Super Bowl 50 was an American football game to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2015 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Carolina Panthers, 24–10. The game was played on February 7, 2016, at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. As this was the 50th Super Bowl game, the league emphasized the "golden anniversary" with various gold-themed initiatives during the 2015 season, as well as suspending the tradition of naming each Super Bowl game with Roman numerals (under which the game would have been known as "Super Bowl L"), so the logo could prominently feature the number 50 in more familiar Arabic numerals.
The Panthers finished the regular season with a 15–1 record, racking up the league's top offense, and quarterback Cam Newton was named the NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP). They defeated the Arizona Cardinals 49–15 in the NFC Championship Game and advanced to their second Super Bowl appearance since the franchise began playing in 1995. The Broncos finished the regular season with a 12–4 record, bolstered by having the league's top defense. The Broncos defeated the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots 20–18 in the AFC Championship Game, joining the Patriots, Dallas Cowboys, and Pittsburgh Steelers as one of four teams that have made eight appearances in the Super Bowl. This record would later be broken the next season, in 2017, when the Patriots advanced to their ninth Super Bowl appearance in Super Bowl LI. This marked the fourth time in history that the Super Bowl pitted the top defense against the top offense, after Super Bowls XXV, XXXVII and XLVIII.
In one of the most defensive matchups in Super Bowl history, the Broncos took an early lead that they never lost. Denver recorded seven sacks and forced four turnovers. Carolina kept pace by recording five sacks and forcing two turnovers. Denver linebacker Von Miller was named Super Bowl MVP. This game was the final game of Peyton Manning's career; the Broncos quarterback, who also won Super Bowl XLI, announced his retirement in March 2016.
CBS' broadcast of the game was the fifth most-watched program in American television history with an average of 111.9 million viewers. The network charged an average of $5 million for a 30-second commercial during the game. The Super Bowl 50 halftime show was headlined by Coldplay, with special guest performers Beyoncé and Bruno Mars.
Game summary[]
| Team | Conference | 1st Quarter | 2nd Quarter | 3rd Quarter | 4th Quarter | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carolina Panthers | NFC | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
| Denver Broncos | AFC | 10 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 24 |
Starting lineups[]
| Carolina Panthers | Position | Denver Broncos | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | |||
| Ted Ginn Jr. | wide receiver | Demaryius Thomas | |
| Michael Oher | left tackle | Ryan Harris | |
| Andrew Norwell | left guard | Evan Mathis | |
| Ryan Kalil | center | Matt Paradis | |
| Trai Turner | right guard | Louis Vasquez | |
| Mike Remmers | right tackle | Michael Schofield | |
| Greg Olsen | tight end | Owen Daniels | |
| Corey Brown | wide receiver | Emmanuel Sanders | |
| Cam Newton | quarterback | Peyton Manning | |
| Jonathan Stewart | running back | C. J. Anderson | |
| Ed Dickson | tight end | Vernon Davis | |
| Defense | |||
| Charles Johnson | left defensive end | defensive end | Derek Wolfe |
| Star Lotulelei | left defensive tackle | nose tackle | Sylvester Williams |
| Kawann Short | right defensive tackle | defensive end | Malik Jackson |
| Jared Allen | right defensive end | strongside linebacker | Von Miller |
| Shaq Thompson | strongside linebacker | weakside linebacker | DeMarcus Ware |
| Luke Kuechly | middle linebacker | inside linebacker | Brandon Marshall |
| Thomas Davis | weakside linebacker | inside linebacker | Danny Trevathan |
| Robert McClain | left cornerback | Aqib Talib | |
| Josh Norman | right cornerback | Chris Harris Jr. | |
| Roman Harper | strong safety | T. J. Ward | |
| Kurt Coleman | free safety | Darian Stewart | |
Entertainment[]
Pre-game[]
| Artist | Song(s) |
|---|---|
| Lady Gaga Marlee Matlin (American Sign Language interpretation) |
"The Star-Spangled Banner" |
| U.S. Armed Forces Chorus Marlee Matlin (American Sign Language interpretation) |
"America the Beautiful" |
| Fred Biletnikoff Marcus Allen Joe Montana Jim Plunkett Jerry Rice Steve Young |
Coin toss ceremony participants |
Halftime[]
- Headliner: Coldplay
- Special guests: Beyoncé, Gustavo Dudamel, Bruno Mars, Mark Ronson, University of California Marching Band and Youth Orchestra Los Angeles
- Director: Hamish Hamilton
- Producer: Ricky Kirshner
- Sponsor: Pepsi
Set list[]
| Artist | Song(s) |
|---|---|
| Coldplay | "Yellow" "Viva la Vida" "Paradise" "Adventure of a Lifetime" |
| Mark Ronson Bruno Mars Beyoncé |
"Uptown Funk" "Formation" (contains elements of "U Can't Touch This" and "Crazy in Love") |
| Coldplay Bruno Mars Beyoncé |
"Fix You" "Up&Up" (contains elements of "Clocks", "Midnight", "Independent Women Part I", "Just the Way You Are", "Purple Rain" and "Beautiful Day") |
Broadcasting[]
United States[]
| Network | Play-by-play announcer | Color commentator(s) | Sideline reporter(s) | Rules analyst(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CBS | Jim Nantz | Phil Simms | Tracy Wolfson and Evan Washburn | Mike Carey and Jay Feely |
| ESPN Deportes | Álvaro Martín | Raul Allegre | John Sutcliffe | |
| Westwood One | Kevin Harlan | Boomer Esiason and Dan Fouts | James Lofton and Mark Malone |
Other programming[]
| Programming type | Program |
|---|---|
| Lead-out programs | The Late Show with Stephen Colbert |
| The Late Late Show with James Corden | |
| Counterprogramming | Puppy Bowl XII (Animal Planet) |
| Kitten Bowl III (Hallmark Channel) | |
| Fish Bowl XXL (Nat Geo Wild) | |
| Kosher Halftime Show (Nachum Segal Network) | |
| The X-Files (Fox) |
Commercials[]
| Product type | Advertiser/product |
|---|---|
| Beer | Bud Light |
| Car | Jeep |
| Hyundai Genesis | |
| Honda Ridgeline | |
| Car accessories | WeatherTech |
| Clothing | Marmot |
| Coffee | Death Wish Coffee |
| Electronics | LG Electronics |
| Food | Doritos |
| Heinz | |
| Skittles | |
| Film | 10 Cloverfield Lane |
| Alice Through the Looking Glass | |
| Deadpool | |
| Captain America: Civil War | |
| Eddie the Eagle | |
| Gods of Egypt | |
| Independence Day: Resurgence | |
| Jason Bourne | |
| The Jungle Book | |
| The Secret Life of Pets | |
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows | |
| X-Men: Apocalypse | |
| Gaming | Nintendo / The Pokémon Company |
| Online finance | PayPal |
| SoFi | |
| Personal care | Dollar Shave Club |
| Schick | |
| Phone | T-Mobile |
| Toothpaste | Colgate |
| Soft drink | Mountain Dew Kickstart |
| Sport | NFL |
International[]
| Country | Network |
|---|---|
| Asia | All Sports Network |
| Middle East and North Africa | OSN, beIN Sports |
| Australia | Seven Network, 7mate, ESPN |
| Austria | Puls 4, Sat.1 |
| Brazil | Esporte Interativo, ESPN |
| Canada | CTV |
| Czech Republic | Sport 2 |
| Denmark | TV3+ |
| Finland | Nelonen |
| France | W9 |
| Germany | Sat.1 |
| India | Sony SIX |
| Japan | NHK BS1, Nittele G+ |
| Mexico | Azteca 7, Canal 5 |
| Netherlands | Fox, Fox Sports 2 |
| New Zealand | TV One, TVNZ Pop-Up, ESPN, TVNZ OnDemand |
| Philippines | TV5, Hyper |
| Poland | Eleven Sports |
| Romania | Dolce Sport |
| Thailand | True4U, TrueSport HD |
| Switzerland | Sat.1, W9 |
| United Kingdom Ireland |
BBC Two, Sky Sports, BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra |