The final game of the NFL season is this Sunday, and it is an epic sports betting event that’s become a touchstone for sports and culture in America. The favored Los Angeles Rams and their opponent, the Cincinnati Bengals, will compete in Super Bowl LVI on Feb. 13 in a spectacle that just keeps getting more spectacular with each year.
Did you know that the first Super Bowl, played in 1967, was broadcast simultaneously on two television networks because the NFL and competing AFL had separate media contracts? Did you know that the fanciest pre-game event for the first Super Bowl was a hastily-scheduled parade that shuttled floats up and down an avenue in Los Angeles? The first halftime show was a marching band. The city didn’t even know it would be hosting the game until about six weeks prior to the contest.
The Super Bowl has not always been very super. For a long time, it was a game that completed a season, and the teams didn’t necessarily see it as more important than their league championship games. The Packers, who won the first two Super Bowls, didn’t regard their match-up with the AFL champions as a postscript.
But now, the Super Bowl pregame starts in early January, and the weeklong anticipation leading to the game is packed with hours and hours of speculation. The flyover, the coin toss, halftime shows, wardrobe malfunctions, and the Gatorade…it all means something to someone.
Prop bets on the Super Bowl give sports bettors a chance to wager on many of those “other” things going on around and in the game.
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Best Super Bowl Prop Bets At Michigan Sportsbooks
Coin Toss Winner Opts to Receive Opening Kickoff (+450 at BetMGM Michigan)
Why not get your first bet out of the way quickly? If the coin toss winner elects to receive the opening kickoff of the Super Bowl, and you wager for that to happen, you win $450 on a $100 bet. The prevailing wisdom is to defer to the second half, but if one of the head coaches is feeling spunky you could win a nice payout?
First Score of Super Bowl LVI: Cincinnati Field Goal (+400 at Caesars Michigan)
The Legend of Evan McPherson is destined to be a NetFlix documentary, isn’t it?
Win big at Caesars: Best Caesars Super Bowl prop bets
Rams RB Sony Michel First TD Scorer OR Last TD Scorer (+1600 at DraftKings Michigan)
The Rams running back has averaged nine rushes+targets per playoff game. While he’s not the No. 1 offensive option, Michel does get his opportunities.
Rans Win Super Bowl and Score 31 Points Exactly (Various odds at FanDuel Michigan)
The last two winners of the Super Bowl scored exactly 31 points, and six times overall the winning Super Bowl team has scored precisely 31 points. If you’re a numbers person, or if the number 31 is special to you, how about a prop bet on a final score with Rams scoring and winning with 31 points exactly?
FanDuel has these odds for such a scenario:
- Rams 31, Bengals 10: +24,000
- Rams 31, Bengals 13: +22,000
- Rams 31, Bengals 17: +12,000
- Rams 31, Bengals 20: +20,000
- Rams 31, Bengals 21: +22,000
- Rams 31, Bengals 23: +19,000
- Rams 31, Bengals 24: +9000
- Rams 31, Bengals 26: +27,000
- Rams 31, Bengals 27: +20,000
- Rams 31, Bengals 28: +10,000
- Rams 31, Bengals 30: +24,000
- Rams 31, Bengals 7: +31,000
Rams RB Cam Akers Over 59 Rushing Yards And Rams WR Cooper Kupp Over 102 Receiving Yards (+240 at Caesars Michigan Sportsbook)
Starting with a prop bet that wins you more than double your money, these are not huge odds, but it is a solid wager. Kupp is arguably the most efficient receiver since Jerry Rice. He should go over 102 yards. RB Cam Akers checks all the boxes for an unexpected Super Bowl hero. He’s had a tough season getting back from injury, and he’s had to convince his coaches that he deserves carries.
Where is the profit going?: Michigan sports betting tax revenue use under review
Both Teams To Score 10 or More Points in Third Quarter (+1600 at BetMGM Michigan)
A $50 bet on this prop would net you $800 if the Bengals and Rams come out of halftime hot and both score 10 or more in the third quarter.
Matthew Stafford: Cheers or Boos?
Rams quarterback Matt Stafford will be the elephant in the room for Lions fans this Super Bowl Sunday. Should football fans in Michigan root for Stafford or not? An unscientific examination of my Facebook and Twitter feeds shows that my fellow Mitten State citizens are mostly cheering for their former QB to win a title.
For Lions fans, this is the closest they might ever get to having one of their own in the big game. Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson never put on pads for a Super Sunday. Stafford is making Michiganders proud.
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