What a Super Bowl commercial cost in any given year is just as much a part of the overall buzz as the ads themselves.
As expected, the prices for a 30-second spot have skyrocketed since the first big game kicked off back in the 1960s, with a commercial in Super Bowl I running just over $37,000.
To put that into perspective, it cost roughly $233,000 per second for an ad in the 2022 Super Bowl between the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals.
Believe it or not, though, it’s money well spent for the advertisers—where else in the fragmented days of social media and streaming yanking away audiences (and their attention) will you get 100 million viewers…who are typically more interested in the ads than the actual game?
And the costs work just as well for the network that airs the Super Bowl: a recent figure showed earnings of $434.5 million of in-game ad revenue.
Any guesses as to what a 2023 Super Bowl commercial will cost?
If the historical trend continues, it’ll be a record average of $7 million—take a look.
Super Bow I, 1967
30-second cost: $37,500
Super Bowl II, 1968
30-second cost: $54,500
Super Bowl III, 1969
30-second cost: $55,000
Super Bowl IV, 1970
30-second cost: $78,200
Super Bowl V, 1971
30-second cost: $72,500
Super Bowl VI, 1972
30-second cost: $86,100
Super Bowl VII, 1973
30-second cost: $88,100
Super Bowl VIII, 1974
30-second cost: $103,500
Super Bowl IX, 1975
30-second cost: $107,000
Super Bowl X, 1976
30-second cost: $110,000
Super Bowl XI, 1977
30-second cost: $125,000
Super Bowl XII, 1978
30-second cost: $162,300
Super Bowl XIII, 1979
30-second cost: $185,000
Super Bowl XIV, 1980
30-second cost: $222,000
Super Bowl XV, 1981
30-second cost: $275,000
Super Bowl XVI, 1982
30-second cost: $324,300
Super Bowl XVII, 1983
30-second cost: $400,000
Super Bowl XVIII, 1984
30-second cost: $368,200
Super Bowl XIX, 1985
30-second cost: $525,000
Super Bowl XX, 1986
30-second cost: $550,000
Super Bowl XXI, 1987
30-second cost: $600,000
Super Bowl XXII, 1988
30-second cost: $645,500
Super Bowl XXIII, 1989
30-second cost: $675,500
Super Bowl XXIV, 1990
30-second cost: $700,400
Super Bowl XXV, 1991
30-second cost: $800,000
Super Bowl XXVI, 1992
30-second cost: $850,000
Super Bowl XXVII, 1993
30-second cost: $850,000
Super Bowl XXVIII, 1994
30-second cost: $900,000
Super Bowl XXIX, 1995
30-second cost: $1.15 million
Super Bowl XXX, 1996
30-second cost: $1.085 million
Super Bowl XXXI, 1997
30-second cost: $1.2 million
Super Bowl XXXII, 1998
30-second cost: $1.29 million
Super Bowl XXXIII, 1999
30-second cost: $1.6 million
Super Bowl XXXIV, 2000
30-second cost: $2.1 million
Super Bowl XXXV, 2001
30-second cost: $2.2 million
Super Bowl XXXVI, 2002
30-second cost: $2.2 million
Super Bowl XXXVII, 2003
30-second cost: $2.2 million
Super Bowl XXXVIII, 2004
30-second cost: $2.3 million
Super Bowl XXXIX, 2005
30-second cost: $2.4 million
Super Bowl XL, 2006
30-second cost: $2.5 million
Super Bowl XLI, 2007
30-second cost: $2.385 million
Super Bowl XLII, 2008
30-second cost: $2.699 million
Super Bowl XLIII, 2009
30-second cost: $2.999 million
Super Bowl XLIV, 2010
30-second cost: $2.954 million
Super Bowl XLV, 2011
30-second cost: $3.1 million
Super Bowl XLVI, 2012
30-second cost: $3.5 million
Super Bowl XLVII, 2013
30-second cost: $3.8 million
Super Bowl XLVIII, 2014
30-second cost: $4 million
Super Bowl XLIX, 2015
30-second cost: $4.25 million
Super Bowl 50, 2016
30-second cost: $4.5 million
Super Bowl LI, 2017
30-second cost: $5 million
Super Bowl LII, 2018
30-second cost: $5.2 million
Super Bowl LIII, 2019
30-second cost: $5.3 million
Super Bowl LIV, 2020
30-second cost: $5.6 million
Super Bowl LV, 2021
30-second cost: $5.5 milllion
Super Bowl LVI, 2022
30-second cost: $6.5 million