The first week of Super Bowl LIX betting showed bettors are all over the Eagles outright. ESPN BET reported Thursday night Philadelphia received the bulk of moneyline bets in 17 out of the sportsbook’s 20 U.S. jurisdictions. The Chiefs got over 50% in just Arizona, Kansas, and New York.
Whether bettors are just tired of Super Bowl betting odds favorite Kansas City (-125), going for its third consecutive championship, or they love the plus money on the +105 underdogs is something to follow heading into the Big Game at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans Feb. 9.
"The first week of Super Bowl prep has bettors loving Eagles moneyline,” BetMGM trading manager Christian Cipollini said. “However, with our futures liability on the Chiefs factored in the book still needs the Eagles right now.”
BetMGM saw 62% of the tickets and 61% of the handle on the Eagles' moneyline. More than 55% of ML wagers at ESPN BET backed Philadelphia, but the Chiefs saw more handle at 64.1%.
DraftKings' latest has the Eagles (+110) getting 55% of the bets and a slight 53% of the money to win outright. As 1.5-point favorites, the Chiefs have 59% of the tickets and 55% of the handle in the spread market at DK. BetMGM also saw more bets on the reigning champs but 51% of the money on the Eagles while ESPN BET is up to nearly 60% of the handle backing Philly.
Popular markets
Bettors also got an early start on several other markets, including novelty props like the coin toss and Gatorade bath.
The most-bet prop at BetMGM and the one with the highest handle at ESPN BET is the receiving total Over for Philadelphia tight end Dallas Goedert. BetMGM has it at 51.5 yards (-115) while ESPN BET’s number is lower at 49.5 yards.
“Other heavily bet markets include Patrick Mahomes rushing props, the coin toss, and Saquon finding the endzone,” Cipollini said.
The Over for Mahomes’ 11.5 longest run yards and 5.5 rushing attempts are BetMGM's fourth and fifth most-bet player props. The Chiefs' quarterback’s 200-plus passing yards prop saw more tickets than any other at ESPN BET. Kansas City wideout Xavier Worthy’s Over 5.5 rushing yards is second. Worthy is second in ESPN BET handle for his Under 5.5 receptions.
Barkley making history
Incredibly popular Eagles' running back Saquon Barkley could become the most-bet player ever by the time Super Bowl LIX kicks off. He probably deserves his own section at most sportsbooks.
He leads both the anytime touchdown and first touchdown markets at BetMGM and a few of his other player props are getting hit hard. Barkley is also the most-bet player to win Super Bowl MVP.
He’s getting 21.7% of the tickets and 21.2% of the handle at BetMGM. ESPN BET reported 28.2% of the bets and 38.2% of the money on Barkley, who has the shortest odds of any non-QB in over 20 years.
BetMGM reported four times the number of bets are on a running back/fullback to win Super Bowl MVP at +200 than on either QB to win the honor at -250. However, Chiefs' tight end Travis Kelce, who’s getting 17.3% of the handle, is the biggest liability at BetMGM's market.
