How Much Does A Hot Dog Cost At The Super Bowl?
The upcoming Super Bowl LVIII is sure to be a cash cow. Last year's game was the most-viewed television program in American history, and even if this year doesn't manage to top that, it'll still be a record haul for the hosting venue, Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Tickets to the game are selling at an average price of $9,800, making this the most expensive Super Bowl to attend in history. But it won't just be the seats that charge a hefty fee — concessions at the Super Bowl are notoriously high, even for the simplest stadium staple.
You can't rightfully attend a sporting event in the U.S. without chowing down on a hot dog (although the tradition of eating hot dogs at games isn't as American as you'd think). Normally, hot dogs are the epitome of a cheap treat, but the Super Bowl comes with big markups. The exact cost of concessions at this year's game won't be clear until fans arrive onsite, but based on last year's prices and a year of runaway inflation, projections are putting the price of a single hot dog at nearly $13.
The price from a regular season game to the Super Bowl is insane
At the past two Super Bowls, hot dogs ran from $8 to $12, but after a year where every figure involving cost hit all-time highs, the 2024 game day event is more than likely to top those numbers. Bookies.com is projecting Super Bowl LVIII hot dog prices to be somewhere in the realm of $12.75. That's about twice as much as the average price of a hot dog at a regular season NFL game, which hovers close to $6.
There are many reasons that this year's Super Bowl is expected to lift prices higher than ever before, one of them being the venue itself. Las Vegas is a notoriously expensive city, and Allegiant Stadium had the most expensive regular season tickets out of any NFL venue. Surprisingly though, the concessions there are some of the cheapest. During the regular season, a hot dog at Allegiant Stadium cost just $2.99, the second-lowest price in the league. If Super Bowl hot dog prices do hit $12 or thereabouts, folks will be shelling out for a 400% markup over standard rates.
Expect inflation to have a big impact on Super Bowl concessions
Inflation has affected pretty much every aspect of life in the U.S. over the past three years. As grocery bills soared, so too did America's eating habits, and that extends to the concessions at sporting events. Ever since fans returned to stadiums following the COVID-19 lockdowns, they've been paying more and more for food and drinks. But the sunk cost of a Superbowl ticket is unlikely to deter fans from tucking into something during the roughly four-hour event, be it a dog or something else.
A huge factor at play here is the price of manufacturing hot dogs, which has increased significantly over the past few years. Beef prices hit a record high in 2023, and supply is just barely keeping up with the demand. Still, the cost of stadium concessions has always been well ahead of average market prices, and stadiums rely on them for over two-thirds of their total profit. Allegiant Stadium will certainly be reaping those rewards off of this year's Super Bowl sausages.