Staggering amount of money Super Bowl adverts cost by the second

It's watched by hundreds of millions, so you can understand why companies cough up absolutely loads for an advert slot during the Super Bowl.

The Super Bowl LVIII is set to kick off this weekend on Sunday, 11 February at Las Vegas' Allegiant Stadium.

It's the biggest sporting event in the world, with the San Francisco 49ers facing off against the Kansas City Chiefs.

And it's not just football fans who are excited as Taylor Swift will be expected in the crowd to support her beau, the Chief's star man Travis Kelce.

What makes the spectacle the greatest show on earth is everything that comes with the game of American football that acts as the finale to the NFL season.

We're talking about the amazing food creations and snacks that go viral on social media and the out of this world halftime shows.

Then we've got the incredible adverts

Paramount+

They feature some of the biggest names and most recognisable faces in show business, and never fail to impress year after year.

Whether they're plugging their new films like Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck did last year, or being paid the big bucks to endorse the latest product that creators hope will become the next Prime sensation, the adverts are viewed by millions globally.

Heck, we even got a Ross and Rachel reunion for one of the ads this year, which saw Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer awkwardly reunite.

Anyway, speaking of millions, it's a number which translates into cold hard cash if you want to have your product featured in a Super Bowl ad.

The cost of an ad has shot up in the last two decades as the commercialisation of American football continues.

Popeyes

Back in 2002, it would cost advertisers $2.2 million (£1.74 million) for a 30 second clip. That's $73,333 (£58,031) a second.

Nowadays, we're talking a lot, lot more.

For last year's Super Bowl and 2024, a 30 second clip will set you back an eye-watering $7 million ($5.54 million).

The per second cost is now up to $233,333 (£184,645).

But why do they cost so much?

Well as we said, the Super Bowl is so much more than just a game of sport.

It's the spectacle that makes people tune in for the over-the-top-ness of it all.

PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images

With the massive rise in social media platforms like YouTube and Facebook, it means that the ads then transcend the 30 second clip on live TV.

Back in 2019, people spent 641,000 hours watching the Super Bowl adverts back after the game had taken place. That was up by more than 50 per cent on the year before.

Every year the usual suspects will have a slot in the Super Bowl, such as Budweiser, but you'll often see celebrities paid big bucks to endorse products alongside the more established Budweisers of this world.