The Super Bowl is one of the largest global sporting events of the year, and it's as much about the action on the field as it is about the fanfare off it.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Australia has this week been greenlit to host its first-ever NFL regular season game in September, so the Super Bowl is an excellent way for sporting fans Down Under not familiar with American football to get acquainted with the sport.
From the nearly $10 million 30-second TV ad spots, to the much-watched half-time show, the Aussie connections at the game and the teams vying to lift the Vince Lombardi Trophy - here's everything you need to know about Super Bowl LX.
Where and when is the game?
The New England Patriots will play the Seattle Seahawks at Levi's Stadium at Santa Clara, California, which has a capacity of 68,500.
The 60th edition of the Super Bowl will be held on Monday, February 9, 2026, at 10.30am AEDT time.
Australian viewers can watch the game live on Channel 7 or stream on Disney+, Foxtel or Kayo.
Pre-game and half-time shows
The performers at Super Bowl LX are sure to get people talking in the US, where the political climate couldn't be more red-hot right now.
Outspoken Californian punk rock band Green Day will be the opening ceremony act, taking the stage just down the road from where they started out in San Francisco.
Then the pre-game entertainment will see Charlie Puth sing the US national anthem, while Brandi Carlile will belt out America the Beautiful and Coco Jones is performing a rendition of Lift Every Voice and Sing.
The prestigious half-time show will see Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny take centre stage with 400 dancers, fresh off claiming a Grammy for Album of the Year - the first time a record entirely in Spanish has won the award.
Last year rapper Kendrick Lamar surpassed Michael Jackson's 1993 performance as the most-watched Super Bowl half-time show in history, and many are tipping Bad Bunny to set a new record due to his global appeal.
That's despite US president Donald Trump proclaiming Bad Bunny was "a terrible choice". Grab the popcorn for this one.
The best Super Bowl ads
When the starting rate for a 30-second Super Bowl TV ad is $US7 million ($A9.98 million), you'd want bang for your buck.
But with almost 200 million worldwide set to watch the Super Bowl broadcast it's likely brands that cough up that amount will get value back.
Australian viewers might not always get to see all of the TV ads put to air on the American broadcast, but luckily they're easy to watch online before kick-off.
Among the celebrity-filled promotions, there's Kiwi film director Taika Waititi flogging Pepsi with a Polar Bear, Sabrina Carpenter dating a Pringle, and Post Malone and Peyton Manning chasing a Bud Light beer keg.
Australian connections
The Seattle Seahawks' 30-year-old former Sydney Swans NEAFL player-turned-punter Michael Dickson has a chance to become just the second Australian to play in and win a Super Bowl on Monday morning.
Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman Jordan Mailata was the first to earn the honour at the Super Bowl last year, and former Seahawks player Jesse Williams won a ring as part of the Seattle roster in 2014 despite being injured all season and not playing in Super Bowl XLVIII.
There are also Aussies behind the scenes who could earn a Super Bowl ring depending on the result on Monday morning, and how many rings the winning team chooses to distribute to club staff.
Patriots media manager and former intern at The Canberra Times, Stephanie Burnham, and Seahawks strength coach from Sydney, Danny van Dijk, could be in line for a ring from their respective teams. There's even a slight chance the Patriots' team plane's pilot, Matt, who is also an Aussie, is given some diamond-studded recognition.
Patriots eye history after rebuild
Despite New England's impressive feat of reaching more Super Bowls than any other NFL team, until this season the last six years have been a rebuilding process with more losses than wins.
Before the 2020 season, legendary quarterback Tom Brady left the Patriots, a team he'd won six Super Bowls with since 1999, and it's been a long road back to the top since then.
By early 2025 the Patriots were at rock bottom after three-straight losing seasons, and the team parted ways with two coaches in future hall-of-famer Bill Belichick and former New England linebacker Jerod Mayo.
But those rough seasons had earned the team some valuable draft picks, including quarterback, 23-year-old Drake Maye, who will lead the team out against the Seahawks at Super Bowl LX.
Maye, along with the hiring of - another former Patriot - coach Mike Vrabel, has seen the NFL giants rise again, knocking on the door of its seventh Super Bowl victory, which would be an NFL-first.
Seahawks seek redemption
Seattle boasted the best defence in the NFL this season, and their offense and special teams groups have been no slouches either. It's that one-two-three punch that puts the Seahawks as overwhelming favourites against the Patriots, with their quality at every position hard to ignore.
The greatest storyline, though, is with the Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold.
Once the third overall pick in the draft, the 28-year-old has led a rollercoaster career to date, playing for the New York Jets, Carolina Panthers, San Francisco 49ers and Minnesota Vikings prior to arriving in Seattle.
In his first year at the Seahawks, Darnold can lead his team to Super Bowl glory in extraordinary fashion.
There's also a sense of revenge on the minds of passionate Seahawks fans who were denied the NFL championship in heartbreaking fashion by the Patriots at Super Bowl XLIX in 2015.
In a shock sequence with seconds on the clock, Seattle had the ball only one-yard out from the endzone, and looked certain to score a game-winning touchdown, only for a goal-line interception by New England cornerback Malcolm Butler to seal a narrow 28-24 win for the Patriots.
Fast facts
Super Bowl LX tickets start from around $8000 with a luxury suite likely to set you back nearly $500,000.
With victory on Monday the New England Patriots could become the team with the most Super Bowl victories outright. They currently share the title with six victories alongside the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Seahawks are the odds favourite to beat the Patriots in Super Bowl LX.
The last time the Patriots were at the Super Bowl, they beat the LA Rams in 2019 to win the Vince Lombardi Trophy. The Seahawks claimed their only championship to date at Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014, and lost in two other previous appearances.
Super Bowl LX is the second time these two teams have met in the big game, with the last being Super Bowl XLIX in 2015, when the Patriots beat the Seahawks.
