Believe it or not, the Super Bowl didn’t used to be a particularly big deal.
Today the Super Bowl stops the nation. Almost 100 million people, a third of the country, tunes in to watch the game, according to data from CBS.
Some even come to watch the actual football, as opposed to zoning out until the now-traditional ad blitz. A 30-second advertisement costs $5.25 million in the 2019 game, up just slightly from 2018’s $5.2 million slots. Maroon 5 and Travis Scott took the stage in the 2019 game, while as we write this article Jennifer Lopez and Shakira warm up their voices for the 2020 halftime show.
In the first Super Bowl though, held in 1967, the University of Arizona Symphonic Marching Band took the field as headliners for the halftime show. Twenty years later, in 1987, the University of Southern California joined forces with Grambling State University for the halftime of Super Bowl XXI. Things went downhill two years later when Super Bowl XXIII brought on Elvis Presto, an Elvis Presley impersonator, as the halftime entertainment.
In that first Super Bowl, companies could run an ad spot for $37,500, roughly $290,000 in 2020 dollars.
It wasn’t until the mid-1990s that the Super Bowl started to become the enterprise that we know today, with halftime shows and advertising that frequently overshadows the game itself. And nowhere can we see that more clearly than in the history of Super Bowl ticket prices. As you’ll read below, while a ticket today costs more than a new computer, it wasn’t that long ago that you could see the Super Bowl for less than the price of dinner and a movie. (The prices are based on data from the Star Tribune and Bleacher Report.)
A Historical Look at Super Bowl Ticket Prices
1967
Average Ticket Price – $12
Inflation Adjusted – $92
1968
Average Ticket Price – $12
Inflation Adjusted – $88
1969
Average Ticket Price – $12
Inflation Adjusted – $84
1970
Average Ticket Price – $15
Inflation Adjusted – $99
1971
Average Ticket Price – $15
Inflation Adjusted – $95
1972
Average Ticket Price – $15
Inflation Adjusted – $92
1973
Average Ticket Price – $15
Inflation Adjusted – $86
1974
Average Ticket Price – $15
Inflation Adjusted – $78
1975
Average Ticket Price – $20
Inflation Adjusted – $95
1976
Average Ticket Price – $20
Inflation Adjusted – $90
1977
Average Ticket Price – $20
Inflation Adjusted – $84
1978
Average Ticket Price – $30
Inflation Adjusted – $118
1979
Average Ticket Price – $30
Inflation Adjusted – $106
1980
Average Ticket Price – $30
Inflation Adjusted – $93
1981
Average Ticket Price – $40
Inflation Adjusted – $113
1982
Average Ticket Price – $40
Inflation Adjusted – $106
1983
Average Ticket Price – $40
Inflation Adjusted – $103
1984
Average Ticket Price – $60
Inflation Adjusted – $148
This year began the Super Bowl’s modern ticket price practices. While tickets remained relatively inexpensive to what fans expect to pay in 2020, up until 1984, prices had remained largely stable with only occasional, modest jumps. From this point on that practice ended.
1985
Average Ticket Price – $60
Inflation Adjusted – $143
1986
Average Ticket Price – $75
Inflation Adjusted – $175
1987
Average Ticket Price – $75
Inflation Adjusted – $169
1988
Average Ticket Price – $100
Inflation Adjusted – $217
1989
Average Ticket Price – $100
Inflation Adjusted – $207
1990
Average Ticket Price – $125
Inflation Adjusted – $245
1991
Average Ticket Price – $150
Inflation Adjusted – $283
1992
Average Ticket Price – $150
Inflation Adjusted – $274
1993
Average Ticket Price – $175
Inflation Adjusted – $311
1994
Average Ticket Price – $175
Inflation Adjusted – $303
1995
Average Ticket Price – $200
Inflation Adjusted – $337
1996
Average Ticket Price – $275 to $350
Inflation Adjusted – $450 to $573
Ticket prices in 1996 are noteworthy because this is arguably when the Super Bowl begins to take on modern pricing practices. This year represents a big jump in prices, and from 1996 onward, prices not only continued to increase; they did so dramatically. This year is also an outlier because it will appear that ticket prices decrease afterward.
1997
Average Ticket Price – $275
Inflation Adjusted – $440
1998
Average Ticket Price – $275
Inflation Adjusted – $433
1999
Average Ticket Price – $325
Inflation Adjusted – $501
2000
Average Ticket Price – $325
Inflation Adjusted – $485
2001
Average Ticket Price – $325
Inflation Adjusted – $471
2002
Average Ticket Price – $400
Inflation Adjusted – $571
2003
Average Ticket Price – $500
Inflation Adjusted – $698
2004
Average Ticket Price – $600
Inflation Adjusted – $816
2005
Average Ticket Price – $600
Inflation Adjusted – $789
2006
Average Ticket Price – $700
Inflation Adjusted – $892
2007
Average Ticket Price – $700
Inflation Adjusted – $867
2008
Average Ticket Price – $900
Inflation Adjusted – $1,074
It is within the past decade or so that Super Bowl tickets have become truly a luxury for the rich, or those willing to save hard. From this point on, prices begin to leap by hundreds of dollars between most years.
2009
Average Ticket Price – $1,000
Inflation Adjusted – $1,197
2010
Average Ticket Price – $1,000
Inflation Adjusted – $1,178
2011
Average Ticket Price – $1,200
Inflation Adjusted – $1,370
2012
Average Ticket Price – $1,200
Inflation Adjusted – $1,343
2013
Average Ticket Price – $1,250
Inflation Adjusted – $1,378
2014
Average Ticket Price – $1,500
Inflation Adjusted – $1,628
2015
Average Ticket Price – $2,000
Inflation Adjusted – $2,168
2016
Average Ticket Price – $2,500
Inflation Adjusted – $2,676
2017
Average Ticket Price – $2,500
Inflation Adjusted – $2,620
2018
Average Ticket Price – $2,500
Inflation Adjusted – $2,557
2019
Average Ticket Price – $2,900 – $4,300
Inflation Adjusted – $2,914 – $4,322
2020
At time of writing, the average ticket to Super Bowl 2020 sold for $6,785. A far cry from when you could see the game for the equivalent of $90.
