Super Bowl winners: Full list of American football NFL champions

The Super Bowl is the ultimate American sporting event, a yearly extravaganza that goes beyond sports to become a worldwide juggernaut. Since its inception in 1967, the National Football League (NFL) championship game has progressed beyond just a simple athletic occasion, into an elaborate display of entertainment, promotion, and group celebration.

The NFL season culminates with the Super Bowl, which usually takes place in late January or early February.

GOAL studies the complete outlook of the sport discussing the past winners and some standout MVPs from the prestigious tournament below.

List of Super Bowl Winners

The Super Bowl was first won by Green Bay back in 1967 when they defeated Kansas City who are currently the reigning champions of the competition after winning it two years in a row in 2023 and 2024. GOAL provides a detailed list of all the teams that have won the prestigious prize between 1967 and 2024.

Who has won the most Super Bowls?

Two teams share the podium for the most Super Bowl wins in the history of the competition with Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots winning the prestigious tournament six times. The Steelers first got their hands on the trophy in 1975 when they won IX th edition of the competition beating Minnesota in the finals.

New England Patriots, on the other hand, reached two finals but were handed a heartbreak at the final step twice before beating St. Louis in 2002 to win their first of six Super Bowls. They won their last of the lot in 2019 when they defeated the Los Angeles Rams at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Who won the first Super Bowl?

Green Bay Packers won the inaugural edition of the Super Bowl when they defeated Kansas City 35-10 back in 1967. The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum witnessed the iconic moment when the Green Bay Packers laid their hands on the prestigious prize. The Packers carried on the momentum winning the trophy back-to-back as they were crowned Super Bowl champions in the second season as well after defeating Oakland 33-14.

Why is it called the Super Bowl?

The AFL-NFL merger was one of the biggest mergers that took place in 1966 but the only problem was finding a suitable name for the championship competition.

In 1960, after the unfortunate passing away of former National Football League Commissioner Bart Bell a new chief had to be appointed. A young Pete Rozelle was then given the opportunity at the age of 33 as he became the new NFL Commissioner.

Six years later, The AFL-NFL merger happened which was one of the biggest mergers that took place in 1966 but the only problem was finding a suitable name for the championship competition. Rozelle had multiple ideas for the name of the tournament with the “The Big One" and "Pro Bowl" being some suitable options but they never took off. Rozelle then labelled the competition "The AFL-NFL World Championship Game" but unfortunately it was too long for headlines and was struck out.

Later Lamar Hunt, the main founder of the American Football League and owner of the Kansas City Chiefs, had the idea of naming it the "Super Bowl". Hunt's son Lamar Hunt Jr. later elaborated that his father got the idea from one of his son's toys called the "Super Ball".

What is the Super Bowl prize money?

When the event was held for the first time back in 1967, the winners of the competition were awarded a paycheck of $15,000 each while the losers garnered a sum of $7,500 apiece.

Fast-forward to 2023, the Super Bowl prize money has taken a daunting leap. According to the NFL's Collective Bargaining Agreement, each winning team member will receive $157,000, which marks a $7,000 raise on the 2022 bonus. While the losers are given a fee of $82,000 as consolation for falling at the last hurdle.

Which player has won the most Super Bowls?

NFL superstar and an iconic American figure, Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. or Tom Brady holds the record for laying his hands on the Vince Lombardi Trophy an astounding seven times in his staggering career.

Brady played a crucial role in establishing the New England Patriots dynasty in the sport as he guided them to the trophy six times in his career in 2002, 2004, 2005, 2015, 2017, and 2019. Brady won the last and seventh Super Bowl of his career with Tampa Bay in 2021 before bidding farewell to the game on 1st February 2023.

Super Bowl MVPs

The Super Bowl MVP award is presented to the most valuable player of each season who has eventually contributed to his team's outstanding success in their respective campaigns.

Here's a list of all the Super Bowl MVPs since its inaugural edition and their highlights from the event.