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What Number is the Super Bowl This Year? A Brief Explainer
The Super Bowl is set for Feb. 9 between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles in New Orleans, LA.
This year's Super Bowl will be Super Bowl LIX, otherwise known as Super Bowl 59. The Roman numeral naming system for The Big Game is unique to the NFL, and has been in place for more than five decades.
Here's a brief background on why the NFL has chosen to count Super Bowls using Roman numerals.
Why does the NFL use Roman Numerals to count Super Bowls and when did it begin?
The Roman numeral system for counting Super Bowls has not been in place since the beginning, but it has been present for more than five decades of championship football. The original idea, according to Kansas City Chiefs historian Bob Moore, can be credited to former Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt, who believed that the system was adopted to delineate between the regular season being played in one calendar year, with the Super Bowl being played in another.
For example, a majority of this football season was played in the fall of 2024, but the playoffs and Super Bowl are taking place in January and February of '25.
The system was officially put into place in 1971 beginning with Super Bowl V (5). It's been in place ever since. However, there is one exception. Super Bowl 50, which took place in February of 2016, did not use Roman numerals. This is the only Super Bowl since '71 that has not had Roman numerals used in the official record books.
Breakdown of Super Bowls by Roman Numerals (Conversion Chart)
Below is a table of Roman numerals vs. Arabic numerals of Super Bowls, based on how the NFL has officially recorded the list historically. As mentioned, Roman numerals were put into place beginning with Super Bowl V.
Super Bowl Count | Super Bowl Count in NFL History Books |
|---|---|
Super Bowl 1 | Super Bowl 1 |
Super Bowl 2 | Super Bowl 2 |
Super Bowl 3 | Super Bowl 3 |
Super Bowl 4 | Super Bowl 4 |
Super Bowl 5 | Super Bowl V |
Super Bowl 6 | Super Bowl VI |
Super Bowl 7 | Super Bowl VII |
Super Bowl 8 | Super Bowl VIII |
Super Bowl 9 | Super Bowl IX |
Super Bowl 10 | Super Bowl X |
Super Bowl 11 | Super Bowl XI |
Super Bowl 12 | Super Bowl XII |
Super Bowl 13 | Super Bowl XIII |
Super Bowl 14 | Super Bowl XIV |
Super Bowl 15 | Super Bowl XV |
Super Bowl 16 | Super Bowl XVI |
Super Bowl 17 | Super Bowl XVII |
Super Bowl 18 | Super Bowl XVIII |
Super Bowl 19 | Super Bowl XIX |
Super Bowl 20 | Super Bowl XX |
Super Bowl 21 | Super Bowl XXI |
Super Bowl 22 | Super Bowl XXII |
Super Bowl 23 | Super Bowl XXIII |
Super Bowl 24 | Super Bowl XXIV |
Super Bowl 25 | Super Bowl XXV |
Super Bowl 26 | Super Bowl XXVI |
Super Bowl 27 | Super Bowl XXVII |
Super Bowl 28 | Super Bowl XXVIII |
Super Bowl 29 | Super Bowl XXIX |
Super Bowl 30 | Super Bowl XXX |
Super Bowl 31 | Super Bowl XXXI |
Super Bowl 32 | Super Bowl XXXII |
Super Bowl 33 | Super Bowl XXXIII |
Super Bowl 34 | Super Bowl XXXIV |
Super Bowl 35 | Super Bowl XXXV |
Super Bowl 36 | Super Bowl XXXVI |
Super Bowl 37 | Super Bowl XXXVII |
Super Bowl 38 | Super Bowl XXXVIII |
Super Bowl 39 | Super Bowl XXXIX |
Super Bowl 40 | Super Bowl XL |
Super Bowl 41 | Super Bowl XLI |
Super Bowl 42 | Super Bowl XLII |
Super Bowl 43 | Super Bowl XLIII |
Super Bowl 44 | Super Bowl XLIV |
Super Bowl 45 | Super Bowl XLV |
Super Bowl 46 | Super Bowl XLVI |
Super Bowl 47 | Super Bowl XLVII |
Super Bowl 48 | Super Bowl XLVIII |
Super Bowl 49 | Super Bowl XLIX |
Super Bowl 50 | Super Bowl 50 |
Super Bowl 51 | Super Bowl LI |
Super Bowl 52 | Super Bowl LII |
Super Bowl 53 | Super Bowl LIII |
Super Bowl 54 | Super Bowl LIV |
Super Bowl 55 | Super Bowl LV |
Super Bowl 56 | Super Bowl LVI |
Super Bowl 57 | Super Bowl LVII |
Super Bowl 58 | Super Bowl LVIII |
Super Bowl 59 | Super Bowl LIX |
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Mike McDaniel is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where he has worked since January 2022. His work has been featured at InsideTheACC.com, SB Nation, FanSided and more. McDaniel hosts the Hokie Hangover Podcast, covering Virginia Tech athletics, as well as Basketball Conference: The ACC Football Podcast. Outside of work, he is a husband and father, and an avid golfer.