2015 Super Bowl Prop Bets

Super Bowl prop bets are often the funnest wagers to make on a game. When you see lists like "odd Super Bowl bets" or "funny NFL wagers", it's almost certain to involved proposition betting. The prop bet is sort of like the hypothetical questions guys make to one another, starting with the proposition "What if...?". Sometimes reasonable propositions are offered and sometimes the most outlandish bet is presented. I'll talk about all of those in this article.

What Is a Super Bowl Prop Bet?

A super bowl prop bet simply sets a proposition or likely outcome, then offers odds on whether that event happens. A common Super Bowl prop bet is "Who will score the first touchdown in the Super Bowl?" Every Super Bowl, that proposition bet is going to be offered by sportsbooks. In the discussion below, I'll go over the full range of prop bets you're likely to find, along with examples from the most recent Super Bowl.

Once the prop bet is established, a range of possible outcomes is offered for gamblers to bet on with odds set on how likely each is to happen. For Super Bowl 46, the likely TD scorers were Wes Welker, Victor Cruz, and Aaron Hernandez. Other Patriots and Giants players were included, so you could have bet on BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Brandon Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw, or even Chad OchoCinco. Those who don't keep up with the news have to be careful with these wagers, though. Rob Gronkowski would have been a top candidate for the first touchdown of Super Bowl XLVI, but he suffered a high ankle sprain in the AFC Championship Game and was limited. Many people lost money betting on a bad proposition. Opportunities present themselves in these situations, though.

2015 Super Bowl Halftime Prop Bets

One fun type of Super Bowl prop bet is the halftime performer prop bets. Every year, gamblers find a whole list of wagers based on what happened during the halftime show.

An example from last year's Super Bowl was "Will Madonna Wear A Hat At Any Point During The Halftime Show?" People actually could lay wagers on whether Madonna was going to wear a hat or not. (She did, though it was more like a cross between a valkyrie's helm and queen tiara.) This is a pretty tame bet by halftime show standards, but you'll find all sorts of propositions thrown out there, especially by the online sportsbooks who are competing for Super Bowl gambling customers.

Common Super Bowl Prop Bets for 2015

These are some of the common Super Bowl prop bets that you'll see year in and year out. If the Denver Broncos or Dallas Cowboys make the 2015 Super Bowl, you would simply substitute those teams' star players for the ones listed below.

  • Who Will Be Super Bowl MVP?
  • Who Wins the Coin Toss?
  • Coin Toss Heads or Tails?
  • Will the First Score Be a Touchdown or Field Goal?
  • Will Victor Cruz Have a Touchdown?
  • Will Wes Welker Have a Touchdown?

The star offensive players often will be a part of the proposition bets for a Super Bowl. You might be wondering why I haven't mentioned Tom Brady or Eli Manning much yet, since they're the undoubted stars of their teams. Since quarterbacks pass the ball for touchdowns, they're considered odds on favorites to score a touchdown, usually in unison with a receiver or tight end. Since many people place prop bets to get better odds, quarterbacks are often not options (though that's by no means always the case). Usually, prop bets involve which players actually carries the football into the endzone, not who passes it to them. Still, you'll see Eli Manning and Tom Brady listed low on the options, in case one of them rushes for a touchdown. I'm certain you know that's not likely in either of their cases.

Proposing Super Bowl XLVII Prop Bets

In later articles, I'll discuss "funny bets" and "odd bets", so I won't go into too much detail here on this concept. I also intend on writing a page on halftime proposition bets and a prop bets involving the Super Bowl commercials. Read this site and you should get plenty of ideas and options, but I wanted to discuss in brief a few wacky prop bets you can throw at your fellow gamblers and football watching buddies throughout the course of the game. The great thing about suggesting prop bets to your friends and rivals is you get to analyze them beforehand, while they get a few seconds or minutes to consider them. You automatically have the advantage, if you come armed with proposition bet ideas. Let me give one example of the tricky prop bet.

Imagine the Washington Redskins and Oakland Raiders are playing in the Super Bowl. Then imagine the Redskins cross over midfield and sit 1-and-10 at the Raider's 40 yard line. You introduce the following proposition bet: Which player celebrates next?

Stipulate this is any sort of celebration: a dance, a spiked ball, signalling first down, dunking the ball over the crossbars. Since the Redskins are in Raider's territory and seem to be moving the ball, it might be natural to assume the offense is going to win that bet. They might get a touchdown, a first down, a long gain, a penalty on the defense. But is that really the case?

If the Raiders haven't been giving up long gains, then it's unlikely the Redskins make a touchdown on the next play. It's more likely the Redskins go for the handoff or the short pass, trying to continue the momentum. If defense has been strong so far, it's likelier that the defenders get a tackle for a short gain and either celebrate or congratulate each other. Defenders work off energy and adrenaline often, so they tend to celebrate over smaller victories. You can see a tackler down by 17 in the 3rd quarter get a big hit or a sack and celebrate the event. Chances for celebrations include crunching hits, sacks, fumbles, interceptions, or even just tackles. In the playoffs, the defense wins more plays, so you have a good chance of winning that bet.

Super Bowl Proposition Bets

That should get us started on the wider subject of NFL football proposition bets. As I mentioned before, I'll discuss these in greater detail in future articles. That should give you plenty to sift through for now.