Should Super Bowl Monday be a national holiday? Whilst we imagine most people would emphatically answer ‘yes’, unfortunately, we don’t seem any closer to this reality.
Super Bowl Sunday usually wraps up in the small hours of Sunday night, but the effects can linger into Monday morning. Millions of Americans arrive at work bleary-eyed or just opt for calling in sick.
To find out how much fans really drink (and how often that turns into a sick day), Action Network surveyed 3,000+ NFL fans ahead of this year’s Super Bowl. We asked two simple questions:
- How many alcoholic drinks will you consume during the Super Bowl this year?
- Have you ever called in sick on the Monday following the Super Bowl, despite not being sick?
We then used those responses to estimate the productivity loss the U.S. economy could experience the day after the Super Bowl due to absenteeism and hangovers.
Key Takeaways
- Nearly 1 in 5 (18%) expect to have five or more drinks, putting them at higher risk of a next-day hangover.
- 32% of NFL fans say they have, or would, call in sick on Super Bowl Monday.
- Hangovers and absenteeism of NFL fans on Super Bowl Monday could cost the U.S. economy $1.96 billion in lost productivity.
- Houston Texans fans top the list of heavy drinkers, 30% of their fans will have 5+ drinks.
- 27.0% of Ohio-based NFL fans will have 5+ drinks during the Super Bowl this year.
- Mississippians are the most likely to call in sick on Super Bowl Monday.
You’ll find the full team-by-team and state-by-state breakdowns below.
National Results
How Many Alcoholic Drinks Will You Consume During the Super Bowl This Year?
| Answer | Percentage |
| None – I will not be drinking | 34% |
| 1 drink | 8% |
| 2 drinks | 15% |
| 3 drinks | 15% |
| 4 drinks | 11% |
| 5 drinks | 12% |
| 6 or more drinks | 6% |
In total, two-thirds of fans (66%) say they’ll be drinking during the game.
And while many plan to stop at a few beers, 18% expect to consume at least five drinks, a level commonly associated with next-day fatigue and impaired performance.
Have You Ever Called in Sick on the Monday Following the Super Bowl, Despite Not Being Sick?
| Answer | Percentage |
| Yes, I have | 18% |
| No, but maybe I would | 17% |
| No, but I would | 14% |
| No, and I never would | 52% |
Altogether, 32% of NFL fans say they would call in sick on Super Bowl Monday.
Another 17% say they might consider it, suggesting nearly half of fans see the Monday after the game as negotiable.
Younger fans were the most candid: those aged 18–24 had the highest share who said they’ve already called in sick after the Super Bowl (27%).
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How Much Productivity Is Lost on Super Bowl Monday?
The Super Bowl isn’t just a Sunday night spectacle; it’s a Monday morning problem.
While millions of fans will be back at their desks the day after the game, a sizable share admit they won’t be at full strength. Some won’t show up at all. Others will log on with a hangover and hope for the best.
To estimate what that means for the U.S. economy, we combined Super Bowl viewership data with our fan survey and national employment figures.
The Super Bowl drew an estimated 127.7 million U.S. viewers last year, according to Nielsen, the largest television audience of the year. Not all of those viewers are NFL fans, though.
Research suggests that about 43% of U.S. adults regularly watch NFL games, which gives us a pool of roughly 54.9 million football-focused viewers.
But not every fan who watched the game is part of the workforce. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that about 59.7% of Americans age 16 and over are employed, and Super Bowl audiences tend to skew older than the general population. To account for that, we assume viewers are employed at three-quarters of the national rate.
That brings the number of employed NFL-fan viewers down to approximately 24.6 million, the group most likely to feel the effects of a long Super Bowl night on Monday morning.
From there, we applied our survey results.
Among the 3,000+ NFL fans we polled:
- 32% said they would call in sick on the Monday after the Super Bowl.
- Nearly 1 in 5 (about 20%) expect to drink five or more drinks, putting them at higher risk of working with a hangover.
That translates to an estimated:
- 7.63 million working NFL fans absent on Super Bowl Monday, and
- 4.92 million more are showing up with reduced productivity
To convert people into dollars, we used a standard proxy for daily productivity: $222 per worker per day, based on average U.S. earnings and output. For employees who show up hungover, we assume a 25% drop in productivity, consistent with research on alcohol-related presenteeism.
When you crunch the numbers, the result adds up quickly:
7.63 million absentees × $222 = $1.69 billion
4.92 million hungover workers × $55.50 in lost output = $0.27 billion
Together, that’s about $1.96 billion in lost productivity tied to Super Bowl Monday alone.
Bear in mind, this is just among active NFL fans; there’s no telling how much this number would increase when we include casual fans who just watch the Super Bowl.
In other words, the game may only last a few hours, but its economic hangover lingers into the workweek. When it comes to unofficial holidays, Super Bowl Monday may be one of the most expensive on the calendar.
Results by NFL Fan Base
Some fan bases plan to drink far more than others on Super Bowl Sunday.
Jets fans top the list, reporting an average of 3.6 drinks during the game—the highest mark among all 32 teams. They’re followed by Jaguars fans (3.1) and a three-way tie between the Raiders, Texans, and Bengals (3.0 each).
At the other end of the table, Packers fans average just 1.9 drinks, the lowest figure in the league. The Vikings (2.0) and 49ers (2.0) also rank near the bottom.
Overall, fan bases clustered in the middle of the league typically expect to consume between 2.4 and 2.7 drinks, suggesting that while most fans will have a beer or two, a smaller group drives the heavier averages.
Heavy Drinkers by Team (5+ drinks)
Average drinks tell part of the story, but the share of fans planning to drink heavily reveals where the biggest risks of a Monday hangover lie.
Texans fans lead the league, with 30% saying they expect to have at least five drinks during the Super Bowl. They’re followed by the Raiders (28%) and Jets (26%).
Other fan bases near the top include the Bengals (26%), Giants (24%), and Dolphins (23%), each with nearly a quarter of respondents expecting to cross the five-drink mark.
On the other end of the spectrum, Panthers fans rank last, with just 5% saying they’ll drink five or more drinks. The Packers (10%), Vikings (10%), and Rams (10%) also fall among the least likely to report heavy drinking.
The gap between teams highlights how Super Bowl Sunday looks very different depending on which jersey you’re wearing.
Calling in Sick by Fan Base
Drinking habits don’t always translate directly into workplace behavior, but some fan bases are far more willing than others to admit they’d skip work the next day.
Jaguars fans rank first, with 56% saying they have called in sick or would call in sick the Monday after the Super Bowl. The Commanders (42%), Bills (41%), and Colts (41%) round out the top tier.
In contrast, Browns fans were the least likely to say they’d call in sick, at just 19%. The Rams (21%) and Vikings (23%) also ranked near the bottom.
Across the league, roughly one in three fan bases landed in the 30–35% range, suggesting the idea of “Super Bowl Monday” as an unofficial holiday is widely accepted, just not evenly embraced.
Heavy Drinkers by State (5+ Drinks)
Drinking habits on Super Bowl Sunday vary sharply by geography—and in some states, heavy drinking is far more common than in others.
Ohio tops the list, with 27.0% of respondents saying they expect to consume at least five drinks during the Super Bowl. Hawaii (26.9%) and New York (26.6%) follow closely behind, while Washington (26.6%) and Texas (23.4%) round out the top five.
Several Midwestern and Southern states also rank near the top. Kansas (23.3%),Illinois (23.1%), and Virginia (23.0%) all reported that nearly a quarter of fans plan to cross the five-drink mark.
At the opposite end of the table, Vermont ranks last, with just 2.6% of respondents saying they’ll have five or more drinks. Minnesota (6.7%) and Nevada (10.2%) were also among the least likely states to report heavy drinking.
Notably, states with higher shares of heavy drinkers often had lower percentages of fans who said they wouldn’t drink at all. For example, only 18.8% of New York respondents and 22.2% of Ohio respondents said they planned to skip alcohol entirely, compared with nearly half of respondents in Utah (49.2%) and Indiana (46.7%).
The spread between states highlights just how different Super Bowl Sunday looks depending on location: in some parts of the country, the game doubles as a full-scale drinking event, while in others, most fans plan to watch with little or no alcohol at all.
Which States Will Be Calling In Sick?
The likelihood of calling in sick after the Super Bowl also varies by state.
Mississippi ranks first, with 45% of respondents saying they’ve called in sick or would consider doing so. New Hampshire (43%) and Florida (43%) follow close behind.
Several Midwestern and Mountain West states fell toward the bottom of the rankings. Minnesota ranks last, with just 17% of fans saying they’ve called in sick or would do so.
Overall, Southern and Northeastern states tended to cluster near the top of the table, while Upper Midwest states were more likely to report going to work regardless of the night before.
Methodology
The research was commissioned by The Action Network, and carried out online by Research Without Barriers – RWB. All surveys were conducted between 9th January 2026 and 14th January 2026. The sample comprised 3,008 USA NFL fans.
All research conducted adheres to the MRS Codes of Conduct (2023) in the UK and ICC/ESOMAR World Research Guidelines.
RWB is registered with the Information Commissioner's Office and is fully compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act (2018).
You can find the full breakdown of results here.
To estimate productivity loss on Super Bowl Monday, national viewership, labor statistics, and workplace productivity research were combined.
Super Bowl Viewership:
Total U.S. audience (127.7 million) was based on 2025 Nielsen’s national Super Bowl ratings.
NFL Fan Share:
Because not every Super Bowl viewer is a regular NFL fan, the analysis used the share of U.S. adults who watch NFL games (43%) as a proxy for football-focused viewers, producing an estimated 54.9 million NFL-fan viewers.
Employment Adjustment:
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 59.7% of Americans age 16+ are employed. Super Bowl audiences skew older than the general population, and older age groups have lower employment rates. To account for this, viewers were conservatively assumed to be employed at 75% of the national rate, resulting in an estimated 24.6 million employed NFL-fan viewers.
Productivity Value:
Daily productivity was estimated at $222 per worker (from HR Grapevine), based on average U.S. earnings and output. Workers attending with a hangover were assumed to experience a 25% productivity reduction, consistent with research on alcohol-related presenteeism.
Calculation:
Two groups were modeled separately: workers absent from work and workers present with reduced productivity. Absentee losses were calculated as the number of absent workers multiplied by $222. Reduced-productivity losses were calculated as the number of hungover workers multiplied by 25% of $222. The combined total represents the estimated productivity loss tied to Super Bowl Monday.
