The Super Bowl may be the only time American viewers voluntarily gather around a television with excitement to watch commercials. The video ads are often entertaining because companies look to make a splash due to the high number of viewers and the public chatter that goes along with them.

It begs the question: How much does it cost for a 30-second spot to air during the nation's biggest sporting event?

The price tag is particularly high in 2022 since the total audience is expected to surpass the Super Bowl in 2015, which drew a record 114 million viewers.

For 2022, it costs about $6.5 million for Super Bowl commercial space for 30-second ads. This is up exactly $1 million since last year. Meanwhile, there are some reports that an ad can run as high as $7 million.

The numbers are drastically different from the $37,500-$42,000 price tag from the first Super Bowl, which took place in 1967. Adjusted for inflation, the price would only be about $350,000.

The first year that the Super Bowl commercial space price tag went over $1 million was in 1994 and continued to stay in the millions the following years after that.

This is the first year that the price for a Super Bowl commercial has ever exceeded $6 million.

The pandemic impacted the costs in 2021. The price tag for last year's Super Bowl was $5.5 million compared to $5.6 million in 2020. Commercials cost $5.3 million in 2019.

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