After the Super Bowl ended, a surprising chunk of the internet seemed less interested in the final score and more fascinated by what people were eating in the stands. The breakout food celebrity was a gigantic sandwich called the LX Hammer Burger, sold at Levi’s Stadium in California. At $180 before tax, it instantly became social media fuel, with clips spreading fast and reactions swinging between awe and outright disgust. The whole moment was a reminder that game day hype is not just about football anymore.
What made it explode online was how little it resembled a normal stadium burger. The creation came from Levy, the stadium’s official hospitality partner, and it was positioned as a shareable meal rather than a quick handheld snack. The “burger” weighed about 3.5 pounds and was billed as enough for four people. Even the size alone was enough to make it feel like a stunt.
The ingredients pushed it further into restaurant territory. Instead of a ground beef patty, the sandwich used slow cooked beef shank that could be pulled off the bone. It was tucked into a brioche bun, then layered with a demi glace style sauce built around root vegetables. To finish it off, it included a Point Reyes blue cheese fondue, which is a bold choice for a crowd already balancing beer, noise, and nerves.
The price did not stay a simple headline number for long. NFL editor Jimmy Durkin helped ignite the debate when he posted a photo of the burger along with the receipt. With tax, the total came to $196.43, and that was before any tip. Once that figure started circulating, people stopped arguing only about whether it looked tasty and started asking what, exactly, anyone is paying for at an event this big.
From @TheAthletic: A $180 burger at the Super Bowl stadium has raised eyebrows. It is made with slow-roasted beef shank, bleu cheese fondue, and mirepoix demi-glace on a brioche bun. https://t.co/cbpPBe8eYL pic.twitter.com/BZdaAo18vy
— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 9, 2026
On social platforms like Instagram and X, the videos were the main attraction. Some fans looked like they were wrestling the sandwich, trying to keep fillings from sliding out while taking bites big enough to be worth the effort. Others treated it like a novelty they had to document, whether they loved it or not. The reactions tended to split into two camps, those praising the flavor and originality, and those fixating on the fat, calories, and spectacle of it all.
The phrase that summed up the argument was the one people kept repeating back, the idea that this was a “burger” at all. In most minds, a burger is a patty on a bun, fast, familiar, and easy to eat while watching a play unfold. This was something else, closer to a plated beef dish that just happened to be sandwiched inside bread. Calling it a burger felt like part of the joke, and part of the marketing.
In a way, that is exactly why it worked. The Super Bowl has long been bigger than the sport, and it thrives on moments designed to be shared. The halftime show, the commercials, the celebrity sightings, and the crowd shots all compete for attention alongside the game. A nearly $200 stadium sandwich fits that world perfectly because it is loud, extravagant, and impossible to ignore.
It also highlights how stadium food has changed over the years. Many venues now want signature items that travel beyond the concourse and into timelines and group chats. A standard hot dog does not spark debate the way a massive luxury sandwich does. The LX Hammer Burger was built for virality as much as it was built for eating.
For anyone wondering what all those fancy components mean, there is a reason they sound like a steakhouse menu. Beef shank is a tough cut that becomes tender with slow cooking, which is why it is often used in braises. Demi glace is traditionally a rich, reduced sauce made from stock and roasted flavors, and it is meant to add depth and gloss. Brioche is a buttery, slightly sweet bread that can handle heavy fillings, which is crucial when you are stacking beef, sauce, and melted cheese into one bite.
The blue cheese element matters too, because Point Reyes blue is a recognizable American style with a sharp, creamy punch. A fondue approach turns that intensity into something spreadable and dramatic, which pairs naturally with rich beef. Put together, the sandwich is less about convenience and more about indulgence, the kind of over the top choice people associate with the Super Bowl as a cultural event. Whether you see it as a fun splurge or pure excess, it is hard to deny it did its job and got everyone talking.
If you had the chance to try a massive stadium creation like the LX Hammer Burger, would you go for it or pass and why, share your thoughts in the comments.
