Sports betting has become so much more than which team will win, and which team will lose. It has become so much more than, “did they cover the spread?” or “did they go over the total?”
Prop betting is bigger than ever, and it’s set to expand even more in the coming years.
There have long been hundreds of props on the Super Bowl each year, but now we see a bevy of props available to bet on on a random MLB game on a Tuesday night.
With prop betting becoming increasingly popular, these are the 10 Craziest Prop Bets of All Time.
Giannis Triple-Double Stat Correction
If you bet on Giannis to record a triple-double against the Washington Wizards on March 5, 2023, you went to bed happy. By noon the next day? Not so much.
The NBA rescinded Giannis’ triple-double because, in the waning seconds of a 117-111 Bucks win, the Greek Freak sprinted downcourt with the other nine players on the floor at a standstill with the game all but over. Giannis shot a layup against the glass and “missed,” then grabbed a “rebound” to complete a triple-double. He finished with 23 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds … for a few hours.
The 10 rebounds were reduced to nine once the NBA reviewed the tape as Giannis did not shoot “with intent to score a field goal.” It was stat-padding in its purest form. Nice try, Giannis.
Desmond Howard Wins Super Bowl MVP
Desmond Howard was well known to football fans in the 1990s, having won the Heisman Trophy in 1991. By the 1996-97 season, however, Howard was used primarily as a special teams ace. In Super Bowl XXXI against the Patriots, Howard had a key 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the third quarter. Howard posted 154 kickoff return yards and 90 punt return yards in that Super Bowl, as he won Super Bowl MVP honors. He is the only player to have primarily played special teams to have won the award. Players that primarily play special teams usually have around +10000 odds to win Super Bowl MVP.
Pitch Clock Kills the Balls and Strikes Prop
Live (or in-play) betting accounts for over half of sports wagers. One of the most popular live prop bets of all-time was “ball or strike?”
The “red or black” of baseball betting, “ball or strike” is as simple a bet as you can make. Is the next pitch going to be a ball? Or is it going to be a strike?
Prior to start of the 2023 MLB season, this was a wildly popular prop. Sportsbooks and bettors had enough time before each pitch to place odds on whether or not the next pitch would be a ball or a strike.
But in 2023, MLB introduced the pitch clock. Pitchers used to be able to take their sweet time before throwing a pitch, allowing odds to be set. But with most TV broadcasts on a delay, and with pitchers typically only having 15 seconds to throw a pitch, this prop has basically gone the way of the dinosaur.
Devin Hester’s Opening Kickoff Return for TD in Super Bowl XLI
Devin Hester is widely known as the greatest return man in NFL history. His legacy was stamped on Feb. 4, 2007 in Super Bowl XLI when he became the only man in history to return the Super Bowl opening kickoff for a touchdown. It took Hester just 14 seconds to put points on the board against the Colts, as he scampered 92 yards for the game’s opening score.
Vegas was surely hurting that day, as the Super Bowl opening kickoff returned for a TD odds typically go around +10000 these days. Hester holds the NFL record for most total return touchdowns (14 punt returns, 5 kickoff returns, 1 missed field goal return).
MJ vs. the 49ers in 1990
A big prop on Super Bowl Sunday each year features a star player on whichever NBA team is playing prior to the Big Game. For instance, before this year’s Super Bowl the Knicks played the Celtics. You could bet on if Karl-Anthony Towns would score more points than the Patriots. KAT scored just 11 points and Pats bettors barely won as New England scored only 13 points against the Seahawks. This cross-over prop began back in 1990 when you could bet on who would score more points on Super Bowl Sunday: the 49ers or Michael Jordan. Jordan scored 39 points that day, but the Niners wound up blowing out the Broncos, 55-10. It was a win for Niners bettors.
Bam Adebayo’s 83 Points
Imagine having had bet the Over on Bam Adebayo points the night of March 10, 2026? You would have won the bet before the first quarter ended. Bam’s points O/U was set at just 23.5 points that night. Max alt-scoring odds typically only go up to around double of a player’s points per game average. For instance, a player that averages around 16 points per game will usually have a max alt point total of around 32 points at Fanatics Sportsbook.
Live betting got pretty insane that night with Vegas offering an O/U of 100+ points for Bam at one point.
Jalen Hurts “Octopus” in Super Bowl LVII
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts recorded the only “octopus” in Super Bowl history on Feb. 12, 2023. An “octopus” in football is when one player scores a touchdown and then that same player scores on a 2-point conversion. That’s 6 points plus 2 points, equaling 8 points. Eight … Like an Octopus … get it?!
With 5:15 left in the fourth quarter, Hurts scored a TD on a 2-yard run. He then followed it up with another 2-yard run on the 2-point conversion attempt to complete the octopus. Any player to score an octopus in Super Bowl 57 had +1400 odds.
Gladys Knight National Anthem at Super Bowl LIII
Gladys Knight must think the word “brave” is so nice, because she sang it twice prior to kickoff of Super Bowl LIII between the LA Rams and New England Patriots. While The Empress of Soul’s rendition was sterling overall, the “double brave” at the end of the song sent the betting world into a tizzy. The National Anthem prop bet for how long the song would go was set at 1 minute and 50 seconds. When Knight finished the word “brave” the first time, 1 minute and 49 seconds had gone by - a winner for Under bettors. When she finished the word brave for a second time, nearly 2 minutes had gone by - a win for Over bettors. Most books went with the Over considering most house rules state that the timing doesn’t stop until the conclusion of the last note sung.
Patrick Mahomes Rushing Yards Sept. 22, 2024 vs. Falcons
When you look up sports betting’s worst bad beats of all-time you’ll typically see a parade of NFL bettors getting their dreams crushed on the spread. In terms of props, though, this one is as bad as it gets.
If you had the Over on Patrick Mahomes rushing yards in Week 3 of the 2024 NFL season, sincerest condolences.
Mahomes had 30 rushing yards entering the Chiefs’ final possession against the Falcons. That easily eclipsed the 19.5 rushing yards total that Vegas had set prior to the game. The Chiefs had clock to kill and Atlanta still had two timeouts, however, so what we got was a barrage of Mahomes going backwards. Mahomes kneeled the ball three straight times for losses of five, four, and four yards. The negative yardage counted against his rushing total, so he officially finished with 17 yards rushing: 2.5 yards shy of the number.
William “The Refrigerator” Perry TD Prop
William “The Refrigerator” Perry changed sports betting forever when he plunged across the goal line at the New Orleans Superdome in Super Bowl XX. Las Vegas had set up a prop bet prior to the game, with long 20-1 odds, that Perry would score a touchdown in that year’s Big Game against the Patriots. Vegas figured that there was no way that the 335-pound defensive tackle would get the call at the goal line over Walter Payton, but Bears head coach Mike Ditka gave Perry the pigskin, and the big man barrelled over Pats linebacker Larry McGrew for 6.
While Vegas bookmakers were furious at the loss at first, it opened up a new cottage industry of prop betting that has exploded over the past 40 years.
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