The Chiefs are consensus -120 favorites on the money line to beat the Eagles in Super Bowl 59 on Sunday in New Orleans.
But professional sports bettor Scott Pritchard got Kansas City at 55-1 odds in October to beat Philadelphia in the Super Bowl.
Pritchard wagered $4,000 to win $220,000 on a Super Bowl exacta at Circa sportsbook Oct. 9 on the Chiefs to defeat the Eagles.
“It’s not like me to bet on a favorite but the fact that the Chiefs went on the road a year ago and (quarterback Patrick) Mahomes, statistically, had his worst season and they still won the Super Bowl, I felt that this year they would have the inside track to make history with the three-peat,” said Pritchard (Pritchardspicks.com). “They started out 5-0 and the toughest part of their schedule was behind them, so instead of betting Kansas City to win the AFC at 2-1 or 3-1, I thought I would do an exacta.
“The good news is I was anti-Niners and I was definitely anti-Dan Campbell, the gun-slinging coach of the Lions. I went with a team that in July wasn’t even projected to win their division. Dallas was the early favorite. When the season started, the Eagles were small favorites. They did get off to a slow (2-2) start, but they still had the inside track to win the division.
“It was a calculated value play at 55-1 and now the word of the day is ‘hedge.’”
Pritchard, a Review-Journal contributor who finished second this season in the Golden Nugget’s Ultimate Football Challenge contest (67-45 against the spread, 59.8 percent), said he started hedging in the AFC title game, losing a few thousand on the Bills +2½ in Buffalo’s 32-29 loss to the Chiefs on Jan. 26.
So far, he said he has wagered $25,000 on the Eagles +2 (-109) in the Super Bowl and $25,000 on the Eagles +3 (-144).
“If I can remove my biased Kansas City futures bet, this Philly team is for real. This is a revenge spot from two years ago, there are so many different ways Philly can beat you and I love their defense,” Pritchard said. “The bottom line is I’m going to have a good six figures riding on Philly to guarantee myself six figures regardless. But I’m not betting the money line.
“I’m trying to steer the score into the middle. This could be a 1- or 2-point game and I win all the money.”
The Chiefs have dipped from consensus 1½-point to 1-point favorites, though the line is still 1½ at BetMGM, Boyd Gaming and Station Sports.
The consensus total is 49, with the number dropping to 48½ at BetMGM and Boyd.
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at [email protected]. Follow @tdewey33 on X.
