Ah, the Super Bowl national anthem. Some of the most popular prop bets for the game are on the Star-Spangled Banner performance. The outcomes depend on the singer (or singers), the weather, the acoustics, and which players/coaches the television production team just happens to show during the song.
So how do you bet on the props for this? Let’s take a look at the facts at hand.
Super Bowl LV’s national anthem will be a rare duet featuring country singer Eric Church and R&B artist Jazmine Sullivan. The over/under on the length of their performance is one minute and 59 seconds (EVEN -140).
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Church hasn’t performed the national anthem before, but Sullivan has. She did the honors at a Philadelphia 76ers game in 2014, with a length of 1:44-1:49 (it’s always the last note that gets you, she said “of the brave” twice), and at the NHL Stadium Series in 2016. That one went 1:38.
The last time a Super Bowl national anthem was performed as a duet was in 2006 when Aaron Neville and Aretha Franklin did the honors. That performance lasted 2:08. Alicia Keys holds the record for longest rendition of the anthem after her 2013 performance went 2:35. Last year, Demi Lovato’s anthem was 1:49, exactly the same length as Gladys Knight’s the year before.
The Super Bowl national anthem over is 6-7-1 in the past 14 years and the average length is 1:42. It has gone over two minutes in six of the last eight Super Bowls.
Thirty years ago, Whitney Houston sang what many regard as the best anthem in Super Bowl history. The time for this one was 1:56 and it also took place in Tampa. The average length for Super Bowls in Tampa Bay specifically is 1:52.
Anthems have not been without betting controversy. Lady Gaga’s rendition in 2016 caused prop bet chaos when she added an extra “the brave” to the end of the song. The over/under was set at 2:20. With Lady Gaga repeating those two words, it led her to hit the over. Different betting outlets awarded the under, others the over, and it basically came down to where you placed your bet. Absolute chaos.
This is why national anthem prop bets can go completely haywire. They are subject to human imperfection and random occurrences. But Church and Sullivan seem like professionals, they’re not Roseanne or Fergie. I don’t think they’re going to do anything wild with their rendition, like forgetting or omitting a word (as Christina Aguilera did at the Super Bowl in 2011).
If the artist typically airs on the more dramatic side when performing, expect the over (Lady Gaga, for instance). A duet, like this year’s, also screams over to me.
Here are the props and odds for this year’s anthem:
Will Eric Church or Jazmine Sullivan forget/omit a word from the national anthem?
Yes +1000
No -5000
Will any player raise a fist during the national anthem?
Yes +1200
No -5000
Will any player take a knee during the national anthem?
Yes +1200
No -5000
Which player will be shown first during the national anthem?
Tom Brady -130
Patrick Mahomes -110
Which player will be shown first during the national anthem?
Travis Kelce -130
Rob Gronkowski -110
Which coach to be shown first during the national anthem?
Andy Reid -130
Bruce Arians -110
Lucy is a sports betting content producer with Radio.com and BetQL. She has worked with WEEI and Radio.com as a writer, radio producer and podcaster. Lucy lives in Boston and loves Tom Brady and prop bets. Follow Lucy on Twitter at @LucilleBurdge.