Super Bowl 2025: Off-the-field winners and losers from the big game, from Kendrick Lamar to Pat Riley

The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Kansas City Chiefs, 40-22, in Super Bowl LIX, preventing the first three-peat in the Super Bowl era and getting revenge for their loss in the title game two years ago. Clearly, the Eagles were the biggest winners of the night and the Chiefs were the biggest losers, but there were some other non-game related winners and losers from the night.

Some winners of the night include halftime headliner Kendrick Lamar, but not every halftime performer gets in the win column. The commercials are another big attraction for fans, but did they live up to the hype this year? Here’s a look at some of the biggest winners and losers from off the field:

Winners

• Kendrick Lamar: Lamar is having an unbelievable year and it continued with the halftime show. The 22-time Grammy winner had an exciting performance filled with surprise guests, including Samuel L. Jackson, Serena Williams and DJ Mustard. 
• Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show dancers: The halftime show featured dancers dressed in red, white, blue and were a highlight of the performance. At one point during the performance, they made a formation in the American flag and brought the hype for the entire show. 
• Celebrity Eagles fans: There were a lot of famous faces in the stadium crowd, including actors Bradley Cooper, Anne Hathaway, Miles Teller, and comedian Kevin Hart. After watching their team lose to the Chiefs in the big game just two years ago, they now get to be on the other side of history.
• Jon Batiste: The five-time Grammy winner delivered an excellent performance of the national anthem ahead of the game. 

Losers

• Pat Riley: Huh? How does a lengendary NBA figure wind up a loser after the Super Bowl? … Well, it was Riley who coined — and more importantly patented and trademarked the term (and variations of it) — after then-coach Riley’s Lakers won a third straight title back in the 1980s. It’s believed that Riley stood to make millions in Chiefs “three-peat” merch. 
• SZA: While SZA delivered amazing vocals while she was on stage, she wasn’t featured as much as she could’ve been during the halftime show. She was only present for two songs and she was not the main artist on either song.
• Drake: Kendrick Lamar had an entire stadium of people singing a diss track about rapper Drake. Lamar’s song “Not Like Us” is directed towards Drake and not only won five Grammys last week, but was one of the biggest hits played on the halftime show stage.
• Commercials: This year, the commercials just didn’t seem to live up to the expectation we all have of Super Bowl ads. 
• Taylor Swift and other famous Chiefs fans: Last year, Swift ended the Super Bowl on the field with boyfriend and Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and the rest of the team, but it’s a different story this year. Swift, along with other famous K.C. fans including actors Paul Rudd and Jon Hamm left the arena under a sea of green confetti.