On Sunday, February 8th, the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks will fight out the ultimate battle in the NFL: the Super Bowl. This year’s edition, Super Bowl LX, will be the 60th in the competition’s 106-year history.
What’s the history of the Super Bowl?
The NFL has been around for longer, however. In 1920, the NFL (then known as the APFA) hosted its inaugural season, but did not have playoffs or a championship game. Instead, the champions were determined by the final standings. This made the Akron Pros the inaugural NFL champions.
It wasn’t until 1933 that the NFL was split into two divisions, and a playoff system and a championship game were introduced. The Chicago Bears – who are still active in today’s NFL – were the first winners of the NFL Championship Game.
However, if you look at the table of modern-day champions, this championship will not appear behind the Bears’ name. After the NFL and AFL, a competitor founded in the early 1960s, started discussing a merger in 1966, the two leagues agreed to crown a common champion for all of American football in the championship game named ‘The Big One’, which would be called the Super Bowl – a name given Kansas City Chiefs founder Lamar Hunt, who saw his kids play with a toy called the ‘Super Ball’ – from 1967 onwards.
The Super Bowl era kicked off in January 1967 with a game between the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs, which the Packers won 35-10 under the tutelage of Vince Lombardi, who the Super Bowl trophy would later be named after. The win was the Packers’ first of back-to-back title runs – their first two of four Super Bowl titles.
Who has won the most Super Bowls?
The Packers’ four wins are the third-most among all teams, together with the New York Giants and Kansas City Chiefs. Only four teams have won more titles: the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers, who’ve both won five titles, and the Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots, who lead the league al with six championships. Amazingly, quarterback Tom Brady has more Super Bowls than any team in NFL history: 7 (Six with the New England Patriots, one with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers).
The Seattle Seahawks, meanwhile, can win their second Super Bowl title by beating the Patriots in Levi’s Stadium. The Seahawks beat the Denver Broncos 43-8 in Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014, but lost 21-10 to the Steelers in 2006 and 28-24 to the Patriots in 2015.
The Minnesota Vikings and Buffalo Bills are on the unfortunate side of history, with both teams losing all four of their Super Bowl appearances. Four teams have never made the Super Bowl: the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Houston Texans. The Browns and Lions do have some championships to boast, with the two teams combining for 12 titles in the pre-Super Bowl era.
Full list of Super Bowl champions
2025 (LIX) - Philadelphia Eagles 40-22 Kansas City Chiefs (runners-up)
2024 (LVIII) - Kansas City Chiefs 25-22 San Francisco 49ers
2023 (LVII) - Kansas City Chiefs 38-35 Philadelphia Eagles
2022 (LVI) - Los Angeles Rams 23-20 Cincinnati Bengals
2021 (LV) - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-9 Kansas City Chiefs
2020 (LIV) - Kansas City Chiefs 31-20 San Francisco 49ers
2019 (LIII) - New England Patriots 13-3 Los Angeles Rams
2018 (LII) - Philadelphia Eagles 41-33 New England Patriots
2017 (LI) - New England Patriots 34-28 Atlanta Falcons
2016 (50) - Denver Broncos 24-10 Carolina Panthers
2015 (XLIX) - New England Patriots 28-24 Seattle Seahawks
2014 (XLVIII) - Seattle Seahawks 43-8 Denver Broncos
2013 (XLVII) - Baltimore Ravens 34-31 San Francisco 49ers
2012 (XLVI) - New York Giants 21-17 New England Patriots
2011 (XLV) - Green Bay Packers 31-25 Pittsburgh Steelers
2010 (XLIV) - New Orleans Saints 31-17 Indianapolis Colts
2009 (XLIII) - Pittsburgh Steelers 27-23 Arizona Cardinals
2008 (XLII) - New York Giants 17-14 New England Patriots
2007 (XLI) - Indianapolis Colts 29-17 Chicago Bears
2006 (XL) - Pittsburgh Steelers 21-10 Seattle Seahawks
2005 (XXXIX) - New England Patriots 24-21 Philadelphia Eagles
2004 (XXXVIII) - New England Patriots 32-29 Carolina Panthers
2003 (XXXVII) - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 48-21 Oakland Raiders
2002 (XXXVI) - New England Patriots 20-17 St. Louis Rams
2001 (XXXV) - Baltimore Ravens 34-7 New York Giants
2000 (XXXIV) - St. Louis Rams 23-16 Tennessee Titans
1999 (XXXIII) - Denver Broncos 34-19 Atlanta Falcons
1998 (XXXII) - Denver Broncos 31-24 Green Bay Packers
1997 (XXXI) - Green Bay Packers 35-21 New England Patriots
1996 (XXX) - Dallas Cowboys 27-17 Pittsburgh Steelers
1995 (XXIX) - San Francisco 49ers 49-26 San Diego Chargers
1994 (XXVIII) - Dallas Cowboys 30-13 Buffalo Bills
1993 (XXVII) - Dallas Cowboys 52-17 Buffalo Bills
1992 (XXVI) - Washington Redskins 37-24 Buffalo Bills
1991 (XXV) - New York Giants 20-19 Buffalo Bills
1990 (XXIV) - San Francisco 49ers 55-10 Denver Broncos
1989 (XXIII) - San Francisco 49ers 20-16 Cincinnati Bengals
1988 (XXII) - Washington Redskins 42-10 Denver Broncos
1987 (XXI) - New York Giants 39-20 Denver Broncos
1986 (XX) - Chicago Bears 46-10 New England Patriots
1985 (XIX) - San Francisco 49ers 38-16 Miami Dolphins
1984 (XVIII) - Los Angeles Raiders 38-9 Washington Redskins
1983 (XVII) - Washington Redskins 27-17 Miami Dolphins
1982 (XVI) - San Francisco 49ers 26-21 Cincinnati Bengals
1981 (XV) - Oakland Raiders 27-10 Philadelphia Eagles
1980 (XIV) - Pittsburgh Steelers 31-19 Los Angeles Rams
1979 (XIII) - Pittsburgh Steelers 35-31 Dallas Cowboys
1978 (XII) - Dallas Cowboys 27-10 Denver Broncos
1977 (XI) - Oakland Raiders 32-14 Minnesota Vikings
1976 (X) - Pittsburgh Steelers 21-17 Dallas Cowboys
1975 (IX) - Pittsburgh Steelers 16-6 Minnesota Vikings
1974 (VIII) - Miami Dolphins 24-7 Minnesota Vikings
1973 (VII) - Miami Dolphins 14-7 Washington Redskins
1972 (VI) - Dallas Cowboys 24-3 Miami Dolphins
1971 (V) - Baltimore Colts 16-13 Dallas Cowboys
1970 (IV) - Kansas City Chiefs 23-7 Minnesota Vikings
1969 (III) - New York Jets 16-7 Baltimore Colts
1968 (II) - Green Bay Packers 33-14 Oakland Raiders
1967 (I) - Green Bay Packers 35-10 Kansas City Chiefs