Super Bowl 52
Super Bowl 52 is the culmination of the 2017 NFL season, with the game taking place on February 4, 2018 at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, home of the Minnesota Vikings. The game will pit the winners of the AFC and NFC championship games against each other, in a contest that will determine the NFL's champion for that season. The Super Bowl is always played on the first Sunday in February, and has become something of a national holiday, as it is the most watched television program every year in America, with commercial airtime going for millions of dollars for each 30-second block.
Super Bowl History
The first Super Bowl was played in January of 1967, when the Green Bay Packers dispatched the Kansas City Chiefs by a final score of 35-10. Since then, the game has been played another 50 times, with NFC teams winning 26 of the 51 Super Bowls that have been played thus far, one more than the AFC has been able to muster. With that said, the AFC has won the last three Super Bowls, with the New England Patriots winning two out of the last three, and the Denver Broncos capturing one during that time period as well.
Only one team has managed to win six Super Bowls, with that honor going to the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have won six of their eight appearances in the big game. The New England Patriots, Dallas Cowboys, and San Francisco 49ers are all just behind the Steelers with five titles, while the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants have four Super Bowls each.
There are currently 13 teams that have not yet won a Super Bowl. Of those 13 teams, the Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans, and Jacksonville Jaguars are the only four that haven't yet participated in a Super Bowl. The Texans, Jaguars, and Lions have all hosted Super Bowls, which makes the Browns the only team in the NFL that has not yet hosted or participated in a Super Bowl.
Most Memorable Super Bowls
When it comes to memorable Super Bowls, there aren't many more memorable than the clash between the New York Giants and New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. The Patriots came into that game with an 18-0 record on the season, led by a record-setting offense with Tom Brady and quarterback and the legendary Randy Moss breaking records at wide receiver. New England entered that game as a double digit favorite, but the Giants did not follow the script.
Led by a ferocious pass rush headed by Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Strahan, the Giants defensive line pressured Brady time and time again, with the Giants pulling one of the greatest upsets in NFL history. On a late Eli Manning touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress, the Giants won the Super Bowl while ruining the Patriots' perfect season.
Other memorable Super Bowls include the Patriots' massive comeback and overtime win over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl 51, the only overtime game in Super Bowl history, as well as New England's last minute goal line interception by Malcolm Butler to seal the championship against the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl 49.
Super Bowl 52 Favorites
Heading into the 2017 NFL season, the New England Patriots are once again favorites to win the Super Bowl, as they are the top choice to win Super Bowl 52. After their dramatic comeback victory over the Atlanta Falcons last year, in a game they trailed by 25 points, many are wondering if the Patriots will go out and finish off an undefeated season this year, to make up for the year they stumbled at the final hurdle against the Giants.
Other favorites to win Super Bowl 52 include the Atlanta Falcons, whose experience in last year's bit game should benefit them heading into this season, along with the Green Bay Packers, whose offense with Aaron Rodgers is capable of carving up any defense in the NFL on a given week. The Dallas Cowboys should improve again this year as well, with quarterback Dak Prescott entering his second season in the team's system.
Future Super Bowls
The sites of future Super Bowls have been determined through 2020. In 2019, Super Bowl 53 will be held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, home of the Atlanta Falcons, a stadium that is currently undergoing delays in its construction. In 2020, Super Bowl 54 will be held in Los Angeles Stadium in Inglewood Park, home of the Los Angeles Rams, and the Los Angeles Chargers, when its construction is completed.
How do I get Super Bowl tickets?
The NFL controls distribution of Super Bowl tickets. Historically, the two participating teams each received 17.5% of the tickets, and another 5% goes to the host city. The remaining teams in the league split 34.8% of the tickets evenly.
This left the league with 25.2% of tickets, which they mostly divvy up between sponsors and the media. However, a small fraction of these tickets was reserved for a drawing where lucky fans have the opportunity to buy tickets at face value. However, this year On Location Experiences was given 9,500 tickets to sell according to Bloomberg. It is unclear how this will impact the allotments above.
How much do face value Super Bowl 52 tickets cost?
As mentioned above, a small percentage of the tickets are being sold directly to the public through On Location Experiences. These tickets range in price from $5,999 to more than $12,000. It is unclear what the face value is of the rest of the Super Bowl tickets that are distributed to the teams, sponsors, and players.
How much do Super Bowl 52 tickets cost?
The secondary market is the best place for fans to realistically purchase tickets. Generally speaking, the average Super Bowl ticket costs between $2,500 and $3,000, but that price varies depending on the particular matchup and when the tickets are purchased. Super Bowl XLIX between the Seahawks and the Patriots was an exception to this rule, with tickets averaging $4,314. For Super Bowl XLVIII the Seahawks-Broncos tickets averaged $2,536 on the secondary market. Tickets for Super Bowl XLV went for an average of $3561, largely due to the matchup between the Packers and the Steelers. Super Bowl XLVII, featuring the Ravens and 49ers, went for $2,478, and the Giants-Patriots rematch the previous year went for $2,993.
The price of Super Bowl tickets typically falls as the event nears, but ticket prices shift significantly once the matchup is determined. In the 2013-2014 season, ticket prices also suffered because of concerns about the weather. There was also a noticeable decline in Super Bowl XLVII ticket prices leading up to the game, but it was less pronounced (possibly due to fans wanting to see Ray Lewis's last game). Ticket prices for the Giants-Patriots rematch actually increased before eventually falling off. The 2015 Super Bowl was out of the ordinary, in that ticket prices continued to rise all the way up to the day of the game. Last year's Super Bowl was particularly in demand, as it was located in the area of the country with the highest average household income.
Who is playing in this year's Super Bowl?
We won't find that out until January 2018, when the AFC and NFC championship games are played.