Huge sporting events are a time of celebration, and millions of people across the U. S. and beyond tune in to watch the Super Bowl, while 83,000 fans fill the stadium for the live spectacle. But beneath the fun and excitement lies a brutal reality: the staggering suffering that has taken place just to put food on the table.
The U. S. National Chicken Council announced that a shocking 1. 47 billion chicken wings1 were consumed over the weekend of the Super Bowl. That number is almost too large to comprehend, but what’s even harder to fathom is the suffering behind it. The chickens who died for these sports snacks came from atrocious conditions on factory farms.
Chickens raised for meat, otherwise known broiler chickens, are almost exclusively factory farmed. They have been genetically modified to grow too quickly. In as little as 32 days, they reach their full slaughter weight. At barely over a month old, they are still just babies.
It can be argued that no farmed animal suffers more than chickens. They are crammed into vast sheds, packed tens of thousands at a time, up to 22 chickens per square meter. Their rapid growth causes severe health issues. Their oversized muscles, particularly their breasts, put enormous strain on their legs, often leading to painful deformities, lameness, and heart failure. Many of these birds struggle to stand, let alone move.
Conditions on these farms are miserable and unsanitary. The barns remain uncleaned for the entirety of the birds’ short lives, leading to a build-up of waste and ammonia. Many chickens get painful foot burns from standing in their own waste, which leads to serious eye, lung, and skin diseases.
Chickens are intelligent and social animals that naturally forage, dust-bathe, and perch. But in the industrial farming system, they are deprived of every single natural behavior, leaving them in a state of frustration, boredom, and distress.
When it comes to being overcrowded, genetically modified, and suffering, no other farm animal has been through as much as broiler chickens. Their short, painful lives are reduced to a single purpose: to meet unsustainable and downright unnecessary consumption demands.
1Americans to Eat 1.47 Billion Chicken Wings for Super Bowl LIX. National Chicken Council. 2024 [accessed 2025 Feb 10] https://www.nationalchickencouncil.org/americans-to-eat-1-47-billion-chicken-wings-for-super-bowl-lix/
Chicken wings and Super Bowl Sunday go together like peas and carrots. Every year, Americans consume massive quantities of these tasty game-day snacks while watching the big game. But just how many chicken wings do we eat on Super Bowl Sunday? The numbers are pretty staggering.
A Brief History of Chicken Wings and Football
Chicken wings and football have been together since 1964 at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York. Legend has it that co-owner Teressa Bellissimo fried up some extra wings in hot sauce for her son and his friends to eat late at night. The guys loved them so much that the next day, the Bellissimos put them on the menu. That’s how the Buffalo wing was born.
At the same time, sports bars with multiple TVs were becoming popular, making football more of a communal viewing experience. Wings were the perfect shareable and affordable game-day food. A match made in chicken wing heaven.
Massive Consumption on Super Bowl Sunday
Every year, the National Chicken Council releases data on how many wings will be consumed on Super Bowl Sunday. And every year, the numbers get more astronomical.
The NCC said that for Super Bowl LVIII in 2024, 42 billion wings would be consumed. That’s enough to give almost everyone in the US four wings.
This year, for Super Bowl LIX, the NCC expects wing consumption to top 1.47 billion. That’s an increase of around 20 million wings compared to 2024.
To put 1.47 billion wings in perspective:
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It’s enough wings to stretch from Kansas City to Philadelphia (the Super Bowl LIX cities) over 60 times,
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If every NFL player ate 50 wings a day, it would take them 720 years to eat that many wings.
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Laid end-to-end, the wings would circle the Earth over 3 times.
In a way, Super Bowl Sunday is like a national chicken wing eating contest. People in the US can’t get enough of these cheesy snacks for games.
Why Such High Demand on Super Bowl Sunday?
There are a few key reasons why chicken wings are so incredibly popular on Super Bowl Sunday:
Convenience – Wings are easy to eat while watching the game. No utensils required. You can toss them in a variety of sauces for lots of flavors.
Value: Chicken farmers used to get cheap chicken wings as a byproduct. Restaurants learned that they could set low prices and still make a good profit, especially when they sold beer with them.
Communal Aspect – Wings are perfect for sharing with a group. And football is best enjoyed as a communal experience.
Traditions – Eating wings on Super Bowl Sunday is now ingrained in our culture. Many fans have been doing it for years.
Pair Well With Beer – The salty, spicy wings make fans thirsty…for more beer! It’s a win-win for restaurants serving wings.
Addictive Taste – Simply put, wings are delicious. The lip-smacking flavors and crispy skin make them hard to stop eating.
Wing Prices on the Rise
Due to various factors like inflation, higher costs for chicken producers, and supply chain issues, the price of wings is on the rise.
Restaurants like Wingstop and Buffalo Wild Wings have had to raise their wing prices over the past couple years just to maintain profits on this popular menu item.
But the higher prices don’t seem to be deterring wing lovers yet. Demand has stayed strong heading into this Super Bowl Sunday. Many fans consider wings a staple of game day and are willing to pay a premium.
Regional Preferences
While Buffalo-style chicken wings with blue cheese dressing are the original, different regions of the U.S. have developed their own favorite wing styles over the years.
Some examples:
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Buffalo – Medium hot sauce, blue cheese dressing
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Kansas City – Sweet & smoky barbecue sauce
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Dallas – Sweet & spicy Asian glaze
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Tampa – Cracked black pepper rub, citrus sauce
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Atlanta – Tangy lemon pepper seasoning
No matter your regional wing preferences, Super Bowl Sunday is the ultimate day to indulge. Good luck to all the hungry wing fans out there! Pace yourself…it’s going to be a long day of eating.
An excessive level of overconsumption
The 1. 47 billion chicken wings eaten over Super Bowl weekend cost the lives of 735 million individual chickens. This level of consumption is shocking. To put it into perspective: if you laid these chicken wings end to end, they would stretch a third of the way to the moon.
The loss of millions of innocent lives is unnecessary and heartbreaking.
How Many Chicken Wings Are Consumed On Super Bowl Sunday? – The Football Xpert
FAQ
How many chicken wings will be eaten in the Super Bowl on Sunday?
An excessive level of overconsumption. The 1. 47 billion chicken wings eaten over Super Bowl weekend cost the lives of 735 million individual chickens. This level of consumption is shocking.
What food is consumed most at Super Bowl Sunday?
Don’t Be Chicken Chicken wings are the food of choice. According to the National Chicken Council — yes, there is a National Chicken Council — Americans consume more than 100 million pounds of chicken wings on Super Bowl Sunday alone.
How many chicken wings sell for the Super Bowl?
The National Chicken Council (NCC) today released its annual Chicken Wing Report, projecting Americans to consume 1. 47 billion chicken wings watching the …Jan 30, 2025.
What is the #1 food consumed at Super Bowl parties?
You might be asking yourself, “But what do people order at their Super Bowl watch parties?” as you plan your menu for the big game. The three most popular Super Bowl dishes people order are pizza, chicken wings, and chips with dips.
How many chicken wings will you eat during Super Bowl 2024?
In its 2024 wing report, the National Chicken Council estimates that 1. 45 billion chicken wings will be consumed during the Super Bowl this weekend. According to the report, 1. Forty wings would be enough to give every man, woman, and child in the United States. It’s also enough to fill every seat in all 30 NFL stadiums with 693 wings.
How many chickens are eaten on Super Bowl Sunday?
Another popular food is chicken wings. According to some estimates, 1. 25 billion dollars’ worth of chicken wings are consumed on Super Bowl Sunday, which would equate to 162. 5 million pounds of chicken on that day alone. Rather depressingly, this would account for around 500 million chickens being slaughtered.
How many chicken wings will Americans eat during Super Bowl LVII?
(NEXSTAR) – While Super Bowl LVII is poised to be a historic game, Americans watching the matchup are expected to eat their way to a new record. Experts estimate that 1. 45 billion chicken wings will be consumed during Super Bowl weekend.
How many chicken wings are in Super Bowl ad?
You’ll remember these Super Bowl ads if you grew up in the 90s The number of chicken wings expected to be consumed this year is 2%, or 88 million wings, more than the estimate last year. Tom Super, a spokesperson for the National Chicken Council, credits the record-breaking projection to the return of pre-pandemic Super Bowl parties.
Are wings the Ultimate Super Bowl snack?
The National Chicken Council predicts that a record-breaking 1. 47 billion wings will be devoured during the big game, proving once again that wings are the ultimate Super Bowl snack.
How many chicken wings do you need for a Super Bowl?
For perspective, 1. 45 billion chicken wings are enough to give every man, woman and child in the U. S. four wings each. It would also be enough to give each person in a sold-out crowd at Phoenix’s State Farm Stadium, which is hosting the Super Bowl, 19,863 wings.