Super Bowl 2024 national anthem props: Best duration bets

Just like the coin toss or postgame Gatorade bath, betting on the national anthem at the Super Bowl has become a rite of passage for Super Bowl punters over the last few years.

While you couldn’t legally bet on the length of the national Anthem until a few years ago, novelty props (like the coin toss or which song the halftime performer would open with) exploded in popularity around the turn of the century when offshore online sportsbooks began to pop up. 

But even without the offshore books, the length of the national anthem was always a staple on homemade prop sheets or office pools.

It’s easy to see why people like it. For one, it’s fun and something you can only do once a year.

Secondly, it’s a simple, quick bet that is settled before the game even starts. And lastly, it’s the type of bet where people will do their own creative research to come up with an edge.

This year’s national anthem will be sung by country music star Reba McEntire.

The over/under opened at 84.5 seconds but currently sits at 90.5, which is still well short of the most recent versions of the “Star Spangled Banner” at the gig Game.

Odds via FanDuel— Canada only

• Over 90.5 seconds (+102)
• Under 90.5 seconds (-128)

McEntire has sung the national anthem before many big sporting events, including the MLB and NFL games.

She sang it at the World Series in 1997 in an efficient 1 minute and 23 seconds, and in 1999 before the Cowboys’ Thanksgiving Day game against the Dolphins she hit 90 seconds on the nose.

Some of her more recent versions have been closer to 80 seconds, including one at a 2017 celebrity softball game that came in at around 81 seconds.

There’s no scientific way to find value in this market (which is part of the fun, of course), but it is worth noting that we’ve seen some pretty long anthems in recent years relative to these odds. 

Chris Stapleton completed the song in 121 seconds last year, Mickey Guyton took 112 seconds to do it the previous year, and Jazmine Sullivan and Eric Church dueted for 137 seconds in 2021.

In fact, the last time the anthem clocked in under 90.5 seconds was in 2007 when Billy Joel sang it in 90 seconds flat.

History tells us to take the over, but perhaps folks will be betting that the networks and NFL want to shorten the spectacle.

That – along with McEntire’s track record for businesslike anthems – is likely why this number is sitting where it is right now.