Will Las Vegas be awarded another Super Bowl this week?

NEW YORK — Las Vegas could learn this week whether it will be named the host city for the 2029 Super Bowl when NFL owners hold their fall meetings.

Future Super Bowl sites will be a topic of discussion, but whether those talks result in a decision remains to be seen.

What’s known is that the NFL and Las Vegas recently began exclusive negotiations for hosting duties for Super Bowl 63 in 2029 at Allegiant Stadium. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has formally submitted Las Vegas’ bid, and the NFL is reviewing the package, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.

An announcement could come within the calendar year, perhaps this week. The two-day meetings are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. PT on Tuesday.

‘Statement Super Bowl’

The NFL changed its process of deciding Super Bowl host cities in 2018. Before that, the league essentially held an open competition among cities interested in bringing the championship game to their market.

Since then, the league has narrowed its focus to one city for a particular year and begun negotiations with city leaders.

Las Vegas has emerged as the top choice to host Super Bowl 63 after successfully pulling off hosting duties for Super Bowl 58 in 2024. The city is expected to be in the regular rotation for years to come.

“That was a statement Super Bowl,” NFL vice president Peter O’Reilly told the Las Vegas Review-Journal recently. “And it’s certainly a market we want to get back to.”

Las Vegas became a serious player after the Raiders relocated to Southern Nevada in 2020 and became an overnight success. Since then, the league has hosted an NFL draft, two Pro Bowls and a Super Bowl in the city.

“It’s been fantastic,” O’Reilly said. “It’s amazing it’s been five years because so much has happened. The Raiders now feel so ingrained in that market in every way. From our perspective … there is such a positive marriage of those big moments coming together with Las Vegas, and it really shined. That’s only going to continue.”

NFL wants to return

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell made it clear at the spring meetings that Las Vegas was back on the Super Bowl radar.

“I’m sure we’ll be back,” he said.

Within the past year, the Raiders and Las Vegas submitted a letter of intent to the NFL to host the Super Bowl in 2029, 2030 or 2031. The letter was in response to the NFL reaching out to gauge their interest during that time frame.

That the NFL inquired about Las Vegas’ interest less than a year after Super Bowl 58 is a testament to how well it was received within league circles and by fans.

“We knew it was going to be this magnet, if you will, and I think it’s only exceeded that initial impression,” O’Reilly said.

The next three Super Bowl sites are set. The 2026 game will be played at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California; the 2027 game will be played at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California; and the 2028 game will be played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Super Bowl 58 huge win

If it were up to local leaders, Las Vegas would be the permanent host for Super Bowls. That’s a consistent message Steve Hill, chief executive officer and president of the LVCVA, has relayed to the NFL during their frequent talks.

“Understanding that we’re kind of kidding, although we’re not really kidding,” Hill said in February. “If they wanted to do the Super Bowl here every year, we will do it here every year.”

According to the Super Bowl recap posted on the official website of the City of Las Vegas, “an estimated 330,000 visitors were expected in Southern Nevada during Super Bowl weekend for the festivities and activities, including 62,000 fans who attended the game.”

The visitor impact was reflected in the number of travelers at Harry Reid International Airport on the Monday after the game, when a single-day record of 104,000 passengers were screened by the Transportation Security Administration, according to the report.

That jibes with the NFL’s appreciation for major events in its newest market.

“The Super Bowl in Las Vegas was very successful in terms of the experience for the fans and the teams and our partners,” O’Reilly said.

Brady’s dual roles

Another topic that could come up for discussion is Tom Brady’s dual roles as the lead analyst on Fox NFL telecasts and a Raiders minority owner.

At issue is the potential conflict of interest concerning the access Brady gets to coaches and players as part of his duties as a game analyst and how it could be used to benefit the Raiders.

The NFL has guardrails in place for Brady, including restrictions that severely limit his access to players and coaches, whom he can only meet with virtually, and how he is not allowed to watch practice or step foot in another team’s facility.

Brady caused a stir when he was shown in the Raiders’ coaches box wearing a headset during a Sept. 15 game against the Chargers, reigniting the conflict of interest talk.

The NFL issued a statement saying Brady’s presence in the coaches booth was not in violation of any rules.

“There are no policies that prohibit an owner from sitting in the coaches booth or wearing a headset during a game,” the statement said. “Brady was sitting in the booth in his capacity as a limited partner. All personnel sitting in the booth must abide by policies that prohibit the use of electronic devices other than league-issued equipment.”

Last month, Brady pushed back the concerns in his weekly newsletter.

“I love football. At its core, it is a game of principles,” he wrote. “And with all the success it has given me, I feel I have a moral and ethical duty to the sport, which is why the point where my roles in it intersect is not actually a point of conflict, despite what the paranoid and distrustful might believe. Rather, it’s the place from which my ethical duty emerges: to grow, evolve and improve the game that has given me everything.”

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X.