Super Bowl Betting History

Point Spread History

Superbowl gambling history is interesting to look at when you bet on the NFL Superbowl. This starts with looking at the winning team. Only a few times in Super Bowl history has the winning team not covered the spread.

Overall, in the 40 Super Bowls that have been played, the outright winner has covered the spread 33 times with 2 ties (33-5-2). That means if you can pick the straight up winner you usually are going to cover the spread.

However, in recent years those numbers are not quite as convincing. Two of the last three Super Bowls have been decided within the point spread (New England favored by 7 points and winning by 3 both times).

In the last 11 years, the outright winner has covered at a 6-3-2 pace. That means in the first 29 Super Bowls, the outright winner covered the spread at an astounding 27-2 clip!

Over/Under outcomes have been split right down the middle with the over coming in 20 times and the under coming in 19 times (Super Bowl I did not have a total listed).

Line Moves in Super Bowl Betting

Given the fact that over 90 percent of the people that bet on the Super Bowl are not professional gamblers, it is not surprising that most people bet on the favorite. Because of the public action on the Super Bowl, the only way the line usually moves is toward the favorite and the over because that is what the public likes to bet.

The betting line on the Super Bowl almost never moves toward the underdog. Therefore, if you like the favorite and the over, it's best to jump on the line as quickly as you can. Conversely, if you prefer the underdog and the under, it may pay to wait until closer to game time to place your wager.

Current Super Bowl XLI Odds