Sportsbooks did not like overtime
Let’s be honest – Sunday night’s Super Bowl LVIII between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Franciso 49ers was boring until the fourth quarter. It was just 10-3 at halftime and 13-10 after three quarters and though it was obviously two premier defenses showing out, it felt more like the offenses were inept. It felt less like an exciting, close game than two teams fumbling (literally) the moment.
Things picked up in the fourth quarter though and the game got nerve-wracking for fans of both teams, going to overtime before Patrick Mahomes led the Chiefs on a touchdown drive to win it.
For bettors and sportsbooks, it had to have been a stomach-churning game, especially because the overtime session created huge swings in wagers.
“Overtime was bad,” Caesars Sportsbook Vice President of Trading Craig Mucklow told ESPN. “It was our biggest loser of the prop bets.”
Three big prop bets hit because the game went to overtime. Mahomes, who won his third Super Bowl MVP, hadn’t really done all that much until then and had thrown an interception, but because of his game-winning touchdown pass to Mecole Hardman on a brilliant play call, he went over 1.5 TD passes.
San Francisco’s Christian McCaffrey, who had a solid game despite an early fumble, amassed 44 yards from scrimmage in the overtime period to climb over 129.5. And SF quarterback Brock Purdy eclipsed the props of over 20.5 completions and 246.5 passing yards because of overtime.
Kneel down is brutal
Purdy, though, was also the center of a gigantic bad beat, or incredible victory, depending on one’s side of the wager. The consensus total on Purdy’s rushing yards – he is a capable runner from the quarterback position – was 12.5. He had 13 yards as regulation wound down. But after the Chiefs kicked a field goal to tie it with a few seconds left, the Niners opted to kneel and send the game to overtime. That kneel by Purdy counted as a one-yard rushing loss, putting his total down to 12. He did not run in OT and the over bettors lost their wagers in an agonizing way.
The Purdy rushing yards over was BetMGM’s most popular prop bet, both by ticket volume and handle, so while the other props hurt the books, this one was a huge plus for them.
That the Chiefs won, though, was bad for the sportsbooks. More money was on the Chiefs than the 49ers, possibly pumped up by the Chiefs’ increased popularity because of Taylor Swift’s relationship with Kansas City’s star tight end Travis Kelce.
Overtime was also bad for the books because it allowed the total to hit the over on many tickets. The total was 47 or 47.5 for much of the week, so the actual total ending at 47 was ok for the bookmakers on early wagers. But many books dropped it to 46.5 on Sunday, OT was a killer for over bets they took the day of the game.
