Socionomics presents a new, “hard-hitting” correlation between American football and finance
Football and finance: it feels like an oil-and-water kind of pairing. But for the last 40 years, come February, Wall Street has traded its business jackets in for jerseys thanks to the Super Bowl Indicator (SBI).
Created in the 1970s by sportswriter Leonard Koppett, the indicator realized the following: if a winning team is from the National Football Conference (NFC) or was in the National Football League (NFL) before its 1970 merger with the American Football League, then stocks will have a bull market that year. If the winning team comes from the American Football Conference (AFC), then the next year will be a bear market.
From 1967 – 2015, the SBI had an 82% accuracy rate, missing only 9 out of 49 games. But since then, it’s had a terrible run, fumbling the forecast 7 of the last 8 years.
As Super Bowl 59 approaches on Feb. 9, it’s time to take the SBI out of the game and call in a substitution. The February 2025 Socionomist has just the player; its cover story observes a historic correlation between concussion scandals in American football and social mood, a proxy for stock market health.

Whether you’re rooting for the NFC Eagles or the AFC Chiefs, here’s an NFL story that you need to read. Purchase the February 2025 Socionomist and take your financial game all the way to the end zone.
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