2021 Super Bowl LV Betting Guide: Buccaneers vs Chiefs

Are you ready for Super Bowl LV this weekend? If you’re looking to bet on the Buccaneers, Chiefs, or even the length of the National Anthem for the Super Bowl, then this is the perfect betting guide for you.

On February 7, 2021, the 55th Super Bowl will be held at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL. With the National Football League (NFL) championship just around the corner, there’s no better time to develop the perfect strategy for placing your bets so you can cash in on game day. 

The Showdown: Kansas City Chiefs vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

On Championship Sunday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Green Bay Packers 31-26, earning the title of National Football Conference (NFC) Champions and securing their spot in the Super Bowl this year — which happens to be in Tampa. They will be facing off against the American Football Conference (AFC) Champions, the Kansas City Chiefs, who reigned supreme over the Buffalo Bills with a score of 38-24 and are the defending Super Bowl champions.

Because of Tampa’s victory on Sunday, not only will this Super Bowl be the first time in history that a team plays a Super Bowl in their home stadium, but it will also be a record-breaking 10th Super Bowl for Bucs quarterback Tom Brady, formerly the quarterback for the New England Patriots. 

Whether fans are attending the event in person, having a small get together, or are participating in festivities virtually, with such a unique end to the season, many fans are hoping their historic bets pay off this Sunday. That’s why we’ve laid out this guide to help you avoid Super Bowl LV betting mistakes so you can make the best bet.

The Odds: Money Line, Spread, Over/Under

There are many ways to bet on the Super Bowl this weekend and New Jersey gamblers have several legal sportsbooks to place their wagers at. If you’re new to sports betting and want to get a little skin in the game, you may want to stick to the basics which involve betting the money line, spread, or the over/under for the Super Bowl.

What’s the Super Bowl LV Money Line? 

Betting on the Super Bowl moneyline is the easiest and most straightforward way to bet on the game. You’re simply picking who you think will win the game — and you’re paid a percent of your wager based on the oddsmaker for the sportsbook you choose. While there are several different moneylines floating around, they typically favor the Kansas City Chiefs pretty heavily with some lines looking like:

• Kansas City Chiefs (-170)
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+140)

If you were to choose the Chiefs (-170) for a moneyline bet you would need to stake $170 to win $100 profit. However, if you bet the Buccaneers (+140) you would win $140 profit if you bet $100.

What’s the Super Bowl LV Spread? 

The spread is a step up in the sports betting world and involves adding points to the underdog (the Buccaneers) and taking points away from the favorite (Chiefs). Currently, the Kansas City Chiefs are favored by 3.5 points, which means if the Chiefs win by at least 4 points, winning bets are those in favor of the Chiefs. Contrarily, if the Bucs win OR lose by 3 points or less, the winnings go to those who bet on the Bucs.

Betting the spread for Super Bowl LV is essentially the same as the moneyline, except that it evens the playing field slightly by adding or removing points based on what oddsmakers believe the final score will be for both teams. If you bet the spread for Super Bowl LV and choose the Buccaneers, you have a greater chance of winning because — unlike the moneyline where you’re picking the winner — the Buccaneers could still lose as long as it’s within the range of the spread. Because this increases your chances of winning with betting the underdog, it pays less than the moneyline bet above (-105) which means you need to wager $105 to win $100 profit.

While it makes the odds of winning with the underdog better, it decreases the odds of winning with the favorite (Kansas City Chiefs) because not only do they now need to win the game — but they need to do so by 4 or more points. As you might imagine, this added difficulty increases the payout for bettors who choose the favorite and win, Currently, betting the Chiefs to cover a -3.5 spread pays -115 or $100 profit for a $115 bet.

What’s the Super Bowl LV Over/Under?

The Super Bowl over/under is simply the combined number of total points scored during the game. Betting on the over/under means you wager whether you think the combined final score for the Buccaneers and Chiefs will be higher and lower than this number.

Currently, the over/under for Super Bowl LV sits at 56.5 points with the over paying -115 and the under -105. When these two teams met at Raymond James Stadium during the regular season, the Kansas City Chiefs won 27 – 24 which is a combined total of 51 points. However, the Buccaneers and Chiefs are both in the top 5 highest scoring teams per game for the year with the Buccaneers (#2) averaging 30.7 points a game and the Chiefs (#5) averaging 29.6 points per game or a combined 60.5 points.

The Fun: Your Super Bowl LV Prop Betting Guide

For sports betting experts and newbies alike, Super Bowl LV betting doesn’t stop at the money line, spread, and over/under. Prop betting is a way for fans of all experience levels to take a gamble on some of the most interesting, humorous, and unique aspects of the Super Bowl. 

What Are “Prop” Bets?

While the main forms of Super Bowl 2021 betting rely on the game’s outcome, “prop” betting, otherwise known as “proposition” betting, is often completely unrelated to the technical aspects of the game. These bets can range from in-game play such as the likelihood of specific scenarios happening to specific players, to unpredictable factors in the halftime show, to the color of the Gatorade that gets dumped on the winning coach. Here are some popular categories for prop bets this year. 

Game Bets

These are bets that rely on the players and odds of certain outcomes during gameplay, but aren’t necessarily tied to the overall outcome of the game. Some of the most popular game bets include: 

• Over/Under Game Bets: Bets that depend on guessing if a certain number related specifically to plays, points, or players is over or under the projected count. Right now, you could bet the Bucs over/under for the 1st quarter of 6.5 points which pays +100 for the over and -130 for the under.
• Yes/No Game Bets: Relatively simple bets regarding whether or not a hypothetical scenario will occur. A current Yes/No bet for Super Bowl LV is whether the Buccaneers will score in the 1st quarter paying -190 for yes and +140 for no.
• MVP Award: Betting on who will take home the Most Valuable Player Award, which goes to the player who is most valuable to gameplay throughout the entire game. This award has most often gone to the winning team’s quarterback (Mahomes -120 and Brady +200), but other choices for Super Bowl LV include Travis Kelce (+1000), Tyreek Hill (+1000), and even Rob Gronkowski (+6600).
• Player Props: These bets are for a variety of small accomplishments players can achieve throughout the game, typically in the form of yes/no or over/under wagers. For example, you could bet Scotty Miller to score the first touchdown of the Super Bowl at +1400 odds or $1,400 for a $100 bet.

Bets Honoring Super Bowl Tradition

Some of the most popular bets each year are due to long-standing traditions stemming from Super Bowls past. Some of the most highly betted on tradition prop bets include: 

• Coin Toss Bet: The most popular bet each year, wagering a 50/50 chance on which team will win the coin toss and get the ball first. The payout for this bet is -105 for either heads or tails.
• The Gatorade Shower: This bet is regarding the potential color of the Gatorade that is typically dumped over the winning coach. The favorite right now is Orange at +160 and the darkhorse is Purple at +1300.
• The National Anthem: These are bets that are specifically concerning the National Anthem as sung before the game. Examples of these are how long the song will last, if the singer will forget a word, or how many riffs they will do during the line “for the land of the free.”
• The Halftime Show: Similar to National Anthem bets, Halftime Show bets can vary on random factors introduced in the Halftime Show. Examples include guessing things like the performer’s shirt color, specific articles of clothing they might wear, a specific dance move that might be performed, etc. 

“Exotic” Prop Bets

These bets encompass a wide range of instances, but are typically completely unrelated to the game, gameplay, or entertainment aspects of the game. An example would be the value of a certain stock at the exact time of kickoff. Another interesting prop bet for Super Bowl LV is how Biden will respond to being asked in the pre-game interview who he thinks will win. His options and their payouts are:

• Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+250)
• Kansas City Chiefs (-150)
• Wonders if they can both win (+500)
• Declines to pick a side (+110)

Now that you have everything you need to make a wager for this historic event, get those Super Bowl LV bets in! Kickoff is around 6:30 pm EST.