Super Bowl LI: Guide to betting the big game

Everything you need to know about betting on Super Bowl LI

Kirby Lee—X02835
Jan 30

For those risk-taking football fans, here is a Super Bowl Sunday itinerary, designed to make sure you stay invested from before kickoff until after the championship trophy presentation, which has the potential to be a little awkward.And, yes, you can bet on that.Among its many Super Bowl propositions, offshore sportsbook Bovada is asking bettors, “If the Patriots win, will Tom Brady, Bill Belichick or Robert Kraft be seen shaking the hand of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on TV?”Everyone’s a gentleman here, right?Surely, they can grin and nod their way through any leftover awkwardness from the commissioner accusing Brady of cheating by deflating footballs. Oddsmakers think so and made the “Yes” as a -180 favorite.Those types of nontraditional propositions bets can only be found with offshore sportsbooks, which are not always available to U.S. citizens. Nevada’s legal books have to follow stricter regulations, when it comes to Super Bowl propositions. But that doesn’t stop them from posting hundreds for those lucky enough to be in Las Vegas for the Super Bowl.Regardless of the location of your favorite bookmaker, there will be something to weigh in on throughout Super Bowl Sunday … for entertainment purposes only, of course.Odds are from the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas and multiple offshore sportbooks:• Coin flip: The Super Bowl coin flip has landed on heads 24 times and tails 26 times in 50 SuperBowls. The coin has landed on tails the last three years. Odds on it landing on tails again this year: 50/50.• Length of National Anthem: Country music star Luke Bryan will perform the National Anthem to kick things off Sunday and even though it is not a wagered offered by Nevada sports books, it is a widely popular bet at offshore books. The over/under on Bryan’s rendition was sitting around 2:09. Expert insider tip: Advanced scouting of previous renditions by Bryan reveals that his tempo varies. You’re welcome.• Point spread: The line has not budged since opening last Sunday at New England -3. History shows us that the betting public rarely goes against Tom Brady and the Patriots, so don’t be surprised if the line ticks up to minus-3.5 at some point this week. In other words, if you like New England, bet early. Be patient if you’re leaning Atlanta.• 3-point win: Think the point spread is spot on and the Super Bowl will be decided by exactly three points? You can get +425 on a three-point margin of victory.• Blowout: Think the Patriots blow the barn doors off of the Falcons? You can take the Patriots -21.5 and get +650 (13-2) on your money.• Tutorial: If you’re thinking what the heck does +650 or 13-2 mean, well, you’ve probably already given up on this story. But for clarity purposes, +650 means you’d make $650 on a successful $100 bet. For 13-2, you’d bet $2 to win $13.• Over/Under: The total enters the week sitting at 59. It’s the highest over/under in a Super Bowl ever. And it may not be high enough. Early reports out of Las Vegas indicate that the record total isn’t slowing down the money on the over. Perhaps bettors are being swayed by the fact that 16 of Atlanta’s 18 games this season have eclipsed the total.• Defensive battle: Think the over/under is overblown? You can take under 42.5 at +500.• Quick start: New England and Atlanta were by far the highest-scoring teams in the first quarter this season. The Patriots averaged 8.6 points in the first quarter. Atlanta averaged 8.3 points in the first quarter. The first quarter is a 7-2 to be the highest-scoring quarter of the game.• First lead: The Patriots are around -130 favorites to score first.• Player to score first touchdown: Falcons running back Devonta Freeman opened as the favorite at 7-1. Atlanta wide receiver Julio Jones, New England wide receivers Julian Edelman and Chris Hogan and Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount are next at 8-1.• Last score: The Patriots are also around -130 favorites to score last.• Overtime: Will there be OT? There never has been before in the Super Bowl, but the point spread indicates a close game. “Yes” there will be overtime pays +700.• Flag on the play: Atlanta is a slight favorite to commit more penalties. New England averaged 5.6 penalties per game, fourth fewest in the league. The Falcons averaged 6.1 penalties per game.• Halftime: It’s not halftime for the bettors. Picking which song Lady Gaga will perform first is must-bet fun. “Born This Way” and “Bad Romance” are among the favorites.• Longest made field goal: The over/under is 43.5 yards. Atlanta kicker Matt Bryant attempted 17 field goals of 40 or more yards this season, connecting on 15 of them. New England kicker Stephen Gostkowski attempted 14 field goals of 40 or more yards this season, connecting on 11 of them.• Not-so-automatic: A missed extra point pays around +270. Gostkowski missed just one extra point in his first 10 seasons. He missed three this year. Bryant has made 485 of 490 extra points in his career, including 56 of 57 this season.• Safety: A safety occurring in the Super Bowl pays 6-1. The Patriots led the NFL with six safeties this season. Atlanta recorded zero. There were 40 safeties overall this season.• Two-point conversions: Atlanta was among the leaders in two-point conversion attempts with six this season. New England only went for two twice. A successful two-point conversions pays +140.• Tricky: The over/under on number of different players to have a passing attempt is 2.5.• Soaked: Along with the over/under on the National Anthem, the color of the liquid dumped on the winning coach is also an extremely popular wager offshore. Clear, Green, Orange and Yellow are in the running.• Super Bowl MVP: A quarterback has been named Super Bowl MVP 27 times in 50 games. Brady, a three-time Super Bowl MVP, is the favorite, just ahead of Ryan.• Super Bowl MVP speech: Oddsmakers believe it’s a tossup whether the MVP mentions “God” or a “Team/Teammates” first in his acceptance. The smart money is on they reveal plans for a trip to Disney World.The Longest Shots:(at the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas)• No touchdown scored in the game: 500-1• 0-7 total point scored in Super Bowl LI: 1,000-1• The Patriots scoring exactly two points: 9,999-1• The Falcons scoring exactly four points: 9,999-1