The Top Moments of Super Bowl LIX According to Wi-Fi Analytics
Published: February 24, 2025
The Super Bowl is not just a game; it is an event that brings millions of fans worldwide together. For the twelfth consecutive year, Extreme Networks played a pivotal role in making this possible, powering the NFL and the Super Bowl with state-of-the-art Wi-Fi analytics through our solution, ExtremeCloud Business Insights. Our Wi-Fi analytics solution helps the NFL optimize experiences by informing business decisions based on fan engagement.
Extreme Networks served as the Official Wi-Fi Analytics Provider for the NFL and Super Bowl LIX. Although Caesar’s Super Dome does not use Extreme Wi-Fi, our analytics platform provides the NFL with critical insights into Wi-Fi usage and coverage, network performance, application usage, movement patterns, device types, traffic spikes, popular concessions areas, and more.
A deep dive into Super Bowl LIX Wi-Fi usage
Super Bowl LIX was a memorable event, with fans digitally engaged and sharing their excitement and experiences in real-time. This resulted in an astounding 17.2 TB of data being transferred across the Wi-Fi network. To put that into perspective, that is the same amount of data required to watch more than 8,600 hours of football on the NFL+ streaming service or play halftime performer Kendrick Lamar’s latest album, “GNX,” more than 17,200 times. Each device connected averaged 1.3 GB of data transfer, showing the high level of engagement among fans.
Why Wi-Fi analytics matter
The data collected from Super Bowl LIX provides the NFL with invaluable insights into fan behavior and engagement. The NFL can better understand how fans interact with digital content during the game by analyzing app usage and data transfer patterns. This information allows the NFL to tailor future content, enhance in-stadium experiences, and create targeted marketing campaigns that better resonate with fans. Additionally, understanding peak engagement moments helps the NFL optimize Wi-Fi infrastructure and enable seamless connectivity for fans, making every game a more immersive and enjoyable experience.
“Investing in Wi-Fi, though it does scale up and down, is not insignificant. Our belief is you are going to make that investment; you should get something back. It should be an intelligent infrastructure that can enable you to make better business decisions about where to invest your digital dollars and how to make some operational improvements along the way.”
“I think it is fair to say there has been a renewed appreciation for the role of the network in business operations. Nobody used to understand the network, but now it seems more and more, you are relying on network data to help make decisions. It went from an amenity and running water to something that can inform. Wi-Fi consumption informs. Wi-Fi interaction informs. Timing informs.”
A play-by-play of the biggest moments
Super Bowl LIX was a thrilling event that had fans hooked. The pregame buzz set the stage for a showdown between the reigning champion Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles. As the game unfolded, touchdowns, sacks, and interceptions kept fans on the edge of their seats. Kendrick Lamar’s electrifying halftime performance captivated the audience, sparking massive engagement on social media. But the excitement didn’t end there, as the game ended with more exciting plays, postgame ceremonies, and interviews with the Super Bowl LIX Champion Philadelphia Eagles.
Setting the stage for the big game: Pregame moments
The pregame festivities of Super Bowl LIX were spectacular, featuring captivating performances that set the tone for the event. Lauren Daigle and Trombone Shorty delivered a rendition of “America the Beautiful,” Jon Batiste gave a powerful national anthem performance, and the United States Marine Corps did a breathtaking flyover. However, the moment that genuinely had fans on the edge of their seats was when the teams took the field, announced by celebrities Jon Hamm and Bradley Cooper, driving the highest bandwidth spike of the pregame at 11.2 Gbps. According to our polls, 28% of fans correctly predicted this would be the top moment where the anticipation for the big game would reach its peak, but only 9% predicted that a pregame moment would be the top moment as it was.
The game begins: First-quarter moments
The first quarter of Super Bowl LIX was a whirlwind of excitement, driving fan engagement throughout. From the kickoff, fans were treated to a series of thrilling plays. The Eagles made several impressive first downs that drove fan engagement. A standout moment came when the Eagles executed a deep pass, initially ruled a touchdown but was then reversed, placing them at the 1-yard line, setting them up for the top moment of the first quarter. Jalen Hurts had a 1-yard touchdown run, which drove a 5.9 Gbps spike as fans celebrated the game's first touchdown.
Turning up the heat: Second-quarter moments
The second quarter carried on the momentum of the first, with dramatic moments that drove significant engagement. The quarter began with a thrilling interception by the Chiefs, which had fans pulling out their phones to share the moment and engage with various sports and social media apps. The Eagles’ field goal also caused some buzz, but the quarter's highlight came when the Eagles’ defense intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown, driving a bandwidth spike of 6.0 Gbps as fans celebrated the pick-six. With thrilling sacks and another interception, fans had much to engage with throughout this quarter.
The big show: Halftime moments
The halftime show was a spectacular event that captivated fans and drove massive engagement. Samuel L. Jackson introduced Kendrick Lamar, who performed a series of hits including “HUMBLE,” “DNA,” and his 5-time Grammy-winning song, “Not Like Us.” SZA joined Kendrick on stage for “All the Stars” and “Luther,” but the performance reached a peak with “TV Off,” featuring Mustard. The closing song generated 10.4 Gbps of data usage as fans shared their excitement, making it one of the most engaging moments of the big night. According to our poll, 58% of fans predicted that a halftime moment would drive the most significant spike in engagement, and they weren’t too far off, but the pregame moment when the teams took the field (11.2 Gbps) beat this one.
The battle continues: Third-quarter moments
After an exciting halftime show, the teams took the field with the Eagles leading and the Chiefs eager to make a comeback. The third quarter was filled with intense moments that kept fans engaged. The Chiefs faced early setbacks with multiple sacks, while the Eagles made significant gains. The quarter's highlight was when the Eagles scored a 29-yard field goal, driving a bandwidth spike of 6.6 Gbps as fans celebrated. Despite the Chiefs’ efforts, including a 50-yard pass for a touchdown that drove a spike not too far behind the top of the quarter at 6.3 Gbps, the Eagles maintained their lead going into the fourth quarter.
The final push: Fourth-quarter moments
As the fourth quarter began, the Eagles had a strong start with a 17-yard run followed by a successful 48-yard field goal that drove significant engagement (4.4 Gbps). The Chiefs fought back with a series of plays, but the Eagles defense held firm, including a strip sack that caused a bandwidth spike (5.1 Gbps). The quarter's highlight was the Eagles’ final field goal, which secured their victory and drove the highest spike in sports betting. The quarter ended with the Eagles taking a knee to seal their win, driving a bandwidth spike of 8.1 Gbps, the highest in-game moment spike, as fans began to celebrate the victory.
The go-to apps
Fans were highly engaged with various apps, and thanks to ExtremeCloud Business Insights, the NFL can gain insights into which apps fans are using to meet fans where they are, learn how they are engaging, and create better content for them based on data. At Super Bowl LIX, fans were engaged with various sports and social media apps. In our polls before the big game, 49% of respondents predicted Instagram would be the most popular social media app. Still, the actual usage showed Facebook leading, with only 6% of fans predicting it! On the sports side, fans were most engaged with the NFL app but favored other major apps like ESPN, Fox Sports, CBS Sports, and Bleacher Report.
Wi-Fi vs 5G in high-density environments
Extreme’s powerful analytics tool suggests that the stadium’s older Wi-Fi deployment combined with what we know about a hefty investment on a 5G deployment by Verizon created an unusual and atypical usage pattern of 5G vs Wi-Fi. For instance, when you contrast the Super Bowl (65,000 attendees) to the Daytona 500 (101,500 attendees), there is a stark contrast in Wi-Fi usage patterns.
Zeus Kerravala of ZK Research highlighted in his white paper, “Private Cellular or Wi-Fi? Isn’t an Either/Or Question: You Can Have Both,” the importance of both cellular and Wi-Fi networks in high-density environments. Wi-Fi remains a critical component for enabling seamless connectivity, especially in high-density environments like stadiums, Wi-Fi can handle large volumes of data traffic efficiently, providing reliable connectivity for fans and back-of-house operations. In their research, ZK Research found that 86% of organizations deployed or plan to deploy Wi-Fi 6/6E/7, while 92% have deployed or plan to deploy private cellular, emphasizing how these two technologies complement one another.
“Cellular will not kill Wi-Fi, and Wi-Fi will not eradicate cellular. The two technologies are highly complementary. Simply put, they work well together, and enterprises can use them in concert to create a network that meets their wireless requirements.”
“How does our Wi-Fi get used? Was it worth our investment? Spoiler alert, it was worth it. In terms of consumption, when we originally did our design specs everyone was telling us to plan on a 30% take rate, meaning 30% of the people in the stadium should be able to use the Wi-Fi at a given time, which for us is roughly 22,000 simultaneous devices. We overbuilt, we wanted 50% as we recognize fans here are pretty tech-advanced, so we upped the take rate to 50%. In our first season, we blew over the 50% take rate to just over 61%, meaning we had over 40,000 devices connected and actively working. We didn’t see a performance drop. We could see the load on the equipment, but we were still averaging over 30 megabits per person consuming it at that rate and it’s just held up amazingly well. We’ve seen tremendous consumption, tremendous utilization. We’ve been incredibly happy with it.”
The big picture from the big game
Super Bowl LIX was a thrilling game and a digital spectacle showcasing the power of connectivity and fan engagement. With 17.2 TB of data transferred throughout the game and so many exciting moments that caused bandwidth spikes, it is clear that fans were immersed in the experience. From the pregame festivities to the final whistle, every moment was shared and celebrated across various platforms, making this Super Bowl a truly connected event.
With 12 consecutive Super Bowls providing Wi-Fi analytics, 29 NFL teams using Extreme Business Insights, and 12 NFL teams relying on ExtremeWireless, Extreme Networks proudly serves as the official Wi-Fi Network Solutions Provider and the Official Wi-Fi Analytics Provider of the National Football League.