Super Bowl Prop Bets and Exotic Bets: The Complete List

The Super Bowl is the single biggest betting event of the year. Sportsbooks offer hundreds of prop bets that go far beyond who wins the game. You can bet on the coin toss, the length of the national anthem, the color of the Gatorade shower, and everything in between.

Some of these are pure entertainment. Others have real edges if you know where to look. Here's the full breakdown.

Player performance props

These are the most common Super Bowl props and the closest to standard sports betting. They work the same as regular-season player props, just with more options and more public attention.

Passing props

• Passing yards over/under: Total yards for a quarterback. Usually set around the QB's season average, adjusted for the opponent's pass defense.
• Passing touchdowns over/under: Typically set at 1.5 or 2.5 depending on the QB.
• Interceptions over/under: Usually 0.5 or 1.5. Interceptions are low-frequency events, making these hard to price accurately.
• Longest completion over/under: The longest single pass completion in yards.
• First pass attempt: complete or incomplete?

Rushing props

• Rushing yards over/under for individual RBs and QBs.
• Rushing touchdowns over/under
• Longest rush over/under
• First rushing attempt: direction (some books offer left/middle/right)

Receiving props

• Receiving yards over/under for key receivers
• Receptions over/under
• Receiving touchdowns (anytime TD scorer): Bet whether a specific player scores a receiving touchdown at any point.
• First reception of the game

Anytime touchdown scorer

One of the most popular Super Bowl prop markets. You bet on whether a specific player scores a TD at any point during the game. Odds vary by player role: a starting RB might be -130, while a backup TE might be +500.

The vig on anytime TD markets is typically 10-20% higher than standard markets because sportsbooks know they attract heavy recreational action.

Game props

These are bets on game events rather than individual players.

Scoring props

• First team to score
• Last team to score
• First scoring play type: Touchdown, field goal, or safety
• Will there be a safety? Usually priced around +800 to +1000. Safeties occur in roughly 6-7% of NFL games according to NFL.com's historical stats.
• Will there be a pick-six?
• Will there be a defensive/special teams touchdown?
• Total touchdowns over/under
• Total field goals over/under
• Highest-scoring quarter
• Will any quarter be scoreless?

Time and sequence props

• First team to score in each quarter
• Will the game go to overtime? Roughly 5-6% of NFL games historically, priced around +1000 to +1400.
• Winning margin: Exact margin or margin range (1-3 points, 4-6 points, etc.)
• Race to X points: Which team reaches 10, 15, or 20 points first?
• Will the lead change X+ times?

Drive props

• Longest drive over/under (yards or plays)
• First drive result: Touchdown, field goal, punt, turnover
• Will either team score on their opening drive?

Exotic and novelty bets

These are the "fun" props that make the Super Bowl unique. They're entertainment-value bets with massive vig, but they're part of the tradition.

Coin toss

• Heads or tails: True 50/50. Sportsbooks offer this at -105 or -110 on each side. The vig is pure profit since the outcome is entirely random.
• Which team wins the coin toss?
• Will the team that wins the coin toss win the game?

The coin toss generates millions in handle despite being the worst bet available (negative EV with zero skill component). It's a tax for entertainment.

National anthem

• Over/under on anthem length: Measured in seconds (or minutes). Research the performer's past anthem performances for a data point. Rehearsal performances sometimes leak the approximate timing.
• Will the performer forget or flub the lyrics?

Halftime show

• First song performed
• Number of songs performed over/under
• Will the performer [specific action]? (change outfits, bring out a guest, etc.)
• Color of performer's outfit

Gatorade (or water) shower

• What color will the Gatorade shower be? Options include orange, yellow, blue, clear/water, red, green, purple. Orange and yellow are historically most common. Books offer this at +300 to +800 per color.

Broadcast props

• Which announcer speaks first after kickoff?
• Will [specific thing] be shown during the broadcast? (celebrity in the crowd, specific ad shown, etc.)
• Over/under on times [word] is said by commentators

Super Bowl squares

Super Bowl squares are the most popular non-sportsbook betting format. A 10x10 grid assigns random digits (0-9) to rows and columns. You buy squares at a flat price. At the end of each quarter, whoever owns the square matching the last digit of each team's score wins a portion of the pool.

Example: If the score at halftime is Chiefs 17, 49ers 10, the winning square is the intersection of 7 (Chiefs column) and 0 (49ers row).

Squares are entirely luck-based since numbers are randomly assigned. The only strategic element is paying a fair price for your squares. Some numbers are historically more common in football scores (0, 7, 3, 4) while others are rare (2, 5, 9). This is a direct result of the NFL's scoring system where touchdowns (6+1 or 6+2) and field goals (3) produce predictable digit patterns.

Where the value is (and isn't)

No value: novelty bets

Coin toss, anthem length, Gatorade color. These carry enormous vig (often 15-30%) and are priced based on limited or no data. They exist for entertainment, not profit.

Thin value: game props with limited data

Will there be a safety? Will there be overtime? These are low-frequency events with small sample sizes. Sportsbooks price them conservatively (in their favor) because the market is thin and there's no sharp money correcting them.

Potential value: player performance props

This is where edges actually exist. Player props in the Super Bowl attract massive recreational action, which can push lines away from true value. When the public hammers the star QB's passing yards over, the line moves up, creating potential value on the under.

The same +EV principles apply here as any other game. Compare the sportsbook's line against sharp pricing or your own model. If there's a discrepancy, there's potential edge.

Bet Hero scans player prop markets and flags +EV opportunities. Super Bowl prop markets are especially inefficient because of the volume of recreational money flowing in.

Best value: cross-book line shopping

With hundreds of props available, different sportsbooks often disagree on the number. One book might set Patrick Mahomes passing yards at 275.5 while another has it at 280.5. Shopping for the best line across books, what we call line shopping, is always worthwhile but pays off most during the Super Bowl when there are so many markets to compare.

Super Bowl betting tips

1. Don't bet everything. The sheer number of available props creates FOMO. Having an opinion on every market doesn't mean you should bet every market. Stick to spots where you have a genuine edge or at least a data-backed view.

2. Player props are the sharpest opportunity. Focus your research and bankroll here rather than novelty bets.

3. Line shop aggressively. More props = more pricing disagreements between books. Use odds comparison tools to find the best number on each prop.

4. Beware parlay traps. Sportsbooks heavily promote "Super Bowl parlay builders" because parlays compound the vig in their favor. Don't get pulled into 8-leg prop parlays because the potential payout looks exciting.

5. Bet early on props with limited liquidity. Some exotic props have low limits and close early. If you have a view, act before the line moves or the market closes.