Super Bowl LVII betting: Big bets, wacky wagers and more for Eagles-Chiefs

ByDavid Purdum ESPN logo
Sunday, February 12, 2023

The countdown to Super Bowl LVII between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs has begun, and the betting at sportsbooks on a game that's expected to have billions of dollars riding on it is heating up.

We'll follow it all right here, the biggest bets, the wackiest wagers and the prolific prop bets.

Good luck!

Consensus Super Bowl LVII line:

Eagles (-1)

Total: 51

Sunday

5 p.m.

  • $2.2 million on Eagles -1.5 placed Sunday in New York with Caesars Sportsbook. It's the largest reported Super Bowl bet so far and the third of at least $1 million or more. All three reported seven-figure bets are on the Eagles.

Our BIGGEST Super Bowl bet yet #SBLikeACaesar | #SBLVII pic.twitter.com/BXl5fMBYjG

- Caesars Sportsbook (@CaesarsSports) February 12, 2023

  • $1.68 million on Chiefs +3.5 (-168) [Draftkings]
  • $1.25 million on Eagles (-125) moneyline. Bet would pay a net $1 million. [BetMGM]
  • $1 million on Eagles (-125) money-line. Bet would pay a net $800,000. [BetMGM]|
  • $800,000 on Chiefs (+110) money-line, placed roughly an hour and a half before kickoff with Caesars Sportsbook in Nevada.
  • $550,000 on Over 52. Bet, which was placed with Caesars Sportsbook in Nevada, would win $500,000. [Caesars Sportsbook]
  • $550,000 on Chiefs +1.5. [Caesars Sportsbook]
  • $500,000 on Chiefs (+105) money-line. Bet would pay at net $525,000. [BetMGM]
  • $400,000 on Chiefs (+105) money-line. [Caesars Sportsbook]
  • $314,000 on the Chiefs +3.5 (-157). Bet would pay a net $492,980. [Caesars Sportsbook]
  • $270,039.85 on over 50.5. Bet would pay a net $245,490.77 [Caesars Sportsbook]
  • $225,000 on Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes to throw more than 1.5 touchdown passes at -225 odds. Bet, which was placed in Nevada, would pay a net $100,000. [BetMGM]
  • $220,000 on under 51. Bet would pay a net $200,000. [Caesars Sportsbook]

As kickoff approaches, BetMGM sportsbook's biggest decision on the Super Bowl is the money-line, the odds to win the game outright. The sportsbook needs the Chiefs.

BetMGM has taken the only two $1 million bets on the Super Bowl that have been revealed; both are on the Eagles money-line.

The betting public is loading up on Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Props involving Kelce have attracted more bets-and more money-than any other player at DraftKings. He's tops in tickets and money to score the game's first touchdown at multiple shops, and at PointsBet, he's attracted almost as many bets as there have been on the game's point spread, when you include parlays.

Two hours prior to kickoff, there remains more money on the Eagles than the Chiefs, but the action is balanced enough on the side that some books say the biggest decision is on the total. The total had climbed to 51.5 at multiple books, as action on the over from the betting public continues to show up.

"Simply put, we need the game to go under, and we would be better off if the Chiefs won," John Murray, executive director of the SuperBook, said. "Chiefs win, Mahomes wins MVP, game is relatively low scoring ... that looks like our best outcome."

3 p.m.

"The spread is very much two-way action," Scott said in a text message. "I expect a lot to change in the next four hours."

Chris Andrews, sportsbooks director at the South Point in Las Vegas, also said his shop needs the Chiefs as well as the under.

2 p.m.

A quick look at some of the wackiest Super Bowl bets that have been placed:

A pair of big bets have come in on "heads" as the result for the Super Bowl coin flip. BetMGM reported taking a $52,000 bet on heads at -105, and WynnBET reported taking a $30,000 bet on heads at -102 from a bettor in New Jersey.

A bettor with PointsBet placed a $100 on Eagles offensive lineman Jason Kelce to be named Super Bowl MVP at 2,500-1 odds. If Kelce becomes the first offensive lineman ever to win Super Bowl MVP, the bettor would win $250,000.

A bettor with DraftKings placed a $100 bet on Chiefs fullback Michael Burton to score the game's first touchdown at 130-1 odds. The bettor would win a net $13,000 if Burton scores the first TD.

A bettor in Louisiana put $8 on the Eagles to score exactly two points in the Super Bowl at 10,000-1 odds with Caesars Sportsbook.

A bettor with DraftKings placed a $1 bet on Chiefs tight end Jody Fortson to score three or more touchdowns at 250-1 odds.

A bettor in Louisiana put $6,800 on a safety being scored in the Super Bowl at +881 with Caesars Sportsbook.

Yellow/Green remains the clear-cut favorite the color of Gatorade dumped on the winning coach and is attracting the bulk of the money sportsbooks. Approximately 46.6% of the money bet on the novelty prop at PointsBet was on Yellow/Green.

"Yellow has dominated from the start," Wyatt Yearout, PointsBet spokesperson, said.

A bettor with DraftKings put $2,500 on the Gatorade to be Yellow/Green, the largest reported bet on the Gatorade by the sportsbook.

Noon:

Caesars Sportsbook reported taking a $550,000 bet on over 51 this morning in Nevada, the biggest bet on the Super Bowl the book has taken so far.

The sportsbook is rooting for the Chiefs and the under at this point. "We would accept Eagles by 1 and Under 50," Caesars Sportsbook vice president of trading Craig Mucklow said.

According to Caesars, 70% of the money bet on the point spread was on Philadelphia as of Sunday morning.

The weekend money appears to be more slanted toward the Chiefs. The betting percentages released by sportsbooks entering the weekend were lopsided on the Eagles. As of Friday, 81% of the money that had bet on the spread at PointsBet was on Philadelphia. The overall percentage was down to 67% on the Eagles as of Sunday morning.

Eagles linebacker Hasson Reddick has emerged as the The Borgata's biggest liability in its odds to win Super Bowl MVP. Reddick has attracted more twice as many bets-and twice as much money-than any other player, according to sportsbook director Thomas Gable. Reddick's odds opened at 30-1. He's now 20-1.

10 a.m.:

Far fewer million-dollar Super Bowl bets have been reported this year, compared to previous recent years, and multiple bookmakers have mentioned the overall action has been somewhat quieter this year.

As of Sunday morning, only two seven-figure bets had been reported, both on the Eagles moneyline at BetMGM. Last year, seven million-dollar bets were reported by sportsbooks on the Super Bowl between the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals.

It's possible, with the increasing popularity of in-game wagering, that bettors are saving their bankrolls to bet during the Super Bowl, rather than before it.

As of Sunday morning, BetMGM was reporting that is best-case scenario was the Eagles winning but not covering the 1.5-point spread in a game that stayed under the total (51). Approximately 86% of the money that has been bet on the total is on the over at BetMGM.

"Chiefs money line has recently gotten some heavy backing, but we're still expecting more big action on the game to roll in." Christian Cipollini, sports trader for BetMGM, said in a company release.

8 a.m.: After a week of almost no movement, the Super Bowl point spread wiggled Saturday night, dropping down to pick 'em temporarily at multiple Las Vegas sportsbooks.

Influential bets on the Chiefs showed up at the South Point and Westgate SuperBook, causing both sportsbooks to cut the line from Eagles -1.5 down to pick 'em.

Chris Andrews, veteran Las Vegas bookmaker of the South Point, said "money" caused the line movement at his book. "Our big bets are on the Chiefs," Andrews said.

John Murray, executive director of the SuperBook, said Saturday night that they had received "lots of Chiefs bets," leading to the line movement.

"We feel like the market is moving that way and most us made the game pick 'em two weeks ago anyways," Murray wrote in a text message to ESPN. "Plus, it's always good to be a little different; gets more money through the window."

The Super Bowl line sat pick 'em for roughly two hours at the SuperBook, before enough Eagles money showed up to push the line back up to Philadelphia -1, the consensus line as of Saturday morning.

Sportsbook PointsBet also said it was seeing increased interest on the Chiefs, but the bulk of the money that had been bet on the spread remained on the Eagles.

Friday

Largest reported bets on Super Bowl LVII (as of Friday afternoon)

$1.25 million on Eagles (-125) money-line. Bet would pay a net $1 million. [BetMGM]

$1 million on Eagles (-125) money-line. Bet would pay a net $800,000. [BetMGM]

$500,000 on Chiefs (+105) money-line. Bet would pay at net $525,000. [BetMGM]

$314,000 on the Chiefs +3.5 (-157). Bet would pay a net $492,980. [Caesars Sportsbook]

$270,039.85 on over 50.5. Bet would pay a net $245,490.77 [Caesars Sportsbook]

$220,000 on under 51. Bet would pay a net $200,000. [Caesars Sportsbook]

Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale isn't planning to make of one his traditional giant bets on the Super Bowl. McIngvale, the Houston furniture store owner who often mitigates risk from promotional giveaways by placing sports bets, told ESPN on Thursday that was going to "take a pass this year."

McIngvale said he had $750,000 riding on Cincinnati at 12-1 odds to win the Super Bowl. "There went my hedge," he wrote in a text message. "Live to play another day."

Here are the top five most-popular same-game parlays legs at PointsBet as of Friday:

Thursday

At The Borgata in Atlantic City, New Jersey, 82% of the point spread bets were on the Eagles, but the money that has been wagered is much more evenly distributed between the two teams, sportsbook director Thomas Gable said.

Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco, who attended a local high school near Atlantic City, was attracting support. "All of his props are getting bet to the over," Gable said.

BetMGM reported taking a $2,500 bet on Eagles running back Kenneth Gainwell to win Super Bowl MVP at 125-1 odds. Other notable bets reported Thursday by BetMGM include: $5,000 on the Chiefs to beat the Eagles by an exact score of 33-30 at 200-1 odds. The bet would pay a net $1 million.

$2,500 on the game to be tied 0-0 at halftime at 250-1 odds. The bet would pay a net $625,000.

A cross-sport Super Bowl prop featuring women's college basketball star Aliyah Boston is attracting "strong action" at Caesars Sportsbook. The prop matches Boston's points and rebounds in the Gamecocks' game against LSU on Sunday versus against Chiefs running back Jerrick McKinnon's receiving yards in the Super Bowl. The line opened pick 'em, but what were described by Caesars as six "standout" bets on Boston moved the line. Boston's points and rebounds are now -5.5 over McKinnon. Boston has attracted 98.5% of the money bet on the prop.

Wednesday afternoon

After a flurry of early movement, the Super Bowl point spread has been stagnant for several days, with the Eagles remaining consensus 1.5-point favorites. The total has ticked up slightly at sportsbook and sits at 51 as of Wednesday afternoon.

"We don't really know who were going to be rooting for on Sunday," John Murray, executive director of the SuperBook, told ESPN. "I think we're going to need Philadelphia, but I also think the public is going to bet Kansas City this weekend. We had a house player make a big bet on the Chiefs. But I don't know. Other than knowing that we'll want the game to be low-scoring and boring, we really don't know who we're going to want to win the game. And that's almost never the case at this point."

Yellow/Green has emerged as the favorite to be the color of Gatorade dumped on the winning coach at multiple sportsbooks. At BetMGM, 33% of the money bet on the novelty prop is on Yellow/Green, the most of any of the colors offered. The odds on Yellow/Green have moved from +350 to +275.

PointsBet also has seen in betting interest on Yellow/Green, causing the odds to move from +350 to +188. "[Yellow/Green] is first in handle by a mile at 46%," Wyatt Yearout, a spokesperson for PointsBet, told ESPN.

In coin-flip betting, tails garnered 55% of the money that's been wagered on the prop at BetMGM.

Tuesday evening

As of Tuesday afternoon, the five largest bets placed on the Super Bowl at Caesars Sportsbook are:

$314,000 on the Chiefs +3.5 (-157)

$270,039.85 on over 50.5

$220,000 on under 51

$220,000 on under 50.5

$150,000 on Chiefs money-line (+105)

$150,000 on Chiefs +1.5

$150,000 on Eagles -1.5

A bettor with PointsBet placed a $130 bet on an offensive lineman to be named MVP of the Super Bowl at 250-1. If an offensive lineman wins the award -- for the first time ever -- the bettor would win a net $32,630.

The Super Bowl props that have attracted the most bets at BetMGM sportsbooks are:

Chiefs TE Travis Kelce to score the first touchdown (+650)

Kelce to score anytime touchdown (-125)

Result of coin toss: Tails (-105)

Eagles to win by the exact score 37-34 (80-1)

Eagles RB Miles Sanders over 59.5 rushing yards (-115)

The exact score (37-24) bet began to draw interest at Bet MGM and move the odds after a tweet of a "leaked script" for Super Bowl LVII went viral.

Most bet (tickets) Super Bowl correct score:

Eagles 37-34 Chiefs

Odds have moved from +25000 to +8000 at @BetMGM pic.twitter.com/TyIjjxWeyG

- John Ewing (@johnewing) February 7, 2023

Tuesday update

As of Monday morning, the largest wager on a Super Bowl prop bet at Caesars Sportsbook was $35,000 on no kickoff or punt being returned for a touchdown at -1400 odds. If there is not a kick or punt return for a TD, the bettor will win a net $3,500.

The largest Super Bowl prop potential payout at Caesars comes from an $8 wager on the Eagles to score exactly four points at 10,000-1 odds. If the Eagles only score four points the bettor will win $800.

A bettor with the SuperBook placed a $1,000 bet on Eagles QB Jalen Hurts to throw exactly five touchdown passes against the Chiefs at 60-1 odds.

PointsBet reported taking a $1,000 seven-leg parlay bet on seven different players to score a touchdown in the Super Bowl at 1,000-1 odds. If Hurts, Dallas Goedert, Miles Sanders, Boston Scott, Travis Kelce, Kadarius Toney and Isiah Pacheco each score a touchdown, the bettor will win a net $1 million.

Saturday update: First big-money bets comes in

The first of what is expected to be several seven-figure bets on the Super Bowl was reported Saturday morning by BetMGM: $1 million on the Eagles on the money line at -125 odds. A BetMGM spokesperson declined to provide any additional details about the bet, including where it was placed.

"As of this morning, the Chiefs and the over is our best result," Craig Mucklow, vice president of trading for Caesars Sportsbook, said Saturday. "But there's no way that's going to hold."

On Saturday, the amount of money bet on the winner of the Super Bowl (money line) was 50/50 at DraftKings, while 72% of the money bet on the game's point spread was on the Eagles -1.5.

A bettor with PointsBet placed a pair of $100 bets on the backup quarterbacks for each team winning the Super Bowl MVP. The bettor put $100 on the Eagles' Gardner Minshew at 250-1 and $136 on the Chiefs' Chad Henne at 100-1.

At DraftKings, the two starting QBs, the Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes and the Eagles' Jalen Hurts, were attracting the most action to win MVP. The player getting the third-most action? Eagles outside linebacker Haason Reddick, who, at 35-1, has attracted more bets than Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce (11-1).

Prop bets hit the board at sportsbooks

Here are some notes from the early action at Caesars Sportsbooks, courtesy of Caesars editorial writer Max Meyer:

In early coin-flip betting, tails has garnered the majority of the action, including a $5,025 bet on tails placed by a Michigan bettors at -101 odds. Nearly 77% of the money that's been bet on the Super Bowl coin flip as of Thursday was on tails.

An Arizona bettor placed a $50,000 bet on Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes to be named MVP of the Super Bowl. The bet was placed earlier in the playoffs when Mahomes was listed at +350 and could win a net $175,000. Mahomes' odds have improved to +130, behind only Eagles QB Jalen Hurts at +125.

A bettor in Ontario placed a pair of $500 bets on team's kicker -- Philadelphia's Jake Elliott (200-1) and Kansas City's Harrison Butker (200-1) -- to be named Super Bowl MVP. A kicker has never won the award.

Caesars Sportsbook offered a yes/no prop on whether a quarterback will have a reception in the game. More money has been bet on the QB reception prop than any other prop offered by Caesars, the bulk of it on the "No."

The "Yes" opened at +475, and the "No" at -650.Money poured in on the "No," including a $13,000 bet by a bettor in New York at -650 for a potential win of $2,000. The "No" had attracted seven bets of at least $1,000, causing the price to grow to -1,200.

Line movement

The opening point spread and total varied somewhat wildly when it was posted by sportsbooks shortly after the Chiefs used a last-second field goal to nip the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship Game. Caesars Sportsbook and the SuperBook were among the operators that opened the line at pick 'em. Other books, including DraftKings and FanDuel, opened the Eagles as small favorites, while still other shops, like PointsBet and Circa, installed the Chiefs as 2.5-point favorites.

Within hours, the Eagles emerged as the consensus favorites, and the line grew to as high as Philadelphia -2.5. It ticked back down to Eagles -1.5 the following days.

The over/under total, which opened at a consensus 49.5, had ticked up to 50 as the calendar turned to midnight.

By the Numbers

$3.02 billion: The amount wagered on the Super Bowl with Nevada sportsbooks since the state's gaming control began tracking betting on the NFL championship in 1991. A record $179.8 million was bet on last year's Super Bowl with Nevada sportsbooks.

$233.2 million: The net win on the Super Bowl for Nevada sportsbooks since 1991.

2: The number of Super Bowls that Nevada sportsbooks have suffered a net loss. The books lost a record $2.6 million when the underdog New York Giants beat the New England Patriots 17-14 in Super Bowl XII. The bookies also got dinged for approximately $397,000 in 1995 when the heavily favored San Francisco 49ers won and covered in a 49-26 win over the San Diego Chargers in 1995.

20: The number of outright upsets by betting underdogs in the Super Bowl.

27-27-2: The betting favorite's record against the spread in the Super Bowl.

26-28-1: The number of Super Bowl overs and unders with one push. (There was not archived betting total for Super Bowl I).

15: The number of consecutive playoff games that the Chiefs have been the betting favorite, the longest such streak in the Super Bowl era.

8: The number of seven-figure bets on last year's Super Bowl that were reported by sportsbooks.

    • Chiefs TE Travis Kelce to get 50-plus receiving yards (-550)
    • Kelce to score an anytime touchdown (-135)
    • Eagles QB Jalen Hurts to get 25-plus rushing yards (-900)
    • Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes to get 250-plus passing yards (-350)
    • Hurts to score an anytime touchdown (-125)
    • $1.25 million on Eagles (-125) money-line. Bet would pay a net $1 million. [BetMGM]
    • $1 million on Eagles (-125) money-line. Bet would pay a net $800,000. [BetMGM]
    • $500,000 on Chiefs (+105) money-line. Bet would pay at net $525,000. [BetMGM]
    • $314,000 on the Chiefs +3.5 (-157). Bet would pay a net $492,980. [Caesars Sportsbook]
    • $270,039.85 on over 50.5. Bet would pay a net $245,490.77 [Caesars Sportsbook]
    • $220,000 on under 51. Bet would pay a net $200,000. [Caesars Sportsbook]
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