There's something going around – beyond the flu, norovirus and RSV – and the symptoms kick in come Super Bowl Sunday.

Whether it's the anticipation of celebrating the big game or a possible letdown when their team doesn't win, a record-breaking number of Americans plan to take off the Monday after the Super Bowl, which matches the Kansas City Chiefs against the Philadelphia Eagles.

An estimated 22.6 million persons across the U.S. plan to miss work the day after this year's Super Bowl, up 40% from a year ago, according to The Harris Poll. It extrapolated to these estimates using responses from 1,220 employed adults aged 18-up from Jan. 16-21 for The Workforce Institute at UKG. That figure is also 20% higher than two years ago when the poll estimated 18.8 million planned to miss work.

Only 2% said they planned to call in sick, while another 2% said they planned to "ghost" their employer and just not show up, the poll found.

We don't all tune in for the football. Some just want to watch the commercials. Others want to see Kendrick Lamar's halftime show, while others want to see President Trump, who is expected to be the first sitting president to attend the big game. Or maybe they just want a glimpse of Taylor Swift, who's dating Travis Kelce of the Chiefs.

"For the matchup, this year’s number breaks the 2023 record for most anticipated absences, which, coincidentally, was the last time the Eagles and Chiefs faced off in the Super Bowl," said Rachel Barger, president of Go-to-Market at UKG, told USA TODAY in an email.

"Throw in KC’s historic run at a three-peat and more Taylor Swift fans saying they’ll tune in this year (an estimated 16.1 million vs. 11.2 million in 2024), and it’s no surprise more people say they're attending a Super Bowl party this year – which, as we’ve all experienced, can impact work the next day," she said.

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A day off after the Super Bowl part of game plan for many

The poll estimates that 12.9 million will take a pre-approved day off, while 4.8 million will swap shifts with a co-worker so they don't have to work on Monday. An estimated 12.9 million U.S. employees will go into work late on Monday after the Super Bowl, the poll found.

UKG, which is a HR, payroll, and workforce management solutions provider, began research on the Monday after Super Bowl to help companies address unplanned absences. Better manager-employee communication about time off could also be contributing to higher numbers of absences, Barger said.

"Overall, people are being more transparent about their game plans on Super Bowl Monday so that business and staffing needs are covered," she said.

More employees say they're comfortable asking their manager for the Monday off (55% in 2025 vs. 50% in 2023), which has led to an estimated 14.5 million taking a pre-approved day off on Monday, compared to 9.6 million last year, she said. "So, while the overall number is record-breaking, both employees and managers are sharing signals about their Monday plays so organizations can better prepare for big-game impacts," Barger said.

Monday after the Super Bowl a holiday – why not?

For years, many have pushed to get the Monday after the Super Bowl, coined "Super Sick Monday," declared a holiday. Employers lose billions in lost productivity due to the game annually, outplacement company Challenger, Gray & Christmas, has estimated.

"Super Bowl Sunday is one of the biggest and most anticipated days of the year and people should not need to worry about work or school the day after arguably the most exciting national TV broadcast of the year," says one of the more than dozen petitions posted on Change.org since 2017 asking Congress, the president or the NFL to make the Monday after the Super Bowl a national holiday.

The potential holiday is gaining momentum again. In Charles County, Maryland, commissioners voted 2-1 last month to give employees a holiday for Super Bowl Monday. A bill introduced in the Indiana General Assembly would make the Monday after the Super Bowl a state holiday called "American Professional Football Day."

"I think over the last five years, you know, Hoosiers have been through a lot. From a pandemic, it seems like people try to tear us apart along whatever lines they think should divide us," the bill's co-author Rep. Mitch Gore said, WRTV-ABC in Indianapolis reported.

That extra day off would give folks "breathing room," Gore said. "But they also deserve it in a way that allows them to get together with friends and family and come around something that isn't partisan, that isn't controversial, right?"

Advertisers are addressing the issue, too. Coors has a Super Bowl commercial starring sloths with a "Case of the Mondays" after the game. On Monday, Chipotle is giving Chipotle Rewards members free guac and chips with a full-price entrée purchase. Denny's and Starbucks both have deals for free coffee on Monday.

The Monday after the Super Bowl may never become a national holiday. But maybe it doesn't have to.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell floated the idea last year of an 18-game schedule, which would culminate with the Super Bowl being played on Presidents' Day weekend, giving many Americans that day off.

His pitch? Drop a preseason game and add one more regular season game to get to that updated calendar. "That's not an unreasonable thing," Goodell said at the time.

(This story was updated to fix a typo.)

Contributing: Tom Schad and Lori Comstock, USA TODAY Network.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Super Sick Monday: Millions won't work day after Super Bowl, poll says