Is the Super Bowl going to bypass Friendsgiving as our most popular friend gathering? Gen Z has popularized the Friendsgiving holiday which is flexible but typically within a week of Thanksgiving.
After all we will probably drink more Budweiser, eat more Doritos and consumer more chicken wings on February 9, 2025 than any time in our nation’s history. We may fall short on the percent of Americans who consume pumpkin pie but Sunday February 9 is clearly a time for gathering with friends and for those lucky enough “IRL in New Orleans.” We will also buy squares to see if we win the score at the end of the first quarter and bet on everything from the coin flip winner to the first TD scored.
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – FEBRUARY 03: A detail shot of the Lombardi Trophy next to Kansas City … [+] Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles helmets prior to a news conference on February 03, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana ahead of the NFL Super Bowl LIX football game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
Plenty of VIPs will be in attendance from Taylor Swift to Donald Trump. Who knows maybe we’ll be able to bet on the first celebrity sighting?
Viewing Trends & Predictions for Sunday’s Chiefs Vs. Eagles Game
Best estimate for watching is in the range of 100 to 150 million viewers.
The Kansas City Chiefs’ victory over the Buffalo Bills averaged 57.4 million viewers on CBS, making it the most-watched AFC Championship game in National Football League (NFL) history. The numbers for the NFC Championship weren’t quite as high. According to the Sports Business Journal, the Eagles 55-23 win over the Commanders drew 44.2 million.
Cost of Tickets
The Super Bowl is the most popular sporting event in the world, and despite the Chiefs and Eagles meeting just two years ago in the Super Bowl, the matchup is still bringing in fans. Ticket prices have moved up and down dramatically as the game approaches.
“Pricing on this event has been very consistent with the last Super Bowl matchup between the Chiefs and Eagles in 2023, showing just a 2 percent increase in the average ticket price,” said Dustin Ray, senior vice president of business intelligence at TFL. “With that being said, we’ve seen increased demand in terms of volume, with fans still excited to see this historic matchup.” As of this week tickets started at $5,122 each on ticketsforless.com.
Cost of Suites
Demand for suites from companies and fans is still high, too – the most accessible suites are still over half a million dollars, with many going for $1 million or more. There are a total of 165 suites in the Caesars Superdome.
Cost of Accommodations
Compared to the Super Bowl in Las Vegas last year, hotel rooms are harder to come by as the selection is more limited in New Orleans than in Sin City. Many fans are looking to Airbnb, VRBO and alternatives.
Once the Chiefs and Eagles were announced, Airbnb saw a surge of nearly 400% for searches for stays in New Orleans over comparable days in 2024. According to Airbnb, top origin cities in order include:
- Philadelphia
- Kansas City
- New York
- Jersey Shore
- Los Angeles
- Arlington
- Dallas
- South Florida Atlantic Coast
- Jersey City
- Chicago
I contacted Airbnb Chief Business Officer Dave Stephens and he commented, “Our brand helps cities scale accommodations for major events. We have hosted nearly 700,000 guests during the Paris 2024 Olympics, which was the biggest single event in our company’s history. New Orleans provides another great opportunity to provide accommodations for the surge of guests looking to catch the Chiefs vs. Eagles.”
For those with a big budget you’ll find the Kismet which is currently docked in New Orleans and available for charter at $3,000,000 per week plus expenses. Key highlights include a 7-star wellness suite, complete with a hammam, sauna and cryotherapy chamber’” commented AJ Blackmon, who operates a superyacht family office advisory named Ikonic Yachts. “The trend of superyachts at the Super Bowl really came into play at the 2020 game in Miami. It was a way to not only entertain but also stay in style an anchor away.”
Let’s Bet
Nearly 68 million American adults — about 1 in 4 — plan to bet on this year’s Super Bowl, setting a record by a wide margin, according to the American Gaming Association.
According to Fan Duel here are some of the most popular bets:
- · Moneyline: 59% of bets on the Eagles; handle split almost even with 51% on the Chiefs
- · Spread: 57% of bets and 55% of handle on the Chiefs
- · Any Time TD Scorer: Most popular are Saquon Barkley, Jalen Hurts, Kareem Hunt
Personally, I’ll bet I eat a few too many chicken wings, can’t get on the Kismet for a quick tour and talk about the Super Bowl ads Monday after the game.
