Newmann: Moneyball redux

Super Bowl LVlll (58 for those who are not into Roman numerals) is chugging toward us at a rapid rate. But, then again, it’s been a lead story for the past couple of weeks.

The game, the quarterbacks, the odds, Taylor Swift … pick one of those topics (or a host of others relating to the spectacle) and it’s likely to have been scrutinized in any and all manner.

Regarding the game itself, it should stack up to be a good one (at least on paper). Two very good signal callers, coupled with potent offenses and solid defenses going up against each other, could be a formula for an interesting matchup.

The economics of the game are also pretty interesting. The Chiefs’ quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, is 28 years old and in the prime of his career. He was the 10 pick in the 2017 draft and is currently earning $59 million in salary (not including bonuses or endorsements).

Mahomes’ counterpart on the 49ers, Brock Purdy, is 24 years old and is at the beginning of his career. He was selected with the last pick (No. 262) of the 2022 draft. That last pick also comes with the title of “Mr. Irrelevant.”

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What is relevant is that he’s now the quarterback of a Super Bowl team. His current annual salary is only about $870,000 (again, not including bonuses or endorsements). And that remuneration is based on where he was selected in the draft. Guess no one really saw him coming.

While most of us might be satisfied earning Purdy’s meager salary, the NFL is all about … money. Lots of money. The league as a whole is worth about an aggregate of about $163 billion. To put that number into perspective, it’s almost as much as the worth of the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball … combined. The Dallas Cowboys lead the wealth parade with an estimated value of almost $9 billion. Ironically, the Cowboys’ last Super Bowl appearance was way back in 1996.

Meanwhile, the Chiefs, who in 1967 lost to the Green Bay Packers in the very first Super Bowl (then modestly called the NFL-AFL World Championship), won the Big Game in 2020, lost in 2021 and won again last year. The Chiefs, despite their recent Super Bowl successes, are only worth a paltry $4.3 billion.

But the Chiefs can make up some of that deficit with the massive television revenue that the whole of the NFL is projected to receive over the next 10 years … $125.5 billion. And counting. Ever wonder why your cable or streaming bills keep on rising? Might have something to do with that little oval ball.

Then there’s the merchandising and the advertising revenue. While actual figures are not released on how much the NFL makes on merchandise from the Super Bowl alone, estimates range around the $2 billion mark. Television advertising makes up another massive amount. A 30-second slot in this year’s game will set you back around $7 million. Have to hope your cat food sales really spike after your commercial airs.

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As far as the actual game … the 49ers (worth about $6 billion — or $1.5 billion more than the Chiefs) appear to be slight favorites with the oddsmakers.

And Taylor Swift? Well, we certainly hope she can get from her Feb. 10 Tokyo concert to Las Vegas in time for the Feb. 11 game. But with a $1.1 billion net worth, she’ll probably have no trouble arranging the fastest possible transport.

Just hope she, and all of us, get to watch a great game.

Tom Newmann splits his time between Edwards and Queenstown, New Zealand. He has been going winter-to-winter since 1986. He was also a journalist in Missoula, Montana, at the Missoulian for quite a few years. Email him at tsnnz12@gmail.com.