What Can You Bet On In The Super Bowl
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Looking for the easiest Super Bowl 55 bets? You’ve come to the right place.
Betting on the Super Bowl is one of the best places to begin betting on football. There are many different types of wagers available, making it a great opportunity to get the lay of the full betting landscape with a single event.
We won’t let you wander into the football betting wilderness alone, of course. We’ve developed this handy Super Bowl betting guide to help you get acquainted with NFL betting odds, generally, and lay some simple wagers on Super Bowl 55.
Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs will take on Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay on February 7, 2021. Now that the match-up is set, we can use some concrete examples to make things clearer.
But first things first. Let’s start with some classification.
Types of Bets
Every football bet can be classified in one of three categories: moneyline, against the spread, and over/under.
1. Moneyline Betting
Betting on the moneyline is the easiest Super Bowl bet you can make. Quite simply, you bet on which team will win the game “straight up.” You don’t have to worry about margin of victory. If the team you bet on wins, you win your bet!
Current Super Bowl 55 Moneyline Odds
Kansas City Chiefs | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
---|---|
-180 | +152 |
-171 | +145 |
-165 | +145 |
You might be saying to yourself: “That’s very simple. Why doesn’t everyone bet on the moneyline?”
Because the payout is lower if you bet on the favorite, and you don’t get the advantage of the spread if you bet on the underdog. Sportsbooks aren’t going to reward you the same way for picking a massive favorite to win. They will, however, reward you handsomely if you correctly pick an underdog.
Let’s use this year’s Super Bowl as an example again.
The Chiefs’ moneyline is -180 at the moment. (Hey, that style of number looks familiar!) That -180 number indicates that, if you bet Kansas City to win, you have to wager $180 to win $100 for a total payout of $280. The Buccaneers’ moneyline, on the other hand, is +152.
The plus-sign changes everything! When preceded by a plus-sign, the moneyline indicates how much you’ll get back if you bet $100.
So, if you wager $100 on Tampa Bay at +152 and they upset the Chiefs (by whatever score), you’ll walk away with $252 — your original $100 bet plus $152. (For all intents and purposes, the favorite is always listed at a negative number and the underdog at a positive number.)
You don’t have to wager $100, of course. You can wager any amount (though sportsbooks do have upper and lower limits). If you cut your bet in half and put $50 on the Bucs +152, you’d go home with $126 if they win — your original $50 bet plus $76 (i.e. half of $152).
2. Against the Spread
Against the spread betting (commonly abbreviated as ATS) is probably the most common type of football betting. In Super Bowl 55, the Chiefs are three point favorites over the Buccaneers. On paper, this is written out as “Chiefs (-3)” or “Buccaneers (+3)”. The three point spread means that, if you bet on the Chiefs (-3), you only win your bet if the Chiefs win by four points or more. If the Chiefs win 25-23, for example, you’re outta luck.
The flip side is that if you bet on the Buccaneers (+3), you’ll still win your bet even if the game is a tie.
If the Chiefs win by exactly three points, it’s called a “push,” and both sides get their money back.
Simple enough, right?
Bettors are often confused to see the spread change a couple of days after they’ve placed a bet. If a lot of money is being wagered on one team compared to the other, sportsbooks will shift the spread to encourage equal betting on both sides and reduce their potential for loss.
This happened just before Super Bowl 53 in 2019. When the betting lines first opened, the LA Rams were a small favorite. But so much money was immediately bet on the New England Patriots that the spread shifted all the way to Patriots (-3).
These changes do not impact any bets that have already been placed.
The payout on spread betting is typically $1 for every $1.10 you wager, but can vary within a range. You’ll often see the payout listed as “-110,” which indicates that you must bet $110 to win $100.
Use the same approach outlined above for moneyline bets to calculate your payout when betting against the spread.
3. Over/Under Betting
Over/under betting (O/U) differs considerably from spread and moneyline betting in that it doesn’t involve picking the winner. The most common over/under bet is the game total, which involves predicting the total number of points that will be scored in the game.
As of January 25, 2021, the total for Super Bowl 55 is 56.5. Bettors can opt that the game will feature more than 56.5 points (taking the over) or fewer than 56.5 points (taking the under).
If you bet the over and the Chiefs win 33-25, you win your bet since the teams combined for 58 points. (That’s more than 56.5.) If the Chiefs win 30-22, you lose everything, since the total score of 52 is less than the total set beforehand by the sportsbooks.
Like with ATS betting, the game total can and will shift over time, depending on which side is receiving the majority of the money wagered. Pushes are also possible when betting the game total. Obviously, a push can only occur when the total is not a half number.
Just like the spread, O/Us have odds specific to each side of the line, meaning the payout isn’t always equal between the over and the under. As long as the action coming in on each side is roughly even, you’re likely to see odds of -110 on the Super Bowl totals line (bet $1.10 to win $1).
Super Bowl Props
The wager types discussed so far focus on the outcome of the game itself. The Super Bowl, however, is just as famous for its litany of prop bets. Some of these Super Bowl props can be downright bizarre, and many have nothing to do with football.
Prop bets feature any interesting propositions the sportsbooks can think of.
Prop bets touch on almost every aspect of the Super Bowl, from which team will win the opening coin toss to which player will score the first touchdown. Many of them focus on the performance of individual players. For example, who will have the most receiving yards? And how many yards will Patrick Mahomes throw for? Will Mahomes have more touchdowns than Brady?
The really fun ones have almost nothing to do with the game. Here are a few favorites from this year’s props:
- Will Bill Belichick be mentioned at least once?
- Will Blinding Lights be the first song played by The Weeknd at halftime?
- Will Tom Brady’s wife, Gisele Bundchen, be shown on TV more than 1.5 times?
- The color of the Gatorade poured on the winning head coach (orange is the favorite). Historical reference here.
Props can be constructed as moneyline or over under-style bets. Let’s look at a couple of examples to clarify.
“Who will score the first touchdown?” is a moneyline-style prop bet. Travis Kelce is currently the favorite at +600. (Remember what that plus-sign means? If you bet $100 on Kelce and he does score the first TD in the game, you’ll win $600.)
“How many songs will be played during the halftime show?” is an over/under style prop. The O/U is at 8. If seven songs are performed in total, the under will cash in. If nine lovely tunes are sung, the over wins. For a full guide on Super Bowl prop bets, be sure to check out this comprehensive guide.
Where Can I Bet on the Super Bowl?
Go look at your finances and see if you have some disposable income. If things are looking good, it’s time to explore this list for the best places to bet on NFL games online , and get in on the action!
- Best Bets for Super Bowl 2021
- Finding the Best Super Bowl Bets
- Bad Super Bowl Bets to Avoid
- Best Times to Bet on the Super Bowl
- Going Away
We all love watching the Super Bowl, and there aren’t many people who don’t like making some extra money. Doing the two simultaneously? Now that’ll stimulate your interest quickly!
With so many bets available and so many avenues to place them, preparing yourself to profitably bet on the Super Bowl can be a bit overwhelming. The good news is that landing on this page will melt all of your worries away.
The goal of this guide to the best Super Bowl bets is to provide you with the information you need to place the right wager when the big game arrives. Not only will do showcase which Super Bowl bets are the best, we also advise you on which Super Bowl betting markets to avoid.
If that wasn’t enough, our resident football betting experts also offer up their best bets for Super Bowl 55 right here.
Best Bets for Super Bowl 2021
Noah Davis and Michael Wynn have spent the last two weeks scouring Super Bowl 55 betting markets. After combing the safest sites to find the most appealing prices, they’ve each settled on their three best Super Bowl bets.
Here they are.
- Travis Kelce to Score a TD (-164)
- Over 56.6 (-110)
- Patrick Mahomes Over 0.5 1st Q TDs (+125)
Travis Kelce is en fuego heading into Super Bowl 55, scoring at least one touchdown in each of his last six games. He feels like such a lock to score a touchdown, that Chad Johnson bet Kelce would be the big game’s first score – and if not, he’d quit Twitter.
Kelce is a big reason why this game is going to be perhaps one of the most explosive Super Bowls ever. These teams combined for 51 points in an earlier meeting, and it won’t take much to get them over the hump.
Mahomes is also a key part of this game, and I think he gets off to a hot start. He only needs one touchdown pass to return sick value at +125.
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers +3.5 (-115)
- Jim Nantz says “Queen Latifah” More Than Once (+110)
- Mike Evans to Score a Touchdown (+120)
With the Super Bowl 55 odds oscillating between 3 and 3.5 depending on where you bet, I’m keen on latching onto the Bucs as long as I get the hook. Tampa Bay has the more potent defense, the game is at home, and that Tom Brady guy is pretty good at motivating his teammates.
Highlighted as one of my favorite bets in this complete guide to Super Bowl props, this thing is close to being a slam-dunk. Queen Latifah is starring in The Equalizer, a new show debuting on CBS right after the Super Bowl ends. Surely Jim Nantz will be directed to plug the new series a couple of times, especially considering he and Queen Latifah both spent time living in the same small town in New Jersey.
Shout out to Colts Neck Township.
I agree with Noah that Travis Kelce is going to reach pay dirt. However, another player prop I fancy is Mike Evans finding the end zone at +120. The odds are incredibly juicy, and the numbers are in our favor.
He scored touchdowns in each of his last two game, and scored two touchdowns vs. the Chiefs in Week 12.
Finding the Best Super Bowl Bets
Shopping your lines to ensure that you’re tracking down the most favorable odds is a big part of setting yourself up for success. At the same time, you’ll want to make sure you’re placing wagers at online sportsbooks that can be trusted.
Sticking to the best Super Bowl betting sites gives you the best of both worlds. Not only will you spot discrepancies in the pricing and be able to latch onto value, but you’ll feel confident knowing these sites are extremely reputable.
Chances are, you’re already familiar with betting NFL games online, so you already know that the available bets can be wide-ranging. However, the enormity of what’s out there for the Super Bowl is unlike anything else in the sports betting industry.
The key is to target the bets that have the highest likelihood of paying off. We’ll share a few examples below.
The best bet here is typically to back the quarterback of the team that you project to win the game. Heading into Super Bowl 53, seven of the previous nine Super Bowl MVPs were the QB of the team who raised the Lombardi Trophy.
Julian Edelman was honored as the Most Valuable Player in SB 53, although he was just the third offensive player who wasn’t a quarterback to win the award in the last 25 years. Of the five individuals in NFL history who have won the SB MVP multiple times, all five are QBs.
In a nutshell, trying to pinpoint a wide receiver or a running back typically won’t deliver a return on your investment. In fact, betting on a defender to win the Super Bowl MVP is also like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Through the first 53 Super Bowls, 43 of the MVPs were offensive players.
Surely some of you are experienced with live-betting NFL games. For those who are not, the Super Bowl game is the perfect time to get your feet wet.
Once the second quarter ends, a lot of people are going to be focused on the halftime show and all of the festivities that are included. Our recommendation is to spend that time scanning the best sportsbooks looking to lock in some serious value.
The most transparent way of explaining why value is easier to “unlock” during halftime is because oddsmakers simply don’t have enough information and data to perfect their projections. The odds at this point will be “softer” or less accurate than the ones that are set before the game.
Because these lines are being set on the fly, there’s a good chance you’ll see numerous wagers pop up that immediately catch your attention. It’s a great time to find some of the best Super Bowl bets available.
Don’t Worry About Trying to Bet Everything
Betting value often lies in the simple bets. Moneyline wagers, point spreads, and totals are often about the best bets for the Super Bowl. It’s hard to ignore all prop bets available, though.
Once you start peering at all of the Super Bowl prop bets, it won’t take long to realize just how many options there are. You’ll drive yourself crazy trying to cover them all, so you need to be selective.
Instead of focusing on the props that were designed for entertainment, concentrate on the ones that you can find an edge in. Perhaps that could be a specific individual going over his projected total for rushing or receiving yards, or maybe it’s a crossover bet that involves another athlete from another sport that you’re familiar with.
The lesson here is to forget about trying to pursue action on all the wagers available. Remember, your goal is to find the best bets for the Super Bowl, not places as many as wagers as you can. Emphasize quality over quantity.
Now that we’ve spent some time establishing the best Super Bowl bets you should attack, it’s vital to reveal some of the ones you should dodge. The main idea here is to steer clear of the bets that are somewhat arbitrary. Likewise, stay away from the wagers where no edge is attached.
Betting on the coin toss or betting on what color tie the commentator will be wearing aren’t going to scoop money in the long run. On that note, here are some other Super Bowl bets to avoid.
Anything to Do With the Commercials
The commercials are meant to be entertaining. They’re meant to be funny and memorable, but let’s just leave it at that.
The oddsmakers at the top football betting sites are fully aware of the increased demand to offer wagers related to the commercials. Every year, there is a sizable chunk of individuals who are more intrigued by what commercials will be shown compared to anything that has to do with the game itself.
What gets lost is that the targeted audience is typically made up of casual fans. These are the same folks who are generally less concerned with finding value and more captivated by the entertainment aspect the bets provide.
Chances are, any Super Bowl bets that have to do with the commercials are what we would call “sucker bets.”
The odds for your favorite team or some of the longshots are going to be extremely alluring, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good idea to fire away. It’s easy to do, but don’t get infatuated by the potential return on your investment.
This isn’t a disclaimer to stay away from Super Bowl futures bets altogether, it’s just a warning that you should be sensible about it. Predicting that teams can go from a 5-11 record to winning the lot the very next year is going to burn a hole through your pocket quickly.
We’ve alluded to this in a prior segment, but the bookies understand the demand and interest for certain prop bets. For this reason, they have the leverage to generate odds that lean in their favor.
The way to combat this is to not fall into the trap and place a wager when BOTH sides are listed at -120. That’s simply too much juice to try and overcome in the long run. Doing it once in a while if the spot seems right is one thing, but don’t expect to turn a profit down the road if you are always laying -120.
Fortunately, there will be loads of other Super Bowl bets available with more appealing price tags attached.
Don’t Fade the Safety Bet
One of the prop bets that always draws interest before the Super Bowl is betting on whether or not there will be a safety. You’ll likely have to lay in the neighborhood of -1000 to fade this bet.
The upside just isn’t there. We’ll unveil some quick math to prove that theory.
Across the 2017 and 2018 NFL regular seasons, we witnessed a total of 25 safeties in 512 games. That means a safety occurred in slightly less than 5% of the games. And even though we saw 17 safeties during the 2019 regular season, that still equates to just 6.6% of the time.
Those planning on risking $500 just to win $50 – you’re betting off allocating that $500 elsewhere.
Timing is everything in life, and some could say it’s the same when it comes to placing Super Bowl bets.
Bets for the Super Bowl game itself are usually released almost as soon as the AFC and NFC Championship games end.
Once the big game is over, it then doesn’t take long for the betting sites to start posting futures odds for the next year’s Super Bowl.
Right off the bat is an intriguing time to start firing away in both of these markets, before any lines seriously start getting adjusted.
Futures Bets Before the Season Starts
Let’s say the Baltimore Ravens were installed at +2200 to win the Super Bowl before the season began. If you have an inkling that the Ravens are going to have a big year and make some noise in the playoffs, then locking that wager in before the season begins makes a lot of sense.
If you wait a few weeks and Baltimore is 3-0, you can kiss that +2200 price tag goodbye.
This is where you can take advantage of sportsbooks overreacting to mid-season disappointments. A perfect example is the Kansas Chiefs in 2019. KC was +400 to win Super Bowl 54 for a while but fell to 6-4 through ten weeks. Patrick Mahomes was just coming off a pretty severe knee injury. Heading into Week 11, the Chiefs had ballooned to +1000 to win the Super Bowl.
Next thing you know, the Chiefs won their next six games and clinched a bye during Wild Card Weekend. Backing Kansas City at that point meant settling for their +350 price tag.
The moral of the story here is to take advantage of when situations like these arise. At the very least, you could sell that +1000 ticket on the Chiefs winning the Super Bowl or start hedging your action. Either way, you can secure yourself a profit.
Futures Bets During the Playoffs
Once the playoffs get underway, the Super Bowl futures prices start dwindling. As each round of the postseason progresses, these prices shrink up even more. Due to the diminished upside, it’s okay to pass.
However, if you see a team with a price that really piques your interest, charge full steam ahead. Just don’t expect the odds to get any better once teams start getting eliminated.
Once the Super Bowl matchup has been determined, the floodgates burst wide open. This is when the sites will start unleashing Super Bowl props left and right.
Be sure to set aside ample time in the two-week runup to the games to browse through the selection. Equally important, decide how much money you are willing to risk on your bets. Otherwise, you could run out of funds before your eyes are opened to the full scope of wagers.
Super Bowl Bets on the Day of or During the Game
With the amount of money that comes pouring in on the Super Bowl in the days prior to kickoff, the bookmakers on Super Bowl Sunday is like pandemonium. If you plan on waiting until Sunday afternoon to get in on the action, the virtual sportsbooks will be your best option.
What Can You Bet On In The Super Bowl
The lines at the land-based sportsbooks and bookmaking shops will be irritatingly long, so betting on the Super Bowl online will be your best course of action. The same rule applies during the game for those who want to live bet on the Super Bowl.
Between the drama in the game and being amongst friends and family at Super Bowl parties, not everyone will want to be on their phone or tablet trying to take part in the in-game betting. While that’s all fine and dandy, those same people might end up missing out on a ton of value.
This Super Bowl best bets guide was produced so that you didn’t have to scour the internet looking for Super Bowl betting advice. It’s all right here at your disposal.
Our goal was to organize everything you could possibly want to know about the best Super Bowl bets in one clean page.
What Can You Bet On In The Super Bowl
We talked about where to find the best bets for the Super Bowl and which ones you should avoid, and discussed the optimal timing of certain Super Bowl wagers. In other words, your foundation to bet on the Super Bowl the right way is set.