Fab's 60 Fantasy Football Facts From Super Bowl History

It’s Super Bowl LX week!

Will Sam Darnold and the Seahawks take home their second Lombardi Trophy, or will Drake Maye and the Patriots win what would be a record seventh Super Bowl (and their first in a championship game that was not started by Tom Brady)?

We’ll find out in Santa Clara, Calif., on Feb. 8!

The Super Bowl has been around since 1966, and I’ve always enjoyed the statistical and historical side of the games as it pertains to, what else, fantasy football. But before I dive into that, here are some pretty cool Super Bowl facts that you might not know.

A single ticket for Super Bowl I between the Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers cost as little as $6, and it wasn’t called the “Super Bowl” at the time. Instead, it was the “AFL-NFL World Championship Game.” What’s more, the game didn't sell out! Held in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, there were over 32,000 empty seats at the game.

That’s a far cry from Super Bowls today, which are always sold out and now cost a small fortune to attend. Ticket prices from Super Bowl LX range from $6,000-$7,000 for the worst seat up to $35,000 or more! Oh, and if you think that’s a lot of dough, consider this: Advertisers will pay around $7 million for a 30-second commercial spot!

Here are a few more fun facts.

There's only been one player named Super Bowl MVP who didn't play on the winning team. That was Cowboys LB Chuck Howley back in Super Bowl V (the game was held back in 1971). His team lost to the Baltimore Colts and the combination of Johnny Unitas and Earl Morrall in what’s infamously known as the “Blooper Bowl,” 16–13.

The fewest points a team has scored in a Super Bowl is three. The Dolphins lost to the Cowboys 24–3 in Super Bowl VI (1972), and the Rams lost to Brady and the Patriots 13–3 in Super Bowl LIII back in 2019.

There's never been a shutout in a Super Bowl.

In 1983, almost 106 million people watched the final episode of M*A*S*H, making it the most-watched television show in American history. That mark was broken by Super Bowl XLIV, as 106.5 million viewers tuned in to watch Drew Brees and the Saints defeat Peyton Manning and the Colts. The most-watched Super Bowl came last season, as 123.4 million people watched the Eagles beat the Chiefs.

Americans get their “eat on” for Super Bowl Sunday, too.

More chicken wings are eaten on Super Bowl Sunday than on any other day of the year. Eight million pounds of guacamole are consumed (that’s a lot of avocados!), and one in seven Americans orders takeout food.

All that eating comes at a price, however: 1.5 million people will call in sick the day after the Super Bowl, and Antacid sales reportedly increase by about 20 percent!

Those are a few interesting facts you might not know.

Now for something even more interesting: My 60 fantasy facts for the Super Bowl!

Quarterbacks

1. Just four players have scored 100-plus fantasy points in Super Bowls: Tom Brady (192.4), Jerry Rice (141.4), Joe Montana (110.2) and Patrick Mahomes (106.8).

2. The most fantasy points scored by a quarterback in a Super Bowl is Steve Young, who threw for 325 yards, rushed for 49 yards and had an NFL-record six touchdowns in a win over the San Diego Chargers ( XXIX). He finished with 41.9 fantasy points.

3. Jalen Hurts almost broke that record in Super Bowl LVII, throwing for 304 yards, rushing for another 70 yards and scoring four touchdowns (one passing, three rushing) in a loss to the Chiefs. In all, Hurts scored 41.2 points, just 0.7 fewer than Young.

4. Brady and Mahomes have scored 20-plus fantasy points in four Super Bowls, the most in NFL history. Brady just missed the mark in Super Bowl LV, scoring 19.8 points as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Only four other players have scored 20-plus points more than twice, including Rice, Montana, Roger Craig and Kurt Warner.

5. Brady has thrown 21 touchdowns in his seven Super Bowls, the most in NFL history. Montana (11) and Mahomes (10) are the only other quarterbacks to throw double-digit touchdown passes in Super Bowls. Terry Bradshaw only have nine in his four games.

6. Brady has played in more than twice as many Super Bowls (10) as Montana (4).

7. Brady set the record for the most passing yards in a Super Bowl with 505 in a loss to the Eagles in Super Bowl LII. That broke the previous record of 466 yards by Brady the previous season against the Falcons in Super Bowl LI.

8. Brady has thrown for 300-plus yards in four Super Bowls, the most in NFL history. The only other player to hit the 300-yard passing mark more than twice is Warner, who had 300-plus yards three times in Super Bowls. What’s more, Warner has three of the best six games among quarterbacks based on passing yards in a Super Bowl.

9. Brady has thrown for 3,039 yards in his 10 Super Bowls, the most in NFL history. Not only does he hold the record for all-time passing yards, but he has more than double the yardage of any other quarterback. Mahomes is second with 1,328 passing yards.

10. Brady attempted 62 passes in Super Bowl LI, the most ever. Jim Kelly had held the record with 58 pass attempts in Super Bowl XXVI. He is one of four signal-callers to attempt at least 50 passes in the Big Game (Brady, Donovan McNabb, Dan Marino).

11. Tony Eason attempted only six passes in Super Bowl XX in a blowout loss to the Bears. That's the fewest pass attempts by a starting quarterback. Eason was benched in favor of veteran Steve Grogan after failing to complete any of his first six pass attempts while also being sacked three times and losing a fumble in the contest.

12. Despite playing in 10 Super Bowls, Brady threw just six interceptions – he had 421 pass attempts in his 10 appearances. John Elway (8), Mahomes, Kelly (7), and Craig Morton (7) have all thrown more interceptions. None of that trio played in more than five different Super Bowls (Elway), and Elway had 269 fewer attempts than Brady!

13. Morton completed 4-of-15 passes for 39 yards and threw four interceptions on his way to a 0.0 passer rating against the Cowboys in Super Bowl XII. That's the worst ever recorded by a starting quarterback in any Super Bowl contest. Kerry Collins has the second-worst passer rating, posting a 7.1 rating in Super Bowl XXXV.

14. Morton's -6.44 fantasy points in that game is the fewest ever scored by a starting quarterback in a Super Bowl. Earl Morrall had the second-worst stat line at the position, scoring -3.36 points in Super Bowl III, the infamous Joe Namath “guarantee game.”

15. In five Super Bowl appearances, Elway posted just three touchdown passes and had eight interceptions. However, he rushed for four touchdowns, including one in four of his five championship games. Elway averaged just 14.6 points in his Super Bowls.

16. No quarterback has more rushing yards in Super Bowls than Mahomes (197). He averaged six yards per rushing attempt. Jalen Hurts is second with 142 rushing yards. If you’re wondering, Brady has just 28 rushing yards despite his 10 Super Bowl starts.

17. The quarterback with the most rushing yards in a Super Bowl is Hurts, who had 72 yards in Super Bowl LIX. He broke his own record of 70 yards in Super Bowl LVII.

18. Phil Simms completed 22-of-25 passes in Super Bowl XXI, an 88.0 completion percentage. That's the highest in a Super Bowl in NFL history. He also recorded a Super Bowl-best 150.9 passer rating in that game against Denver.

19. Peyton Manning scored a mere 3.6 fantasy points in Super Bowl 50, the fewest by a quarterback who started, finished and won the Big Game. He finished 13-of-23 with 141 passing yards, no touchdowns and one interception.

20. Manning, despite being a fantasy superstar during his NFL career, scored just 40.04 combined fantasy points in his four Super Bowl appearances. He didn’t score more than 15.3 points in any of those four games, and he was held to single digits twice.

Running back Emmitt Smith made three Super Bowl appearances with the Dallas Cowboys in the 1990s. | The Arizona Republic-Imagn Images

Running Backs

21. Only two nonquarterbacks have scored more than 40 fantasy points in a Super Bowl. One was Jerry Rice, who scored 43.9 points in Super Bowl XXIX. The other was James White! He had 14 catches, 139 total yards, three touchdowns and scored a Super Bowl record 47.9 points in the Patriots’ thrilling comeback win over the Falcons.

22. White also holds the record for the most receptions by a running back with 14 in Super Bowl LI. Another Patriots runner, Shane Vereen, ranks second on the list. He had 11 catches against the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX. Just two other running backs, Joseph Addai (Super Bowl XLIV) and Tony Nathan (Super Bowl XIX), have had double-digit catches in the Big Game. They both scored 20-plus PPR points.

23. Roger Craig has scored the most fantasy points (84) in Super Bowls among running backs. He has 20 catches, 410 total yards and four touchdowns in his three games.

24. Thurman Thomas put up 30 fantasy points in Super Bowl XXV, the most by a running back in a loss in Super Bowl history. He appeared in four Super Bowls in his career, racking up 20 catches, 348 scrimmage yards and four touchdowns. Thomas is also second in combined fantasy points by a running back, totaling 75.8 PPR points.

25. The lone runner to score more career touchdowns in the Super Bowl than Thomas is Emmitt Smith. He had five total touchdowns in his three appearances as a member of the Cowboys. Smith is also third in rushing yards and third in PPR fantasy points.

26. Smith is the lone player to score multiple rushing touchdowns in multiple Super Bowl games (2). In his three career appearances, all wins for the Cowboys, Smith recorded 11 catches, over 300 scrimmage yards and recorded five touchdowns on the ground.

27. Franco Harris compiled 354 career rushing yards in four Super Bowls as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the most by a back in NFL history. He’s the only runner with more than 300 career yards on the ground while playing on the NFL's grandest stage.

28. The next closest back in terms of career Super Bowl rushing yards is Larry Csonka, who finished with 297 yards. Csonka, however, recorded his yardage on just 57 rushing attempts. It took Harris 101 carries to finish with his 354 yards on the ground.

29. Smith, Csonka and Terrell Davis are the only running backs in Super Bowl history to rush for 100-plus yards in multiple Super Bowls. The Hall of Famers each did it twice.

30. Davis is the only player in Super Bowl history to rush for three touchdowns in a single game. He accomplished that versus the Packers in Super Bowl XXXII. Eight other runners have rushed for two touchdowns, including James White, Marcus Allen, Emmitt Smith, Eddie George, Harris, Tom Rathman, Eijah Putts and Howard Griffith.

31. Timmy Smith rushed for more yards in a single Super Bowl game than any back in NFL history, putting up 204 yards in Super Bowl XXII. That is also the lone 200-yard rushing performance in a Super Bowl. Marcus Allen is second with 191 yards.

32. Including the Super Bowl, Smith rushed for 342 yards in the playoffs that season. He rushed for just 126 yards in the entire regular season. Smith rushed for just 470 yards the following year, and he finished with just 602 yards in his entire NFL career.

33. Smith’s 204 total rushing yards are tied for the sixth-most all-time in Super Bowls. The five backs ahead of him are Harris (354), Csonka (297), Emmitt Smith (289), Terrell Davis (259), and John Riggins (230). Smith is tied with Thurman Thomas for sixth.

34. All those running backs played in multiple Super Bowl games; Smith played in one.

35. Among the top-10 running backs in terms of combined rushing yards in the Super Bowl, just one player (Antowain Smith) has played in the Big Game since 2003. Two (Harris, Csonka) came in the 1970s, four (John Riggins, Timmy Smith, Roger Craig, Marcus Allen) in the 1980s and three Smith, Davis, Thomas) in the 1990s.

36. The top 15 Super Bowl performances in terms of the most rushing yards include just three players since 2003. That trio includes Michael Pittman, who rushed for 124 yards in Super Bowl XXXVII, Dominic Rhodes, who had 113 rushing yards in Super Bowl XLI, and Thomas Jones, who had 112 yards on the ground in Super Bowl XLI.

37. Just one of those performances, Pittman’s 124 rushing yards, ranks in the top 10 all-time in Super Bowls. All the others in the top 10 came before 1998 (Davis), and all but one of the top seven such performances occurred either in the 1970s or the 1980s.

38. Since 2000, the running backs with the most combined rushing yards in the Super Bowl are Antowain Smith (175), LeGarrette Blount (161), Joseph Addai (154) and Willie Parker (146). More than 50 percent of Parker’s rushing yards came on one run.

39. The Super Bowl record for the longest rush came in Super Bowl XL, when Parker busted a 75-yard touchdown dash against the Seahawks. His 13.5 points on that lone run are the most recorded on a single rushing play in Super Bowl history.

40. Marcus Allen’s 74-yard touchdown run (13.4 points) in Super Bowl XVIII is second longest, and Timmy Smith’s 58-yard touchdown run (11.8 points) is third longest.

Hall-of-Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice is the most prolific wideout in Super Bowl history. | RVR Photos-Imagn Images

Wide receivers/Tight ends

41. Jerry Rice has 589 career receiving yards in his four Super Bowl appearances, the most in NFL history. The next closest wide receiver is Lynn Swann, with 364 yards. Rob Gronkowski has the same number of yards as Swann in five Super Bowls.

42. Rice ranks second behind Tom Brady in terms of fantasy points scored in combined Super Bowls. He’s just 51 points behind Brady, who played in six more Super Bowls. That’s a pretty impressive factoid for all you trivia fans!

43. Rice scored 39 or more fantasy points in each of his first three Super Bowl games. In all, he scored 141.4 points and averaged 35.3 points in four appearances.

44. Wide receivers have scored 30-plus fantasy points in a Super Bowl eight times. Rice did it three times, including the only 40-point performance. The other wideouts are Ricky Sanders (39.9 points), Larry Fitzgerald (31.7), Antonio Freeman (31.6), Deion Branch (30.3) and Xavier Worthy (35.7). His performance is the most recent (2025).

45. Rice is the only player with 100-plus receiving yards in three different Super Bowls. Antonio Freeman, Deion Branch, John Stallworth, Julian Edelman and Lynn Swann are the lone wideouts (besides Rice) with 100-plus yards in two Super Bowls.

46. Rice posted 215 receiving yards in Super Bowl XXIII, the most ever. It's the lone 200-plus receiving-yard performance in a Super Bowl. Ricky Sanders was close in Super Bowl XXII, recording 193 yards in Washington’s win over the Broncos.

47. Since 2000, just two wide receivers has topped 150 receiving yards in a single Super Bowl game. Danny Amendola had 152 yards for the Patriots in Super Bowl LI, and Xavier Worthy posted 157 yards for the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX.

48. Travis Kelce leads all receivers (wideouts or tight ends) in combined receptions in Super Bowls with 35. He broke Jerry Rice’s long-standing record of 33 catches last season based on the four catches he produced in a loss to the Eagles.

49. Unsurprisingly, six of the top 10 receivers (wideouts or tight ends) in Super Bowl receptions played for the Patriots during their careers. Rob Gronkowski is third (29), Wes Welker (26) is fifth, Branch and Edelman (24) are tied for sixth, Amendola (21) is eighth, and Troy Brown (16) is tied with Swann and Tyreek Hill for 10th overall.

50. The record for the most catches by a wide receiver in a single Super Bowl game is held by Demaryius Thomas, who had 13 catches for Denver in Super Bowl XLVIII.

51. Including Thomas, 11 different receivers (wideouts or tight ends) have had 10 or more catches in a Super Bowl. That includes Rice, Branch, Welker and Dan Ross (11 catches apiece). The other players to hit that mark include Edelman, Branch, Kelce, Hakeem Nicks, Rice and Andre Hastings (10 catches).

52. The single-game record for the most receiving yards per catch among Super Bowl wide receivers (minimum three catches) is 40.3. That was set by Swann, who had 161 yards on just four catches against the Cowboys in Super Bowl X and John Stallworth, who had three catches for 115 yards in a win over Dallas in Super Bowl XIII.

53. Muhsin Muhammad has the longest touchdown catch in a Super Bowl, an 85-yard score from Jake Delhomme against the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVIII, which was good for 15.5 points. Four other wideouts, Antonio Freeman (81), Kenny King (80), Ricky Sanders (80), and Rod Smith (80), have scored touchdowns of at least 80 yards.

54. Kelce has the most catches (35) and receiving yards (389) among tight ends in the Super Bowl. He has scored a combined 86.1 points in his Super Bowl appearances.

55. Kelce doesn’t have the most fantasy points scored by a tight end in Super Bowls, however. That accomplishment goes to Rob Gronkowski, who scored 95.4 points in his games between the Patriots and Buccaneers. He also has the most touchdowns (5).

56. The tight end who has scored the most fantasy points in a Super Bowl isn’t Kelce or Gronkowski; it’s Dan Ross. He put up 11 catches for 104 yards with two touchdowns and finished with 33.4 fantasy points for the Bengals in Super Bowl XVI.

57. Ross and Gronkowski are the only tight ends to score two touchdowns and more than 30 points in a single Super Bowl game. However, Gronk is the lone player at the position to post two scores and 20-plus points twice (Super Bowl LII, Super Bowl LV).

58. Besides Ross and Gronkowski, just three other tight ends have had 20 or more PPR points in a Super Bowl. That list includes Kelce, who has done it twice (Super Bowls LV, LVII), Aaron Hernandez (Super Bowl XLVI) and Jay Novacek (Super Bowl XXXVII).

59. The tight ends with the most receiving yards in a Super Bowl are Kelce (133 yards), Gronkowski (116 yards), Ross (104 yards) and Vernon Davis (104 yards). All of those tight ends also have something else in common: They all lost their Super Bowls.

60. The longest catch by a tight end in a Super Bowl is 75 yards by John Mackey in Super Bowl V. The pass, which was thrown by Johnny Unitas, was good for a touchdown. Fantasy football wasn’t big in 1971, but Mackey’s catch produced a solid 14 points. He had just one other catch in the game, finishing with 16 PPR points.