Super Bowl 50

"2016 Super Bowl" redirects here. For the Super Bowl that was played at the completion of the 2016 season, see Super Bowl LI.
"SB 50" and "SB L" redirect here. For the California transit-density bill, see California Senate Bill 50 (2019). For other uses, see SBL (disambiguation).

Super Bowl 50
DateFebruary 7, 2016 (2016-02-07)
Kickoff time3:30 p.m. PST (UTC-8)
StadiumLevi's Stadium, Santa Clara, California
MVPVon Miller, linebacker
FavoritePanthers by 5.5[1]
RefereeClete Blakeman
Attendance71,088[2]
Ceremonies
National anthemLady Gaga
Coin tossFred Biletnikoff, Marcus Allen, Joe Montana, Jim Plunkett, Jerry Rice, Steve Young
Halftime showColdplay featuring Beyoncé and Bruno Mars with Mark Ronson
TV in the United States
NetworkCBS
AnnouncersJim Nantz (play-by-play)
Phil Simms (color analyst)
Tracy Wolfson and Evan Washburn (sideline reporters)
Mike Carey (rules expert)
Nielsen ratings46.6 (national)
53.9 (Denver)
55.9 (Charlotte)
U.S. viewership: 111.9 million est. avg.,[3] 167.0 million est. total[4]
Market share72 (national)
Cost of 30-second commercial$5 million
Radio in the United States
NetworkWestwood One
AnnouncersKevin Harlan (play-by-play)
Boomer Esiason and Dan Fouts (analysts)
James Lofton and Mark Malone (sideline reporters)

Super Bowl 50 was an American football game to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2015 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Carolina Panthers, 24–10. The game was played on February 7, 2016, at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. As this was the 50th Super Bowl game, the league emphasized the "golden anniversary" with various gold-themed initiatives during the 2015 season, as well as suspending the tradition of naming each Super Bowl game with Roman numerals (under which the game would have been known as "Super Bowl L"), so the logo could prominently feature the number 50 in more familiar Arabic numerals.[5][6]

The Panthers finished the regular season with a 15–1 record, racking up the league's top offense, and quarterback Cam Newton was named the NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP). They defeated the Arizona Cardinals 49–15 in the NFC Championship Game and advanced to their second Super Bowl appearance since the franchise began playing in 1995. The Broncos finished the regular season with a 12–4 record, bolstered by having the league's top defense. The Broncos defeated the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots 20–18 in the AFC Championship Game, joining the Patriots, Dallas Cowboys, and Pittsburgh Steelers as one of four teams that have made eight appearances in the Super Bowl. This record would later be broken the next season, in 2017, when the Patriots advanced to their ninth Super Bowl appearance in Super Bowl LI. This marked the fourth time in history that the Super Bowl pitted the top defense against the top offense, after Super Bowls XXV, XXXVII and XLVIII.

In one of the most defensive matchups in Super Bowl history, the Broncos took an early lead that they never lost.[7] Denver recorded seven sacks and forced four turnovers.[8] Carolina kept pace by recording five sacks and forcing two turnovers. Denver linebacker Von Miller was named Super Bowl MVP.[9][10] This game was the final game of Peyton Manning's career; the Broncos quarterback, who also won Super Bowl XLI, announced his retirement in March 2016.[11]

CBS' broadcast of the game was the fifth most-watched program in American television history with an average of 111.9 million viewers. The network charged an average of $5 million for a 30-second commercial during the game.[12][13] The Super Bowl 50 halftime show was headlined by Coldplay,[14] with special guest performers Beyoncé and Bruno Mars.[15]

  1. ^ Perdum, David (January 25, 2016). "Panthers open as clear favorites over Broncos to win Super Bowl". ESPN. Archived from the original on January 26, 2016. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
  2. ^ Breech, John (February 11, 2016). "Fans at Super Bowl 50 spent nearly $11 million, bought 8K glasses of wine". CBS Sports. Archived from the original on March 2, 2016. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Nielsen ratings was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference NFL.com ratings was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Rovell, Darren (June 4, 2014). "NFL: It's Super Bowl 50, not L". ESPN. Archived from the original on June 4, 2014. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
  6. ^ Rosenthal, Gregg (June 4, 2014). "NFL won't use Roman numerals for Super Bowl 50". NFL.com. NFL Enterprises. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  7. ^ Paine, Neil (February 5, 2016). "Inside One Of The Best Defensive Matchups In Super Bowl History". FiveThirtyEight. Archived from the original on March 29, 2016. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  8. ^ Brooks, Bucky (February 9, 2016). "Broncos' defensive tactics flummoxed Panthers in Super Bowl 50". NFL.com. NFL Enterprises. Archived from the original on March 31, 2016. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  9. ^ Patra, Kevin (February 7, 2016). "Broncos LB Von Miller named Super Bowl 50 MVP". NFL.com. NFL Enterprises. Archived from the original on February 9, 2016. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
  10. ^ Wilner, Barry (February 7, 2016). "Broncos D Dominates Panthers in 24-10 Super Bowl Win". ABC News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on February 8, 2016. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
  11. ^ Hanzus, Dan (March 7, 2016). "Peyton Manning announces retirement from NFL". NFL.com. NFL Enterprises. Archived from the original on March 31, 2016. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  12. ^ Rovell, Darren (August 5, 2015). "Super Bowl 50 spots will hit $5M per 30 seconds". ESPN. Archived from the original on December 19, 2015. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference sbj-5m was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ "Coldplay performed at Pepsi Super Bowl 50 Halftime Show". NFL.com (Press release). NFL Enterprises. December 3, 2015. Archived from the original on December 7, 2015. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
  15. ^ "Beyonce returning to Super Bowl halftime spectacle". ESPN. January 8, 2016. Archived from the original on January 8, 2016. Retrieved January 9, 2015.