The insane money behind Super Bowl 50

Fans arrive for Super Bowl 50 at Levi's Stadium before the Denver Broncos take on the Carolina Panthers in Santa Clara, California. / AFP / Timothy A. CLARY

It's the biggest sporting event on the US calendar and billions of dollars will exchange hands in America today.

Not surprisingly, the biggest economic impact will be generated by gambling - 97 per cent of it illegal because the law permits betting in only four US states.

The American Gaming Association expects US$4.2 billion to be punted on the game, eight per cent higher than last year.

Some of the other extraordinary numbers involved in today's game at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, include:

THE average American will spend $82.19 on food, apparel and electronics for the game. This includes the sale of around 50 million cartons of beer and eight million TVs in the fortnight leading up to the day. Hormel Chilli says it will sell 2.7 million kilograms of chilli while Domino's Pizza expects to process 1500 orders per minute on the day.

CBS is charging $5 million for a 30-second commercial during the game, which is expected to be watched by 189 million people. This is up $400,000 from last year and will net the broadcaster roughly $350 million.

Serena Williams heads a superstar line up promoting Mini in one of this year's Super Bowl commercials.

AS FOR the players, they're not doing it for the money. Players on the winning team earn $102,000, while the losers get $51,000. That's chump change compared to the weekly salary of a Peyton Manning ($882,353) and the figure is actually lower once tax is taken into account. Playing in California is the worst-case scenario for the players because its state "jock tax" is the highest in the nation at 13.3 per cent.

THE FACE value for tickets ranges from $850 to $3000 but will cost even more on the secondary market. According to SeatGeek, the average price for a resold ticket is $5020 ahead of the game.

HOSTING the game in Santa Clara is expected to inject $350 million into the San Francisco Bay Area. Twenty per cent of this figure will be spent by sponsors, media and officials in town for work purposes, according to a study by Rockport Analytics cited byknbr.com. Some hotels have increased their rates five to six times over.

DESPITE all the money changing hands, Half Time Show act Coldplay will not be paid for their performance. But with a 2016 US tour to sell tickets for, we're sure they're happy with the publicity.

-news.com.au