When the Los Angeles Rams opened as 1-point favorites against the New England Patriots for Super Bowl 53, the masses flocked to their sportsbooks to get a piece of the action betting on the Patriots. In fact, with 90-percent of the total bets locked in on New England, the sportsbooks were forced to adjust the point spread over and again until the point that it reached Patriots -2.5. New England remains a popular pick to win it all but for those that don’t want to wait until the game is over to get their result, there are plenty of intriguing prop bets that are worth considering ahead of the big game. Here is a look at some of the more popular prop bets on the board Super Bowl 53.
National Anthem Length
Over/Under: 1:50
One of the most popular Super Bowl prop bets is betting the length of the national anthem, with the time clock set for 1:50 according to the sportsbooks. Gladys Knight will be performing the anthem at Super Bowl 53, so now is the time to dig up her YouTube footage and pay close attention to whether she hangs on each note or moves along through her songs.
Will CBS Show The Rams-Saints Pass Interference During Broadcast?
Odds: Yes +200, No -300
One of the biggest storylines from championship weekend was the New Orleans Saints getting robbed by the officials on a missed pass interference call that the league immediately admitted the referees got wrong. While it has been talked about constantly ever since, there is a very good chance it is referenced again at some point during the Super Bowl broadcast.
In-Game – Rob Gronkowski Receiving Yards
Over-Under: 49.5
After producing some dominant performances over the years, Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski was held to 47 catches for 682 yards and three touchdowns this past season. After posting one catch for 25 yards in the AFC Divisional round win over the Los Angeles Chargers, Gronk delivered six catches for 79 yards in the AFC Championship game win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Will he top the 50-yard mark again in the Super Bowl? Considering his big play potential and the fact that Tom Brady has one fewer target without Josh Gordon available, there is a very good chance.
In-Game – Todd Gurley Rushing Yards
Over-Under: 68.5
Sticking with the theme of star players that have underwhelmed for their respective teams in the postseason, the expectations are very low for Rams running back Todd Gurley. Gurley ran for 115 yards and a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Divisional round. However, he had just four carries for 10 yards and score against the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Championship game. Gurley has topped 69 rushing yards in all but two of his previous eight games. However, C.J. Anderson has seemingly been the more effective running back of late.
Will Rob Gronkowski Retire After The Super Bowl?
Odds: Yes +600, No -1000
Brady has already said that he will play one more season and there is a good chance that head coach Bill Belichick will be back in New England as well. However, one name that is more likely to retire than the others following Super Bowl 53 is Gronkowski, who many speculated would have retired if the Patriots had beat the Philadelphia Eagles in last year’s Super Bowl. He is currently listed at +600 to retire immediately following Super Bowl 53. He appears to be in the twilight of his career and one more ring might push him to hang up his cleats.