Last year, Subway got an extra spot on the Super Bowl due to the blackout. But price might hold it back this year.

The chain's Chief Marketing Officer Tony Pace said the game paid off well last year for Subway. There is "no other event like it," he said, given that the game brought in some 108 million viewers last year. But the price for Super Bowl XLVIII -- which Ad Age has said could run as high as $4 million for a 30- second spot -- might deter Subway.

Mr. Pace said Subway was able to get a "smart" cost last year, but as demand rises, "I'm not sure there are going to be spots available at the table with the kind of pricing that makes sense for us."

That said, he added that last year the company got 130 million impressions beyond the ad that ran in the game itself.