There are a lot of reasons to love the Super Bowl, but one of my favorites is undoubtedly the prop bets.
To put it simply: You can bet on anything during the Super Bowl.
You can actually go online right now and find someone who will give you money if you can guess what color the winning team’s Gatorade will be when they dump it on their coach. That’s the Super Bowl, everyone!
Plus, even if you’re not the “gambling type,” the prop bets are still fun to follow; you can download a prop-bet sheet off the Internet and start your own party game, for money or for bragging rights.
It can be a little overwhelming, though. There are literally hundreds of potential wagers, and many have a multitude of options, all carrying a different level of risk and reward. That’s why we’re creating this little guide to help you find the most fun (and profitable) wagers — from a Broncos fan’s perspective, of course; rooting for Cam Newton to score the first touchdown isn’t exactly fun.
The Line
Before we go into the props, let’s talk about the most basic bet of them all: The line.
As of Tuesday, the Denver Broncos are six-point underdogs to the Carolina Panthers. If you bet the spread, you would get the Broncos at -110, meaning you would win $9.09 for every $10 you wager if the Broncos win or lose by less than six points.
If you’re a Broncos fan, though, and you want to put your money where your mouth is, the best move is to just bet the money line, which is currently sitting at +185. While you’d only cash in with a Broncos victory ($18.50 for every $10), it’s not as if you want to be rooting for the Broncos to lose by less than six anyways, right?
Take the Broncos straight up, and walk away with a big payday!
Super Bowl MVP
This is always one of my favorite bets of the year, and it’s especially interesting this time around. While the safe option is always to go with the quarterback (55% of Super Bowl MVPs have been QBs), you’d be hard pressed to find a single game all season where Peyton Manning was the “MVP” of a Broncos victory.
And while +340 is pretty good odds for a Hall of Fame quarterback in the Super Bowl, you can find better value elsewhere.
If I’m looking at anyone, it’s C.J. Anderson (+2,500). In every one of the Broncos’ big games this year, Anderson has played a huge role. All it takes is one big run and Anderson‘s suddenly the Super Bowl savior.
An under-the-radar candidate is Derek Wolfe (+20,000). There’s a good chance that if the Broncos win, it’ll be because of their defense, just as it has been all year, and Wolfe has been playing as well as anyone lately. A couple sacks, a forced fumble and Wolfe is your Super Bowl MVP!
MVP Thanks
Not only can you bet on who will win the Super Bowl MVP, but you can bet on who that MVP will thank first. What a world, huh?
The options are your usual suspects: Teammates (+175), god (+180), fans/city (+600), family (+1,000) and coaches/owner (+1,000).
My first instinct is to go with teammates, as this group has proven to be extremely close all season, but I’m going to have to go with the coaches/owner.
First off, there are a lot of guys on this team who have been through some ups and downs, and I would not be surprised if they thanked coach Gary Kubiak for giving them an opportunity. More importantly, though, as every good Broncos fan should know, at some point someone is going to yell “This one’s for Pat” if the Broncos win.
Pat Bowlen has been one of the best owners in sports, and I’m sure it’s weighing on the team’s mind that he can’t be in San Francisco for the game. A big shoutout to Mr. B from the Super Bowl MVP would be more than deserved.
Total Sacks By Defense (Over 2.5, +125)
If the Denver Broncos are going to win on Sunday, they better have over 2.5 sacks. Heck, I might expect a couple of guys to be inching towards that number alone.
The Broncos averaged 3.25 sacks a game during the regular season and spent the AFC Championship pummeling Tom Brady more than any quarterback had been pummeled all season. So why wouldn’t they get three sacks in the biggest game of the year?
This defense has stepped up in big moments all season, and I expect that to continue this week.
Brandon McManus – Total Field Goals Made (Over 1.5, -125)
While I’d love for the Denver Broncos to end every drive with a touchdown, they just haven’t been able to do it all season. In fact, Brandon McManus has been able to make at least two field goals in four of the Broncos’ last five games.
This one is all but a sure thing.
QB To Throw First INT (Cam Newton, +140)
Given that Peyton Manning almost led the league in interceptions despite the fact that he only played half the season, he’s probably the safe bet to throw the first pick of the game, but Cam Newton isn’t immune to picks, either. He’s definitely been safe with the football this year, with a 35-10 TD-INT ratio, but he’s been known to sail a pass or two.
And don’t forget: He’s going up against the No. 1 defense in the NFL. Plus, this is far and away the biggest game of Newton’s career. Even if he is about as calm under pressure as anyone, the Super Bowl is a whole different beast. I would not be surprised in the slightest if Cam tried to force a pass early in the game, and the Broncos’ secondary came away with a pick.
C.J. Anderson – Total Rushing Attempts (Under 13.5, +110)
If you’ve read anything I’ve written over the last month or two, you’ll know how much this one pains me, but I just don’t trust the Denver Broncos coaching staff to give C.J. Anderson 14 or more carries.
In fact, Anderson has only received more than 14 carries five times all season, though three of those have come in the Broncos’ last three games.
And while I do believe Denver has finally decided to make Anderson their feature back, Ronnie Hillman is still very much in the picture; despite the fact that he has yet to produce at the same level as Anderson, the Broncos can’t seem to go away from him. Anderson should be given between 20 and 25 carries on Sunday, but I would not be surprised if he ended the game with 10 or 11.
Grab the value on this one.
C.J. Anderson – Longest Rush (Over 18.5, -115)
While C.J. Anderson hasn’t received nearly enough carries over the second half of the season, he’s made the most of them, rushing for 6 yards per attempt since November. A big part of that can be attributed to Anderson’s big-play ability.
In Anderson’s last five games, he’s had at least one rush of over 18.5 yards four times; he’s had at least one rush of over 30 yards three times. In fact, since the Broncos first bye, Anderson has had a rush longer than 18.5 yards in seven of his 11 games.
The Panthers may have a stout front seven, but all it takes is one opportunity and C.J.’s off to the races.
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Player To Score First Touchdown
As you might expect, Vegas has the Panthers as the heavy favorites to score the first touchdown, with Cam Newton (+800), Greg Olsen (+800) and Jonathan Stewart (+850) all with better odds than the highest Bronco, Demaryius Thomas (+900). But if a Bronco is going to score the first touchdown, we’ve got several good options.
C.J. Anderson (+1,100) would be my first pick, as he has the ability to score from both distance and the goal line, but Owen Daniels (+1,800) is a good option, too. If Manning is to throw Denver’s first touchdown, there’s a very good chance it’s in his tight end’s direction, as evidenced by Daniels’ two touchdown receptions in the AFC Championship game.
Higher Nielsen Rating (Denver, -135)
This is an interesting one, allowing you to bet on which market, Denver or Charlotte, will draw the highest Nielsen Rating during Sunday’s Super Bowl 50.
Obviously, I’m going to have to go with Denver.
Denver is the 18th best television market in the United States, while Charlotte sits back at 24th, according to stationindex.com, and I’ve got a hard time believing that any Denverite with a TV won’t be tuned into Super Bowl 50.
This might be the easiest money of the weekend.