Forget about the officiating, the biggest controversy of Super Bowl 2025 was the brand-new Fox scorebug.
Fox debuted a new bug at the bottom of the screen during the Sunday, February 9, game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles, which featured “KC” and “PHI” in massive letters against a stark, empty background.
Suffice to say, it did not go over well with some of the likely hundreds of millions of viewers at home.
“Insane they would drop this scorebug on us in the Super Bowl. Nasty work,” Barstool Sports’ Big Cat posted via X. Meanwhile, Barstool’s PFT Commenter wrote via X, “Might have to boycott the NFL over the scorebug.”
USA Today senior writer Andrew Joseph shared via X, “Just think of the countless meetings and people Fox had all to settle on this scorebug for the Super Bowl.”
CBS Sports’ writer Matt Norlander managed to put a positive spin on the viral debacle. “It’s actually comforting how much scorebug presentation means to people,” Norlander wrote via X. “We can all find common ground in our shared interests. Humanity has hope.”
CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli joked, “After giving Tom Brady $375 million, Fox only had $25 left to spend on a scorebug design.”
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Fornelli referenced Brady, 47, who was making his Super Bowl broadcast debut on Sunday after signing a massive 10-year, $375 million contract with Fox Sports in May 2022. The former New England Patriots quarterback was introduced to viewers alongside play-by-play analyst Kevin Burkhardt at the start of the 2024-25 season.
Before Super Bowl LIX, Brady acknowledged some of the criticisms of his broadcasting style.
“I think the mistakes that I’ve made, and I’ve made plenty, I’ve learned from all of them,” Brady said during a Wednesday, February 5, media conference call. “You’re not happy they happen, but at the same time, you understand that when they do happen — and I mispronounce words or I forget a certain statistic or the preparation’s a little off in terms of my thoughts on something and I screw up the analysis — I go back and I want to get it right the next time.”
Brady added, “Without the mistakes, you don’t learn from them and apply them going forward. I think all the mistakes I made, although I wish I didn’t make them, the fact that I can learn from them and move forward with a greater sense of awareness just allows you to improve.”
