Sports

History Shows 49ers Have Edge Over Chiefs In Super Bowl Based On Jersey Color

by
49ers QB Brock Purdy

Getty Image


The 49ers opened as the favorites to beat the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII, and history suggests they’ll be walking away with the win when everything is said and done based on the jerseys both teams will be rocking in The Big Game.

NFL fans have close to two weeks to break down the upcoming contest between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs, which will feature Brock Purdy and Co. attempting to secure a title for a franchise that hasn’t won one in 30 years while Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Andy Reid look to firm up their dynasty.

I don’t think it’s a stretch to suggest most people will be rooting for the 49ers to walk away with the win thanks to football fans who spent years dealing with the amount of coverage the Chiefs received before Taylor Swift entered the picture, but it’s certainly not going to be an easy victory for either team.

On Tuesday, the 49ers and the Chiefs provided us with our first look at the jerseys they’ll be rocking in Super Bowl LVIII when San Francisco posted a video of Christian McCaffery’s uniform and Kansas City shared a few pictures of the one Mahomes will be rocking (which gives off some serious Leader Of A Military Dictatorship Vibes thanks to all of the patches plastered on the front).

Now, you might not think the color of those jerseys has any particular significance, but if you like to read way too far into trends with a tenuous link to the outcome of the Super Bowl, you may be interested in what’s transpired in the past.

Last year, the Chiefs were wearing white when they beat the Eagles, which marked the 37th time a team rocking that color walked away with a Super Bowl win (good for 64.9% of the time).

However, that number is decidedly skewed by what’s transpired in the past couple of decades, as teams that wore a colored jersey have gone 3-16 since 2004 (it’s worth noting the Chiefs were responsible for one of those wins, as they wore red in Super Bowl LIV while beating…the 49ers).

It’s probably a bit foolish to put too much stake into a stat that doesn’t have any real significance, but that’s never stopped gamblers from doing exactly that.