wages, which have improved in the last six months are down 2.4% overall since January 2021.
From Super Bowl LVIII to the November elections
Historically, the Super Bowl has been a weekend that has captured viewers around the globe who watch some of our best athletes compete in a truly American sport for one of the world’s most recognized trophies. In an election year in America, the Super Bowl gives us a break from politics. Democrats and Republicans are often united in their common support of a given team, and often bury their political differences for a weekend. Politics seems to never enter the conversation. We focus on player performance and our favorite commercials. Sure, politics will quickly divide us following Super Bowl LVIII. If you are a Republican, you will point to President Biden’s first term problems, including our southern border crisis, the over-regulation of American energy, foreign policy, inflation, and our growing national debt. If you are a Democrat, you will continue to press the reasons you believe it would be a mistake to re-elect former President Donald Trump, citing the improving jobs market, low unemployment rate, slowing growth rate for U.S. inflation, and how Republicans refuse to support President Biden’s green energy policies and want to make permanent tax breaks to the rich.
However, we believe all Americans should take a little time to understand that America, among the freest countries in world history, makes up just over 4% of the world’s population yet produces over 26% of the world’s gross domestic product. Our stock markets are off to a great start in 2024, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ stock exchanges all at record highs, and our unemployment rate of 3.7% is at one of its lowest levels since the end of World War II. Yet simultaneously, we are not problem-free. Our national debt is over $34 trillion and growing at a record pace, American consumers are burdened with unprecedented personal debt, and America has one of the highest individual and corporate income tax rates in the industrialized world.
Therefore, in the days and weeks following Sunday’s big game, let’s remember how we treated each other at our Super Bowl gatherings; the high fives we gave the Democrat whose office cubicle is next to ours, or the hugs we gave to our next-door neighbor who votes Republican. Buy them a beer, feed them some chicken wings, and seek open, rational discussions which will lead to an even freer, more productive, and more prosperous America (even if they’re rooting for the wrong political team).
Dr. Timothy G. Nash is director of the McNair Center at Northwood University. Kate Hessling is executive director of communications at Northwood University. Mark Zimmerman is the former GM, Georgia World Congress Center. Tom Rastin is a retired business executive from Ohio. Jeff Curtis is athletic director at Northwood University.
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