Super Bowl props are all the rage as we draw ever closer to the great American sports betting holiday. And it’s not all about what happens while the clock is running, or how the big stars do. Super Bowl novelty props are a big reason why prop bets, in general, have exploded in recent years, as oddsmakers find more entertaining/intriguing ways to attract the very casual and/or first-time bettors.
Will the coin toss land on heads or tails? What will be the color of the Gatorade bath? And our new favorite here at Props.com: Will Super Bowl 56 end in a “Scorigami”?
We’ll explain that and more as we delve into a handful of Super Bowl novelty prop bets, from the popular to the obscure and in between.
Super Bowl Novelty Prop Bet: Will The Game End In A Scorigami?
First off, what some of you — perhaps many of you — are asking is: What in the wide, wide world of sports is a Scorigami?
Simply put, it’s when an NFL game ends with a final score that’s never previously occurred in league history. Thankfully, there’s a handy table on the Scorigami website that shows all the scores that have previously happened, which obviously are plentiful. And all the scores — many as wild as you’d expect — that have yet to happen.
But only recently has the Scorigami made its way into the Super Bowl novelty props market. TwinSpires Sportsbook has the Scorigami Yes/No on its extensive Super Bowl props menu, with Yes opening +1,500 and now at +1,400, while No is a steep -5,000.
Much to nobody’s surprise, there aren’t a whole lot of takers on No.
“We’ve seen 95 percent of tickets and 97 percent of the money on Yes so far,” TwinSpires trading analyst Zachary Lucas said. “It’s such a fun market that we’ve seen gain steam in the past few years. We’ll really need this game to not end with a Scorigami.”
TwinSpires probably doesn’t have too much to worry about, as it’ll take a rather wonky score or a blowout — and perhaps both — for those Yes bettors to cash out.
Super Bowl Novelty Prop Bet: Coin Toss
The attraction of this prop is pretty clear. First off, you need not know anything about the NFL to wager on it. Second, it’s instant gratification — or disappointment — with a result before the game even kicks off. Oddsmakers continue to be surprised at how well-bet this prop is.
“You should be in a sportsbook anywhere in Nevada during the coin toss,” longtime industry veteran Jay Kornegay, who runs The SuperBook, told Props.com’s Matt Jacob recently. “You’d be like, ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t believe how many people bet the coin toss!’ And it’s literally a coin toss! But it gets really quiet, then a player [on the field] calls heads, the referee announces ‘Heads,’ and there’s a roar in the room.”
BetMGM has written more tickets on the coin toss than on several other popular Super Bowl prop bets, including: Bengals QB Joe Burrow’s passing yards; Bengals running back Joe Mixon’s rushing yards; and Rams wideout Odell Beckham Jr.’s receiving yards.
Not surprisingly, it’s two-way action at BetMGM, though the tails-never-fails crowd is leading at 59 percent of tickets/54% of money. Among noteworthy Super Bowl coin toss prop stats from the previous 55 Super Bowls, via TheLines.com:
- Heads was the winner 26 times and tails 29 times
- Heads’ longest streak is five games (Super Bowls 43-47)
- Tails’ longest streak is four games, on three occasions, the most recent occurring in the past 10 years, from Super Bowls 48-51
- Heads was the winner in three of the last four Super Bowls
“The Gatorade bath and coin toss are two of the most popular Super Bowl prop bets,” BetMGM senior trader Tristan Davis. “These two props are easy to understand and give bettors a chance to win before and after the Super Bowl.”
Speaking of Gatorade …
Super Bowl Novelty Prop Bet: Color of Gatorade Bath
Multiple books have this market on their Super Bowl novelty props board. However, due to Nevada gaming regulations, the color of the Gatorade bath cannot be offered in the Silver State. But there’s no shortage of books offering this prop in other legal jurisdictions.
And the colors and odds are moving. Earlier this week, Orange was the +250 favorite at DraftKings, with Blue the second choice at +350. Makes sense. The Bengals’ primary color is orange, and the Rams’ primary color is blue.
But as the weekend approaches, Clear/Water has moved to the +250 chalk position at DK. What’s really interesting about that is that Clear/Water is taking just 5.3% of tickets and 6.3% of money in this market. Only the None option — meaning there’s no Gatorade bath — is taking less among the seven choices.
Orange is the +300 second choice, despite leading the way with approximately 28 percent of tickets and money. Yellow/Green has also jumped up the odds board this week and is currently at +350, with the second most tickets and money, at 19 percent and 22 percent, respectively. Blue has slipped to the +400 fourth choice, netting just shy of 19 percent of tickets/money.
That said, over at BetMGM, Orange is the +200 favorite, followed by the combo choice of Yellow/Green/Lime at +350. Blue and Clear are the +400 co-third choices. Yellow/Green/Lime is making the most inroads with BetMGM customers, taking 31% of tickets/30% of money in this market.
Super Bowl Novelty Prop Bet: Will A Field Goal/Extra Point Hit An Upright?
Sure, we’ll bet the Yes on this. Why not? Live a little, as Ferris Bueller would say.
DraftKings has this offering up, with Yes +400 and No -500. And although the prop reads “Any Kick to Hit Uprights,” rest assured it’s only field goals or extra points, as the finer print explains when you click to bet either Yes or No. In other words, don’t expect to cash on Yes if one of the two strong-legged kickers on Super Sunday doinks a kickoff off the upright.
Further, to collect on Yes, a field goal or PAT must hit one of the two vertical uprights. The crossbar does not count.
Super Bowl Novelty Prop Bet: Will The Octopus Hit?
More people are becoming familiar with this very unique prop offering, but it’s still relatively unknown to a lot of Super Bowl prop bet players. An Octopus occurs when a player scores 8 points on a single drive. So, the same player who scores the touchdown also scores on the subsequent 2-point conversion.
Circa Sports in Vegas was the first book this year to offer the Octopus on its Super Bowl odds board, followed by the small independent shop Baldini’s in the Reno-Tahoe area. And Baldini’s got after it, offering Yes at +2,000 compared with Yes +1,500 at Circa. And now DraftKings has jumped in at Yes +1,400. But the No at Baldini’s is pretty steep at -4,500, while it’s -2,600 at Circa and -2,500 at DK.
But who the hell are we kidding? We’re not betting the No on this fascinating prop, and neither is anyone else. Put $20 on a magic 8-ball, and revel in that 300 bucks or so (and maybe more) when the Octopus swims to shore.
Some Octopus stats:
- There were two successful occurrences in NFL Week 18, from Colts wideout Michael Pittman Jr. and Texans wideout Danny Amendola
- For the 2021-22 season, the Octopus delivered seven times, but none so far in the postseason.