Sports
-
Doug Greenberg
Feb 2, 2024, 10:13 AM ET
The NFL’s season-long frenzy surrounding Taylor Swift is headed to the Super Bowl in Las Vegas.
As the fervor around Travis Kelce’s superstar girlfriend hits the betting capital of the United States, sportsbooks around the country are trying to find ways to capitalize, even if only in a secondary way.
No major U.S. sportsbooks are offering props specifically related to Swift or her actions during the game, as most state regulators, including Nevada, prohibit props that subjective. So American sportsbooks are getting creative with the way they present prop specials to entice Swifties.
ESPN BET is offering several Swift-themed props, including Swift Action (touchdown scored in the first two minutes, +1200), Taylor’s Tailor’s Husband (Kyle Juszczyk to score a touchdown, +900) and MVP Swelce (Kelce to win Super Bowl MVP, +1500). Additionally, ESPN BET has an entire section dedicated to Kelce-themed props appropriately titled “Swelce Specials.”
Nevada-based operator STN Sports is offering a “Tight End vs. Pop Star” prop that asks whether Kelce will have more receptions in the game than Swift’s 10 platinum albums (11 or more receptions +450, exactly 10 receptions +320, 9 or fewer receptions -260).
In general, Kelce is one of the most popular prop options on the board.
Kelce is BetMGM’s largest remaining liability to win Super Bowl MVP (+1400) now that Lamar Jackson has been eliminated from contention. Kelce is the book’s most-bet player to score a touchdown (-110) and his receptions prop (over 6.5, -140) ranks fifth among all players in the game — but with 99% of money on the over.
At FanDuel, Kelce has the most bets for anytime touchdown scorer (26%) and the most bets (34%) and handle (23%) to be the first touchdown scorer. At DraftKings, Kelce is the most-bet first touchdown scorer and the second-most-bet anytime TD scorer and two-TD scorer (both behind Christian McCaffrey).
Kelce leads the Super Bowl MVP (20.4%, +1400), first touchdown (13.6%, +750) and anytime TD markets (+105) at ESPN BET.
Though U.S.-based sportsbooks can’t directly offer Swift props, those in Ontario, Canada, can, as the laws relating to props there are a bit more lax.
TheScore Bet — Penn Entertainment’s Canadian online betting brand — is offering a prop on the predominant color of Swift’s top at opening kickoff, notably excluding any jacket she might be wearing; red is, of course, the favorite at -300, with white (+250), black (+1000), yellow (+3000) and any other color (+2400) filling in the field.
Bettors at TheScore Bet can also wager on the odds of Swift being shown during the national anthem (-200), during the halftime show (+120) and more than 5.5 times on the CTV broadcast (+120).
Another popular Swift prop across Ontario sportsbooks is the odds of her being mentioned during the Super Bowl MVP’s speech after the game. TheScore Bet is offering the “Yes” option at +550, while the Canadian counterparts at BetMGM (+650) and FanDuel (+600) are running a bit longer. FanDuel told ESPN that the “Yes” wager is currently attracting 65% of the bets compared to “No” at -1100.
“The Super Bowl has a great history of these types of bets, and we’re excited to be able to link pop culture and sport through our Travis Kelce/Taylor Swift offerings,” said a representative for the FanDuel Canada trading team.
But for all the hype, the sportsbooks we asked did not report any increase in new users being involved in Swelce-related betting — though that could change in the lead-up to the Feb. 11 game.
“Travis Kelce is going to get bets regardless, as he’s one of the most popular players in the league,” Caesars assistant director of trading Adam Pullen told ESPN. “Next week, when the more casual bettors start betting is something we’ll be interested in.”
And then there’s the big question: FanDuel Canada is offering a prop that Kelce will propose to Swift on the field after the game. That prop is running at +1060 odds for the “Yes” option with 55% of the bets, which could be an indication that sharp bettors were quick to act, as the “No” option first opened at -250. It is -3000 as of Friday morning.
