The First-Time Bettor’s Guide to Super Bowl Special Prop Bets

Eagles
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – FEBRUARY 04: Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles (9) makes a touchdown catch during Super Bowl LII on February 4, 2018, at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, MN. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire)

Just days after we celebrate the four-year anniversary of the Philadelphia Eagles’ Super Bowl LII win, we enter the week prior to Super Bowl LVI. For 2022, the Cincinnati Bengals will square off against the Los Angeles Rams in the marquee matchup.

In most games throughout the NFL season, many bettors and fans pay the closest attention to the moneyline or spread for the team they’re betting. However, when the Super Bowl comes around, Las Vegas and the oddsmakers open up some of the most creative, and fun, bets possible, and not all of them are directly influenced by the actual football game itself.

Whether it be the coin toss, the color of the Gatorade spilled onto the winning coach, or actual props of player performance, there isn’t a dull moment when it comes to betting on the NFL’s biggest game of the season.

Pre-Game Prop Bets

National Anthem

Prior to anything else, bettors can bet on the length of the National Anthem. This year, Mickey Guyton will take the stage pregame. The oddsmakers have the over/under set at 95 seconds, meaning that you predict if Mickey’s rendition will last longer than one minute and 35 seconds.

Last season, Jazmine Sullivan and Eric Church had a killer duet of the song that lasted a whopping two minutes and 18 seconds (18 seconds over the over/under of two minutes set prior). There hasn’t been much in the way of a trend in recent years. Since 2010, the Over has hit five times, the Under has hit five times and there was one push.

However, they don’t call her ‘Quicky Mickey’ for nothing. Guyton is notorious for speeding through the anthem, with her last known performance going 1:23.

Typically, the trend is that the artist singing at the Super Bowl lengthens their usual performance. With the line set at 1:35, I’d look at taking the over.

Coin Toss

In my opinion, this is one of the most thrilling bets of the entire game. The pregame coin toss can really set the tone for the rest of the night. Per thelines.com, here are the historical trends of the deciding coin flip:

Heads: 26 times (47%)
Tails: 29 times (53%)
Heads longest streak: 5
Tails longest streak: 4 (three times)

Last season, Kansas City won the toss by calling heads, but lost the game. Only six times has the team who won the toss, also won the game since 2000.

Just remember, tails never fails. If you bet heads and tails comes out, then you feel silly. If you bet tails, and heads comes out, the blow doesn’t feel as lethal.

Halftime Props

There are some fun halftime props as well, but not all of them have the historical data to back them up. In fact, because of this, not all sportsbooks will offer these bets either.

Dr. DreSnoop DoggEminemMary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar will take perform at the 2022 Super Bowl halftime show.

These range from who will perform first out of the group of singers (Mary J. Blige is the favorite at +170), if all the performers will sing a song together (yes, they will at +145), and you can even bet if Snoop Dog will smoke while on stage (yes, he will at +225).

Some of the more popular bets that can be found also include the total number of songs during the performance, which is set at 7.5 total songs.

Post-Game Props

One of the biggest traditions in all sports is pouring the cooler onto the winning coach. In college bowl games, we even see things such as mayonnaise, french fries, and Cheez-Its. The Super Bowl doesn’t feature baths of anything but Gatorade, or maybe water, but we can still bet on it.

Color of GatoradeOdds
Orange+200
None+300
Blue+400
Yellow/Lime/Green+600
Clear+700
Red/Pink+750
Purple+1,000

It’s no secret that orange is the betting favorite this season, either.

ColorNumber of times it’s been used
Orange5
Blue3
Clear4
Yellow3
Purple2
None4

On the Pardon My Take podcast last week, Bengals star defensive end Sam Hubbard not only stated that the Bengals are playing for Harambe, but also innocently disclosed that the Bengals’ Gatorade is always orange.

As always, these bets are just for fun. They have nothing to do with the actual football being played, so whether you are or aren’t a football fan, they’re there to make the game more interesting.

Remember to bet within your budget and bet responsibly. Best of luck to all of my fellow gamblers out there!

Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire