Fabs' 59 Fantasy Football Facts From The Super Bowl

Michael Fabiano | Feb 5, 2025

Tom Brady holds a number of Super Bowl records, both in terms of real statistics and fantasy football points. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

It’s Super Bowl LIX week! Will Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs take home another title and be the first NFL team to three-peat? Or will Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles get their revenge for their Super Bowl LVII loss to the Chiefs and hoist the Lombardi Trophy?

We’ll find out in New Orleans on February 9!

The Super Bowl has been around since the 1966 campaign, 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 Chiefs and Green Bay Packers cost as little as $6 to attend, and it wasn’t called the “Super Bowl” at the time. Instead, it was called 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 cost a small fortune to attend. Ticket prices from Super Bowl LIX range from $10,000-$13,000! Oh, and if you think that’s a lot of dough, consider this … according to Front Office Sports, advertisers will pay around $7 million for a 30-second commercial spot during the Big Game!

Here’s 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 way back in Super Bowl V. His team lost to the Baltimore Colts and Johnny Unitas/Earl Morrall in what’s infamously known as the “Blooper Bowl,” 16-13. 

The fewest points a team has scored in a  Super Bowl contest is three. The Miami Dolphins lost to the  Cowboys 24-3 in  Super Bowl VI, and the Los Angeles Rams lost to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots 13-3 in Super Bowl LIII.

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 the history of America. That mark was broken by Super Bowl XLIV, as 106.5 million viewers tuned in to watch Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints defeat Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts. The most-watched Super Bowl came in 2024, as the Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers watched by 123,714,000 viewers.  

Americans get their “eat on” for Super Bowl Sunday, too. More chicken wings are eaten on Super Bowl Sunday than any other day of the year. Eight million pounds of guacamole is consumed, and one in seven Americans order takeout on the day of the “Big Game.”

All that eating comes at a price, however … 1.5 million people will call into work sick the day following 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 59 fantasy facts for the Super Bowl!

Quarterbacks

1. Three players have scored 100-plus fantasy points in Super Bowls: Tom Brady (192.4), Jerry Rice (141.4) and Joe Montana (110.2). Rob Gronkowski, who has scored 95.4 fantasy points, ranks fourth. Patrick Mahomes, who has scored 84 fantasy points, ranks fifth. He’ll likely push past Gronkowski this weekend, and he’s on pace to push into the top three.

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 fantasy points, just 0.7 fewer than Young.

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

5. Brady has thrown for 21 touchdowns in his seven Super Bowls, the most in NFL history. The only other signal-caller with double-digit touchdown passes is Montana (11). There’s a chance that Mahomes joins this group this weekend. He has seven touchdown passes.

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

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

8. Brady has thrown for 300-plus yards in four Super Bowls. That’s 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 over the first 58 Super Bowls.

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 in the Big Game, but he has more than double the yardage of any other quarterback. Warner is second with 1,156 passing yards.

10. Brady attempted 62 passes in Super Bowl LI, the most ever. Jim Kelly held the record previously with 58 pass attempts back 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 just six passes in Super Bowl XX in a blowout loss to the Chicago Bears. That's the fewest pass attempts by a starting quarterback in the Big Game. 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), Jim 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 passer rating recorded by a starting quarterback in any Super Bowl contest. Kerry Collins has the second-worst passer rating in the Big Game, posting a 7.1 rating in Super Bowl XXXV.

14. Morton's -6.44 fantasy points in that game is the fewest by a starting quarterback in a Super Bowl.

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 Bowl starts.

16. No quarterback has more rushing yards in Super Bowls than Mahomes (172). He broke the previous record of 105 yards, set by Montana. Mahomes has averaged 5.9 yards per rush.  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 70 yards in Super Bowl LVII. He broke the previous record of 64 yards, set by Steve McNair against St. Louis in  XXXIV. Since then, Mahomes has moved into second place in single-game rushing yards. He had 66 yards against the Niners last year.

18. Phil Simms completed 22-of-25 passes in Super Bowl XXI, which was good for 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 3.6 fantasy points in Super Bowl 50. That is the fewest points scored 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 against the Panthers.

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

49ers RB Roger Craig leads all Super Bowl running backs in fantasy points scored. / Imagn Images

Running Backs

21. Only two non-quarterbacks 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 34-28 comeback win over the Atlanta Falcons.

22. White also holds the record for the most receptions by a running back in a Super Bowl game (Super Bowl LI - 14). 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 (85) in Super Bowls among all running backs. He has 20 catches, 410 scrimmage yards and four touchdowns in his three games.

24. Thurman Thomas put up 30 fantasy points in Super Bowl XXV, which is 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 in the Big Game, 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 running 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 as a member of the Dolphins. Csonka, however, recorded his yardage on 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 Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXII. Eight other runners have rushed for two touchdowns in the Big Game, including James White, Marcus Allen, Emmitt Smith, Eddie George, Harris, Tom Rathman, Eijah Putts and Howard Griffith.

31. Timmy Smith has rushed for more yards in a Super Bowl than any back in NFL history, putting up 204 yards against the Broncos 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 a combined 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 Hall of Famers: 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 (Emmitt Smith, Terrell Daivs, Thurman 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 of runners includes Michael Pittman, who rushed for 124 yards in Super Bowl XXXVII, Dominic Rhodes, who recorded 113 rushing yards in Super Bowl XLI, and Thomas Jones, who finished with 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 yards came on one run. Just two runners (James White, Addai) have scored more than 35.9 points in Super Bowls in the last 25 years!

39. The Super Bowl record for the longest rush came in Super Bowl XL, when Parker busted a 75-yard touchdown dash in a Pittsburgh win versus the Seattle Seahawks. His 13.5 fantasy 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 tun (13.4 fantasy points) in Super Bowl XVIII is the second longest rush, and Timmy Smith’s 58-yard touchdown run (11.8 points) is third longest.

Hall of Famer Jerry Rice is a three-time Super Bowl champion who is considered the greatest NFL receiver ever. / Robert Hanashiro / USA TODAY NETWORK

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. Tight end Rob Gronkowski has the same number of yards as Swann, posting 364 in his five Big Games.

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 … and he’s a quarterback. That’s a pretty impressive statistical 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 his four Big Game appearances.

44. Wide receivers have scored 30-plus fantasy points in a Super Bowl seven times. Rice did it three times, including the only 40-point performance. The other four wideouts are Ricky Sanders (39.9 points), Larry Fitzgerald (31.7), Antonio Freeman (31.6) and Deion Branch (30.3). Cooper Kupp was close, scoring 29.9 points in Super Bowl LVI.

45. Rice is the only player in NFL history with 100-plus receiving yards in three different Super Bowl appearances. Branch, Freeman, John Stallworth,  and Lynn Swann are the only other wide receivers to hit that mark in multiple Super Bowls.

46. Rice posted 215 receiving yards in Super Bowl XXIII, the most ever in the big game. 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 one wideout has topped 150 receiving yards in a Super Bowl game. That was Danny Amendola, who had 152 against the Eagles in Super Bowl LII. That is tied with Rod Smith and Andre Reed for the fifth-most receiving yards in a Super Bowl.

48. Rice leads all wideouts in combined Super Bowl catches with 33. Andre Reed, who was part of four Super Bowl teams in Buffalo, comes in second with 27 receptions. Travis Kelce (31) and Gronkowski (29) are second and third respectively behind Rice, overall. Kelce is very likely to pass Rice in terms of combined receptions in Super Bowls. He needs just three to set a new record.

49. Six of the top 10 receivers (wideouts and tight ends) in Super Bowl receptions played for the Patriots. 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 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 in Super Bowl XLVIII. He scored 28.8 fantasy points in the game. That ranks 13th-most among wide receivers and tight ends all time.

51. Including Thomas, seven different wide receivers have recorded 10 or more catches in a Super Bowl (nine times). That list includes Rice (11 catches), Branch (11), Welker (11), Hakeem Nicks (10), Rice (10), Andre Hastings (10), Edelman (10) and Branch (10).

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. He scored 26.1 fantasy points.

53. Muhsin Muhammad has the longest touchdown catch in a Super Bowl. He had 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 (31) among tight ends in the Super Bowl, but Gronkowski has the most receiving yards (364), touchdowns (5) and fantasy points (95.4) among tight ends. Kelce needs 15 yards and 17.2 points to pass Gronkowski in those categories. He would need to score three touchdowns to tie Gronk’s scoring record.

55. 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 Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl XVI.

56. 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. He did it in Super Bowl LII and Super Bowl LV.

57. 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). Zach Ertz was close (19.1 points) in Super Bowl XXVII, and Gronkowski had 18.8 in Super Bowl XLIX.

58. The tight ends with the most receiving yards in a Super Bowl ... Kelce (133 yards), Gronk (116 yards), Ross (104 yards) and Vernon Davis (104 yards) ... all lost their Super Bowls.

59. The longest catch by a tight end in a Super Bowl is 75 yards, which was accomplished 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.