The NFL continues to plan ahead for its biggest annual event, with future Super Bowl locations and scheduled for the next several years. As the Kansas City Chiefs pursue an unprecedented three-peat following their 40-22 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVIII, fans are already wondering which cities will hold the championship games in coming years.
I’ve covered NFL championships for over a decade, and watching Jalen Hurts fail to capture MVP honors despite his stellar performance was reminiscent of Philadelphia’s previous second Super Bowl disappointment. Nick Sirianni’s coaching seemed solid, but the Chiefs’ dynasty is showing no signs of slipping. The burning question remains – will there be a new team representing the AFC next year, or can Andy Reid’s squad refocus and continue building their place in NFL history?
Looking ahead to 2026 and beyond, the league has carefully selected host cities that combine excellent facilities with tourist appeal. For Super Bowl LX in 2026, Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara will hold the championship. Super Bowl LXI moves to New Orleans in 2027, while Super Bowl LXII heads to Washington D.C. in 2028. Each venue offers unique advantages as the NFL continues to rotate its showcase event around the country.
The Legacy of the Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual championship game of the National Football League (NFL) in the United States. As the final contest of each season, it has grown into much more than just a sporting event since its inception in 1966, superseding the NFL Championship Game.
Traditionally played on the second Sunday in February, the timing has evolved over the decades. Prior to today’s schedule, Super Bowls were held on Sundays in early to mid-January from 1967 to 1978, then shifted to late January from 1979 to 2003. The move to the first Sunday in February happened in 2004 and remained until 2021.
When I attended Super Bowl LI in Houston back in 2017, the energy was unlike anything I’d experienced at any other sporting event. The pageantry goes far beyond the game itself.
Birth of a Cultural Phenomenon
The Super Bowl was created in 1966 through a merger agreement between the NFL and the competing American Football League (AFL). The idea was to have the “best” teams from each league compete for the championship.
Originally called the AFL–NFL World Championship Game, the “Super Bowl” moniker was adopted by 1969’s Super Bowl III. The first four Super Bowls from 1967 to 1970 were played prior to the complete merger of the NFL and AFL.
After winning two each before the full merger in 1970, 10 AFL teams and three NFL teams formed the American Football Conference (AFC), while the remaining 13 NFL teams formed the National Football Conference (NFC). Since 1971’s Super Bowl V, the game has matched the best team from the two conferences.
The rivalry between NFC and AFC has been relatively balanced, with the NFC having won 30 championships and the AFC having won 29 through the years.
Champion Legacy and Records
Among the NFL’s current 32 teams, 20 have lifted the Lombardi Trophy at least once—11 NFC teams and nine AFC teams have won the Super Bowl. Of these, 16 franchises—eight AFC and eight NFC—hold multiple titles.
The AFC’s Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots have the most Super Bowl titles with six each. The Patriots also hold the record for the most Super Bowl appearances at 11. Interestingly, the Patriots and the Denver Broncos of the AFC share the dubious record of the most defeats in the Super Bowl with five each.
Only the Baltimore Ravens of the AFC and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFC remain undefeated in multiple Super Bowls, having won their first two appearances. Meanwhile, 12 teams have not won a Super Bowl, including the AFC’s Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans, and Jacksonville Jaguars. The NFC’s Detroit Lions are among the only four teams to have not appeared in the game at all.
A Global Cultural Event
The Super Bowl has become one of the world’s most-watched single sporting events, frequently commanding the largest audience on American broadcasts each year. It ranks second only to the UEFA Champions League final as the most watched annual club sporting event worldwide.
In fact, seven of the most-watched broadcasts in American television history have been Super Bowls. The spectacle has grown far beyond football—the halftime shows feature top artists, and headlining a Super Bowl performance is considered one of the highest honors in music.
The game’s massive viewership makes commercial airtime during the Super Bowl broadcast the most expensive of the year. This high viewership has led companies into developing increasingly creative and expensive advertisements, with commercial viewership becoming an integral part of the event.
The Super Bowl has also become the second-largest event for American food consumption after Thanksgiving dinner. Fans are commonly purchasing beer, hot dogs, nachos and other concessions, spending an average of $58 on food and drinks at each NFL game.
Looking Toward Super Bowl LIX and Beyond
As we look toward Super Bowl LIX and future championship games, the NFL continues to select host cities years in advance. The recent pattern of selecting warm-weather locations or stadiums with domes has expanded the list of potential host cities.
When examining the list of past and upcoming Super Bowl games, it’s fascinating to see how the event has evolved from a simple championship match to an international spectacle. Future Super Bowl champions will join a prestigious lineage dating back to those early AFL-NFL showdowns.
Reflecting on the recent Super Bowl history, each host city brings its unique flavor to the event. I’ve been fortunate enough to cover several of these games as a sports journalist, and the economic impact on host cities is truly remarkable—often exceeding $500 million in regional economic benefits.
Super Bowl Locations and Dates
Super Bowl LXI is set for Feb. 14, 2027 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA, which serves as the shared home of the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers.
This will mark the second time the venue hosts the championship game, with 2027 coming just five years after its first time hosting Super Bowl LVI.
Having covered that initial game at SoFi, I was impressed by the stadium’s innovative design and dazzling overhead screens that create an unmatched viewing experience for fans.
Before that, Super Bowl LX will take place on Feb. 8, 2026 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA, home to the San Francisco 49ers.
This venue has previously hosted just one other championship, Super Bowl 50, which I remember for its unique Silicon Valley atmosphere and Denver’s defensive dominance. Looking further ahead, Super Bowl LXII in 2028 will return to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA, the home of the Atlanta Falcons.
This marks the second time this incredible retractable-roof facility will host the big game, most recently hosting in 2019 when New England defeated Los Angeles in a low-scoring affair.
The NFL’s venue selection shows clear preferences for modern facilities with proven track records. While the Caesars Superdome has hosted an impressive 11th Super Bowl in its storied history, newer venues like Levi’s Stadium have hosted just one other championship game (Super Bowl 50).
SoFi Stadium will host its second Super Bowl in 2027, building on its first experience with Super Bowl LVI. Similarly, Mercedes-Benz Stadium will host its second Super Bowl, after most recently hosting in 2019.
From my two decades covering the league, I’ve watched the NFL increasingly favor state-of-the-art stadiums in warm-weather locations or with climate-controlled environments.
Super Bowl trademark
The NFL works actively to prevent unauthorized commercial use of its trademarked terms including “NFL,” “Super Bowl,” and “Super Bowl Sunday” for events and promotions tied to the game that are not sanctioned by the NFL. Companies are asked to refer to it as “The Big Game” or use generic descriptions instead.
I once produced a radio spot for a local retailer during my advertising days, and we had to be incredibly creative with our wording. Similar to how Planters nuts parodied this restriction with commercials mentioning “super” and “bowl” separately while characters were “watching” the “big game.” Comedian Stephen Colbert found another clever workaround by referring to the game in 2014 as the “Superb Owl.”
In 2015, the NFL filed opposition with the USPTO Trademark Trial and Appeal Board against a trademark application from an Arizona-based nonprofit seeking to register “Superb Owl” as a service mark. The entity wanted to use “Superb Owl” for educational wildlife events, but the NFL saw it as too similar to their protected phrase.
The NFL claims that any use of the phrase “Super Bowl” implies NFL affiliation. On this basis, the league asserts broad rights to restrict how the game is shown publicly. According to the league, Super Bowl showings at churches and other events that “promote a message” at non-sporting event venues are prohibited. Venues are also prohibited from showing the Super Bowl on a television screen larger than 55 inches.
Some critics believe the NFL is exaggerating its ownership rights by suggesting “any use is prohibited.” This stance contradicts the broad doctrine of fair use in the United States. Legislation was proposed by Utah Senator Orrin Hatch in 2008 to “provide an exemption” from these exclusive rights under copyright law for nonprofit organizations wanting to display live football games for “other purposes.”
Back in 2004, the NFL began issuing cease-and-desist letters to casinos in Las Vegas that were hosting Super Bowl parties. Since “Super Bowl” is a registered trademark owned by the NFL, any business using the name for profit-making ventures is in violation of federal law. These letters prompted a swift reaction from Las Vegas resorts, which discontinued their popular and lucrative parties or began referring to them as “Big Game Parties.”
In 2006, the NFL’s attempt to trademark “The Big Game” failed. They withdrew the application in 2007 after facing growing commercial and public relations opposition. The move particularly upset Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley, whose fans of the Stanford Cardinal football and California Golden Bears football teams compete in “The Big Game,” which has been played since 1892 — 28 years before the formation of the NFL and 75 years before Super Bowl I. Additionally, the Mega Millions lottery game was also known as “The Big Game” or “The Big Game Mega Millions” from 1996 to 2002.
