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Winners Club: Analyzing the Player Prop Bet Market in Super Bowl LVII
The Big Game is now just nine days away, and it's quite a hot ticket to get into State Farm Stadium on Feb. 12.
Do you know which way you're leaning yet?
Are you backing the Super Bowl favorite Eagles or the underdog Chiefs? What about investing in the over of 50.5 points or banking on a defensive slugfest? And how about the many choices available in the bountiful player prop market?
There are many options to choose from, and lucky for you, SI Betting is diving into all of them as Super Bowl LVII approaches.
In today's Winners Club, you'll find:
- Patrick Mahomes' history as an underdog
- Mecole Hardman doubtful to play vs. the Eagles
- Super Bowl MVP betting odds
- Passing, rushing, receiving and kicking props
- Michael Fabiano's fantasy Pro Bowl roster
- Top fantasy baseball pitchers and hitters
- Odds to win the 2023 Stanley Cup
Super Bowl LVII Betting Markets to Explore
Before we get into the many alternative prop bets you can make ahead of the Chiefs-Eagles showdown, let's keep it simple and talk about the spread.
Patrick Mahomes is about to be an underdog in the playoffs for the first time in his career.
He's played in 13 postseason games, including two Super Bowls, but this is the first time he'll ever be giving points. Since this is such a rare occurrence, I reviewed the nine times in Mahomes' career he's been installed as an underdog. (Spoiler: He's a tough player to bet against.)
And one more bit of housekeeping: Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Thursday that he doubts receiver Mecole Hardman (abdomen) will be able to play in the Super Bowl. Hardman played in the AFC championship and totaled four touches in his first game action since November.
Of the 56 Super Bowl MVP awards in history, 31 have gone to starting signal-callers. Frankie Taddeo walks you through the odds, which naturally starts with Jalen Hurts and Mahomes, who has already won the award once.
Piacenti projects quite a few rushing touchdowns in this contest, but a pass-catcher actually has the best odds of finding the end zone. Get the odds for virtually every possible touchdown scorer to score six first, last or anytime.
Bettors can wager over/under on passing yards, passing touchdowns, interceptions, longest completion and more. Philadelphia is a tough defense to throw on, and the Eagles like to run the ball. Jen Piacenti explains how that affects Hurts and Mahomes prospects in this contest.
The Eagles have a stable of capable running backs at their disposal and Hurts, a dual-threat. The Chiefs rely heavily on rookie Isiah Pacheco and occasional Mahomes scrambles. Piacenti touched on all the available rushing prop bets.
One All-Pro pass catcher is lining up for either offense: tight Travis Kelce for Kansas City and receiver A.J. Brown for Philadelphia. Mahomes and Hurts both have other weapons to throw to, though. Piacenti wrote about the two top targets and the other options both quarterbacks have at their disposal.
In a projected high-scoring contest, kickers Jake Elliott and Harrison Butker will likely get a fair amount of action, right? Michael Fabiano touches on their postseason history and where the lines for their field goal, extra point and total kicking points props stand.
The first-ever Pro Bowl games got underway Thursday night from Las Vegas with events like longest drive and dodgeball. The main event—flag football—is set for Sunday. Check out the complete schedule for the weekend's events to see who is participating in what.
And Fabiano also picked his fantasy football Pro Bowl starting lineup, headlined by Mahomes, of course. See who else made the cut.
Gear Up for Fantasy Baseball Season
Pitchers and catchers report to spring training in less than two weeks. That means baseball is almost back, folks.
To get you ready for the season, which doesn't begin until March 30, Matt De Lima ranked the best fantasy baseball pitchers in the game and the top hitters. Brewers ace Corbin Burnes stands atop the list, and Phillies shortstop Trea Turner is No. 1 on the hitters list.
Dive into the complete rankings to get a feel for where the top players stack up, and you can sort by position with a handy spreadsheet at the bottom of each page.
Top Teams by World Series Odds at SI Sportsbook
Houston Astros +550
Los Angeles Dodgers +600
New York Mets +700
New York Yankees +800
Atlanta Braves +900
Toronto Blue Jays +1000
San Diego Padres +1000
Philadelphia Phillies +1600
Seattle Mariners +1600
St. Louis Cardinals +2200
Tampa Bay Rays +2200
In Other News
Bruins Own Best Odds to win 2023 Stanley Cup: Boston has the best record in the NHL and is a clear favorite to hoist the Cup. It stands ahead of the defending champions Avalanche (+600), Hurricanes (+800), Maple Leafs (+900) and Devils (+1000).
Checking in on NBA Championship Futures Odds: The Celtics, who won the Eastern Conference a season ago, have the shortest odds (+350) to get back to the Finals and win it all this season. Out West, the Nuggets (+650) own the best odds to win it all behind Boston and Milwaukee (+550).
Updated March Madness Projected Field of 68: Illinois and Marquette are both trending in the right direction, with conference tournaments approaching. And after Tennessee's road loss to Florida, Kansas is back to a No. 1 seed.
LeBron James Inches Closer to All-Time Scoring Record: After scoring 26 points Thursday in a win over the Pacers, James is just 63 points shy of passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most points ever. Los Angeles wraps up its road trip Saturday in New Orleans and then returns home to host Oklahoma City on Tuesday.
NBA Announces All-Star Game Reserves: MVP candidate Joel Embiid headlined the release of the seven reserves from the Eastern and Western Conference. As always, there were some surprises and snubs with the final rosters now set.
As always, thanks for reading. I'll be back in your inbox Wednesday for Super Bowl week. Enjoy your weekend.
Kyle is based in Washington, D.C. He writes the Winners Club newsletter and is a fantasy and betting writer for SI. His work has appeared in the Tampa Bay Times, Orlando Sentinel, Miami Herald and Gainesville Sun.