The Super Bowl brings the last opportunity for gamblers to bet on the NFL, and many will be looking for the last chance to score a few bucks. The big game offers several “unique” opportunities when the festivities kick off in February – and that even includes the over/under on the length of the National Anthem.

Once again this year, bettors will be hoping the Super Bowl National Anthem turns into some star-spangled cash. Over/under wagering on the National Anthem adds some extra fun to the biggest game of the NFL season. More than two centuries after Francis Scott Key wrote the “Star-Spangled Banner,” bettors have a decision to make again on his song’s length this year.

Jazmine Sullivan and Eric Church earn the duties for Super Bowl LV. The consensus over/under for their rendition this year is 1 minute, 59 seconds.

Super Bowl 55 prop bet results including MVP, Gatorade shower, national anthem over/under, first touchdown scorer and more. Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images The Super Bowl is arguably the best gambling day of the year, and with so many different prop bets to choose from, it can be pretty tough to keep track of everything. Betting on the national anthem's length is now something of a tradition for degenerate fans watching the big game. Still, some of the bets offered by off-shore books have gotten even wilder — from the outfits featured in the halftime show to the content of the commercials. With Eric Church and Jazmine Sullivan teaming up for the first anthem duet since Super Bowl 40 in 2006 (Aaron Neville and Aretha Franklin), this seemingly straight-forward prop adds even more.

Update: The duo went 18 seconds over that, with an unofficial time of 2 minutes and 17 seconds. It was the longest National Anthem since Lady Gaga’s rendition in 2016 went 2 minutes and 22 seconds.

DraftKings National Anthem prop odds

Sportsbooks in the US are not permitted to offer a prop bet strictly on the length of the National Anthem, but it is allowed if the wager includes something that can be found in the final box score of the game.

DraftKings Sportsbook once again has a National Anthem-related prop, where you can bet on whether or not the shortest scoring drive of the game will be greater or less than the length of Sullivan and Church’s duet.

To bet on this prop now, see the table below. Click “Yes” if you think any scoring drive will take less time than the Anthem. Click “No” if you think all scoring drives will go longer than the Anthem.

Keep in mind that scoring drives mean “football time” and not “real time.” For instance, Tampa Bay had three scoring drives in their NFC Championship game win over the Packers that went well under 2 minutes in football time.

Kansas City was more methodical in their win over the Bills in the AFC title game. Kansas City’s shortest scoring drive in that one was 2 minutes and 20 seconds.

Sneak peak?

We already have an idea of how long this year’s Anthem might go as Zach Maskavich, a reporter from WESH in Orlando, recorded the rehearsal. Maskavich even timed it with a stop watch on his phone and it wrapped up at 2 minutes, 16 seconds.

Alright gamblers. Here is the timer on the practice of the National Anthem. 2:16 #SuperBowl#GoBucs#ChiefsKingdompic.twitter.com/CpJC4gHUPp

— Zach Maskavich (@ZachMaskavich) February 5, 2021

Analyzing the Jazmine Sullivan – Eric Church combo

Sullivan is a singer-songwriter from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her biggest hits to date are 2008’s “Need You Bad” and 2010’s “Holding You Down.” She has received 12 Grammy nominations in her career.

The R&B/Hip-Hop artist is no stranger to performing the National Anthem at sporting events. Most notably, Sullivan performed the Star-Spangled Banner for the 2016 NHL Stadium Series – which featured the Chicago Blackhawks versus the Minnesota Wild at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Sullivan’s anthem that day went for a mere 1 minute and 39 seconds, which – if she matched that at the Super Bowl – would be the shortest rendition since Kelly Clarkson went 1 minute and 34 seconds in 2012. Check it out here:

A couple notes about Sullivan’s rendition above:

• The event took place outdoors in Minnesota and it was quite cold that day. Super Bowl LV will be played in the warm climes of Tampa Bay, Florida. It would be human nature for Sullivan to want to kind of rush through the thing when dealing with freezing temps.
• That said, Sullivan strings out the song at the end as many anthem singers do. Sullivan’s wrap-up is particularly lengthy as she goes long with the “land of the FREEEEEE-EEEEEEEE!,” and extremely long with the final lyrics of “the BRAAAVVVVVVVVVVVVE.” Sullivan sings the word “brave” for nearly 10 full seconds.

Here is an earlier version of Sullivan singing the “Star Spangled Banner” below, this time at a Philadelphia 76ers game. This one clocked in at 1 minute and 47 seconds. You’ll see that there was a “start – stop” issue with the word “brave” here at the end. Were this to occur at the Super Bowl, you can be sure that National Anthem over/under bettors would flip their lids.

Eric Church is a country music singer-songwriter from North Carolina, best know for his hit songs “Give Me Back To My Hometown” (2014), “Springsteen” (2012), “Like A Wrecking Ball” (2015) and “Smoke A Little Smoke” (2010). He is a nine-time Grammy Award nominee.

It is not know if Church will play the guitar during his performance with Sullivan at Super Bowl LV.

The collaboration element of this year’s Super Bowl National Anthem makes it a bit harder to predict than a typical solo act. Will they sing the whole song together? Will they be trading off lyrics? Will Church primarily play the guitar?

Conventional thinking suggests that this year’s anthem will go long considering there are two performers that will both want to have their voices heard.

The last time there was a collaborative effort came in 2006 when Aretha Franklin and Aaron Neville did the honors. That version went relatively long at 2 minutes and 9 seconds as they traded off segments of the song.

Prop bets: Betting the Banner

There hasn’t been much in the way of a trend in recent years. Since 2010, the Over has hit five times, the Under has hit five times and there was one push.

Although books haven’t released lines yet for the “Star-Spangled Banner,” the over/under usually checks in around 2 full minutes.

Keep in mind that the way the anthem is typically timed starts when the singer starts singing, not when the music starts playing. The timing also ends when the singer is finished singing the word “brave.”

Trending toward the long road

When it comes to the Super Bowl, a long song seems to be the norm. From 2013 to 2017, the anthem went over 2 minutes each year.

One trend is the overall lengthening of the song. In the 1990s, the anthem went over 2 minutes only twice. In the 2000s, it went over 120 seconds four times. And in the 2010s, it went over the 2 minutes mark six times.

Super Bowl National Anthem History

Big sounds and big moments

The National Anthem and its singer bring plenty of interest each year. In 2015, some books halted betting on the national anthem after some large bets came in on the over.

Figuring bettors may have been privy to rehearsal numbers, these books decided continued action might end on a sour note.

Christina Aguilera awarded under bets in 2011, but received criticism after completely flubbing a line in the song. Did that screw-up lead to the under performance? It’s possible.

Once of the most beloved performances is Whitney Houston’s1991 rendition. It was melodic, patriotic, and brilliant.

If you’re the kind of Super Bowl viewer who’s more into doing a squares pool (and not, say, putting money on the actual game), this might be the list of side wagers to make at your virtual Super Bowl party or with your family.

That’s right: it’s a list of predictions on bets you can make on stuff that’s not game-related, from the national anthem length to the color of the liquid that will be poured on the winning coach, and more.

Because, really: as we’ve learned over the past few decades, the Super Bowl is more than just a football game.

1 How long will the national anthem be?

Steven: 2 minutes

It’s going long. That’s all I can tell you. We can’t compare an artist’s performance at some random NHL game. This is the Super Bowl. Milk it for what it’s worth.

Charles C: 1 minute and 52 seconds

There’s a little bit of history with Jazmine Sullivan (see above) but not much with Eric Church. And although the last Super Bowl anthem duet ran long, I’ll say it’s shorter than two minutes.

2 What color Gatorade will be poured on the winning coach?

Steven: Red

Going with red because it’s the color of both teams, and also I just wanted to rant about how bad red Gatorade is. It’s the worst flavor of Gatorade. It tastes like an awful batch of Kool-Aid.

Charles C: Orange

It was orange last year, and I think the Chiefs are winning again, so orange it is!

3 What's the final song The Weeknd plays at halftime?

Steven: Starboy

They’re going to bring out Daft Punk and everything. Please do not ask me to name another song by the Weeknd.

Charles C: Can’t Feel My Face

Yeah, yeah, everyone’s going to pick Blinding Lights, but that’s too obvious.

4 Will Gisele Bundchen be shown on camera?

Steven: No

Tom Brady has been to 10 Super Bowls. The interest in his family has waned. Show me Andy Reid’s family. Or Gronk’s.

Anthem Better Health Of Kentucky

Charles C: Yes

Lock it in. The camera will find her and Brady’s family at least once, even if the Bucs lose.

5 Will Bill Belichick be mentioned?

Steven: At least five times

It’s going to be a storyline. Especially with the Chiefs marching up and down the field on offense. You don’t have the greatest defensive coach anymore, Tom.

Charles C: Yes

Anthem Better Health

You can’t go an entire Super Bowl without mentioning how many times Brady was here with Belichick.

6 Will Roger Goodell be shown?

Steven: Yes

We’ll see him at least three times. Between the weird season and the fact that the commissioner is always around during a championship game, I’d say this is pretty much a lock.

Charles C: Yes

How many times? I’ll say once, for sure, while the CBS booth talks about having a Super Bowl in the middle of a pandemic.

7 Will Tony Romo predict a play correctly?

Steven: No

Romo hasn’t really been predicting plays of late. Maybe he’s just tired of doing it. But I will say this: He’s had two weeks to study these teams so he could probably do it if he wanted to.

Charles C: Heck yes

It’s Tony Romo. He predicted this Super Bowl matchup back in Week 12!

8 Will Tom Brady try to high-five a ref?

Steven: No

Yeah, this isn’t going to be one of those games. Washed Drew Brees isn’t on the other sideline, unfortuantely.

Charles C: No

He’ll be too busy losing and being frustrated to do that.

9 What color will Bruce Arians' hat be?

Steven: White

Anthem Better Care

It’s your first Super Bowl, Bruce.

Stunt. On. Them.

Anthem Better Insurance

Charles C: Red

Anthem Beta Download

It’s got to be a color in the Bucs’ uniforms, right?