The Super Bowl is the biggest sports betting day of the year, and that means there are several fun props available that would never appear on the board for a regular game.
You’ll find fans betting on everything from safety futures to how many times a celebrity will be shown on camera, to which commercial will air first, to the color of Gatorade dumped on the winning coach. These are known as exotic props, since they have nothing to do with the actual result of the game. And in the case of the Gatorade bath, there is actually a real strategy behind the madness.
When it comes to betting the color, knowing team tendencies and league history can give you a small but meaningful edge. Here’s how to approach one of the most iconic Super Bowl props.
Look to Team Colors, Unless It’s Red
NFL coaches and players are notoriously superstitious. Teams like to lean into their own colors whenever possible, since it creates a sense of unity down to the smallest detail. In the biggest game of their lives, players and staff want to feel like everything is aligned in their favor.
Recent history supports this. The Philadelphia Eagles used lemon-lime Gatorade in both of their Super Bowl victories. For betting purposes, yellow and green are grouped together, and lemon-lime is the closest thing to the Eagles’ primary color.
However, red is the one major exception to the team-color rule. Despite being one of Gatorade’s most popular flavors, red has never been used by a Super Bowl winner.
There are a couple of common explanations. One is that red dye can cause issues for some players. The other is simply practical, as red liquid can look like blood during a game, which is not ideal for broadcast optics. Whatever the reason, red teams have consistently avoided it.
When the Chiefs won, they used purple instead of red. When Tampa Bay won, they used blue. Even the Chiefs used orange the year before that.
That makes blue (+240) a strong option this year. Both the Patriots and the Seahawks wear blue, and blue teams historically have no issue sticking with it. Over the past 10 Super Bowls, blue has hit four times, and three of those were won by teams whose primary color was blue.
Check Team History
When a team has won a Super Bowl before, it often sticks with whatever worked last time. When a team has been there and lost, it may switch things up.
Kansas City is a good example. They used orange in their first recent win, then lost their next appearance. When they returned, they changed colors.
Seattle won Super Bowl 48 using orange, which is why orange (+220) is drawing attention this year. However, the Seahawks lost their next appearance to the Patriots, who used blue. That may push Seattle toward changing things instead of repeating.
There are exceptions. The Giants famously beat the Patriots using clear Gatorade, then beat them again four years later using purple. But in most cases, teams that have previously won tend to stick with the same color.
Bet Multiple Colors
One of the best things about the Gatorade prop is that every option is priced at plus money. Since sportsbooks have no real way to predict it, they are forced to offer value across the board.
That makes betting multiple colors a smart play. With most options sitting around +230 or longer, two small bets can still produce a profit if either hits.
For example, two $10 bets would return at least $33 on a win, netting you a profit even after accounting for the losing color.
Orange is often a good secondary option because it is the most neutral color and the most common overall winner. Over the past 15 years, orange has been used five times.
Making Your Play
There is no perfect formula for betting the Gatorade bath, but unlike most novelty props, this one has patterns you can actually work with.
Team colors, recent history, and simple bankroll management can all tilt the odds slightly in your favor. And at worst, you get to root for a brightly colored sports drink during the biggest game of the year, which is still more fun than sweating a third-string tight end’s receiving yards.
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