How long does the Super Bowl last? Breaking down average game length and more for 49ers vs Chiefs

All football fans eagerly await the Super Bowl every year, and as game day approaches, the anticipation only intensifies. Historical data indicates that the game will likely conclude a little less than four hours after it starts.

The entire Super Bowl, including pre-and post-game analysis, usually lasts three to four hours. A typical Super Bowl, on average, lasts for three hours and twelve minutes. On Sunday, February 11, 2024, the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs will square off in this year's Super Bowl (LVIII), which will take place in Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Four 15-minute quarters make up an NFL regulation football game. Halftime, or the 12-minute break, usually occurs after the first two quarters of play. However, the Big Game has a halftime that lasts for almost half an hour.

The championship game features an elaborate concert that lasts for 12 to 15 minutes during halftime. Popular performers like Rihanna, Eminem, The Weeknd, Lady Gaga, and Justin Timberlake have all performed during the halftime show in recent years.

Usher will be the main attraction of this year's Super Bowl halftime performance. The eight-time Grammy Award winner also performed with Black Eyed Peas at the 2011 Super Bowl.

Video reviews of contentious rulings, penalties, and time-outs are additional elements that potentially add to the Super Bowl's running length, in addition to the commercials and halftime show.

Which Super Bowl game is the longest?

There have only been two Super Bowl games that lasted more than four hours. The Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers played in Super Bowl XLVII, which was the longest Big Game in history.

The game lasted 4 hours and 14 minutes from start to finish, including a 34-minute pause caused by a power outage at the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.

That game ended with the Ravens defeating the Niners 34–31 to take the victory.

Super Bowl XXXVIII, which featured the New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers, was the other championship game that lasted up to four hours and five minutes.

The game was just hotly contested and there was no particularly unusual reason for it to last longer than four hours.

The first Big Game to ever go into overtime was Super Bowl LI, in which the New England Patriots overcame the Atlanta Falcons after they had initially trailed by 25 points. The entire contest lasted for three hours and 47 minutes.