One Bettor Lays It All on the Line with Vikings
Dustin Baker
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The Minnesota Vikings are in no way, shape, or form Super Bowl darlings in 2023, but one bettor doesn’t care.
Minnesota is outfitted with +4000 Super Bowl odds in late June, a probability placing the club in the middle of the NFL’s pecking order.
One Bettor Lays It All on the Line with Vikings
But one anonymous person recently scoffed at the Vikings relative underdog status, according to FanDuel. The sportsbook tweeted Tuesday, “BIG BET ALERT. One bettor has placed $5,000 on the Vikings to win the Super Bowl this season. Potential Payout: $200,000 ??. We riding or nah?”
So, in layperson’s terms or for new wagerers, the man or woman placed a chunky $5,000 bet on the Vikings to win the Super Bowl. And if Minnesota does precisely that for the first time in history, the payout is $200,000. Bold, indeed.
Strangely, oddsmakers don’t even think the Vikings will win the NFC North, let alone the Super Bowl. As of June 30th, these are the odds to win the NFC North:
- Detroit Lions = +145
- Minnesota Vikings = +270
- Green Bay Packers = +350
- Chicago Bears = +420
If that same bettor placed a $5,000 wager on the Vikings to win the division, she’d win $13,500. And, yes, this is after Minnesota won the NFC North handily last year. Somehow this offseason, Detroit morphed into everybody’s fashionable playoff pick while the Vikings were left with ‘regression’ whispers.
Minnesota underwent tremendous change in the last 5.5 months, offloading Adam Thielen, Dalvin Cook, Eric Kendricks, Za’Darius Smith, Dalvin Tomlinson, Patrick Peterson, Duke Shelley, and others. At the same time, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah set the franchise up for financial flexibility in 2024 and beyond — arguably for the first time since 2014 or so.
Oddly, Justin Jefferson, the Vikings 24-year-old reigning Offensive Player of the Year, is the ninth longest-tenured player on the active roster. You blinked, and the Vikings transformed like Optimus Prime in the last three offseasons. Some claim Minnesota continues to ‘run it back’ annually, but the Vikings roster upheaval since 2020 is among the league’s more fervent.
Predictably, Twitter reaction to the FanDuel bet was comical. One tweeter commented, “Basically just lit $5,000 on fire.”
“As a Minnesotan, I can confidently say that money would have been better spent on 5,000 dollars worth of Tator Tot Hot Dish,” Twitter user Michael Noren opined.
The Vikings haven’t won back-to-back division titles since 2009 and haven’t reached the Super Bowl since 1976.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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