NBC has announced that 95% of the advertising space for next month’s Super Bowl has been sold – at 4.5 million dollars per 30-second spot.  As much as we love the halftime commercials, can you believe they cost nine million bucks a minute? Let’s see what else we could buy for 4.5 million beans.

When this year’s Super Bowl airs on NBC (6:30 PM Sunday, February 1st), most of us will have our eyes glued to the TV.  Checking out the commercials during breaks are a staple during the big game.  Since the majority of our teams are sitting home like we are, the ads. are all we really have to root for, right?  Are these highly anticipated spots worth what NBC is selling each for, though?  The latest report has a 30-second commercial going for 4.5 MILLION dollars.

Imagine spending nine million bucks for a one-minute ad. to run.  I love the Budweiser Clydesdales as much as you do, will forever have a crush on Cindy Crawford thanks to Pepsi and I can’t ever shoot a basketball without saying “nothing but net“- but 9 mil?  Really?  NBC has hiked up their asking price 500,000 dollars from Fox’s cost last year and a full million more per 30 seconds than NBC asked for the last time they aired the Super Bowl in 2012.

The Super Bowl always brings in huge ratings.  Last year’s game broke records with 111.49 million viewers in the US. A company’s 4.5 million dollar spot would be seen my many and could bring new business.   NBC even states there are double-digit new advertisers this year so the asking price isn’t scaring anyone away.  The cost is staggering none the less.  To put this price in perspective, check out what we could buy with 4.5 million bucks – the cost of 30 seconds of Super Bowl air time:

1) Odell Beckham Jr’s contract (for over a year). Cost: 2.6 million per season.   Imagine having OBJ making this catch every Sunday on your flag football team:

2)  11 Lamborghini Aventadors. Cost: $400,000.  Zero to 60 MPH in 2.9 seconds, this car can get up to 217 miles per hour.  Perhaps you can go all out and get one that shoots flames.

3) 2 Hoffman Playlands.  After 62 years, the Latham staple closed last Summer.  Cost: 1.8 million. Imagine being able to put the train your house.  #Want

4) The ValleyCats.  …maybe.  The cost for a minor league baseball team is between 3 million and 25 million dollars.  If not the entire team, as co-owner, you may be able to at least play SouthPaw for a night.

5) Snacks.  Here is a breakdown of my favorite goodies:

2,200,000 +/- Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes

300,000 Sausage and Pepperoni pizzas from Papa John’s.

4.5 million Slim Jims

1,607,142 Extra Large coffees at Dunkin’ Donuts

900,000 Roast Beef subs from Subway

BONUS purchase: Katy Perry

Katy Perry charges around $500,000 for a private show.  She even sang at a wedding for just under two million bucks.  For 4.5 million, we could get the Super Bowl halftime performer to eat some of our 300,000 pizzas in the first quarter of the game, get her on a plane and still get her to the game in time.  Hopefully she’ll wear this during the National Anthem:

Four and a half million dollars for thirty seconds.  Amazing.  While we’d never buy 300, 000 pizzas (or would we…) if we had that kind of cash, would you ever sink that much money into one commercial if you owned a business?