Super Bowl betting is all about Saquon Barkley.
Caesars Sportsbook had already received tens of thousands of bets involving the Philadelphia Eagles’ generational running back in the days leading up to Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans against the Kansas City Chiefs.
“Every bet seems to be on Saquon Barkley to score an anytime touchdown,” Craig Mucklow, the sportsbook’s lead oddsmaker, told the Daily News. “He leads by two-to-one in ticket counts, and rightly so because of all the scores he’s got this year.”
Barkley’s odds for an anytime touchdown are -190 in what Mucklow described as easily the most-bet market.
His odds to score at least two touchdowns are +290.
The numbers are reflective of the historic season delivered by Barkely, who, in his first year since leaving the Giants, totaled 15 touchdowns in the regular seasons and has five more in the playoffs.
He’s scored in 10 of his 19 games this season, and he’s scored at least twice in seven of them. That includes a two-touchdown performance in the Eagles’ divisional-round win over the Los Angeles Rams and a three-touchdown explosion in their NFC championship game victory over the Washington Commanders.
“It’s all Saquon,” Mucklow said. “If he has a big game, it’s a big day for customers, that’s for sure.”
Barkley ran for 2,005 yards in the regular season and has rushed for at least 118 yards in all three playoff games.
Caesars set Barkley’s Super Bowl over/under prop at 112.5 rushing yards.
“It’s the biggest [number] in a long time, and I’ve been in it for 25 years,” Mucklow said. “I don’t think I’ve put 110+ [yards] on a running back.”
Commanding the second-most bets for an anytime touchdown is Eagles running back Jalen Hurts, followed by Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Both scored multiple rushing touchdowns during championship weekend.
There are also prop bets inspired by Taylor Swift, who is expected to be in attendance to cheer on her boyfriend, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
“The beauty of having Taylor Swift last year and this year is we can go over the same props,” Mucklow said. “The most popular one last year was ‘1989’: Travis Kelce to get one touchdown or more, nine or more receptions and 89 or more receiving yards.”
Of course, “1989” refers to an album released by Swift in 2014.
“Last year, [the ‘1989’ prop was] 4-1 based on how good his season was,” Mucklow said. “This year, we’re 10-1.”
Caesars does not offer odds for things like Swift’s screen time or a surprise halftime show cameo, as those outcomes can be determined by one person and thus could threaten the integrity of the market.
But the sportsbook still offers unusual props, including giving 14-1 odds that someone scores an “octopus.” An octopus occurs when a player scores a touchdown and the subsequent two-point conversion to account for all eight points.
Hurts scored an octopus when the Eagles and Chiefs met in Super Bowl LVII two years ago.
“From a same-game parlay perspective, the biggest liability now for Caesars is Travis Kelce, Xavier Worthy, A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith all to score touchdowns,” Mucklow said. “That pays 60-1.”
Caesars had already received six six-figure bets on the Eagles, and another for the teams to combine for under 49.5 points, in the days leading up to the Super Bowl. The Chiefs are 1.5-point favorites.
“We broke a record in Nevada last year, which is $185 million, and that’s because the Super Bowl was held there,” Mucklow said. “We’re hoping that the passionate fans of New Orleans will do exactly the same this year. It’s on the trajectory right now, but 60% of the money doesn’t come until Sunday.”