Super Bowl 2023: Bettor places $1 million wager on Eagles to beat Chiefs

The Super Bowl isn’t just America’s most-bet sporting event. It also attracts the biggest wagers.

Not only are six-figure Super Bowl bets commonplace each year, but a handful of whales with pockets as deep as the Atlantic Ocean won’t hesitate to risk seven figures on the NFL’s title game.

It took nearly a full week, but one such whale finally cracked the seven-figure barrier over the weekend for Super Bowl 57.

The Philadelphia Eagles were the NFL’s last undefeated team this season, going 8-0 before suffering their first loss. No other team started better than 3-0.

At least one BetMGM customer strongly believes the Eagles also will be the last team to win an NFL game in 2022-23:

That the first $1 million wager on Super Bowl 57 was placed Saturday — and placed on Philadelphia — is ironic for this reason: It came five years to the day that the Eagles won their first and only Super Bowl, a 41-33 upset of the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 52.

This particular BetMGM bettor chose not to back Philadelphia on the point spread, which would’ve required giving 1.5 points (meaning the Eagles would have to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs by at least two points for the bet to cash).

Instead, the bettor elected to lay -125 odds on the moneyline. So if Philadelphia simply beats Kansas City — by any margin — the wager cashes for $800,000.

Throw in the initial $1 million bet, and the total payout would be $1.8 million.

» READ MORE: Super Bowl 2023 prediction: Bet this Chiefs vs. Eagles same-game parlay

As of Monday morning — six days before Super Bowl 57 kicks off at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona — BetMGM is the only sportsbook to report a seven-figure wager on the game.

However, Caesars Sportsbook on Saturday released information on several six-figure wagers it has taken. These include:

Caesars Sportsbook on Monday also reported the biggest wager it has accepted on a Super Bowl prop bet to this point: A New York customer wagered $35,000 at -1400 odds that there will not be a kickoff or punt returned for a touchdown on Super Sunday.

The potential payout; $2,500.

» READ MORE: Super Bowl 2023: Four Eagles vs. Chiefs long-shot prop bets

Last year, Houston furniture magnate Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale placed the biggest known bet on Super Bowl 56 between the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams.

McIngvale, who places big bets to hedge against mattress promotions he offers in his stores, wagered $5 million on the Bengals +170 on the moneyline at Caesars Sportsbook. He also made the same Bengals wager at Caesars for a little more than $4.5 million.

Cincinnati, which went off as a 4.5-point underdog, lost 23-20. So Mattress Mack’s nearly $10 million in wagers remained on Caesars Sportsbook’s side of the counter.

However, McIngvale got that money back — and then some — in the World Series. In mid-May, he made a $3 million wager on his hometown Houston Astros to win the 2022 title at 10-to-1 odds.

The Astros knocked off the Philadelphia Phillies in six games, giving McIngvale a $30 million payday from Caesars.

In all, McIngvale had $10 million in different wagers on the Astros to win the World Series. Those wagers netted him a reported profit of roughly $75 million.

So which team is Mattress Mack backing in Super Bowl 57? Apparently, neither. No sportsbook has reported any big wagers from McIngvale.

Perhaps that’s because McIngvale already has more than $3.5 million tied up in wagers on another hometown squad to win a championship: the Houston Cougars men’s basketball team.

Houston (22-2) on Monday remained at the no. 2 spot of the college basketball national rankings. If the Cougars cut down the nets at the Final Four — which, ironically enough, is in Houston — Mattress Mack would collect nearly $31 million.

» READ MORE: Super Bowl 57 props: Ten fun Chiefs vs. Eagles novelty prop bets

The Inquirer is not an online gambling operator, or a gambling site. We provide this information about sports betting for entertainment purposes only.