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Super Bowl LV prop bets: Masks, nostrils, some things not suitable for work and more

A sign for Super Bowl LV in Tampa, Fla., Jan. 31, 2021. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs will face off Sunday at 6:30 p.m. with just 25,000 fans in the stadium.
A sign for Super Bowl LV in Tampa, Fla., Jan. 31, 2021. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs will face off Sunday at 6:30 p.m. with just 25,000 fans in the stadium. NYT

In the most auspicious way possible, oddsmakers always have plenty of prop bets on the board when the Super Bowl rolls around.

Which player will score the first touchdown?

Which quarterback will complete the most passes?

For Sunday’s matchup between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs — thanks to the persistent coronavirus pandemic — sports books have added a bizarre twist to their betting lineup.

Which means that typical prop bets are being ambuscaded by bolder prop bets with a 2021 drunken hue, such as this jewel on BetOnline.ag:

Which will be the first coach to have their nostrils seen first during the game?

We’re taking Tampa Bay head coach Bruce Arians.

Betting on the big game for the casual gambler usually includes tossing cash into office pools — something most people are missing this year, according a survey done by the American Gaming Association.

And high-stakes gamblers will certainly weigh in on the traditional wagers: Kansas City is a three-point favorite over Tampa Bay and the over-under for total points scored is 56.

But prop bets throw an amusing alternative into the mix.

“The goal is to get everyone to split 50-50 to make money, and often bets in the past year(s) help,” Edward Egros, a sports analytic specialist for FanDuel, tells McClatchy News. “There are so many props that, as a bettor, I prefer trying to make money that way than the mainstream bets of the spread and total. There are so many props that something is bound to be inefficient. If I find those, I’m likely to profit.”

Some of your run-of-the-mill prop bets on sites like FanDuel and DraftKings include “who will be the Super Bowl MVP (Patrick Mahomes leads at –105 on FanDuel). Or “what color will be the Gatorade dumped on the winning coach (DraftKings has the winner being orange at +125)?

And then you have the more blithesome odds from BetOnline and MyBookie. Here are some of the most intriguing:

BetOnline

What will be said first by Tony Romo?

Read: 1/1

Penetration: 2/1

Blitz: 9/4

A-Gap: 3/1

Trick Play: 15/2

Andy Reid mask design

Chiefs branded/logo: 1/20

Single color/no logo: 7/2

Hawaiian-themed: 7/1

Coach to have nostrils seen first during game

Bruce Arians: -200 (1/2)

Andy Reid: +150 (3/2)

Will “LeBron” be said during broadcast?

Yes: +325 (13/4)

No: -550 (2/11)

Will Miley Cyrus side boob be seen during TikTok tailgate pre-game show?

Yes: +300 (3/1)

No: -500 (1/5)

My Bookie

Over/Under 2:03 minutes from first to last note of the national anthem

Over: +100

Under: -140

Over/Under 6.5 seconds on the word “brave” to close the national anthem

Over: -155

Under: +115

Will any scoring drive take less time than the national anthem?

Yes: -250

No: +170

TJ Macias
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
TJ Macías is a Real-Time national sports reporter for McClatchy based out of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. Formerly, TJ covered the Dallas Mavericks and Texas Rangers beat for numerous media outlets including 24/7 Sports and Mavs Maven (Sports Illustrated). Twitter: @TayloredSiren
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