The 2012 Super Bowl, by the Numbers

Put aside points scored and yards run — when it comes to the Super Bowl numbers, it's all about the money.

  • Share
  • Read Later
Jim Young / Reuters

Roman numeral decorations are set up as part of Super Bowl XLVI festivities in Indianapolis, Indiana January 30, 2012.

Pretty soon, if we aren’t careful, Super Bowl Sunday will turn into this country’s biggest holiday. If it isn’t already, that is.

We’ve all known for years now that the day isn’t so much about football (this year’s game is the New England Patriots vs. the New York Giants, in case you forgot to check) as it is about a mountain of other interests, including plenty of consumerism, chicken wings, commercials, crunchy snacky goodness and, apparently, cash. Let’s take a look at the Super Bowl utilizing the very things that determines the winner: numbers:

(PHOTOS: The Making of Super Bowl Footballs)

46: Don’t let those pesky Roman numerals trick you. This is Super Bowl 46.

1.25 billion: Of course, with that many chicken wings expected to get consumed on Sunday, it may serve a napkin advertiser well to get some ad time.

68,000: Seats inside Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, the home of the NFL’s Colts and host of the Super Bowl. Of those tickets, 17.5% were given to each team to sell to their fans.

$4,000: The average price that Super Bowl tickets are hovering around, if you missed out on the $800 to $1,200 face value price in the initial offering.

19: Hours of live Super Bowl coverage you can subject yourself to, if you dare.

$25,000: Cost of the Vince Lombardi Trophy, given to the Super Bowl winners, made by Tiffany & Co. of New York.

13,000: Hotel rooms in Indianapolis. All are booked for the weekend and some at a 1,700% higher price than the conventional fee.

(PHOTOS: Super Bowl Stadiums)

2,000: Tuesday’s media day was a standing-room-only event, with 2,000 media credentials granted and another 7,000 tickets sold to fans wanting to watch the circus.

150: Super Bowl rings the NFL pays for, at $5,000 each, for the winning team to hand out to players and staff.

$3.5 million to $4 million: That average price tag for a 30-second Super Bowl commercial time slot during NBC’s telecast of the game didn’t dissuade potential advertisers, since the majority of the slots have been sold out since November. But can they wow audiences and generate lasting buzz? That’s the $3.5 million bet.

87 percent: Increase in the price of a 30-second commercial slot in the last 40 years.

111 million: Anticipated television viewers tuning in for the game, meaning that advertisers don’t have any qualms about dropping $3.5 million on the chance to get their product/service in front of that many eyes for 30 seconds. And with two teams from two large markets, don’t expect a drop in total viewers this year.

48: Minutes of commercials during last year’s Super Bowl on FOX. You can expect something similar this year.

1: Times Indianapolis has hosted the Super Bowl. Yeah, the Midwest city will make its first Super Bowl impression on Sunday. Will it fare better than last year’s iced-in, ticket-fiasco-marred Dallas Super Bowl?

17-14: Winning score for the Giants when they defeated the then-unbeaten Patriots in the 2008 Super Bowl in Phoenix.

$11 billion: Amount consumers are expected to spend on the Super Bowl (hey, those chicken wings aren’t free, people) each year.

3: Songs Madonna is expected to perform during her set at halftime of the game.

6:30(ish) p.m. Eastern: The actual game (and good commercials) don’t happen for all 19 hours. Expect kickoff to come just a couple of minutes after 6:30 p.m. Eastern and then last well into the evening. You may want to cook up some more wings.

PHOTOS: Super Bowl Entertainment