Each year, the Super Bowl is a prime time for chicken wings in the United States. According to the National Chicken Council, Americans will consume approximately 1.5 billion chicken wings this Super Bowl weekend. This represents approximately 20 million more wings than last year. This also equates to about four chicken wings for every US citizen. That is a lot of chicken for one weekend. Fortunately, the American poultry industry processes approximately 9 billion chickens every year, which is about 36 billion party-wing pieces. So, there should be plenty of wings in stock for the big game.

As for the cost of chicken wings, the wholesale price is about $1.90 per pound, which is $0.20 higher than last year. However, last year’s price was on an incline that sustained into the summer. This year, wing prices are holding steady going into the Super Bowl (figure 1). You should still expect retail wing prices to increase slightly from the sheer volume of demand this weekend. As restauranteurs have seen wholesale price increases on almost all other food items, it can be a golden opportunity for them to recapture margins lost elsewhere.

The good news is that there should be plenty of wings to go around. In 2024, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has caused a significant loss of layer hens (52 million), resulting in an egg shortage and skyrocketing prices. However, unlike the egg side of the industry, broiler birds (where wings come from) have not been impacted nearly as much by HPAI so far (loss of 5 million birds). That could change quickly, though, if the highly contagious HPAI finds its way into more broiler farms.

Figure 1. Wholesale Chicken Wing Prices