The time has come again to start throwing around our cash on one of the biggest gambling days of the year! Super Bowl Sunday is a multi-million, if not billion, dollar gambling day, and for plenty of reasons. It’s one of the biggest sporting events all year and all eyes are tuned in, even if you aren’t a football fan. Reviewing my picks from last year, I fell at about 50% on the best for the actual game before accounting for specialty props. So let’s take a break from the specialty dips and snacks and dive into how we’re going to make money!
I’d like to preface this whole list of bets by reminding you that lines and totals change depending on the particular sportsbook you use and even which state you bet in. I’ve shopped around on most of these to find the best value and numbers but they may change as the week goes on.
Opening coin flip: Tails (+100, Caesar’s) The coin flip becomes the beginning of the suspense for us all! A simple flip and you can you double your cash! Tails failed the Buffalo Bills this postseason but it won’t disappoint us on Sunday
National Anthem time: under 98.5 seconds (-105 BetUS) There’s a whole lot of debate on this one! 95.5 is the lowest national anthem over/under in the last decade, and every anthem singer has gone over that time for the last 11 years! However, Mickey Guyton is singing this year’s anthem and she has a reputation for getting right to it. She sang the anthem at the Memorial Day concert in 2021 in 82 seconds, so it all comes down to if she wants some extra time in the limelight.
Opening kickoff to be a touchback: Yes (-167, DraftKings) This seems like pretty good value for something that feels probable to happen. Both of these teams have touchback rates over 60% in the playoffs and it seems like the smartest way for a team to start the Super Bowl
Cooper Kupp yards on 1st reception: over 11.5 (+100 DraftKings) Kupp is known for his ability to get open down field, and also run exceptionally well with the ball. We can obviously get burned here by a quick screen right away just to get him involved in the game, but maybe he even breaks that for 12 yards!
Shortest TD yards: over 1.5 (+115 BetRivers)
Longest TD yards: over 42.5 (-112 BetRivers) There’s plenty of firepower on these teams that could strike a long TD, and let’s also count on no one getting tackled at the 1. Pretty straight forward on these ones!
Tee Higgins anytime TD (+175 DraftKings) I like how Higgins has fit into this offense the last few weeks helping the Bengals on this push. Ja’marr Chase obviously draws a ton of attention from the defense so he should at least get a good look somewhere along the way.
Shortest FG: over 27.5 yards (-112 BetRivers) Don’t kick field goals under 30 yards. This is coward football. That’s my official stance.
Either team to scored 3 unanswered times: No (+195 DraftKings) I like this one as I believe these teams will have a good back and forth battle. The biggest hinge to this bet is if someone is coming out of halftime with 2 unanswered and then things get a little spicy. But if that holds, we just have to hope this thing isn’t a blowout.
Game total sacks: over 5.5 (-135 DraftKings) The line and value on this is moving quick. Last week you could get + odds on this number, and I think the Rams alone might go over this number. The Bengals offensive line is going to have put in a career day on Sunday.
Longest passing completion – Matt Stafford: over 38.5 (-115 Caesars) This is a bit of a double down on the information from Cooper Kupp earlier. Stafford has good throwing power and has shown for years that he isn’t afraid to let it fly.
Gatorade color dumped on the winning coach: orange (+135), blue (+300), clear (+400), green (+400), red (+700), purple (+900) A fool’s bet if there ever was one, so of course we’re including it. This is the start of the quirky things that you’re going to need to either be in Vegas to bet or find yourself a website like Bovada or BetUS to use. Anyway, let’s throw a little cash at blue and clear!
HALFTIME SPECIALS!!!
Which song will Eminem perform first? “My Name Is” (+275) “Lose Yourself” is the favorite here, and if Marshall was starting the performance I think that’s where he starts, but..
Which artist will perform first? Mary J Blige (+150), Kendrick Lamar (+225), Snoop Dogg (+325), Dr Dre (+450), Eminem (+500) Even the odds makers don’t think Eminem is starting this. Kendrick is a big name and been a big marketing piece of this show so I think that’s the place to sprinkle some cash.
Number of songs performed at halftime: 10.5 (-115 either way, BetUS) Who knows, man. Who friggin’ knows. I’d side on the under. There’s a lot of other props that have heavy odds on California Love being a big deal, so I’m guessing that portion of the show takes up a lot a time not leaving enough for 10 other songs to sprinkle in.
I left this one for the very end, because it’s not as thrilling as all the props that go with the game, but I’m riding Bengals +4.5 and also hoping that overall Joe Burrow can win another trophy and continue his journey of greatness.
There’s PLENTY of more nonsensical stuff out there. You can bet on head to head matchups on who’s commercial shows first, such as QuickBooks vs Taco Bell, whether Matt Damon will be in the Crypto.com commercial or if Mary J. Blige will be showing cleavage at halftime. It’s absolute madness out there and we’re just trying to keep this ship sailing.