What Are Prop Bets in NFL Betting?

NFL prop bets have become popular for punters looking to get over the sportsbooks. Compared to point spreads, over/unders, and moneylines, prop betting offers you an easier way to find value without the challenge of predicting the score.

What Is Prop Betting?

A proposition bet or prop bet involves wagering on an event to occur with a football game and is not affected by the final result. You can bet on player performance, team outcomes, or even exotic events like the length of the Super Bowl national anthem.

Whichever prop you pick, it's sure to add to the excitement of the game beyond the final score. Besides providing more action, prop bets also typically come with higher payouts.

Types of NFL Prop Bets

Before jumping into football betting, and especially prop betting, it's important to understand the different types of NFL prop bets and the expected value. Below, we'll take a look at the various types of proposition bets that you can go for this season.

Player Prop Bets

Will Patrick Mahomes throw more than 280.5 passing yards? This is an example of a player performance prop. As you can see, the focus is on individual stats and is unrelated to whether their team wins or loses. If you believe Mahomes will throw more than 280.5 passing yards in a game, you would bet the over and win if he racks up at least 281 passing yards. 

In addition to passing yards, you can bet on other aspects of a player's performance, such as rushing yards. Like passing yards, these prop bets predict whether a running back will rush for more or less than a set yardage total. You can also wager on the total touchdowns by a player or if a wide receiver or tight end will catch a set number of passes in a match.

Team Prop Bets

Like player prop bets, team prop bets involve predicting events in a game, but they relate to an entire team's performance. For example, you can bet on the team to score the first touchdown or on whether a team will score over or under a set points total.

Another popular team prop bet is total turnovers. This allows you to predict the number of turnovers, sacks, and field goals. Besides in-game stats, you can also wager on NFL futures, like the Chiefs winning their division, conference championship, or even the Super Bowl.

Game Prop Bets

Unlike team prop bets, game prop bets are based on events in an entire NFL game. Like the overs and unders, it doesn't matter which team is involved in the outcome. Game prop bets cover numerous events and are not necessarily related to the final score. For instance, some common game props include whether the outcome of the coin toss will be heads or tails.

Another popular game prop bet is the first scoring play, which allows you to wager on whether the first scoring play will be a touchdown, field goal, or safety. You can also bet on the total penalties in the game and whether or not there will be overtime.

Exotic Prop Bets

Exotic props are the wildcards of NFL prop betting, offering unique and often quirky bets. You can wager on anything from the length of the national anthem at the Super Bowl to the color of the Gatorade shower. If you think you can somehow foretell the weather, some sportsbooks allow you to bet on the temperature at kickoff, the wind speed, or whether or not it will rain during the game.

You can also bet on the specific aspects of the half-time show, such as the first song and surprise guest appearances. While exotic props may be fun, they may not be the easiest way to make money from football betting.