Who is the home team for Super Bowl 2021?
Super Bowl LV will take place live from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on Sunday, February 7th. The location of this matchup is notable because Raymond James Stadium is the home venue of one of the two teams competing in the game, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Tampa Bay will not have to travel at all, unlike their opponent, the Kansas City Chiefs who will make the flight to Florida from Missouri, but will the Buccaneers be the home team just because the game is on their home field?
Tampa Bay will be the home team in Super Bowl LV
The Buccaneers will be receiving dual honors, as they are not only the first team to play the Super Bowl in their home stadium in any capacity, but will also become the first squad to be the home team in a Super Bowl in their home stadium, as it would have been possible for them to be declared the visiting squad, given that this is technically a neutral-site matchup.
The home team designation did not come based on records, strength of schedule, or any other variable controlled by the team, rather, it came from the rule that AFC teams are the home team in even-numbered Super Bowls and NFC teams are the home team in odd-numbered Super Bowls. It was pure luck that Tampa's year to host the Super Bowl aligned with the NFC's turn to host the game, and the hometown team being elite-caliber.
Tampa Bay has made the choice to wear their white jerseys at home for the Super Bowl, making them only the 7th home team in Super Bowl history to wear white jerseys. This means the Chiefs will be decked out in their signature red jerseys, that have become iconic in recent years, in large part due to exposure from star players like Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Tyreek Hill.
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Although the Chiefs are the visiting team for Super Bowl LV, they do not get the usual perk that a visiting squad gets in terms of the coin toss. Super Bowl coin tosses do not feature a call of heads or tails, as the coin is a special commemorative item, and each team's logo is represented on either side of the coin. Whichever team wins the toss will have the initial choice of kicking, receiving, defending a side of the field, or deferring their decision until the second half. If overtime is necessary, the same process will apply.