NFL Continues Planning For Superbowl LV

Preparations for the 55th Super Bowl are well underway, despite ongoing disruption to the 2020 season. The 51st modern-era National Football League (NFL) championship game is currently scheduled to take place on February 7th 2021 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The last Super Bowl was also held in Florida at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, making this the fourth time the Super Bowl has been held in the same state in consecutive years. 

How to Watch the Game 

Superbowl LV was previously scheduled for broadcast on NBC but is now set to be televised by CBS after the two broadcasters agreed to trade rights. In exchange for Superbowl LV, NBC received the rights to Superbowl LVI which is currently scheduled to take place at the same time as the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. 

CBS are planning a large-scale re-branding of their CBS Sports division to take place at the same time as Superbowl LV in an effort to boost their popularity as a tier-one sports broadcaster in the United States. As with previous Super Bowls shown on CBS, an agreement has been made with ESPN Deportes to allow them to show a Spanish-language broadcast of the game. 

The game is also expected to be televised widely in other western nations. CTV have the rights to broadcast the match in Canada, whilst the BBC will be showing the game in the United Kingdom and Ireland on their primary BBC One channel. Satellite broadcaster Sky will be showing the game in several countries throughout the UK and Europe on their paid-subscription channels Sky Sports NFL and Sky Sports Mix, but there will also be free-to-air broadcasts on ProSieben in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. 

For those who wish to watch the game online, the streaming platform DAZN has acquired the rights to show the game this year in a surprise coup for the relatively small sports streaming service. 

Predictions 

Even at this early stage, the bookmakers have been quick to make predictions regarding their favorites to make it through the playoffs and onto the field at Superbowl LV. The recent legalization of online gambling in Philadelphia has seen major brands such as Unibet create new hubs for citizens of the Keystone state, and you can find all of their odds and predictions for the game at their new site Online Gambling PA.

Bookmakers look to have decided on Chiefs as the primary favorite to win Super Bowl 55, with odds of plus-200 (bet $100 to make $200) currently on offer at Unibet. Kansas City Chiefs completed their 2020 NFL season with a 14-2 record, losing only to the Raiders in week 5 and the Chargers in week 17. Despite the end of season loss, Chief remain the No. 1 seed for the AFC playoffs at this time. 

The NFC playoffs are balanced on a knife-edge at present, with the top-seeded Packers currently leading the field with odds of plus-550. The Green Bay Packers finished the regular season with a 13-3 record, but the Saints and Packers are right behind them in the bookmakers rankings with odds of plus-650 for these two teams. 

Contingency Plans 

This will likely be a very different kind of Superbowl to previous years, with many changes to normal proceedings planned. The NFL banned all on-field entertainment at games with spectators at the start of the 2020 season, which included halftime shows and national anthem performances.

With the date of the game fast approaching, it seems unlikely that these restrictions are going to be lifted prior to kick off on the day. The halftime show is more than a tradition at the Super Bowl - it's an institution. With this in mind, it will be hugely disappointing for fans when they have to watch a show via screens that has been produced off-site. 

The NFL is currently planning a minimum attendance of roughly 20% the capacity of the stadium, though the state of Florida has recently relaxed capacity restrictions for sporting events. As a result, the NFL may decide to increase the number of spectators permitted in the following weeks.