Super Bowl XLIV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New Orleans Saints to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 2009 season (2009 NFL season). The Saints (16-3) defeated the Colts (16-3) by a score of 31-17, earning their first Super Bowl win. New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees, who completed 32 of 39 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns, was named the Super Bowl MVP. His 32 completions tied a Super Bowl record set by Tom Brady in Super Bowl XXXVIII. With the victory, the Saints became the fourth team to win in their only Super Bowl appearance after the New York Jets (Super Bowl III), Baltimore Ravens (Super Bowl XXXV) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Super Bowl XXXVII).

The game was played at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida on February 7, 2010, the latest calendar date for a Super Bowl yet. The game was the Saints first Super Bowl appearance and the fourth for the Colts franchise. All four of the Colts Super Bowl games have been played in Miami, with their first two games in the former Miami Orange Bowl and the last two in the current Miami stadium (which has changed names several times since its opening, most recently in January 2010).

The Saints entered the game with a 13-3 record (2009 New Orleans Saints season) for the 2009 regular season, compared to the Colts 14-2 record (2009 Indianapolis Colts season). In the playoff games (2009-10 NFL playoffs), both teams placed first in their respective conferences. It was the first time since Super Bowl XXVIII (16 years previously) that both number one seeds have reached the Super Bowl. The Colts entered the Super Bowl off of 20-3 and 30-17 victories (over the Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets, respectively), while the Saints advanced with scores of 45-14 and 31-28 (in overtime), defeating last years runners up the Arizona Cardinals in their first game and the Minnesota Vikings in the second. The Pittsburgh Steelers, as defending champions, failed to make the playoffs based on tiebreakers (National_Football_League_playoffs#Breaking_ties). The Saints head coach was Sean Payton, having joined from the Dallas Cowboys in 2006, while opposing head coach Jim Caldwell (Jim Caldwell (American football)) was appointed the Colts head coach in 2009, having joined them in 2002 as assistant head coach.

It was the tenth time the Super Bowl has been held in Miami at the home stadium of the Miami Dolphins: the now-Sun Life Stadium had hosted four previous Super Bowls (XXIII, XXIX, XXXIII, and XLI) and five were played in the Dolphins now demolished former home, the Miami Orange Bowl (II, III, V, X, XIII). The game was broadcast live on CBS (NFL on CBS), with the National Anthem (The Star-Spangled Banner) sung by Carrie Underwood and the halftime show that featured the British rock band The Who.

Per convention as an even numbered Super Bowl, the Colts, as the AFC representatives, had the home team designation (Super Bowl#Home team designation), wearing blue jerseys with white pants, while the Saints (who wore their white jerseys in several home games this year) wore white jerseys with gold pants. The Saints victory extended the white jersey winning streak to six, dating back to Super Bowl XXXIX, while the Colts dropped to 0-2 all-time wearing their blue jerseys, the other loss being their loss to the New York Jets in Super Bowl III.