It is a fact that the most significant annual NFL event transcends the sport of football. It is a sporting occurrence with a significant economic impact on its host city and substantial cultural importance to the nation. Yearly, over a hundred million people traditionally tune in to watch who will take home the Vince Lombardi trophy and get crowned NFL champion. However, over the years, the game’s halftime shows have morphed into a tradition and a pop culture phenomenon drawing worldwide interest.
For most of the first two decades of the Super Bowl’s existence, these performances predominantly were the responsibility of university marching bands. But, in the late 1980s, renowned artists began to take over this role, and at the start of the 1990s, it was established that famous mainstream performers would take up this task as a mechanism to get even more people watching. In the past decade, online sportsbooks have begun listing prop bet options for these performances, expanding their portfolios, and adding to the wagering diversity at their platforms. To bet on the halftime show, one just needs to open an account on a reviewed sports betting site and select this market from a left-side panel.
For Super Bowl 57, the halftime show headliner will be Rihana, in her first live performance in more than five years. She last appeared on stage with DJ Khaled at the 2018 Grammy Awards. Her return to live audiences will get sponsored by Apple Music. And it comes after the Barbadian sensation turned down similar opportunities in 2018 and 2019. Below, the top prop bets from her upcoming performance are presented, featuring their listed odds at premium US-facing sportsbooks.
How Many Songs Will Get Performed?
Concerning halftime show prop bets, this is the most standard one. Going by past Super Bowls, the time frame allotted to perform usually sits around twelve minutes. That customarily has allowed for six to twelve songs to get featured. Now, twelve songs in twelve minutes is a song per minute. Please note that most artists do not render their creations in their entirety in the show. They often sing condensed versions that blend into one package.
In 2021, the Weeknd performed nine songs, and last year, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar executed eleven. One of the oldest internet gambling sites, BetUS, active since 1994, has placed -120 odds on the total number of songs passing over or going under the 9.5 limit. Though, most bookies favor the under 9.5 markets slightly. In most people’s eyes, it is doubtful that the performance will surpass ten songs, as it will feature only one artist.
What Songs Will Get Sang?
Bookies’ top favorites are We Found Love and Umbrella, with most sites giving them +250 odds. Love on the Brain, Diamonds, and FourFiveSeconds are the batch of second most likely tunes to get performed, with lines ranging from +300 to +400 at most platforms. Then follow Only Girls and Love the Way You Lie with +500 at most hubs, and Pon de Replay, Don’t Stop the Music, and Needed Me at plus +700.
Some other contenders include SOS, Unfaithful, Work, This Is What You Came For, and Lift Me. Entertainment pundits predict that the show organizers will look to mix in hits early on in Rhiana’s career with some of her more novel releases. That is to cater to a range of demographics. It is also likely that a surprise artist will appear to provide support at a given point, such as Jay Z for Run This Town or DJ Khaled for Wild Thoughts. At least, that’s the train of thought many people seem to have.
The primary suggestion for prop bets from this category is to stick to Diamonds of Love and On the Brain as the show’s openers.
Will There Be a Wardrobe Malfunction?
The Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime controversy is an NFL moment that still gets heavily discussed and analyzed. On February first, 2004, Justin Timberlake inadvertently ripped off a section of Janet Jackson’s outfit during the duo’s performance at Houston’s Reliant Stadium. The move caused a nationwide uproar and sent shockwaves throughout the media sphere. The Federal Communications Commission even fined the event’s broadcaster, CBS, half a million dollars for the incident.
From then on, how to bet on the Super Bowl halftime show prop pages and guides have always had this option. In 2023, the odds of this event reoccurring have gotten set at +800 at multiple high-end sites. The line of everything going as planned rests at -2,500 at most bookies. Therefore, no one should wager on a 2004 repeat. One will eventually happen, yes. But betting on it is a risky gamble any year.
