SUPER IT’S A LOW IMPACT
Tampa not expected to generate half of last year’s $572M
TAMPA, Fla. — There have been four previous Super Bowls in Tampa, some amid war and economic distress, but none have faced the challenges this year’s event is encountering because of the coronavirus pandemic and its fallout.
Tickets for Sunday’s game are limited to about a third of the capacity of Raymond James Stadium. There will be no tailgating. While the usual fan festival and other side attractions are happening, masks and social distancing are required. Most player appearances will be remote.
Last year’s pre-pandemic Super Bowl in the Miami area generated an estimated $572 million in new spending in the three main South Florida counties, according to that game’s host committee. This year, the Tampa Bay region probably won’t generate even half that, said Sean Snaith, director of the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Economic Forecasting.
The usual economic take for a Super Bowl is somewhere between $300 million and $500 million for the host regions, he said.
For example, large corporate and sponsor events will be limited — if they are held at all, he said. Bars and restaurants are open but with some restrictions on seating and an emphasis on social distancing.
“A lot of things you associate with a Super Bowl aren’t going to happen,” Snaith said. “That’s going to have an impact economically. The circumstances put kind of a wet blanket on it.”
Tourist development tax collections in Hillsborough County, where Tampa is located, show the hit the area has taken during the pandemic. This is a tax on short-term rentals, such as hotels.
BRADY: Tom Brady keeps raising the bar about how long he could keep playing quarterback in the NFL.
As the 43-year-old Brady prepares for his record 10th Super Bowl and first since joining Tampa Bay this past offseason, he said he’s already considering surpassing his previous goal and playing beyond age 45.
“Yes definitely. I would definitely consider that,” Brady said Monday in his first news conference at Super Bowl week. “It’s a physical sport. Just the perspective I have on that is, you never know kind of when that moment is, just because it’s a contact sport. There’s a lot of training that goes into it. It has to be 100% commitment from myself to keep doing it.”
Brady still has that commitment, working closely with longtime trainer Alex Guerrero on workouts, diets and other preparation that has allowed Brady to thrive at an age when most of his peers are long retired.
Brady said the days of being a high school or college kid living on pizza and fast food are long in the past.
“I think football for me has obviously been my sport. It’s a career, but it’s really part of my daily life,” Brady said. “Because a lot of the decisions I make, I’m always thinking about ‘How does this impact my football? How does it impact my offseason training?’ It’s pretty well documented the approach that I’ve taken over a period of time, which certainly didn’t all start at once. I think how I work out and how I recover is very important. The work I do with my body coach Alex is critical to the success that I’ve had.”
That work has helped Brady post accomplishments
unequaled in NFL history. He has 10 Super Bowl trips, six titles, three MVPs, the most TD passes in regular-season history (581) and the possibility of passing Drew Brees next season for the most yards passing ever if Brees retires as expected this offseason.
What Brady has accomplished since turning 40 years old before the 2017 season would be an impressive enough career for most players. He has 20,776 yards passing in the regular season and playoffs, 142 TDs, one MVP, and a third trip to the Super Bowl, having won it following the 2018 season in New England and losing it the previous season.
GET IT DONE!: Kansas City Chiefs star Tyreek Hill wants to be the Super Bowl halftime show. Hill said Monday he’d be willing to race Tampa Bay receiver Scotty Miller during intermission on Sunday.
“Someone line that up for us,” Hill said.
Miller raised eyebrows last week when he said he believes he would win a one-on-one footrace with Hill, considered one of the fastest players in the NFL.
“I’m taking me every day of the week,” Miller told The Dan Patrick Show. “I’ll take me over anybody. Tyreek is unbelievable, super quick, unbelievable talent. But if we’re talking about a race, I’ve got all the confidence in myself going up against anybody.”
Hill was given several chances to challenge Miller’s assertion during a virtual media day, but he declined each time.
“I feel like Scotty answered that question the right way,” Hill said.
“… But do I think he’s faster than me? I don’t know. I don’t know. Maybe we can do something during halftime or something like that. Someone line that up for us.”
COVID: The Chiefs placed a pair of backups, wide receiver Demarcus Robinson and center Daniel Kilgore, on the COVID-19 list as close contacts Monday as they begin final preparations for the Super Bowl against Tampa Bay.
Neither of the players actually tested positive for COVID-19, which means Robinson — a regular contributor — and Kilgore could still play in the Super Bowl. Both would need to return negative tests throughout the week to get off the list.
Kilgore started four games earlier this season when center Austin Reiter missed three games to an injury, and when the Chiefs rested their starters in Week 17 with the AFC’s top seed already secured.
Robinson appeared in every game this season, setting career highs with 45 receptions for 466 yards to go with three touchdown catches. He also can return kicks and punts and helps out with other special teams units.
RODGERS: Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst and coach
Matt LaFleur say they expect Aaron Rodgers to remain their team’s starting quarterback in 2021 and beyond.
Gutekunst and LaFleur made those comments Monday during season-ending Zoom sessions with reporters. After the Packers’ 31-26 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC championship game, Rodgers had said, “there’s a lot of guys’ futures that are uncertain, myself included.”
“We’re really excited not only for next year, but the years to come,” Gutekunst said.
When asked specifically whether that meant keeping Rodgers beyond the 2021 season, Gutekunst said, “Absolutely.” Rodgers has three years remaining on a four-year, $134 million contract extension he signed in August 2018.
Rodgers’ long-term future has been a topic of league-wide speculation ever since the Packers traded up four picks to take Utah State quarterback Jordan Love with the 26th overall selection in the 2020 draft.
WITTEN: Jason Witten is becoming a high school football coach after his second retirement from the NFL.
The 11-time Pro Bowl tight end was named Monday as the new head coach at Liberty Christian School in Argyle, Texas, about 30 miles from the headquarters of the Dallas Cowboys.
The 38-year-old Witten spent his final season with the Las Vegas Raiders, and said last week that he was retiring from the NFL after 17 seasons.