# Super Bowl XXXII
**Super Bowl XXXII** was an [American football](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-football) game played on January 25, 1998, at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, in which the [Denver Broncos](https://www.edgepedia.org/denver-broncos) defeated the defending champion [Green Bay Packers](https://www.edgepedia.org/green-bay-packers) 31-24 to win their first Super Bowl.[1](https://www.profootballhof.com/football-history/general-history-chronology-1980-to-1999) The Broncos became the first AFC team in 14 years to claim the Vince Lombardi Trophy, ending a streak of NFC dominance in the series.[2](https://static.www.nfl.com/image/upload/league/apps/league-site/media-guides/2025/DEN.pdf) Denver running back Terrell Davis, playing in his hometown, was named the game's Most Valuable Player.[3](https://media.denverbroncos.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/2002.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Date and site | January 25, 1998, Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego[1](https://www.profootballhof.com/football-history/general-history-chronology-1980-to-1999) |
| Result | Denver Broncos 31, Green Bay Packers 24; Denver's first Super Bowl victory[1](https://www.profootballhof.com/football-history/general-history-chronology-1980-to-1999) |
| Attendance | 68,912[4](https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2005/01/31/Leagues-Governing-Bodies/Super-Bowl-Attendance-History/) |
| Television | 133.4 million viewers, tied with Super Bowl XXVII for the third-largest audience in U.S. television history; 44.5 rating, 67 percent share[5](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1998/01/27/the-tv-column/fa141b62-81d0-4afc-9c9e-b877a5eeb0f0/) • [1](https://www.profootballhof.com/football-history/general-history-chronology-1980-to-1999) |
| MVP | Terrell Davis, 157 rushing yards on 30 carries and a Super Bowl-record three rushing touchdowns, each from 1 yard out[3](https://media.denverbroncos.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/2002.pdf) |
| Significance for the AFC | First AFC team in 14 years to win the Vince Lombardi Trophy[2](https://static.www.nfl.com/image/upload/league/apps/league-site/media-guides/2025/DEN.pdf) |
| Venue milestone | First Super Bowl played in a stadium bearing a corporate name[6](https://www.qualcomm.com/news/releases/1998/01/super-bowl-xxxii-make-history-first-corporate-named-stadium-host-big-game) |
## The matchup
Green Bay entered as the defending [Super Bowl](https://www.edgepedia.org/super-bowl) champion, having beaten New England 35-21 in [Super Bowl XXXI](https://www.edgepedia.org/super-bowl-xxxi) the year before, and oddsmakers expected a Packers blowout.[1](https://www.profootballhof.com/football-history/general-history-chronology-1980-to-1999) • [7](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1998/01/25/the-greatest-sports-show-on-earth/f1db7ce6-198c-44b1-913e-7d062a7c317f/) The Washington Post reported before the game that, according to the oddsmakers, the contest likely would be another lopsided victory for an NFC team, continuing a long line of such results.[7](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1998/01/25/the-greatest-sports-show-on-earth/f1db7ce6-198c-44b1-913e-7d062a7c317f/)
Denver reached the game after winning road playoff games in Kansas City and [Pittsburgh](https://www.edgepedia.org/pittsburgh).[8](https://www.denverbroncos.com/news/way-back-wednesday-broncos-greatest-win-packers-super-bowl) The team's own accounts frame the 1997 season as "The Revenge Tour," a run that ended with the franchise's first world championship and closed out a stretch that had begun with a gut-wrenching playoff loss to the [Jacksonville Jaguars](https://www.edgepedia.org/jacksonville-jaguars) the previous season.[9](https://www.denverbroncos.com/news/way-back-when-how-jacksonville-paved-the-way-for-broncos-championships) After the AFC Championship game, the conference trophy was presented by [Don Shula](https://www.edgepedia.org/don-shula), the Pro Football Hall of Fame coach, who told the team, "The way Denver can run the ball, they have a great chance to win the Super Bowl."[9](https://www.denverbroncos.com/news/way-back-when-how-jacksonville-paved-the-way-for-broncos-championships)
## The game
Denver won with a powerful running game and a solid defensive performance against the defending Super Bowl champion Packers.[2](https://static.www.nfl.com/image/upload/league/apps/league-site/media-guides/2025/DEN.pdf) Davis carried 30 times for 157 yards and scored three rushing touchdowns, each from 1 yard out, a Super Bowl record for rushing touchdowns in a single game.[3](https://media.denverbroncos.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/2002.pdf) The Packers did answer at one point: sparked by a play from Robinson, Green Bay needed just four plays, three of them passes to Freeman, to score the tying touchdown with 13:32 remaining.[10](https://operations.nfl.com/media/6101/2022-record-and-fact-book.pdf) Denver held on for the 31-24 final in front of 68,912 fans.[2](https://static.www.nfl.com/image/upload/league/apps/league-site/media-guides/2025/DEN.pdf) • [4](https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2005/01/31/Leagues-Governing-Bodies/Super-Bowl-Attendance-History/)
The victory gave quarterback [John Elway](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-elway) his first Super Bowl win after earlier losses in the series.[11](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUe968JR8UM) Denver's defense, which ranked fifth in the league in total defense and sixth in scoring defense that season behind [Steve Atwater](https://www.edgepedia.org/steve-atwater), first-team All-Pro linebacker John Mobley, and [Pro Bowl](https://www.edgepedia.org/pro-bowl) defensive end Neil Smith, held the defending champions to 24 points.[12](https://www.denverbroncos.com/news/broncos-to-celebrate-25th-anniversary-of-super-bowl-xxxii-championship-team-duri)
## Television audience
The game drew one of the largest audiences in American television history. [NBC Sports](https://www.edgepedia.org/nbc-sports) estimated that 133.4 million viewers watched all or part of the telecast, and the [Pro Football Hall of Fame](https://www.edgepedia.org/pro-football-hall-of-fame) records that this tied [Super Bowl XXVII](https://www.edgepedia.org/super-bowl-xxvii) for the third-largest audience in U.S. television history.[5](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1998/01/27/the-tv-column/fa141b62-81d0-4afc-9c9e-b877a5eeb0f0/) • [1](https://www.profootballhof.com/football-history/general-history-chronology-1980-to-1999) Preliminary national numbers gave the game a 44.5 rating and a 67 percent audience share, up 3 percent over the previous year's Super Bowl on Fox, making it the 13th-highest-rated game in the history of the series.[5](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1998/01/27/the-tv-column/fa141b62-81d0-4afc-9c9e-b877a5eeb0f0/)
Audience interest grew as the game went on. Ratings increased every half-hour of the broadcast, and the final 30 minutes, between 9:30 and 10 p.m., drew a 50.4 rating with a 70 share, the first half-hour of a Super Bowl to exceed a 50 rating since NBC carried [Super Bowl XX](https://www.edgepedia.org/super-bowl-xx) in 1986.[5](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1998/01/27/the-tv-column/fa141b62-81d0-4afc-9c9e-b877a5eeb0f0/) The two most interested television markets were Milwaukee, which averaged a 54.2 rating and 82 share, and Denver, with a 50.8 and 85; host city San Diego did a 53.1 and 81.[5](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1998/01/27/the-tv-column/fa141b62-81d0-4afc-9c9e-b877a5eeb0f0/)
## The venue and its corporate name
Super Bowl XXXII was the first in the series to be played in a stadium bearing a corporate name.[6](https://www.qualcomm.com/news/releases/1998/01/super-bowl-xxxii-make-history-first-corporate-named-stadium-host-big-game) The naming followed a 1997 arrangement in which Qualcomm Incorporated, a San Diego wireless phone manufacturer, supplied the $18 million needed to complete planned stadium improvements after the city of San Diego had difficulty funding the expansion; in exchange the company received the stadium's naming rights for the next 20 years among other benefits.[6](https://www.qualcomm.com/news/releases/1998/01/super-bowl-xxxii-make-history-first-corporate-named-stadium-host-big-game) San Diego Chargers linebacker Junior Seau said at the time that without the company's help the local teams, and even the Super Bowl, might have moved to another city.[6](https://www.qualcomm.com/news/releases/1998/01/super-bowl-xxxii-make-history-first-corporate-named-stadium-host-big-game)
## Aftermath
NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue declared the event an "outstanding success" at a news conference two days before kickoff, reflecting the scale to which the Super Bowl had grown as a marketing event; the host committee chair described it as nine days of parties and charity events in which the game itself was, in his words, incidental.[7](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1998/01/25/the-greatest-sports-show-on-earth/f1db7ce6-198c-44b1-913e-7d062a7c317f/) The 1997 playoffs produced the largest NFL postseason player pool to that point, with $25.1 million divided among 737 players.[1](https://www.profootballhof.com/football-history/general-history-chronology-1980-to-1999)
Two days after the victory, more than 650,000 people descended on downtown Denver on January 27, 1998, to salute the World Champion Broncos.[13](https://media.denverbroncos.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/2001.pdf) Denver followed the title by beating the Atlanta Falcons 34-19 in Super Bowl XXXIII the next season, becoming one of the few teams to win back-to-back Super Bowls.[1](https://www.profootballhof.com/football-history/general-history-chronology-1980-to-1999) • [14](https://www.profootballhof.com/teams/denver-broncos/team-history) The 1997-98 Broncos teams are also among the few since the game was first played after the 1966 season to win the Super Bowl and then post a better record the following season.[13](https://media.denverbroncos.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/2001.pdf)
## References
1. [General History - Chronology (1980 to 1999), Pro Football Hall of Fame](https://www.profootballhof.com/football-history/general-history-chronology-1980-to-1999)
2. [Postseason Game Recaps, Denver Broncos 2025 Media Guide, NFL.com](https://static.www.nfl.com/image/upload/league/apps/league-site/media-guides/2025/DEN.pdf)
3. [Super Bowl XXXII, Denver Broncos media guide (2002)](https://media.denverbroncos.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/2002.pdf)
4. [Super Bowl Attendance History, Sports Business Journal](https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2005/01/31/Leagues-Governing-Bodies/Super-Bowl-Attendance-History/)
5. [The TV Column, The Washington Post, January 27, 1998](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1998/01/27/the-tv-column/fa141b62-81d0-4afc-9c9e-b877a5eeb0f0/)
6. [Super Bowl XXXII to Make History: First Corporate Named Stadium to Host the Big Game, Qualcomm press release, January 15, 1998](https://www.qualcomm.com/news/releases/1998/01/super-bowl-xxxii-make-history-first-corporate-named-stadium-host-big-game)
7. [The Greatest Sports Show on Earth, The Washington Post, January 25, 1998](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1998/01/25/the-greatest-sports-show-on-earth/f1db7ce6-198c-44b1-913e-7d062a7c317f/)
8. [Way Back Wednesday: The Broncos' greatest win, DenverBroncos.com](https://www.denverbroncos.com/news/way-back-wednesday-broncos-greatest-win-packers-super-bowl)
9. [Way Back When: How Jacksonville paved the way for Broncos' championships, DenverBroncos.com](https://www.denverbroncos.com/news/way-back-when-how-jacksonville-paved-the-way-for-broncos-championships)
10. [Super Bowl Summaries, NFL Record and Fact Book (2022)](https://operations.nfl.com/media/6101/2022-record-and-fact-book.pdf)
11. [Super Bowl XXXII Elway's 1st Super Bowl Win, NFL YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUe968JR8UM)
12. [Broncos to celebrate 25th anniversary of Super Bowl XXXII championship team, DenverBroncos.com](https://www.denverbroncos.com/news/broncos-to-celebrate-25th-anniversary-of-super-bowl-xxxii-championship-team-duri)
13. [Denver Broncos media guide (2001)](https://media.denverbroncos.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/2001.pdf)
14. [Denver Broncos team history, Pro Football Hall of Fame](https://www.profootballhof.com/teams/denver-broncos/team-history)
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