As the showpiece event of the American sporting calendar, the Super Bowl combines razzmatazz and spectacle with elite athletic competition and drama like nothing else. However, the UEFA Champions League final is equally as anticipated around the world, and football is the globe's most popular sport.
Which event comes out on top? We have crunched down the numbers to help give our overall view…
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The case for the Super Bowl
The Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers battled it out in a close game in the Super Bowl LVIII, with the Chiefs just coming out on top as 25-22 overall winners. They became the first team to win consecutive Super Bowls since the New York Patriots in 2004.
Indeed, it also became the most-watched telecast in history, drawing a staggering 123.4m average viewers across all platforms. Previous Super Bowls have represented nine of the ten most-watch shows in US television history, with the finale of ‘MASH’ in 1983 the only show able to disrupt the monopoly of the NFL’s end-of-season climax.
By way of contrast, this year's Champions League final between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund only drew in 3.6m viewers from the US, while the most-watched soccer game in US television history is the 2022 FIFA World Cup final, in which Argentina beat France after a penalty shootout. That garnered 26.73m average viewers, but even that amounts to less than the lowest-viewed Super Bowl ever, Super Bowl II, which drew an audience of 39.1m in 1968.
The NFL has mastered the art of monetizing the Super Bowl, with the half-time commercials having become almost as big a part of the spectacle as the action on the field. Per 2015 figures, a 30-second advertising slot during the half-time broadcast cost $4.5m, with the total advertising revenue for the event estimated to be $360m.
The Champions League final, on the other hand, reserves most of its advertising slots for sponsors who committed to the entire 32-team tournament from the outset, meaning the final itself adds little to the revenue pot by comparison to the Super Bowl.
The cost of attending is higher for the Super Bowl with 2018 figures showing the lowest ticket price at $950, while tickets for the Champions League final were between $70 and $450. The cost of tickets for such in-demand events as these are exponentially higher on the secondary market, with resellers demanding thousands.
Massive sporting spectacles like the Super Bowl and Champions League final drive record engagement for iGaming operators, with bookmakers like BetMGM, bet365, and Betano seeing a surge in betting activity. Platforms ramp up promotions – from sign-up bonuses to free bets – while offering hundreds of special markets, from prop bets on halftime performances to live-score boosts, capitalizing on the global buzz.
The case for the Champions League final
When it comes to a global audience, the Champions League final’s reach dwarfs that of the Super Bowl. Indeed, it is estimated to draw in around double as many viewers worldwide, with Real Madrid winning a record 15th title against Borussia Dortmund at Wembley Stadium earlier this year.
The Champions League final is also watched in more countries than the Super Bowl, with more than 200 nations screening club soccer’s biggest one-off game, compared to 180 countries in which the NFL’s equivalent is available.
UEFA, European football’s governing body, does offer much higher prize money to Champions League winners than the NFL does for the Super Bowl. Barcelona received $108.4million in prize money when they were crowned champions of Europe in 2015, while the Patriots were handed $14.9million for winning the Super Bowl that year.
In terms of social media following, this year's Super Bowl finalists Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers have 2.5m and 2.4m X followers respectively, whereas this year's Champions League finalists Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund boast 17.8m and 4.4m X followers.
Where previously the midweek fixture limited the build-up time in the run-up to the match, day-long previews and pre-events are now customary. There is also more scope for tourism, with fans able to travel across the continent to attend without the need to take time off work.
The Champions League has also now incorporated a Super Bowl-esque showbiz element with on-field musical performances before kick-off. So, while the Super Bowl is, and likely will always be, the king of US sports, the wider sporting world pays much more attention to the Champions League final.
Super Bowl vs Champions League final: Who wins?
In terms of its worldwide outreach and overall popularity of the sport, we have to give the Champions League final the win here. The Super Bowl is huge in the US and has a growing worldwide audience, but football is far more popular globally and there are no matches at club level more iconic than the Champions League final.
Viewing figures for each of this year's finals show this, while the Champions League and football in general is growing increasingly popular in the US. Nonetheless, both games are to be admired, and they are certainly on every sports fan's calendar each year.
