If you have ever supported a sport team, you know that fan rivalry is a serious thing. Debates on which team is better, who deserves to win the next cup, and who is the true champion of the field won’t surprise anyone.
But what about a more global rivalry? Football (also known as soccer) and American football fans have been having this debate for ages: which of these ball games is the ultimate powerhouse in the world of sport?
In this article we will take a look at two major events that largely define their respective sports. The Premier League and the Super Bowl both boast of massive following and their cultural significance is undeniable. However, their completely different fan cultures, financial dynamics, and even betting mechanisms create an aura of uniqueness for both events.
Viewership Battle
The differences between the Premier League and the Super Bowl start at the level of audience engagement. As the Premier League runs for a whole season from August to May, its fans stay continuously engaged. On the other hand, the Super Bowl is a single night event, but the viewership frenzy surrounding Super Sunday can reach incredible heights.
Premier League’s Global Reach
The overall popularity of football in general and English football in particular draws global audiences to the stadiums and screens. For example, during the 2023/24 season, the stadiums were full to 98.7 per cent of their capacity. The number of the TV viewers of live matches in the UK alone reached 35.7 million people. The total number of viewers across 189 countries reached a record breaking 1.87 billion people.
Liverpool remains the most watched club for two seasons. In 2023/24 it gathered 471 million viewers over 38 matches they played in the season. In 2024/25 The Reds boasted of 133.8 million TV viewers in the first nine games from August to October alone.
Super Bowl’s Single-Night Spectacle
Compared to an event that runs for almost ten months, the Super Bowl that takes place on one Sunday in February can’t possibly have such high viewership. However, as a single night spectacle, it does show some impressive numbers.
In 2024, the TV audience in the United States was estimated at 123.7 million viewers. While it is not as widespread globally as the Premier League, it still draws a significant audience outside the US. In 2024, this number equaled 62.5 million viewers.
The Money Game
Despite having such a difference in the running period, both events generate quite a comparable income and have a large economic influence. However, if we want to determine which one offers a better return on investment (ROI), this would depend on what your end goal as an investor is.
Super Bowl’s Ad Frenzy
Even outside the Super Bowl, commercials play a significant role in American culture. Moving beyond just a marketing tool, they often provide entertainment, mirror the cultural values, shape new trends — sometimes all of the above in the same commercial.
And in a game that usually lasts between three and four hours, there is over 50 minutes of advertising real estate. Given the high viewership numbers for Super Bowl, getting your ad “in the game” means you are advertising to an enormous number of potential customers.
Commercials aired during Super Bowl usually involve high profile celebrities. A single 30 second block cost $7 million in 2024. With around 70 ads aired during the game, the revenue can reach hundreds of millions. Yet, in 2025 the growth continued, with this rate going up to $8 million.
The most expensive Super Bowl commercial aired in 2022. Called Mind Reader and featuring Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost, it advertised Amazon’s Alexa. The ad was 90 seconds long (3x the length of a usual Super Bowl commercial) and cost a staggering $26 million.
Premier League’s Broadcast Deals
Most Premier League stadiums have a smaller capacity than an average Super Bowl stadium. As the football game is also much shorter than a Super Bowl match, there are also significantly fewer ads airing during halftime.
However, what the Premier League doesn’t get in live tickets and ad revenue, it makes up in broadcasting deals. Currently, two British TV channels own the broadcasting rights for the Premier League matches, Sky TV and TNT Sports.
In December 2023 the Premier League announced a four-year deal with these channels that would cost £6.7 billion. The agreement is to come into power as of the 2025/26 season. Viewers can expect an increased number of live broadcasts throughout the season.
Richard Masters, chief executive of the Premier League, said this deal was underlining “the strength of the Premier League” and a “testament to our clubs, players and managers who continue to deliver the world’s most competitive football”.
The deal with Sky TV and TNT Sports will benefit both the league and its clubs, as well as bring a change to the sports media broadcasting.
Fan Culture Face-Off
But what is any sport without its loyal fans? Both the National Football League and the Premier League are widely known for their vigorous, cheering, ever-present fans. Yes, every fan’s ultimate goal is to enjoy the game and support their favourite team. But the contrast between these two communities and the uniqueness attached to their ways of experiencing the game is palpable.
Super Bowl’s Tailgate Tradition
The Super Bowl experience starts way before the actual match. If you have never been to a tailgate party, you haven’t really experienced the true spirit of the Super Bowl. For a tailgating party, fans of both teams gather in parking lots and special designated areas outside the stadium to share food, alcoholic beverages, and most importantly, fun and cheer.
The most popular food during tailgating parties is grilled meat, but any food, including regional specialties, is highly welcome. People arrive in cars, often decorated in their favourite team’s colours and insignia.
You can have a tailgate event even if you are not attending the game. Families and friends gather for a BBQ in their backyard, while some companies organize corporate tailgate parties.
And what is a Super Sunday without the halftime performance? Over the years, the Super Bowl has seen some of America’s biggest and most popular stars present their songs and create huge, colourful shows for the audience.
Premier League’s Matchday Rituals
While Premier League fans also love to celebrate their teams before the match starts, they do it in a different fashion. A common tradition is to gather in a local pub to socialize, soak in the atmosphere of comradery, and discuss possible tactics and outcomes of the game, all while enjoying a beverage.
Those fans who attend the game at the stadium would often decorate themselves with their favourite team’s merch and march to the stadium in groups, chanting the team’s song on the way. By the way, every Premier League club has its own team song that is passed down the generations.
An interesting phenomenon of these games is tifo. Fans on the stadium stands create a visual choreographed display that can be the club’s flag, cheering banners, or any other message aimed at supporting their team.
And there is nothing like a collective “stadium roar” that expresses the fans’ appreciation, excitement, or disappointment with what’s going on down on the field. Even if you came to the game as a neutral spectator, you can’t help but participate in the roar, so contagious is the vibrant atmosphere.
Betting Buzz
Betting has been a part of sports culture since ancient civilizations. But with time it developed to become an entertainment in its own right, adding excitement to the overall experience of any sport event and making fans even more invested in the outcome.
While the main principles of betting apply to both Premier League and Super Bowl, due to the difference of game rules, the structure of the game, and many other factors, you can also observe some differences.
Super Bowl Betting Trends
For a very long time, gambling in the United States was deemed illegal, largely restricting all gambling institutions to the state of Nevada. However in 2018 the Supreme Court adopted a decision to strike down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA). Now every state has the right to decide whether to legalize betting on its territory. Currently, 38 states and the District of Columbia have legalized sports betting in one form or another.
In the following years this resulted in growth not only in traditional sports bets but also novelty bets. Otherwise also known as proposition bets, they usually focus on things that are not directly related to the game outcome but do add fun and excitement to the betting process.
For the Super Bowl, the most popular novelty bet is the opening coin toss outcome. Others include the length of the national anthem (will it play over/under a specific time length?), the first song to be performed by the invited artist during the halftime show, and ever since Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce became a couple, another burning question – and a novelty bet – is: will he propose on Super Sunday?
Premier League’s Constant Betting Activity
Premier League betting starts before the season. Early predictions, favourites for the season, and changing odds guarantee that you won’t get bored from day one till the final.
Every week you can place a bet (or two, or three) on the winners of the scheduled matches, the total number of balls that will end up in the net during the game, or even the number of red cards the referee gives out in one match.
Social Media Scrap
In the modern world, it is virtually impossible to have any level of publicity and not be present on social media. For sports leagues, clubs, and individual athletes, this is yet another way to engage with their fanbase, create an atmosphere of unity, and encourage them to keep up their support.
How do the Super Bowl and Premier League utilize this modern tool to their advantage and which one is more social media savvy?
Super Bowl’s Digital Hype
Super Bowl goes all in when it comes to the digital presence. High profile commercials and ads are only one side of the story. Celebrity endorsement also expands beyond the ads. A lot of fans choose to attend the game specifically for the big name artist who will be performing during halftime.
Each Super Bowl night is filled with viral moments: from a gorgeous touchdown to an epic fail to the mindblowing outfits in the halftime show — these all become viral content that keeps living in the social media long after the game is over.
Premier League’s Year-Round Interaction
The Premier League doesn’t stay behind either when it comes to active social media life. Each club contributes to the fans’ social engagement. In the 2023/24 season Liverpool was acknowledged as the most engaged club, showing some impressive figures. The Reds had achieved over 1.5 billion fan engagements and 11.9 billion views, adding “the most viewed on social” to their title.
It was also Liverpool who became the first Premier League club to achieve 10 million subscribers on YouTube. The Reds are now among the creators who hold a Diamond Play Button.
Who Wins?
The question as to which league holds the title of the ultimate leader will probably always exist. But an overview of both the Premier League and Super Bowl shows that, while significantly differing in many aspects, both events create a tangible impact.
These two titans of the sporting world continue to captivate audiences worldwide, creating an interesting dynamic and contributing in their own unique ways to the development of sports culture in the world.
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