Best Prop Bets Ever Made

The National Football League, also known as the NFL, begins the 2022 season with a Thursday night matchup between the Buffalo Bills and the defending Super Bowl Champion Los Angeles Rams. Like every American football season, there will be a lot of betting made on this game as well as throughout the season on the other 30 teams in the league. One of the most fun bets to make is the prop bet. Also known as a proposition bet, this is a wager that will not have a direct effect on the final outcome of the game. One thing that makes prop betting for the NFL so unique is that almost anything can be wagered on. In this article, you will discover 5 of the oddest prop bets that are available to wager on.

Coin Toss

Before an NFL game can begin, the coin toss must take place. The point of the coin toss is to determine which team gets the ball first in the game and which side the other team will start defending. The away team in the matchup gets to choose whether the coin falls on heads or tails. If the away team guesses correctly, they get to choose whether they want the ball first or second. 

The players aren’t the only ones who get to take a guess, however. The coin toss prop bet allows bettors to wager on whether the coin will land on heads or tails. Beyond that, bettors can also wager on which team will win the coin toss and if the team who wins the coin toss will win the game. As a coin toss is 50/50 odds, the odds for these wagers are usually pretty close to even money, minus the vig.

National Anthem

While one may find it hard to make a bet on a song, it’s actually a very popular prop bet for the championship of the NFL, the Super Bowl. The main wager is typically on how long the song will last for. The sportsbook will provide a time length, and bettors have to wager whether or not the song will go beyond that time or not.

Beyond the song length, bettors can also wager on what colour outfit the singer will wear when performing, will the singer forget or leave out a word during the song, and will there be any scoring drive that is shorter than the National Anthem length. This last prop bet became super popular after a Devin Hester 92-yard touchdown return on the opening kickoff for Super Bowl XLI.

Gatorade

The Gatorade prop bet may be the most popular and weirdest prop bet in all of NFL history. It is a simple bet to understand; simply wager on what colour of Gatorade you believe will be dumped on the winning coach at the end of the Super Bowl. This tradition started in 1984 when the New York Giants won a matchup against the Washington Commanders, and Bill Parcels received the Gatorade bath courtesy of nose tackle Jim Burt. 

Since then, the winning coach is usually doused in Gatorade with colours of Orange, Yellow, Blue, Clear, Red, and Purple. Most recently, Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots made sure to avoid Gatorade baths, so there were no winners for Super Bowl 53. The most recent Super Bowl winner (Los Angeles Rams) and the previous year’s winner (Kansas City Chiefs) both had Blue Gatorade poured on their coach. It was the first time since Super Bowl 44 & 45 when back-to-back years had the same colour (Orange).

MVP Mention

Many NFL bettors enjoy making bets on the Super Bowl MVP. Some of these prop bets allow you to wager on who specifically will win the MVP award, while other wagers let you bet on what position will win the MVP. This prop bet, however, allows bettors to wager on who the Super Bowl MVP winner will thank first in their interview. 

The popular betting choices for this wager include; God, their teammates, their family, their coach, their city, the team owner, and not thanking anyone at all. The history on this bet is pretty random, but the last two Super Bowls have started a trend with Cooper Kupp and Patrick Mahomes, the MVPs of the last two Super Bowls, have both thanked their teammates first in their interviews. 

Jersey Number

The jersey number is very important for an NFL player. Not only does it represent their brand, each position is only allowed a range of numbers to wear on their jerseys. Keeping that in mind is super important when it comes to any jersey number-related prop bet. The most popular prop bet is whether the jersey number of the person who scores first will be over or under a certain number. 

It is important to note that quarterbacks and kickers have numbers 1-19, running backs have 20-49, and tight ends have 80-89. Wide receivers, however, can wear either the range of 80-89 or 10-19. While these are the primary scorers on the field, don’t forget about defensive touchdowns or the occasional offensive lineman touchdown. Recently sportsbooks have expanded on to the jersey number prop bet by adding wagers like “Over/Under jersey number of the player who scores the most points” or “Over/Under jersey number of the player who scores last in the game”.

What Next?

Betting on prop bets for NFL games is some of the most fun that you can have at a sportsbook. The bets don’t have an immediate effect on the outcome of the game, meaning that they can hit or miss at any moment, leading to the next one. With the 2022 regular NFL season fast approaching, it's time you brush up on all the other prop bets and different NFL wagers you can make before or during the season.