How NFL free agency has changed the Super Bowl
There were 27 Super Bowls before NFL free agency and 27 Super Bowls since. And the chance for every team to win a championship has grown considerably.
It was another year and another Super Sunday. The San Francisco 49ers sought their first NFL title since 1994 while the Kansas City Chiefs look to win their first league championship since 1969. When the clock ticked to 0:00 after the fourth quarter, Andy Reid’s team had scored the final 21 points in a 31-20 victory to capture Super Bowl LIV.
On the first Sunday of February, the Chiefs were the 23rd different team to play in the “Big Game” since NFL free agency took over the league in 1993. One year later, the salary cap became a reality and it ushered in what many refer to as parity.
During the first 27 years of the Super Bowl Era (1966-92) and prior to free agency, 19 different teams played in that game, 14 of those clubs made two or more appearances, a dozen franchises won at least one Lombardi Trophy and 13 different clubs came up short on Super Sunday.
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Eight clubs — the Pittsburgh Steelers (4), San Francisco 49ers (4), Dallas Cowboys (3), Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders (3), Washington Redskins (3), Green Bay Packers (2), Miami Dolphins (2) and New York Giants (2) — won at least two NFL titles.
The other four teams to win over a Super Bowl over that span? The New York Jets, Chiefs, the then-Baltimore Colts and the Chicago Bears.
However, over the past 27 seasons dating back to 1993, 23 different teams have played on Super Sunday, 15 different clubs have walked away with a Lombardi Trophy and 18 different teams have lost at least one Super Bowl.
As for the franchises with multiple titles, there’s the New England Patriots (6), Denver Broncos (3), Cowboys (2), Steelers (2), Green Bay Packers (2), Giants (2) and Baltimore Ravens (2).
The Patriots have really been the outlier here, with 10 of the 54 Super Bowl appearances by the teams since free agency began. It’s also interesting to note that only two franchises – the Broncos in 1997-98 and the Patriots in 2003-04 — have managed to win back-to-back NFL titles (the Cowboys repeated in 1992-93 but their first title came before free agency).
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So with the start of another fiscal year on the horizon, will the Chiefs repeat? Or will another team win its first-ever Lombardi Trophy or capture a Super Bowl title for the first time in years?