This is going to be the biggest Super Bowl for gambling in recent memory. The American Gaming Association estimates that Americans will wager a combined $23.1 billion on the Big Game this year, up from $16 billion year-over-year.
The Super Bowl is one of the most unique betting experiences in all of sports. It’s not just about who wins, who scores, or who does what when. Vegas will let you wager on just about anything. The color of Gatorade baths, the odds of an on-field streaker, and the chance of a postgame proposal are just a few of the many, many moments Americans can burn their money on during Super Bowl Sunday.
In honor of the Big Game’s first foray into the City of Sin, this is just a taste of the wildest and weirdest bets you can place on Super Bowl Sunday.
Sam Darnold to Win Super Bowl MVP: +20000 (DraftKings)
Are you invested in the “Brock Purdy Isn’t Actually a Good Quarterback” Agenda? Willing to put your money where your mouth is? Then pick 49ers backup Sam Darnold to win MVP! The chain of events that would have to occur for this to transpire is infinitesimally unlikely. It’s a product of how the MVP race favors Super Bowl MVPs – quarterbacks have won the award in 32 of the 57 Super Bowl matchups. It’s still funny that Darnold is valued at the same level or better than legitimate defensive stars like Kansas City’s Trent McDuffie and San Francisco’s Chavarius Ward, or big-play machine Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling Over 19.5 Receiving Yards: -120 (DK)
The Chiefs passing offense pretty much runs exclusively through two players: Travis Kelce and Rashee Rice. The lone exception: Marquez Valdes-Scantling. During the last two games of the 2024 playoff run, Valdes-Scantling has had four catches for a combined 100 yards. In one game against Buffalo, he combined for two catches of 30-plus yards. In his playoff career, Valdes-Scantling averages 18.38 yards per reception. You’re pretty much betting on MVS to make a catch.
Either Kicker Hits the Uprights/Crossbar on a Missed Field Goal/Extra Point at +400 (via The Athletic)
Want to burn money on a haha funny sound effect? Go for it! This bet doesn’t just ask a kicker to miss his kick. It asks them to ring it off the goalposts to make one of the funniest and oddly satisfying sounds in sports. This one should be even further enhanced by the incorporation of FO’s highly innovative “Doink Cameras.”
Drake Wears Kansas City Chiefs Merch at -170 (via The Athletic)
The Drake Curse is notorious around all of sports. OddsShark analyzed some of the most recent times that Drake’s choice in team apparel indirectly (or directly) led to the tragic downfall of teams in a championship game. The results are either very believable or a little dubious depending on how you measure (ex. The Raptors made Drake a team ambassador in 2013, proceeded to lose in the playoffs in tragic fashion five straight seasons before finally winning a championship in 2019), but the following is undeniable. This one particularly stands out because of Drake’s bandwagon fandom. It would just be very funny to see Drake don the jersey of the winningest, most visible team in American professional sports in recent memory in a high-stakes version of the Drake Curse. If you really believe in the bad luck voodoo magic, parlaying the Drake Curse bet with a 49ers moneyline bet (currently -125) pays out around a +185.
Reba McEntire National Anthem Length Under 90.5 seconds: -128 (FD)
Sportsbooks across the landscape are expecting Reba to breeze through this National Anthem. Historically, the average Super Bowl national anthem has lasted 103.5 seconds. That’s spiked in recent years. According to Covers, that average is up to 115.4 seconds since 2000, and six of the last 10 Super Bowls have eclipsed 2 minutes. McEntire is a more up-paced singer, with the iconic 1988 album REBA clocking in at an average of 127 beats per minute (BPM). The National Anthem is traditionally performed at 92 BPM, but nobody’s matching that pace at the Super Bowl. Unless Vegas knows something we don’t (hint: they always do), the under seems like a fool’s bet.
The Usher Halftime Appearance Props (Covers)
As the halftime show performer, Usher has entered the betting conversation fairly predictably. His 2004 club hit “Yeah!” is currently listed at -100000 on Betano. Options to bet on Ludacris and Lil Jon appearances have been pulled off the board by FanDue, and “My Boo” collaborator Alicia Keys is the odds-on favorite among the remaining names. That being said, the rest of the bets on the board feel like such long shots they feel worth mentioning. First off, there’s no way that Usher would allow himself to be one-upped at his own headlining event by allowing Taylor Swift to swoop in from Japan and steal the show, so we can take that +550 option off the board. The rest of the names are just one-off song options. Justin Bieber (-215) would be the best name on the board – Usher helped discover Bieber and eventually mentored him – but Biebs and Usher only appear together on the “One Less Lonely Girl” remix. That’s a Bieber song, so it feels likely he’s out. Will.i.am (+158) and Post Malone (-440) are both late-career collaborators, so their appearance (and their songs) feel low-impact for the logistics it would take to coordinate their appearance (although Malone is already doing “America the Beautiful” pregame). Nicki Minaj (+270) and Usher have multiple tracks together but apparently they have beef? That leaves Usher’s “DJ’s Got Us Fallin’ In Love” collaborator, Mr. 305 himself: Pitbull (-114). Pitbull previously got snubbed from the Ciara-J Lo Halftime Show in Miami he had more reason to be at, both on a discography case and a geographic case… which means it would be extremely funny if we saw him for 30 seconds in Vegas this year.
The Taylor Swift Props (DK)
DraftKings has an entire page dedicated entirely to Taylor Swift-related props and parlays labeled by Swift song titles. Some of the bets, while fitting of their song title, are so ludicrous that they bear pointing out:
- Karma: Travis Kelce 0 Receptions & SF to Win at +3000
Travis Kelce has played 180 combined games across the regular season and postseason. He has been held to zero receptions just once in his entire career — the second game of Kelce’s rookie career. The Chiefs still won that game.
- Two is Better Than One: 2 Successful 2 Point Conversions at +1200
Two-point conversions are on the rise over the last few years, but that hasn’t completely translated to the Big Game yet. There have only been two Super Bowls ever with multiple successful two-point conversions: The New England Patriots’ historic comeback against the Atlanta Falcons in 2017 and the San Diego Chargers’ failed comeback in 1995. It’s already happened once this run of the playoffs, during Dallas’ failed comeback against the Green Bay Packers. It’s still incredibly rare, though. Teams have had two successful two-point conversions in the playoffs just five times since 2000. In every case, one team has been responsible for the double two-point conversions.
- Wildest Dreams: Travis Kelce to Score the First and Last TD at +2500
This one isn’t that weird on its own. It’s just odd when compared to another Swiftie prop on this list. Love Story is a prop bet that says the Chiefs win, and Mahomes and Kelce account for all of the Chiefs touchdowns at +2000 odds. Maybe it’s the specificity of “first” and “last,” but having a much more improbable series of events (combining the touchdowns with a win, betting against any touchdowns from any other skill position player) at more favorable odds feels off.
