The Super Bowl’s attractive novelty prop betting market has found its perfect over-the-top match: Las Vegas.
The narratives are firmly in place long before kickoff Feb. 11, when the Kansas City Chiefs meet the San Francisco 49ers in Sin City’s first Super Bowl.
The props that stir sports-betting fans’ interest are those that have a perceived edge to be uncovered. It’s seen by some as an opportunity to play detective — maybe a team manager leaked his or her team’s choice for the color of Gatorade — and lock in a bet that has nothing to do with the football game.
As a disclaimer: Not all states with licensed sportsbooks allow all (or any) of the novelty prop bets discussed below.
The Gatorade bath
This one has its roots in the 1987 Super Bowl when New York Giants coach Bill Parcells was drenched following his team’s victory over the Denver Broncos. The tradition didn’t really stick until 2001, when it began a run of attention that remains today.
Last year’s Super Bowl, won by Kansas City, saw Chiefs coach Andy Reid doused with purple Gatorade — a long shot anywhere from +800 to +1900 at various sportsbooks.
This Super Bowl LVIII matchup features two teams with red as a primary color. But is red Gatorade the favorite? Nope. Sportsbooks have almost unanimously opened the betting with purple as the favorite to repeat.
A sample of odds shows purple at +225 (DraftKings) and +275 (BetMGM), with yellow/green second.
DraftKings then lists orange third and blue, red, clear/water and “no Gatorade shower” filling out the top seven options.
BetMGM believes in blue, a co-favorite with purple, followed by yellow/green and then a tie between red and orange, with clear and “no shower” rounding it out.
We’re still tempted to roll with red, a +500 outsider at both aforementioned sportsbooks.
National anthem time
If you love the pregame hype, entertainment and activity leading up to kickoff, surely you can be coaxed into predicting the length of a given singer’s version of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Yes, the time it takes to sing the national anthem has become a conversation piece — and a bet whose outcome is predicated entirely on the whims of the singer.
This year’s performer, country legend Reba McEntire, has a track record of relatively quick national anthem performances, and the most common number sits at about a minute, 30 seconds.
According to research from TheLines.com, the longest McEntire anthem available via YouTube is only a minute and 23 seconds.
If you can find the prop at north of 1:30, it may be worth a little investment.
Words, words, words
A prop that gradually has gained more attention over the past few decades is the content of the postgame speech.
If these props were around in the 1960s, Green Bay Packers quarterback Bart Starr, MVP of Super Bowls I and II, certainly would have hit one of these favorites in the immediate on-field aftermath.
Odds and markets such as these from BetMGM below (posted for use at BetMGM in Ontario, Canada, only) are available at many offshore sportsbooks, as well as from some licensed sportsbooks in North America.
Who will be mentioned first in MVP Speech?
God/Religious Figure -150
Teammates +250
Coach +1100
Team Organization +1400
Family +1800
Fans +2000
Another opportunity for the amateur detective. Anyone see the setlist for the halftime performance?
Here are the BetMGM odds (these specific numbers available only in Ontario) for “Halftime Show — Usher’s First Song Performed.”
“Yeah!” +225
“My Way” +225
“DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love” +500
“Love in This Club” +600
“OMG” +800
“Boyfriend” +1100
“Superstar” +1100
“Burn” +1200
“Good Good” +1800
“My Boo” +2000
More on the menu
Other options across the silly-bet landscape include whether NFL commissioner Roger Goodell will be shown more than once on the CBS broadcast. Seems like better than even money, but it’s difficult to place real money on the whims of the TV production crew.
How about the Super Bowl commercials? A couple of iconic advertisers, Coors and BMW, are part of a prop market asking which will be the first ad to air.
We have the national anthem props, as well as what player will be shown first during Post Malone’s singing of “America the Beautiful,” Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce or 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey. (Kelce is favored anywhere from -200 to -300 at offshore sportsbooks.)
Finally, as everyone knows, there’s a certain celebrity who’s aiming to make it to the big game to support her boyfriend. The prop offers approximate -300 odds on “no” to the question of whether any player will propose to his girlfriend on the field after the game.
Kelce’s music superstar girlfriend, Taylor Swift, is expected to be in the building.
But a bet on “yes” at +210? Really? Not to be a wet blanket here, but even in the crazy world of Super Bowl novelty props, this seems highly unlikely.
—Field Level Media