Super Bowl 57 props: Chiefs’ Travis Kelce favored to score first touchdown

Within the next 48 hours, the Super Bowl 57 betting market will be flooded with hundreds of prop bets.

Yardage props, scoring props, coaching props, situational props, even jersey number props — all of it (and much more) will be available for your wagering pleasure ahead of the Eagles vs. Chiefs showdown.

But within the robust menu, one specific Super Bowl 57 prop is certain to attract a ton of action — as it does every single year: Which player will score the first touchdown?

When Nevada sportsbooks began adding Super Bowl props to their traditional point spread, moneyline and Over/Under wagering menu nearly four decades ago, “Player to Score the First Touchdown” was one of the first options.

It was an immediate hit with customers and remains one of the most-bet Super Bowl props to this day.

As you consider which Eagles or Chiefs player you’re going to bet to find the end zone first on Feb. 12 in Glendale, Arizona, here’s a look at current odds for this popular prop — as well as a bit of a history lesson.

Odds updated as of 3 p.m. ET on Feb. 1.

The fact Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce is at the top of the first-touchdown odds board might be a bit jarring to some. After all, true tight ends have scored the first TD in just seven of 56 Super Bowls — and only once in the last 17 years.

That one: Tampa Bay’s Rob Gronkowski against the Chiefs two years ago.

But, much like the now-retired Gronk, Kelce is a Hall of Fame-caliber pass-catching tight end who plays with a Hall of Fame-caliber quarterback (Patrick Mahomes).

And, like Gronk, Kelce has a nose for the end zone. His 12 regular-season receiving touchdowns ranked behind only Las Vegas Raiders wideout Davante Adams (14). And he accumulated all of those in Kansas City’s first 11 games.

After failing to cross the goal line in the Chiefs’ final six regular-season contests, Kelce has gotten his TD groove back in the playoffs. He scored two in the Divisional Playoffs against Jacksonville and one in the AFC Championship Game against Cincinnati.

And in both contests, Kelce was the first player to hit pay dirt. In all, he’s scored the first touchdown in five of Kansas City’s 19 games.

Now you know why a tight end is the favorite in this prop market — but not by much.

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Including two playoff games, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has accounted for 38 touchdowns this season — 23 with his arm, 15 with his legs.

The latter figure is why Hurts is right behind Kelce when it comes to odds to score the first touchdown. (Because this prop only applies to the player who possesses the football in the end zone via rushing, receiving or fumble recovery.)

Hurts has scored his team’s first touchdown six times in the 17 games in which he’s played. However, he’s scored the game’s first touchdown on just three occasions: Week 2 against the Vikings, Week 5 against the Cardinals and Week 9 against the Commanders.

Hurts obviously has the skills to cash this prop. But he’s facing a Chiefs defense that allowed just 10 rushing touchdowns in the regular season (tied for fifth fewest in the NFL), plus two in the postseason.

Hurts also doesn’t have history on his side: Only three quarterbacks in history have scored the first touchdown in a Super Bowl.

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Then again, the most recent to do so is Hurts’ Super Bowl 57 counterpart: Mahomes crossed the goal line first in Super Bowl 54 against the 49ers.

He was the first QB to accomplish the feat since then-Steelers rookie Ben Roethlisberger did it in Super Bowl 40 (2005-06).

Mahomes also is the player with the longest odds (+2000) to score the first touchdown in the last 12 Super Bowls.

During this dozen-year stretch, only five players with double-digit odds — Mahomes, Gronkowski (+1100) and three wide receivers, including Philadelphia’s Alshon Jeffery (+1200) in Super Bowl 52 — have scored the first TD.

So if only 10 total quarterbacks and tight ends have scored the first Super Bowl touchdown, you’ve probably deduced the two position groups most responsible for cashing this prop: running backs and wide receivers.

In all, 21 running backs, 23 wideouts, one fullback and one player listed as a running back/wideout have scored the first touchdown in a Super Bowl.

That includes one wide receiver (Chicago’s Devin Hester in Super Bowl 41) and one running back (Cincinnati’s Stanford Jennings in Super Bowl 33) who scored the first TD on a kickoff return.

Additionally, the first Super Bowl touchdown has come courtesy of a defensive player twice in history. The most recent instance was seven years ago in Super Bowl 50, when Denver defensive tackle Malik Jackson recovered a Cam Newton fumble in the end zone.

Looking at this year’s first-touchdown prices at BetMGM, four running backs rank between third and ninth on the odds board. Of that group, the Eagles’ Miles Sanders has the shortest odds (+800).

Next on the running backs list are Kansas City’s Isiah Pacheco (+850) and Jerick McKinnon (+1100), followed by Philadelphia’s Kenneth Gainwell (+1600).

At FanDuel, the top wide receiver is Philadelphia’s A.J. Brown (+900). He’s followed down the board by eight wideouts/tight ends.

That contingent includes Kansas City’s Kadarius Toney (+1100), as well as Philadelphia’s DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert, and the Chiefs’ JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdez-Scantling (all at +1200).

The next wide receivers are all Chiefs: Justin Watson (+2100), Mecole Hardman and Skyy Moore (both +2700).

Of course, to win this prop bet you first have to successfully determine which team is most likely to get in the end zone first.

Unfortunately, looking at this year’s results, there’s no clear advantage for either team.

Including the postseason, Philadelphia has scored the first touchdown in 12 of its 19 games. The players responsible for those TDs: Hurts (three), tailbacks Sanders (three), Gainwell and Boston Stott, and pass catchers Goedert (two), Brown, Gainwell and Smith.

Meanwhile, Kansas City has found the end zone first in 11 of its 19 contests.

Again, Kelce has five of those scores, with the others coming from running backs McKinnon (twice) and Pacheco, and wideouts Smith-Schuster, Hardman and Toney.

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