Super Bowl LII Bets You Shouldn’t Make

Now that we’re down to one game to decide the champion of the 2017-18 NFL season, you can imagine that the sports betting action for this matchup is getting intense. Sure, you can bet on the game’s outcome straight up and against the spread, and you can bet over or under on the point total, but that’s just where it begins. There are all sorts of wagers out there that you can take, on everything from whether President Trump will attend the game to how many times the NBC broadcasters, Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth, will say the word “dynasty.” But there are some Super Bowl LII props that you should definitely avoid.

Super Bowl LII Bets You Shouldn’t Make

The @Eagles. The @Patriots. See you in Minneapolis! #GoPats #FlyEaglesFly #SBLII pic.twitter.com/CASwWvUpXC

— NFL (@NFL) January 22, 2018

Will Tom Brady wear a bandage on his right hand?

Yes -130 / No +100

Brady had a black strip of tape that covered the stitches that were put in his hand after Rex Burkhead gashed it with his helmet in handoff practice the Wednesday before the AFC championship. Yes, Brady rested his hand in that glorified fanny pack between plays, but he would have done the same thing without the tape, given the weather outside. Bill Belichick likes to play coy with medical news – and there’s nothing keeping this from becoming sheer guesswork.

Length of the national anthem (sung by Pink)

Over 2:00 -180 / Under 2:00 + 140

A standard rendition of the national anthem takes between 80 and 90 seconds. However, when a celebrity gets involved, the song can string out significantly. If you know Pink’s style, you know that she doesn’t have an ornate style – but who knows how long she could draw it out? Once again, you’re dealing with a lot of guesswork, this time, which relies on one person’s decision process.

Odds a player in the game appears in a commercial (49/1)

We don’t know what commercials have stayed under wraps in the days leading up to the Super Bowl. Aaron Rodgers, Clay Matthews and Larry Fitzgerald have appeared in major commercial pushes lately, but who knows if Tom Brady will show up in a spot? None of the players on the Eagles have developed much of a major media presence, but who’s to say that Campbell’s Soup isn’t going to get a new Eagle to take the spot that Donovan McNabb had for so many years?

Over/Under for Donald Trump Tweets during the game (3.5)

President Trump is in enough trouble after the rumored revelations of his affair with a porn star while his wife (now the First Lady) was giving birth to their son Barron. So if the President does tune in to the game (instead of treating his wife to a Blue Room full of flowers and as much spa treatment as she can imagine), one could hope that he will keep his social media presence to a minimum. But who knows? And do you want your money riding on what this President will do?

Super Bowl MVP

Picking this before the game is tough. You know you should probably pick a quarterback – after all, no position has won this trophy more times. Tom Brady already has four Super Bowl MVP trophies, and six of the last eight have gone to quarterbacks. However in a game like this, where Brady sits as the -150 favorite, this isn’t a bet where you’re going to make a ton of money. Nick Foles (+600) looks attractive, but if the Eagles win, will it be because he had a huge day, or will it be because of the Eagles’ defense? I’d stay away from this prop too.

Please don’t pick the Eagles to win by at least 43 points

The odds are +12500 for this wager. But only one Super Bowl has ever had a margin that big – Super Bowl XXIV, which San Francisco won over Denver, 55-10. There are a lot of other fun props that offer hefty odds that are a lot more likely to come true.