Super Bowl XXXVII Raiders entered the game favored to win in their first Super Bowl in 19 years. They were also the first franchise to appear in the Super Bowl in four decades (1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 2000s; the 1990s was the only decade that they did not appear in the Super Bowl). However, much of the media hype surrounded the Gruden trade prior to the season. This forced league commissioner Paul Tagliabue to issue a statement that he might ban all future trades for coaches involving draft choices because it might compromise the draft. A distraction for the Raiders was that starting center
Super Bowl XLIX bids to host Super Bowl XLIX: Tampa and Miami both submitted bids after losing the Super Bowl XLVIII bid to MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Arizona had declined to bid for Super Bowl XLVIII, citing the economy, to focus on bidding for Super Bowl XLIX. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello confirmed in April 2011 that Tampa and Arizona were selected as finalists. The league then announced on October 11, 2011, that University of Phoenix Stadium will host Super Bowl XLIX. This is the second Super Bowl contested at University of Phoenix Stadium, which hosted Super Bowl XLII in February