What Are Super Bowl Prop Bets?
Super Bowl prop bets are wagers on events and incidents that are related to the Big Game but quite unrelated to the overall outcome of the matchup itself. They often concern more entertaining aspects of the contest, and some of the top online sportsbooks specialize in offering weird and fun Super Bowl prop bets. This type is not the only one you can wager on though. There are game/team/player props, TV & entertainment props, and even cross-sports props. All of them concern everything that might happen before, during and after the Big Game so that you can have an even more exciting experience watching it.
These props can be quite difficult to win with. The Super Bowl prop bet odds are generally higher than NFL odds in regular betting markets to reflect that fact. Even so, because the wagers themselves are more difficult to land, most bettors keep their stakes much lower than in the main result-oriented markets. In fact, the most serious of punters reasonably view Super Bowl props as little more than entertaining side bets.
Most Popular Super Bowl Prop Bets
While the exact details of the best Super Bowl prop bets offered by sportsbooks will always depend on the teams, players, and music stars playing, there are several general types of props that tend to be offered every year. Let's take a look at some of the most popular ones that you are likely to come across regardless of who is involved.
Prop Bets on Player Odds to Win the Super Bowl
This might be the most important of all Super Bowl player props and here’s what you need to know before you put a wager on it. The MVP award in the Big Game is not a prize in a popularity contest but an objective measure of the value of a player for his team performance. Position is a fundamental factor too and you may not be surprised to learn that quarterbacks have 31 MVP awards, which is historically more than double the number of all other positions combined. No tight end or kicker has been honored for example, and only one special teamer has achieved it (the kick returner Desmond Howard in 1997 with his epic performance). Keep it in mind if you’re going to place a wager on this type of Super Bowl player props.
First Touchdown of the Game
Here your task is to bet on which player will make the first touchdown of the game. Many bettors like this market because it offers particularly good Super Bowl prop bet odds. Being able to make a winning prediction here is tricky, but the rewards for success are good. One possible approach to this market is to focus on the favorites and go with the one playing for the team you want to win. He might not make the first touchdown but your wager will have a good chance of succeeding and you'd probably prefer to cheer for someone on your own team than on someone playing for the opposition.
Anytime Touchdown
Another market that you are likely to come across concerns whether or not a particular player will score a touchdown at any time during the game. For this type of Super Bowl player props, each of the names on the rosters will be offered odds that reflect the sportsbook's assessment of their chances. So if you do your homework and form your own opinion, you can then decide whether or not you want to strike a bet on a particular player at the odds being offered.
Passing Yards Over/Under
Here the sportsbook will offer odds about a player passing Over or Under a stated number of yards. Which way you bet will of course depend on your own estimate of the number you're likely to see from a particular player. Looking at his average performance over the course of the season as a whole can be useful here. You can also look at the last few games leading up to the Big Game to see if recent performance is significantly different than the season-long average.
Receiving Yards Over/Under
To bet on player's receiving yards, the sportsbook will once again draw its own line in the sand and you simply have to bet on the actual number of receiving yards being Over or Under that mark. As in the passing yards market, your best approach here is to look at a player's performance both over the whole season and also over the last few games to see how the stats compare. You can then look at the odds available and strike your bet according to what makes the most sense to you.
First Offensive Play
One of the most popular Super Bowl side bets asks: ‘Will the first play of the game from scrimmage be a run or a pass?’ Again, this is one of the simpler props. If both teams have good quarterbacks, both coaches like to throw the ball, and both teams defend better against the run than they do against the pass, we'd be inclined to go with a pass. If the opposite is true, we'd go with a run.
Named Team Over/Under
This is one of the more serious Super Bowl props, so it certainly isn't like the fun side bets we’ll describe in a minute. Your task here is to determine whether the named team will score over or under a total stated by the sportsbook. We have included this market here because the regular Over/Under one requires you to wager on the total number of points scored by both teams combined. With this market, you're betting on the total of just one team, and so you can win even if the team in question doesn't win the game itself.
First Quarter Points Over/Under
This betting market requires you to predict whether the total number of points scored in the first quarter will be over or under the figure quoted by the sportsbook. Again, this is a prop bet because the outcome of it doesn't depend on the outcome of the game. In fact, your wager will be settled at the end of the first quarter.
When betting in this market of Super Bowl proposition bets, bear in mind that teams generally come out in the Big Game a little tight, and try to get a feel for each other. It’s like a big-time prizefight where the boxers are strategizing in the early rounds. We would therefore expect the number of points in the first quarter to be fairly modest, especially if one or both teams tend to be slow starters.
Fun Super Bowl Prop Bets
Fun Super Bowl prop bets are one of the main reasons for the enormous popularity of sports wagering in the US. Some of these props even concern events that don’t happen on the football field. Be aware though that they are limited and sometimes prohibited in particular states. See a few of the weird Super Bowl bets that might bring you extra entertainment on top of money.
Prop Bets on The Super Bowl Odds for the National Anthem Performance
When looking at Super Bowl odds, the national anthem will inevitably be present on the list. This bet involves the length of the song, or how long it will take the performing artist to finish the performance. You will normally be asked to predict whether it will be over or under a stated length.
Again, this is one of many fun Super Bowl prop bets you will come across, and one that could put you on the plus side of the wagering even before the game starts. If you can get a winning parlay with both the coin toss result and the national anthem length, you should have a great start to proceedings.
Here’s an example for such a bet with odds:
- Over 95 seconds -147
- Under 95 seconds +110
Props Bets on The Super Bowl Gatorade Color Odds
A traditional wager on the list of Super Bowl prop bets, the Gatorade bath is also among the most exciting ones. After their win, players from the winning team go to their coach and shower him with a cold vat of this popular beverage. All you have to do is to predict the correct color. The options are:
- Orange
- Blue
- Lime/Green/Yellow
- Clear/Water
- Red
- Purple/Violet/Indigo
Prop Bets on The Super Bowl Coin Toss Odds
Super Bowl props don’t get any simpler, or easier, than this one. Will the pre-game coin show Heads or Tails? It also gives the bettor a chance to make some money before the game even begins.
A warning: Don’t look too far into this one. You’ll probably read somewhere that X amount of the last Y flips landed on heads. That means absolutely nothing. Take this bet for what it’s worth – as one of the fun Super Bowl bets… And take Heads.
Super Bowl Commercial Prop Bets
While many of us watch the Big Game for the love of sport, some claim to watch it for the commercials. These are some expensive spots, so the industry really puts the effort into making them the best adverts of the year. Super Bowl commercial prop bets may include wagering on which beer or snack ad will appear first. You can also bet on the total number of ads you think will run during the event, and many more.
Super Bowl Halftime Prop Bets
The game may need a break, but prop betting is in full swing then with the famous Super Bowl halftime show. It has given us some great options to wager our money through the years guessing all kinds of stuff about the performers. The 56th edition of the Big Game at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles featured a legendary lineup of Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar.
There are many Super Bowl halftime prop bets you could make, like the way singers will dress, or if someone will make a statement on stage, or the first performing artist during the game break.
Team Name Mentions
This can be viewed as belonging to the weird Super Bowl bets category as a less serious game type prop. The over/under is on how many times the official game announcers mention a particular team. What makes this a prop bet is that the team name featured in the market won't be either of the two that are actually playing. Instead, it will be a team that one or both of the announcers have been associated with in the past.
As is the case with all the others of the best Super Bowl props, there is no way of improving your chances in this market, However, given that the Big Game broadcast tends to run for almost four hours, we'd be more inclined to bet on any team name being mentioned more than once or twice. Especially if it has a good Super Bowl history or one of the announcers played for them.
Cross-Sport Prop Bets
As you’ve seen for yourself, there is more than plenty to wager on in the Big Game but if you still want something extra, sportsbooks have you covered. There are cross-sport options and the Super Bowl 56 prop bets are enriched for example with the Winter Olympics. This means you’ll have multiple opportunities to prove your sports betting acumen.
Our List of Super Bowl Prop Bets
Now that How To Bet has introduced you to the way to place your wagers in and around the Big Game, have a look at our list of Super Bowl prop bets.
If you have ever watched a Super Bowl, let alone wagered on one, you will know that there are so many more proposition bets (prop bets) than for most other games.
Why?
Well, because EVERYONE watches the Super Bowl. You have non-football fans watching at parties for the commercials. You have casual fans alongside hard-core fanatics, all tuning in for the final National Football League contest of the season. And, of course, you have the bettors.
Now, with so many states that have legalized online sports betting, all of those people will probably overlap. You might have the person at the party that is telling everyone else about all the prop plays on the game, and maybe putting in some wagers for them. Maybe those people are even looking to download an app for themselves–if that is your case, you can see here legal online sportsbooks to get the best offers this week from How to Bet–and win some money on the big game.
Don’t know anything about the two teams, or football in general? I give you the coin flip prop, which team will win the coin toss prop, and how long the National Anthem will last. You can even wager on the color of the Gatorade that gets dumped on the coach at the end of the game!
For more experienced bettors, the player and team props might be a better way to go than betting on the point spread/over under. Of course, there are SO MANY of those bets available.
So, how do you pare it down spo you are not wagering on 30 props? The same way you have done all season: you watch and read How to Bet!
Do you have some prop bets you think are winners this week? Get in touch with us on the How to Bet podcast YouTube page, or you can message us on Twitter (@Feinline33 and @TheProdigalSean)
