2017 Fun Super Bowl Bets

Approximately $92 million was bet in Las Vegas on the Super Bowl last year. It's estimated that another $1 billion was bet off the books. For every $1 bet at the official sportsbooks, something like 10 times that about is bet between friends (or more underhanded means). Still, when people swapping bets in the break room at work or at the Super Bowl party, they usually look to the prop bets offered by Las Vegas giants like Caesars Palace and the MGM Grand for their inspiration. That's what will inspire me today, but after that, I want to offer one-of-a-kind fun bets Vegas and Bovada haven't thought about.

New Parlay Odds at BetOnline

When coming up with fun Super Bowl bets, my first suggestion is to make sure these keep you entertained throughout the day's events. This means you need to have one big wager on the final outcome of the Super Bowl or many smaller wagers on various happenings throughout the game. I'll discuss both approaches to betting on football games throughout this article, then reach conclusions about your best options when betting on Super Bowl XLVII, Super Bowl XLVIII, and beyond.

Super Bowl Pointspread and Over/Under Bets

I've discussed these bet types in great detail already, so I won't elaborate too much more. The reason prefer these bets so much is they give the most bang for the buck. These are wagers which remain relevant throughout the game, so they keep you entertained throughout the afternoon or evening. Betting on the winner or the total points is easily trackable. In the case of point spreads, the ebb and flow of the game means you get maximum excitement as you're either winning or losing at the moment. Always, the prospect of a comeback gives you the hope or dread that the current circumstances change.

In the case of super bowl over & under bets, your entertainment is more linear, which explains why it's not quite as popular as betting on who wins and loses. At a point in many of the over and under bets, you either pass the threshold into the over and the bet is won or lost, or you realize the teams have no realistic chance of hitting the over, and the bet is either virtually won or lost. Only in certain games is the outcome in doubt until late in the fourth quarter. Many gamblers are perfectly fine with that, since they only want to win (and want to end the suffering if they lose). Since many gamblers prefer the adrenaline rush of the bet itself, they prefer their chances hanging on the razor's edge.

This is especially the case when we're talking about side bets with friends where plenty of trash-talking takes place. Such wagers get back to the reason many football viewers become the fans of one team or another. It's simply more fun to have a personal stake in the outcome--real or imagined.

Super Bowl Coin Toss and Gatorade Prop Bet

Millions of people bet on the coin toss at the big game last year. That might not sound funny at first, but think about all the people at home cheering or cursing the flip of a single coin. Betting on the Super Bowl coin toss adds the excitement most fans get for an overtime tossing of the coin. The Gatorade shower is another popular source of wacky bets casino's offer.

Lebron James versus Eli Manning Bet

One fun bet last year was whether Eli Manning would have more completions than Lebron James had points in his NBA basketball game the night of the Super Bowl. At the time, both were on pretty good streaks of 30+ points or completions.

Dow Jones Average Proposition Bet

Another favorite and fun super bowl bet is whether the Dow Jones Industrial Average (New York Stock Exchange) goes up on the Monday after the Super Bowl or not. I suggest this as your double-or-nothing bet if you lose on your gambles at the Super Bowl party next year. If the team from the NFC wins the Super Bowl, bet "up". If the team from the AFC wins the Super Bowl, bet "down". Disregard and bet the opposite if the New York Jets make the Super Bowl. The fact is, the NFC had the pick of American cities and therefore has the largest, richest, most economically important cities in America. At the same time, if a New York City team wins the world title, that assures the Dow Jones goes up. Statistics always show that workers are more energized on Monday if their football team won on Sunday.

Humorous Super Bowl Wagers - My Own Suggestions

Now that we've gone over a few of the wacky suggestions Las Vegas put out there last, I want to make a few suggestions myself. Some of these are variations on the odd prop bets we've discussed on this site before, while other are entirely my own flourish.

First Reception/Tackle - To get things started, have a pool based on the first tackle and the first reception. This should comprise no more than the first possession of the game. Exclude the kickoff from this bet. Have the vertical column for the receptions and the horizontal column for the tackles. To save on time, you can do a variation of this at the beginning of each quarter or coming out of each commercial break.

First Stoppage for Injury - Since Super Bowl 47 is going to take place in the New Orleans Superdome, this is in honor of the New Orleans Saints Bounty Scandal. It's a little dark, but have a pool on who the first player to leave the field due to an injury. This probably needs to be an official stoppage to avoid any disputes. This has the advantage of letting a much larger pool of players be chosen--pretty much everyone on the both rosters.

First Celebrity Shown/Mentioned - Once kickoff happens, this prop bet pays for the first celebrity who is shown in the stands or mentioned by the broadcasters. This could be the National Anthem singer, the halftime performers, people touting whatever lousy series premier happens after the Super Bowl, a girlfriend of one of the players on the field, or just a random celeb in the crowd. Let people get inventive, offering up a name for each $1 they put in the pool. This could be highly controversial, because celebrity mentions could be overlooked in a loud room. Sports celebrities don't count and commercials don't count.

Beer Commercial Prop Bet - Speaking of Super Bowl commercials, people can also make bets on which type of beer has the first commercial--and every beer commercial after that. If you want to be more inclusive, you could expand the bet to include "beverages" like Coke and Pepsi. You could probably turn this into a drinking game, too.

Dumb Husband Over/Under Bet - Set an over & under on the number of commercials which include stupid, moronic, bone-headed husbands, boyfriends, or dads in them. It's grist for the commercial wheel these days to have adult males being outwitted by everything. Set an over/under of 4.5 and have a betting line at the party. You can do a variation of this bet with the next subject (funny animals), but you'll have to increase the over/under to something like 7.5 or 8.5. Include the 0.5, because you don't want pushes on this bet.

Animal or Baby Prop Bet - I'm not sure if you've ever noticed, but a lot of Super Bowl commercials these days go for the quick laughs with either cute babies or funny animals. Posit a proposition bet on which appears first: a funny baby commercial or a funny animal commercials. If you think this skews too heavily for the animals, you can limit the betting to certain kinds of animals: dogs, cats, horses, cows, marine animals, monkeys, and so on. Get these details nailed down before the bets are placed. Be sure to stipulate human beings don't count.

Entertaining NFL Bets

These are just a few ideas to get you started. Once you start thinking about the funny Super Bowl bets, you'll start coming up with all kinds of wacky super bowl proposition bets. The possibilities are endless. Know your audience, though. If kids are around or you're in mixed company with the wife's religious in-laws, tone down the off-color bets until next year.