The Super Bowl LX logo at a press conference at the San Jose Convention Center. Kirby Lee / Imagn Images
Feb. 8, 2026Updated 7:12 am EST
The Athletic has live coverage of Seahawks vs. Patriots in Super Bowl 60.
Deciphering what number Super Bowl it is can be tricky, due to the Roman numerals. But the irony is, Roman numerals were actually introduced to make things easier to understand.
Former Kansas City Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt felt that there would be confusion over the fact that the Super Bowl itself took place the year after the NFL’s regular-season games. So, he suggested bringing in Roman numerals to number the big games.
The letters were brought in from Super Bowl V and were retrospectively added for Super Bowls 1 to 4. They have been used ever since, except for Super Bowl 50, where the number was used instead because NFL ad designers felt Super Bowl L was too unattractive and unmarketable.
As the years go on, the combinations of letters are only going to get longer. And if Super Bowl 3,888 comes along, it will be Super Bowl MMMDCCCLXXXVIII.
Watch the above video from the Tifo team for more.
Feb 8, 2026
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