If there's one thing American NFL fans love more than the Super Bowl itself it is... procedure.
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You may tune in on Sunday night thinking this is it, the Vince Lombardi Trophy has shown up, the teams have landed and we're ready to go.
But the reality is the Super Bowl will have been going on for two weeks prior to kick off with various media engagements, promotional materials, the ailing Pro Bowl, awards shows – the full carnival.
Sponsors will have had their moments in the sun, uniform announcements have been made and the home team has been designated. Yes, a home team. On neutral ground. U-S-A.
Radio Times brings you all the details about the home team at Super Bowl 2026.
The Super Bowl 2026 home team will be the New England Patriots.
That will come as a relief to San Francisco 49ers fans who have already endured the pain of seeing the Seattle Seahawks branding etched into their turf.
Home team selection is on a rotational basis between the NFC and AFC Champions. This year it's the AFC's turn to be at 'home'.
Benefits to the home team are minimal, but there are two small bonuses that come with the status.
The Patriots get to choose which jersey to wear. They have chosen to wear their all-white away jersey, the first time they have ever done so in the Big Game.
In turn, the Seahawks have opted for navy, meaning this is the first match-up between two teams wearing monochromatic uniforms in Super Bowl history – who knew!
Aside from aesthetics, the Patriots' second bonus is that they will select heads or tails in the coin toss before the game, which effectively determines which team will take possession of the football first.
Let's be real though, it's still a 50:50 shout rather than a genuine advantage to have the coin toss pick.
What is the Super Bowl home team curse?
The Super Bowl curse doesn't actually relate to the 'administrative' home team (in this case, the Patriots). Instead, the home team curse revolves around the Super Bowl stadium itself.
The curse involved the Super Bowl host team failing to qualify for the Super Bowl that year. The curse was broken when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Los Angeles Rams made it to the Super Bowl in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
However, both teams went on to win the big game on their home turf and it appears the curse is broken...
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Michael Potts is the Sport Editor for Radio Times, covering all of the biggest sporting events across the globe with previews, features, interviews and more. He has worked for Radio Times since 2019 and previously worked on the sport desk at Express.co.uk after starting his career writing features for What Culture. He achieved a first-class degree in Sports Journalism in 2014.
