MW Super Bowl LX: Seahawks QB Sam Darnold makes 1,500% more than Patriots QB Drake Maye
By Weston Blasi
Here are some other surprising facts and figures around Super Bowl LX
Drake Maye (left) and the New England Patriots take on Sam Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX on Sunday.
Super Bowl LX between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks kicks off this Sunday in a highly anticipated rematch.
The two teams last played each other in the postseason in Super Bowl XLIX in 2015 - an iconic game that ended when New England's defense famously intercepted Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson on the one-yard line to seal the victory for the Patriots.
And while their heated rivalry remains, there are some fresh faces stepping onto the field this weekend. Back in 2015, Wilson and legendary QB Tom Brady led their respective teams; now, younger QBs are at the helm. Seattle's Sam Darnold, 28, once the No. 3 overall pick in the NFL Draft, bounced around the league before finding a home in Seattle. New England's Drake Maye, 23, was also the No. 3 in his draft class two years ago, becoming the heir apparent to Brady.
While there are some similarities in how each player joined the NFL and played their way to the Super Bowl, their paychecks look very different.
Maye is still on his rookie contract, and is only earning $2.47 million this season, according to Sportrac. That's the 50th-highest figure among QBs in the NFL, and one of the lowest for a starting QB in the league. Darnold, on the other hand, is making $40 million, which ranks 13th among QBs.
Related: When college athletes go to the NFL, some of them are taking pay cuts in the millions
In addition to their base salaries, each player also received roster, signing and performance-based bonuses throughout the year, which raises their overall cash earnings for this season.
Darnold has some more money at stake on Sunday, as he'll get an additional $2.5 million bonus if he wins the Super Bowl - which is a higher figure than Maye's earnings for the entire year. Maye has no such bonus, according to Spotrac's data.
Related: Why smart investors are ignoring the 2026 Super Bowl Indicator
The quarterback earnings gap isn't the only interesting financial figure to note for Super Bowl LX. Whether it's game-day-experience costs, sports betting or commercial prices, here are some of the most interesting numbers around Super Bowl LX.
Ticket prices
The Super Bowl is almost always the most expensive sporting event for fans to attend in the U.S. each year, and this year's big game is expected to see the highest ticket prices since 2020.
The cheapest ticket to get into Santa Clara, Calif.'s Levi's Stadium on Super Bowl Sunday was $3,592, and the average price was $7,221, according to ticketing platform SeatPick. But the highest price for a single premium seat at this year's game is an eye-watering $152,786 - a price that is so high, it is more than double the median annual income in the U.S.
Overall ticket prices are roughly in line with last year's game, but comparing year-over-year Super Bowl ticket prices can be tricky because the location of the game changes every year. For example, ticket prices for the 2025 game in New Orleans were significantly lower than the 2024 Super Bowl held in Las Vegas, a higher-cost city that was hosting its first-ever Super Bowl. Super Bowl tickets typically average $4,000 to $8,000, per TickPick.
Related: Buy the dip! Your guacamole for Super Bowl Sunday is the cheapest it's been in decades - and chip prices are down, too.
While the Super Bowl is usually the premier sporting event in North America each year, that could potentially change later in 2026: The most expensive tickets for the FIFA World Cup, whose final will be played at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, are currently already over $70,000.
Parking passes
Parking for big sporting events can be a nightmare, and ticket holders are not guaranteed a spot.
As of the Friday before the Super Bowl, the cheapest parking pass that fans could buy on StubHub $(STUB)$ was $170. Think that's a steep price? It gets even worse when you realize that parking spot is not even at the stadium - it's a 25-minute walk, or 1.1 miles away. Closer parking spots at Blue Lot 2 near Levi's Stadium are still available, but the cheapest price as of Friday was $3,443, per StubHub
The league's advice: "Fans should use rideshare or public lots to park," the NFL suggests on its website.
Expected Super Bowl bets, and who they're wagering on
A record $1.76 billion is expected to be legally wagered on Super Bowl LX, according to the American Gaming Association. That amount does not include money risked in places like office pools, Super Bowl boxes or prediction markets.
Read more: This Super Bowl, the game to watch is prediction markets versus sportsbooks
Popular wagers on DraftKings $(DKNG)$ sportsbooks include: the first touchdown scorer being Seattle wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba; Darnold to win Super Bowl MVP; and Seattle to cover the 4.5-point betting spread.
Commercial costs
Advertisers flock to the Super Bowl each year because so many people tune in - a record 127.7 million U.S. viewers watched the game across television and streaming platforms in 2025.
Because live sporting events are one of the few remaining places in the fractured media landscape where advertisers can reach a large audience, demand is as high as ever. NBC $(CMCSA)$, the broadcaster for Super Bowl LX, sold out of ad space in September, per the Associated Press.
Read more: NFL heads into Super Bowl after season of record ratings, paving way for TV-rights bonanza
Commercial slots sold for an average of $8 million per 30-second unit, but a handful of spots sold for a record $10 million-plus, according to Peter Lazarus, executive vice president of sports & Olympics, advertising and partnerships for NBCUniversal.
Many of the ads this year will feature mainstay industries like beer and automobiles, while there's also an increased presence for AI companies and weight-loss drugs.
Read on: Super Bowl LX is turning into AI's coming-out party
-Weston Blasi
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 07, 2026 09:00 ET (14:00 GMT)
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