The days of just betting on which team will win a game are over. Today, sports fans can place wagers on practically anything.
Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11 will include an increasing number of prop bets: player statistics; coin toss outcome; how long the national anthem will be; who will score a touchdown; the exact score in each quarter; the color of the Gatorade dumped on the winning coach and more.
Even a well-covered NFL romance between a tight end and a pop star has also made its way to sportsbooks.
What Happened: Taylor Swift‘s relationship with Travis Kelce, the Kansas City Chiefs' tight end, played out in front of the public throughout 2023.
The relationship became the subject of betting odds from sportsbooks, helped increase viewership for media companies, and created increased brand value for the NFL.
FanDuel, a unit of Flutter Entertainment FLUT, posted odds for several Swift and Kelce props this week, but they're not available to U.S. residents and only to bettors in legalized Canadian regions.
One of the betting options is "Will Travis Kelce propose to Taylor Swift?"
The initial odds of the bet were +190 for “yes” and -250 for “no,” as shared by Covers.
Within a half hour, bettors had quickly impacted the line, with most people betting that no proposal will happen at the game between the two stars.
As of Tuesday, the current betting odds are +920 for “yes” and -2200 for “no.” FanDuel is also limiting bettors to 100 Canadian Dollars on the betting odds, or around US$75.
This means a bettor would win $690 if they bet the equivalent of $75 on “yes” and an on-field proposal happens after Super Bowl LVIII. A bettor could win the equivalent of around $3.41 if they bet the $75 equivalent on “no proposal” and the two don't get engaged.
Another betting option is whether the Super Bowl MVP winner will thank Swift in their speech. The betting odds are +600 for “yes” and -1100 for “no.” This bet is also only available in Canada from FanDuel.
Related Link: FanDuel Parent Flutter Lists On NYSE: How It Could Impact Sports Betting Rival DraftKings
Why It's Important: The Super Bowl is the largest individual sporting event in the U.S. each year and will see millions bet on who will win the game between the Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers.
However, Swift — if she attends — is bound to get plenty of attention before, during, and after the big game.
Rumors emerged that the two could get engaged this year with some gossip sites already believing the two got engaged around New Year's Eve.
College football fans may remember one of the most viral sports engagements ever that happened during the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. Boise State running back Ian Johnson proposed to girlfriend and Boise State cheerleader after his team upset Oklahoma in the game.
There are several items at work for either of the bets above to be winning wagers on yes. For Kelce to propose to Swift, the Chiefs would need to win the game — making it a back-to-back Super Bowl victory.
The 49ers are currently two-point favorites in the game. A person winning MVP and shouting out Swift would also likely need to be a Chiefs player winning, and one that would mention a singer like Kelce or potentially Patrick Mahomes.
With so many players, coaches and fans to thank, would a person other than Kelce use their time to thank Swift? Kelce to win Super Bowl MVP pays out at odds of +1,200, ranking fourth behind Mahomes, Brock Purdy and Christian McCaffrey at +120, +225 and +475 respectively.
Super Bowl LVIII will air on CBS and Nickelodeon. It will also stream on Paramount+, the on-demand platform of Paramount Global Inc PARAPARAA. Paramount, which also owns CBS and Nickelodeon, has benefitted from strong NFL ratings.
With Swift expected to attend Super Bowl LVIII, viewership for the big game could hit new records.
Last year's Super Bowl between the Chiefs and Eagles had an average of 113 million viewers. It set a new six-year high and was the third most-watched television event in history.
Read Next: Taylor Swift Boosts Travis Kelce’s Popularity: Stocks That Could Benefit From The Love Story
Image: Shutterstock
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