Super Bowl 2015: Facts and Figures Ahead of the Big Game
— -- Super Bowl XLIX between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks is later today. Here are some fun facts about the Big Game to chew on before kickoff.
-- The Seahawks and Patriots are both the No. 1 seed in their respective conferences.
-- The Seahawks are the first team to play in consecutive Super Bowls since the Patriots did it in 2004-05.
-- This is the 2nd time the University of Phoenix Stadium has held the Super Bowl. The stadium previously hosted Super Bowl XLII in 2008. The New York Giants defeated the Patriots 17-14 in what many regard as one of the best title games ever played and one of the NFL's biggest upsets. The Giants' win ended the Patriots perfect season that year.
-- The 2015 Pro Bowl on Jan. 25, 2015 was held at the University of Phoenix Stadium. It's the first Pro Bowl to be held at a Super Bowl site since 2010.
-- Which college is the best represented at this year's Super Bowl? The University of Wisconsin has the most with six players: James White and Jonathan Casillas of the Patriots and O'Brien Schofield, Russell Wilson, David Gilreath and Mike Taylor of the Seahawks.
-- The winning team will get to hoist the coveted Vince Lombardi Trophy, named after the legendary Green Bay Packers head coach and Brooklyn-native.
The sterling silver trophy is made by Tiffany & Co. and weighs about seven pounds.
-- Speaking of the Lombardi Trophy, the Pittsburgh Steelers have the most with six. The San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys are tied for second with five each.
-- Other than Tom Brady's performance, the other most scrutinized aspect of the Super Bowl will be the commercials. A 30-second spot is estimated to cost between $4-4.5 million. For the first Super Bowl in 1967, the average cost of a 30-second ad was between $37,500 to $42,500.
-- Super Bowl XLVIII, which saw Seattle crush the Denver Broncos 43-8, was the most-watched Super Bowl of all time with 111.5 million viewers, according to Nielsen.
It also stands as the most-watched TV program is U.S. history.
-- The first Super Bowl in 1967 between the Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs was watched by 51.1 million people, according to Nielsen. However, it was the only Super Bowl to be televised on two networks (CBS and NBC) simultaneously.
-- A ticket to any Super Bowl is arguably the most sought-after ticket in sports, but that wasn't always the case. The attendance for Super Bowl I was 61,946, but the seating capacity at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum was more than 94,000 at the time.
-- If winning the Super Bowl was not enough motivation, players on the winning team get paid $97,000.
And yes, even Super Bowl losers get a little extra cash with players on the losing team taking home $49,000.
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