As they say on election night coverage, the numbers are in, and we can now make a call. Super Bowl LIX between the Eagles and the Chiefs was a huge TV success. The average audience size for the game was 127.7 million viewers which is a Super Bowl record. To put that in a larger perspective, that audience represents 35.9% of the US population. And that calculation makes me wonder just what the other 64.1% of the people were doing …
- Last year the average audience was 123.7 million viewers; this year’s audience was up 3.2% year-over-year.
- This year’s average audience was significantly lower than the peak audience. In the second quarter when the game was still somewhat in doubt, the peak audience was 137.6 million viewers. Had the game not been a blowout, the average audience would have been much higher.
- The halftime show drew an audience of 133 million viewers which is a record high for halftime shows.
With regard to the halftime show … About halfway through the presentation, the host of our party, who is a trial attorney commented:
“No way a court reporter could get all of that down accurately.”
To which I replied:
“And if he did, there isn’t an English teacher on the planet who could diagram the sentences.”
For the record, #2 son informed me that the halftime show was not intended for geezers like me but for a younger audience who is attuned to a longstanding beef between Kendrick Lamar and another rapper, Drake. Having heard that, I went to Google to see if Drake was related in any way to Paul Drake of Perry Mason fame. It appears not …
There are other numbers that came in related to the Super bowl game last weekend. According to ESPN.com, the sportsbooks in Nevada had a good day. Combined, the sports betting outlets in Nevada won $22.1M over all the possible betting angles for the game. That beats the previous high combined winnings of $19.7M – – a record that has stood since the Super Bowl game where the underdog Seahawks shellacked the Broncos 43-8.
What makes this record profit more impressive is that the betting handle in Nevada was down just over 20% from last year as the longstanding sportsbooks there get increased competition from legalized sports betting in other states and from Internet-based wagering. This year’s total handle in Nevada was $151.6M which means that the books’ profits represented 14.6% of the total handle. They say that the house always wins; in this case, the house won big …
According to reports, the lion’s share of the profits came from the various prop bets and from same-game parlay bets. The most heavily wagered prop bet was that Saquon Barkley would score a TD sometime in the contest. He did not. That created profit for the house AND it wiped out all same-game parlays that had that popular prob bet included.
Just so you know, the numbers are already up for future wagering on who will win Super Bowl LX in February 2026. Interestingly, the Eagles are not the favorites – – but they are close:
- Chiefs +650
- Ravens +650
- Eagles +700
- Bills +700
- Lions +700
And the longest shots on the board include:
- Titans @ 200-1
- Raiders @ 200-1
- Giants @ 250-1
The Miami Dolphins are “in the middle of the pack” regarding odds to win next year’s Super Bowl game; the Dolphins are at 50-1. I mention this because of an unusual tone offered by Dolphins’ owner, Stephen Ross in a posting on X.com (formerly Twitter):
“I want to thank the players and coaches for their hard work throughout the 2024 season, as well as the fans for their support.
“As the owner of the team, I am ultimately accountable for our successes and failures. We fell short of our expectations this season, and I understand and share in the frustration in our performance on the field.
“As we now look towards 2025, our football operation will continue to be led by Chris Grier and Mike McDaniel with my full support. Their positive working relationship is an asset to the Dolphins, and I believe in the value of stability. However, continuity in leadership is not to be confused with an acceptance that status quo is good enough. We will take a hard look at where we have fallen short and make the necessary changes to deliver our ultimate goal of building and sustaining a winning team that competes for championships.”
That sounds less like a vote of confidence and more like a shot across the bow for the GM and the Head Coach. Playoffs or bust …???
Finally, I closed yesterday with something from Dave Barry and got plenty of positive feedback from it. So, here is another one from Professor Barry:
“If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be ‘meetings.’”
But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………