The Pats pulled off another stunning comeback to beat Jacksonville in the AFC Championship and set up a Super Bowl meeting with the Eagles. Tom Brady and co are the heaviest favorites in nine years to beat Philadelphia, as most sportsbooks have given them a -5.5 point handicap. But the real fun lies in analyzing the wide array of weird and wonderful prop bets, which will entertain sports fans over the next two weeks. Here are some of the most exotic and fun bets to look out for:
How Long Will the National Anthem Last?
Pop star Pink has been chosen to sing this year’s national anthem and the line has been set at 2 minutes. Under 2 minutes is +100 and over is the -140 favorite in the Super Bowl prop bets. Throughout history the average time is 2 minutes and 18.6 seconds. It has ranged from Billy Joel’s 1 minute 30 seconds rendition to Alicia Keys’ 2 minutes 35 seconds. The last three performers – Luke Bryan, Lady Gaga and Idina Menzel – all went past the 2 minute mark, at 2:04, 2:09 and 2:04 respectively. So going for over 2 minutes at -140 looks like a good idea.
Gatorade, Trump and Wardrobe Malfunctions
The color of the Gatorade to be poured on the winning coach is always a source of great speculation. It resulted in a scratch last year. The President will also make his presence felt due to his long-running standoff with the NFL, and you can bet on how many times Donald Trump will be mentioned. Justin Timberlake is down for the half-time show and the last time that happened, the wardrobe malfunction happened. Janet Jackson’s nipple made a famous appearance back in 2004, when her costume slipped during a duet with Timberlake. That has sent sportsbooks rushing to make up lines about malfunctioning wardrobes this time around.
There are too many weird and wonderful bets on offer to list them all. You can look out for bets on Pink’s outfit, her hair color, and whether she forgets a word during the anthem. It’s also possible to place a bet on who President Trump will pick as the winner.
Coin Toss
One of the most popular Super Bowl prop bets is on the simple coin toss at the start of the game. Both heads and tails are just short of evens, meaning the house should take a slight profit if the betting is split evenly. As with all these prop bets, it is impossible to stake a large sum on the coin toss. However it can be a bit of fun to keep things interesting before the action begins.
Sensible Props
Aside from the quirky props, there are hundreds of more sensible markets regarding what happens on the actual the field of play. The most obvious ones concern the first touchdown scorer, total passing yards, total rushing yards, total points, and so on. But you can break it down to the nth degree:
- Third quarter handicap betting
- First second half touchdown scorer
- First half field goals
- Race to 5 points, 10 points, 15, 20, 25, and 30 points
- Whether there will be a field goal in the second quarter
- When the first scoring play will be
- Whether both teams will score 20+ points
- Whether there will be a safety or not
- Who will score the last touchdown
- Whether the first half total points will be odd or even
You could write these bets off as gimmicky, but if you really drill down into the stats and analysis you could find some great value.
Who Will Be Named MVP?
Most of the candidates to win the MVP award are Patriots players, and QB Tom Brady is understandably the favorite at +113 after his heroics last year.
Who Will Win the 2019 Super Bowl in Atlanta?
The oddsmakers have already released lines on who will win next season’s Super Bowl and the Patriots lead the betting as the +450 favorite. The Eagles are next +850.