While New England is known for its chowder and Seattle its salmon tossing, when it comes to Super Bowl menus, nothing is hotter than wings. The National Chicken Council (NCC) released its annual Chicken Wing Report, projecting Americans consumed over 1.48 billion chicken wings watching the Patriots and Seahawks battle for the Lombardi Trophy. This figure represents an increase of about 10 million more wings than last year's game.
"I think Bradley Cooper is wrong: Football is for food," said NCC spokesperson Tom Super. "Especially when it comes to the Super Bowl, where wings rule the roost. For football fans looking to add protein to their spreads at an affordable price, wings are king of Super Bowl menus."
Because you've probably never really thought about that many wings...how do 1.48 billion chicken wings stack up? Laid end to end, they'd stretch roughly 27 times from Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, to Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington. They'd circle the planet almost three times, like a crispy equator. Eat one wing every 30 seconds and you'll finish right around the year 3430, or one wing every 30 seconds since the fall of the Roman Empire. You'd need more than 3,400 fully loaded semi-trucks to haul them all - enough trucks to make a 40-mile long convoy of nothing but wings.
NFL Playoffs + Wings
In the latest four weeks (playoff window), chicken wing units surged nationally 19.8% year-over-year, and dollars were up 11.4% versus the prior period, reflecting strong seasonal/game‑day demand.
An Affordable Protein Option
Retail prices for fresh wings are down 2.8% year-over-year, with a four-week moving average from Circana of $3.47 per pound, according to Wells Fargo's Super Bowl Food Report. This dip in cost comes thanks to U.S. broiler producers boosting domestic production by 2.2% in 2025, aided by lower feed costs.
According to USDA, despite softer wing prices, at 57 million pounds of cold storage inventory reported at the end of November, this was the lowest November total in more than 10 years (outside of 2020 COVID). This means restaurants, bars and supermarkets started stocking up well in advance of the Big Game.
"The bottom line... wings were available in plenty, they were affordable, and they were delicious," Tom Super added.
EDITOR’S TAKE:
Whew, there were a lot of chicken wings consumed during Super Bowl LX! Not a fan of chicken wings myself, but apparently millions of Americans are! Do you wonder what happened to the rest of the chicken? I would be willing to bet that consumers saw plenty of chicken parts in packages at their local supermarket. Restaurant owners probably got a pretty good deal on the left over parts as well. The bottom line is that all the sales of chicken help the producers in your area and elsewhere across America. Next up –BBQ season with chicken on the grill.
Put livestock producers at or near the top of your customer prospect list. With record sales and strong prices at the farm level, they are likely to be kicking tires and purchasing a new truck or two. Oh, and be sure to mention AgPack® where they can save thousands of dollars with exclusive rebates and discounts on products they use around the farm.
