Seven-figure wagers on Super Bowl futures aren’t unusual, but they typically show up in the days just before the game. This year, however, several million-dollar bets have already been placed with nine days to go, including Houston furniture magnate Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale laying $2 million on the outcome—an early flurry that stands out.
For most people that’s meaningless ink on a betting slip. A more relatable example: someone who put $100 on a very longshot exact prediction back in August is now sitting on a ticket that could pay out more than $300,000. (Note: this coverage may include links to sportsbooks that compensate FOX Sports.)
One striking preseason wager came at Circa Sports: a bettor in late August backed an exact Super Bowl pairing with New England to beat Seattle. At the time the Seahawks were listed around +6500 and the Patriots around +10000; combining those futures into a Patriots-over-Seahawks winner produced absurd odds of roughly +310000 (about 3100/1). Jeff Benson, Circa’s director of sportsbook operations, called it one of the biggest single-upside straight bets he’d seen in a long time. If New England pulls off the upset, that $100 becomes about $310,000—an ROI far beyond what even million-dollar wagers typically produce.
Mattress Mack returned to the headlines by betting $2 million on the AFC to win at Caesars (+200) rather than picking a specific team. McIngvale traveled to Louisiana to place the bet because regulated sports wagering isn’t available in Texas; he also tied a retail promotion to the wager, offering refunds on certain mattress purchases if his side prevailed. He said the +200 price gave him the leverage he wanted and reminded observers that anything can happen in one game.
Prop bets are also attracting huge stakes. One Caesars customer rolled $100,000 on tails at -103 for the coin toss, which would yield about $97,087 in profit if it lands that way. Celebrities have been involved, too: model Kendall Jenner put $1 million on the Patriots moneyline at +190 at Fanatics, while Suns star Devin Booker countered with $1 million on Seattle on an alternate spread (-3.5). Jenner’s backer could collect roughly $1.9 million in profit if the Patriots win; Booker’s ticket would earn about $800,000 if Seattle covers by four or more. Fanatics and Jenner have pledged $1 million to charity regardless of the result.
Other big single-match wagers include a Circa customer who bet $1.1 million on the Patriots moneyline (+188) and a Hard Rock Bet patron who staked $1 million on the Seahawks moneyline (-230). If those tickets cash, they would produce seven-figure payouts or substantial six-figure profits.
One particularly savvy Seattle backer built a multi-step futures ladder at BetMGM last August: $50,000 on Seattle to make the playoffs (+185), another wager on them to win the NFC (+2800), and $50,000 on them to win the Super Bowl (+6000). Those earlier legs already returned roughly $1.49 million in profit, and the final leg would add about $3 million if Seattle wins. That bettor then hedged by putting $725,000 on the Patriots moneyline at +195, creating a scenario where they’re guaranteed a seven-figure profit no matter who takes the title—with total profits ranging into the low-to-mid seven figures depending on the outcome.
Some bettors who backed the Patriots much earlier in the season are seeing life-changing potential returns. Examples: a DraftKings customer placed $10,000 on New England at +8000; Barstool’s Dave Portnoy bet $50,000 on the Pats at +3500; BetMGM took a $30,000 Patriots futures wager at +2200—each of those would pay out hundreds of thousands if New England completes the improbable run.
There are also a number of other large individual wagers across books, including:
– $500,000 on a Seahawks alternate spread (-7, +125) at Hard Rock Bet (potential profit $625,000).
– $325,000 on Patriots +4.5 (-105) at BetMGM (potential profit ≈ $309,524).
– $250,000 on Seahawks moneyline -230 at Hard Rock (potential profit ≈ $108,696).
– Multiple six-figure bets on Seahawks and Patriots at Caesars, Boomer’s, DraftKings, The SuperBook and others, with potential payouts ranging from tens of thousands to well over a million.
Keep in mind that these are high-roller plays by people and entities that can absorb big losses; they shouldn’t be taken as advice or a model for casual bettors. Don’t wager more than you can afford to lose.
Fan Take: This surge of massive, early Super Bowl wagers highlights how betting has become an integral part of the NFL’s ecosystem—driving publicity, celebrity involvement, and promotional stunts that grab mainstream attention. For fans, it raises the stakes of every storyline late in the season and underscores both the excitement and the ethical questions that come with a sport increasingly intertwined with enormous gambling dollars.
