Why teams in white jerseys hold an advantage in the Super Bowl

The biggest sporting event in the U.S. each year begins with a simple question: heads or tails? The coin toss is a Super Bowl staple. The small ritual has major impacts, though – both on the field and in sportsbooks.

The biggest sporting event in the country begins with a simple question: heads or tails?

The coin toss is a staple of the Super Bowl. But the small ritual has a big impact - on the field and in sportsbooks.

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Does tails ever fail in the Super Bowl? Is it actually better to lose the coin toss?

Here's a look at some coin toss history before Super Bowl LIX kicks off in New Orleans:

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Super Bowl coin toss outcomes

In the first 58 Super Bowls, the coin toss landed on tails 30 times and heads 28 times.

The longest streak for one result went from Super Bowl XLIII to Super Bowl XLVII, when it landed on heads five straight times. There were three stretches in which the Super Bowl coin toss landed on tails four straight times.

Before Super Bowl LVII, the winner of the coin toss went on to lose the game in eight straight Super Bowls. The Kansas City Chiefs bucked that trend in February 2023, successfully calling tails, deferring to the second half and beating the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35. Kansas City continued its winning ways in Las Vegas last season after the 49ers unsuccessfully called heads in Super Bowl LVIII.

Here's a look at the coin toss result, coin toss winner and game winner from the first 7 Super Bowls:

Who chooses the Super Bowl coin toss?

Even though the Super Bowl is played at a neutral site each year, there are still "home" and "away" teams. Just like all other NFL games, the away team gets to choose between heads and tails for the opening coin toss.

Home and away designations for the Super Bowl alternate between conferences each year. For Super Bowl LIX, the Chiefs will make the call against the Eagles.

Can you bet on the Super Bowl coin toss?

Fans can bet on the Super Bowl coin toss depending on where they are located.

While sports betting is legal in 38 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., many of those states specifically do not allow bets on the coin toss.

Within days of the Super Bowl LVIII matchup being set in January 2024, Caesars in Las Vegas took a $100,000 wager on tails.