For most NFL games, about three hours is all one needs to watch it. But the Super Bowl? That can be a different story.
The biggest game in football (and the biggest game in American sports) is usually the longest of the season. That isn’t necessarily because the game itself takes longer, but the Super Bowl isn’t just a game. It’s basically a celebration of all things Americana.
So we get a massive pregame performance with plenty of pomp and circumstance. We get a flyover. We get people frantically keeping the time of the national anthem performance to see if their prop bet hit. Then we get kickoff, two quarters of football and a halftime show.
The Super Bowl halftime is slightly longer than a regular season halftime (sometimes nearing 25 minutes), due to the fact that it is, perhaps, the single-biggest concert of the year. More eyes will be on the Super Bowl than any other program.
Not to mention it’s the only day of the year that we actually get excited about stopping the game to see the commercials.
All of these elements work together to make the Super Bowl a marathon, not a sprint. It’s more than an event, it’s a spectacle.
But how long does it take?
The Basics of Super Bowl Timing
For a football game, there’s not much live play. At least not by the minute. According to Pro Football Network, the average NFL game lasts roughly three hours and 12 minutes. But there’s only approximately 18 minutes of actual gameplay, which is about the same amount of time spent airing replays.
Still, just like any other game, we’re getting four 15-minute quarters and a slightly extended halftime show. Overtime could potentially play a role in lengthening a game, but it has only occurred twice in Super Bowl history.
So how long will the Super Bowl take?
If the last 20 years are any indication, roughly three hours and 38 minutes.
Historical Analysis of Super Bowl Lengths
Key Factors Extending Super Bowl Broadcasts
A longer halftime will increase the run time of the Super Bowl. Halftime during the regular season is 15 minutes, but the Super Bowl typically features a break closer to a half hour. That doesn’t necessarily mean all that extra time goes to the artist performing, though.
It takes time to set up and take down the stage and pyrotechnics/effects. Plus each network still tries to provide some analysis of the first half and prognosticate about the second half.
However, the longest Super Bowl in history clocked in at four hours and 14 minutes. And it had nothing to do with the halftime show.
Super Bowl XLVII was played on Feb. 3, 2013, inside the Superdome in New Orleans. The Baltimore Ravens led the San Francisco 49ers 21–6 at halftime before Jacoby Jones returned the second-half kickoff for a touchdown, increasing Baltimore’s lead to 28–6.
Then a power outage struck the Superdome.
For the next 22 minutes half of the Superdome was in darkness. Between the power outage and ensuing warmups, play stopped for roughly 35 minutes.
Some members of the Ravens still believe the blackout was a nefarious inside job by the NFL to get the 49ers back in the game and keep people watching. That seems a tad far-fetched, but the Ravens held on to win regardless.
Two other Super Bowls surpassed the four-hour mark. Super Bowl XXXVIII between the New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers went four hours and five minutes. The game didn’t go to overtime and wasn’t particularly penalty-filled (which could lead to clock stoppages). But it was a back-and-forth game with plenty of scoring.
The other was Super Bowl LVIII between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers. Oddly enough, this game was just one minute longer than Super Bowl XXXVIII, despite needing to go to overtime.
While many fans speculate that there are additional clock stoppages to squeeze in more commercials, there’s no evidence that’s true. But considering the estimated cost of a 30-second ad spot for the Super Bowl in 2025 will be $7 million, I’m sure FOX would love to sell as much air time as possible.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as How Long is the Super Bowl on Average? Running the Numbers.