The Super Bowl is set for Feb. 9 between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles in New Orleans, LA.
This year's Super Bowl will be Super Bowl LIX, otherwise known as Super Bowl 59. The Roman numeral naming system for The Big Game is unique to the NFL, and has been in place for more than five decades.
Here's a brief background on why the NFL has chosen to count Super Bowls using Roman numerals.
Why does the NFL use Roman Numerals to count Super Bowls and when did it begin?
The Roman numeral system for counting Super Bowls has not been in place since the beginning, but it has been present for more than five decades of championship football. The original idea, according to Kansas City Chiefs historian Bob Moore, can be credited to former Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt, who believed that the system was adopted to delineate between the regular season being played in one calendar year, with the Super Bowl being played in another.
For example, a majority of this football season was played in the fall of 2024, but the playoffs and Super Bowl are taking place in January and February of '25.
The system was officially put into place in 1971 beginning with Super Bowl V (5). It's been in place ever since. However, there is one exception. Super Bowl 50, which took place in February of 2016, did not use Roman numerals. This is the only Super Bowl since '71 that has not had Roman numerals used in the official record books.
Breakdown of Super Bowls by Roman Numerals (Conversion Chart)
Below is a table of Roman numerals vs. Arabic numerals of Super Bowls, based on how the NFL has officially recorded the list historically. As mentioned, Roman numerals were put into place beginning with Super Bowl V.
Super Bowl Count
Super Bowl Count in NFL History Books
Super Bowl 1
Super Bowl 1
Super Bowl 2
Super Bowl 2
Super Bowl 3
Super Bowl 3
Super Bowl 4
Super Bowl 4
Super Bowl 5
Super Bowl V
Super Bowl 6
Super Bowl VI
Super Bowl 7
Super Bowl VII
Super Bowl 8
Super Bowl VIII
Super Bowl 9
Super Bowl IX
Super Bowl 10
Super Bowl X
Super Bowl 11
Super Bowl XI
Super Bowl 12
Super Bowl XII
Super Bowl 13
Super Bowl XIII
Super Bowl 14
Super Bowl XIV
Super Bowl 15
Super Bowl XV
Super Bowl 16
Super Bowl XVI
Super Bowl 17
Super Bowl XVII
Super Bowl 18
Super Bowl XVIII
Super Bowl 19
Super Bowl XIX
Super Bowl 20
Super Bowl XX
Super Bowl 21
Super Bowl XXI
Super Bowl 22
Super Bowl XXII
Super Bowl 23
Super Bowl XXIII
Super Bowl 24
Super Bowl XXIV
Super Bowl 25
Super Bowl XXV
Super Bowl 26
Super Bowl XXVI
Super Bowl 27
Super Bowl XXVII
Super Bowl 28
Super Bowl XXVIII
Super Bowl 29
Super Bowl XXIX
Super Bowl 30
Super Bowl XXX
Super Bowl 31
Super Bowl XXXI
Super Bowl 32
Super Bowl XXXII
Super Bowl 33
Super Bowl XXXIII
Super Bowl 34
Super Bowl XXXIV
Super Bowl 35
Super Bowl XXXV
Super Bowl 36
Super Bowl XXXVI
Super Bowl 37
Super Bowl XXXVII
Super Bowl 38
Super Bowl XXXVIII
Super Bowl 39
Super Bowl XXXIX
Super Bowl 40
Super Bowl XL
Super Bowl 41
Super Bowl XLI
Super Bowl 42
Super Bowl XLII
Super Bowl 43
Super Bowl XLIII
Super Bowl 44
Super Bowl XLIV
Super Bowl 45
Super Bowl XLV
Super Bowl 46
Super Bowl XLVI
Super Bowl 47
Super Bowl XLVII
Super Bowl 48
Super Bowl XLVIII
Super Bowl 49
Super Bowl XLIX
Super Bowl 50
Super Bowl 50
Super Bowl 51
Super Bowl LI
Super Bowl 52
Super Bowl LII
Super Bowl 53
Super Bowl LIII
Super Bowl 54
Super Bowl LIV
Super Bowl 55
Super Bowl LV
Super Bowl 56
Super Bowl LVI
Super Bowl 57
Super Bowl LVII
Super Bowl 58
Super Bowl LVIII
Super Bowl 59
Super Bowl LIX
