Super Bowl Coin Toss History

A simple coin toss can go a long way, especially in the NFL Super Bowl. While the odds are always 50/50, fans can never get enough of one of the most popular Super Bowl prop bets. If you’re curious about the history of coin tosses in past Super Bowls, stay tuned throughout this article as we discuss the significance of past Super Bowl coin tosses, including patterns, results, and several superstitions it’s associated with.

The purpose of the NFL coin flip

Every NFL fan and player knows the big game starts with a coin toss to determine which team kicks and receives at the beginning of the game. It seems simple, but when it comes down to managing the clock during the game, the order of possession can matter a lot.

This is especially true considering that possession starts under the same team after a quarter ends, but not after halftime, where the team that kicked off in the first quarter will receive.

Coin toss superstitions

Odds are odds, and 50% is as even as you can get statistically, so all things considered, there are no real anomalies involved in a simple coin toss, although fans and players alike will all have their skepticisms. In total, since the 2020 Super Bowl toss result, the winner of the coin toss would win the trophy 26 times, versus losing 29 times. In 2021, this would remain true for the Cincinnati Bengals, who’d pick tails, win the toss, and then lose the Super Bowl. 

While results from all Super Bowls would say that winning the coin toss means you lose the game more often on average, the Kansas City Chiefs are the perfect example of reverse superstition because they’ve won the Super Bowl coin toss in 2021 (heads), 2023 (tails), and 2024 (heads) while gone on to win the Super Bowl every time.

It proves the empirical data of previous coin tosses is irrelevant, as the odds are still within a 50% result, given a 3% margin for error. As more Super Bowls are played, we completely expect the data to show winners and losers of the coin toss are completely irrelevant.

NFC teams hit a lucky stride

It’s extremely interesting to look over several decades’ worth of Super Bowl coin toss data, especially when you find statistical anomalies that are baffling. From the 1998 Super Bowl to the 2011 Super Bowl XLV, NFC teams would win the coin toss every time, creating a string of consecutive coin toss Super Bowl tins for 14 years straight.

If it weren’t for the New England Patriots stopping this trend in both the 1997 Super Bowl XXXI after a 3-game NFC team streak and once again in Super Bowl XLVI in 2012, the NFC would’ve won the coin toss in 19 straight Super Bowl finals. The AFC teams have yet to experience something like this, with their longest streak of coin toss wins lasting for just four Super Bowl finals from Super Bowl VI in 1972 to Super Bowl IX in 1975.

Coin Spin Stats

From the very first Super Bowl up to number 58, the coin has landed on Heads 28 times and Tails 30 times. The longest streak of heads was five games from Super Bowl XLIII to Super Bowl XLVII. Meanwhile the biggest tails streak was four-in-a-row. For the coin toss completists out there, here is a table showing the results of every single flip of the coin in the big game to date:

Super Bowl	Teams	Heads or tails	Toss winner	Game winner
I	Chiefs vs. Packers	Heads	Packers	Packers
II	Packers vs. Raiders	Tails	Raiders	Packers
III	Jets vs. Colts	Heads	Jets	Jets
IV	Vikings vs. Chiefs	Tails	Vikings	Chiefs
V	Colts vs. Cowboys	Tails	Cowboys	Colts
VI	Cowboys vs. Dolphins	Heads	Dolphins	Cowboys
VII	Dolphins vs. Washington	Heads	Dolphins	Dolphins
VIII	Vikings vs. Dolphins	Heads	Dolphins	Dolphins
IX	Steelers vs. Vikings	Tails	Steelers	Steelers
X	Cowboys vs. Steelers	Heads	Cowboys	Steelers
XI	Raiders vs. Vikings	Tails	Raiders	Raiders
XII	Cowboys vs. Broncos	Heads	Cowboys	Cowboys
XIII	Steelers vs. Cowboys	Heads	Cowboys	Steelers
XIV	Rams vs. Steelers	Heads	Rams	Steelers
XV	Raiders vs. Eagles	Tails	Eagles	Raiders
XVI	49ers vs. Bengals	Tails	49ers	49ers
XVII	Dolphins vs. Washington	Tails	Dolphins	Washington
XVIII	Washington vs. Raiders	Heads	Raiders	Raiders
XIX	Dolphins vs. 49ers	Tails	49ers	49ers
XX	Bears vs. Patriots	Tails	Bears	Bears
XXI	Broncos vs. Giants	Tails	Broncos	Giants
XXII	Washington vs. Broncos	Heads	Washington	Washington
XXIII	Bengals vs. 49ers	Tails	49ers	49ers
XXIV	49ers vs. Broncos	Heads	Broncos	49ers
XXV	Bills vs. Giants	Heads	Bills	Giants
XXVI	Washington vs. Bills	Heads	Washington	Washington
XXVII	Bills vs. Cowboys	Heads	Bills	Cowboys
XXVIII	Cowboys vs. Bills	Tails	Cowboys	Cowboys
XXIX	Chargers vs. 49ers	Heads	49ers	49ers
XXX	Cowboys vs. Steelers	Tails	Cowboys	Cowboys
XXXI	Patriots vs. Packers	Heads	Patriots	Packers
XXXII	Packers vs. Broncos	Tails	Packers	Broncos
XXXIII	Broncos vs. Falcons	Tails	Falcons	Broncos
XXXIV	Rams vs. Titans	Tails	Rams	Rams
XXXV	Ravens vs. Giants	Tails	Giants	Ravens
XXXVI	Rams vs. Patriots	Heads	Rams	Patriots
XXXVII	Raiders vs. Buccaneers	Tails	Buccaneers	Buccaneers
XXXVIII	Panthers vs. Patriots	Tails	Panthers	Patriots
XXXIX	Patriots vs. Eagles	Tails	Eagles	Patriots
XL	Seahawks vs. Steelers	Tails	Seahawks	Steelers
XLI	Colts vs. Bears	Heads	Bears	Colts
XLII	Giants vs. Patriots	Tails	Giants	Giants
XLIII	Steelers vs. Cardinals	Heads	Cardinals	Steelers
XLIV	Saints vs. Colts	Heads	Saints	Saints
XLV	Steelers vs. Packers	Heads	Packers	Packers
XLVI	Giants vs. Patriots	Heads	Patriots	Giants
XLVII	Ravens vs. 49ers	Heads	Ravens	Ravens
XLVIII	Seahawks vs. Broncos	Tails	Seahawks	Seahawks
XLIX	Patriots vs. Seahawks	Tails	Seahawks	Patriots
50	Panthers vs. Broncos	Tails	Panthers	Broncos
LI	Patriots vs. Falcons	Tails	Falcons	Patriots
LII	Eagles vs. Patriots	Heads	Patriots	Eagles
LIII	Patriots vs. Rams	Tails	Rams	Patriots
LIV	49ers vs. Chiefs	Tails	49ers	Chiefs
LV	Chiefs vs. Buccaneers	Heads	Chiefs	Buccaneers
LVI	Rams vs. Bengals	Heads	Bengals	Rams
LVII	Chiefs vs. Eagles	Tails	Chiefs	Chiefs
LVIII	49ers vs. Chiefs	Heads	Chiefs	Chiefs