NOVUS and two-time world champion kicker Harrison Butker are built from the same values; faith, family, teamwork and service. NOVUS and the KC kicker announced today they are pledging to make a $100,000 donation to The Hope Center in Kansas City if Harrison Butker makes history and becomes the first kicker ever to win MVP in the big game.
The Hope Center in Kansas City strives to provide opportunities for sustainable growth and development where children, youth and families can flourish.
NOVUS will also donate football jerseys to allvarsity high school football teams in Kansas City and San Francisco if Butker kicks a game-winning field goal in the final minute. With a 90% career field goal success rate, Butker has proven his tenacity in the game’s most pivotal moments, exemplified by his clutch performance in last year’s big game, where he kicked KC to victory with a 27-yard field goal with eight seconds remaining.
“NOVUS products are second to none—the attention to detail and unparalleled quality empower me to perform at my peak during every training session,”said Harrison Butker. “Our shared values of faith, hard work, and service make our partnership a natural fit, and I’m proud to be a part of the NOVUS family.”
Headquartered in Albany, New York, NOVUS is a fast-growing apparel brand specializing in high-quality, purpose-driven, custom apparel for athletes, teams, and professionals nationwide. As a mission-based company, NOVUS’ mantra, “Claim Your Crown,” is rooted in living a life of passion, conviction and perseverance.
“We’ve always made our best effort to use our platform to make an impact. Harrison’s passion and conviction to be the best on and off the field inspires us daily and we’re proud to stand with him as he continues to chase greatness,” added Garrett Bernardo, Co-Founder and CEO of NOVUS. “One of the pillars of our company is that we are purpose and value driven, and we want to embody that through supporting the Kansas City community and youth sports in both Kansas City and San Francisco.”
There is no bigger stage in North American sports than this Sunday’s game and NOVUS is ready to raise its game with this pledge to donate $100,000 with the clutch kicking of Harrison Butker as a driving force.
San Francisco, with an NFC-best 12-5 regular season mark and 17-14 victory over Baltimore in the championship, reigned supreme as Strat-O-Matic (@StratOMatic), the market leader in sports simulation, played out the 2023 football season through the playoffs. A 59-yard field goal attempt by Justin Tucker missed wide in the final minute to secure the sixth title for S.F.
San Francisco bested AFC #1 Baltimore after defeating Philadelphia in the conference championship game, 27-7. Baltimore outlasted rival Pittsburgh, 40-33, in the AFC title game.
Josh Allen, who paced the Bills to a 13-4 mark and #2 seed in the AFC with 4,259 passing yards, 814 rushing yards and 40 touchdowns total, earned MVP honors, edging Aaron Rodgers, who helped New York to 10 wins, throwing for 4,827 yards and 37 touchdowns.
Justin Jefferson of Minnesota had a league-best 115 receptions and 1,543 yards.
Division winners were: AFC, Buffalo (13-4), Baltimore (13-4), Tennessee (10-7) and Kansas City (10-7); NFC, Dallas (10-7), Green Bay (10-7), Atlanta (9-8) and San Francisco (12-5).
Full standings and playoffs scores below:
AFC East Buffalo, 13-4 New York, 10-7 Miami, 9-8 New England, 5-12
AFC North Baltimore, 13-4 Pittsburgh, 12- 5 Cleveland, 9-8 Cincinnati, 8-9
AFC South Tennessee, 10-7 Jacksonville, 9-8 Houston, 8-9 Indianapolis, 4-13
AFC West Kansas City, 10-7 Las Vegas, 9-8 Los Angeles, 8-9 Denver, 8-9
NFC East Dallas, 10-7 Philadelphia, 10-7 New York, 8-9 Washington, 7-10
NFC North Green Bay, 10-7 Detroit, 7-10 Minnesota, 7-10 Chicago, 5-12
NFC South Atlanta, 9-8 Tampa Bay, 9-8 Carolina, 8-9 New Orleans, 7-10
NFC West San Francisco, 12-5 Seattle, 9-8 Los Angeles, 7-10 Arizona, 2- 15
AFC Wild card BUF over MIA 24-23 NYJ over KC 31-17 PIT over TEN 17-16
NFC Wild card DAL over SEA 26-23 TB over GB 34-32 PHI over ATL 17-16
AFC Divisional BAL over NYJ 33-27 (OT) PIT over BUF 26-23
NFC Divisional SF over TB 29-28 PHI over DAL 27-20
National Research Group (NRG) Sports, a global insights leader at the edge of sports, technology, and content, today released key survey findings specific to Super Bowl betting and viewership.
The survey is highlighted by the fact that 37% of Americans say they’re planning to bet on the game through a sportsbook and 33% are planning to open a new sportsbook account specifically for the Super Bowl.
Additional key data and insights surrounding Super Bowl betting, viewership and commercial branding are included below.
Super Bowl Betting Insights:
This weekend’s Super Bowl represents a significant opportunity for betting sites to bring in new customers. 37% of Americans (21+) – including 53% of avid sports fans – say that they’re planning to bet on the game through a sportsbook.
33% of Americans – including 46% of avid sports fans, say that they’re planning to open a new sportsbook account specifically for the Super Bowl.
53% of Americans say they’re more likely to watch a game if they’ve wagered on it (up from 46% last year), including 39% of non-sports fans. Similarly, 50% of consumers overall and 59% of avid sports fans say that betting on the Super Bowl makes it much more interesting.
65% of likely Super Bowl gamblers are planning to bet $100 or more on the game, while 20% are planning to bet upwards of $500.
Among likely Super Bowl bettors, the most commonly used online sportsbooks are: Draftkings (55%), FanDuel (54%), BetMGM (43%), Caesars (38%), and FOXBet (37%).
The most popular types of wagers that bettors are planning to make on this year’s Super Bowl are: Moneyline (40%), Live bets (38%), Spread (27%), and Boxes/Squares (26%).
Boxes / Squares is the only type of bet that declined year over year.
The least popular types of wagers are: Over/Under (24%), Parlay (24%), Same Game Parlay (24%), Prop Bets (24%), and Micro Bets (16%).
61% of Americans support legalized online sports betting, compared to just 15% who are opposed to legalization. At this time last year, support was at 50%. Two-thirds (67%) of those in favor of legalized online sports betting believe that it should be done at the federal level, compared to 33% who feel it should continue to be left up to individual states.
49% of active sports bettors now use multiple online sportsbooks, compared to 32% who just use a single site.
Super Bowl Viewership and Branding Insights:
89% of polled fans expressed excitement for watching Super Bowl commercials, which slightly outweighs the 86% who expressed excitement for watching the game itself
75% of fans like to hear about what brands are planning for their commercials ahead of the Super Bowl
41% of fans say they have become a fan of a product because of its Super Bowl commercial and 56% say past Super Bowl commercials have deepened a connection they had with a brand
53% of Americans plan on attending a Super Bowl party this year, while 37% plan to watch at a bar. Either way, this may explain why 42% of Americans – including 57% of avid sports fans, think that the day after the Super Bowl should be a national holiday. 52% of consumers and 60% of avid sports fans would prefer if the Super Bowl was played on a Saturday.
33% of avid sports fans bought a new TV specifically for the Super Bowl.
80 FOR BRADY is inspired by the true story of four best friends living life to the fullest when they take a wild trip to the 2017 Super Bowl LI to see their hero Tom Brady play. Starring Academy Award® nominee Lily Tomlin, Academy Award® winner Jane Fonda, Academy Award® winner Rita Moreno and Academy Award® winner Sally Field, with 7-time Super Bowl Champion and producer Tom Brady, 80 FOR BRADY is in-theatres February 3, 2023.
After New York set numerous national records in its first month of mobile sports betting, the Empire State faced lofty expectations for last weekend’s Super Bowl, the marquee event on the annual U.S. sports calendar.
In the wake of Super Bowl LVI, the first Super Bowl ever for New York mobile sportsbooks, there are indications that the state may have shattered those expectations. Vancouver-based geolocation security firm GeoComply identified 80.1 million Super Bowl-related transactions among U.S. sportsbook clients, well over double the amount from last year’s Super Bowl. In total, New York activity represented about one-quarter of the company’s U.S. sports betting traffic, ranking first in the market, GeoComply Managing Director of Gaming Lindsay Slader told Sports Handle.
At the same time, about 5.6 million accounts accessed legal online sportsbooks on Super Bowl weekend, a 95% increase from the previous year, according to GeoComply. New York also ranked first in that category, representing around 20% of nationwide accounts identified by GeoComply.
The figures likely would have been higher had the Buffalo Bills ended a two-decade-plus Super Bowl drought. The Bills, one of the top favorites to reach the Super Bowl, suffered a crushing overtime defeat to the Chiefs in the AFC divisional round, a game in which they took the lead with 13 seconds left in regulation. On Monday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul disclosed that New York handled nearly $2 billion in online sports wagers over the market’s first 30 days of operations.
Will New York top $200M in Super Bowl handle?
When the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) issued conditional licenses to nine mobile sportsbooks last November, New York state Sen. Joseph Addabbo Jr. pressed the commission to roll out online sports wagering before the Super Bowl. Addabbo, chairman of the Senate Racing, Gaming, and Wagering Committee, lauded the NYSGC for the expedited rollout in launching online sports wagering before the start of the playoffs.
“I always knew New York had this kind of potential, being one of the sports meccas and capitals of the world,” Addabbo told the Gamble On podcast on Wednesday. “But I’m quite surprised sometimes at some of these numbers.”
At present, seven of the nine licensed mobile sportsbooks are live in New York, led by industry heavyweights FanDuel, Caesars Sportsbook, BetMGM, and DraftKings. BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt told the Financial Times on Monday that BetMGM took more digital bets in New York than in any other state in which it operates.
Ahead of the Super Bowl, the American Gaming Association predicted that a record 31 million Americans were expected to bet on the event, resulting in a handle of about $7.6 billion. It is important to note that the estimates also included projected betting on the unregulated black market, consisting of offshore sportsbooks and wagers placed with illegal U.S. bookmakers.
The NYSGC indicated on Monday that it will not report a separate breakout for Super Bowl wagering activity. The commission, rather, will include Super Bowl-related betting activity in Friday’s weekly mobile sports betting report.
Nevertheless, there appears to be a strong likelihood that New York reached $200 million in Super Bowl handle, even by conservative estimates. On Tuesday, neighboring New Jersey reported a Super Bowl handle of $143.7 million, second only to Nevada’s $179.8 million on the event. New York’s population is more than double that of New Jersey.
Turning back to GeoComply’s data, there are further indications that New York may eclipse the $200 million threshold. If New Yorkers averaged $12.50 per bet on 20 million wagers placed, the handle would approach an astounding $250 million. According to GeoComply’s figures, about 20.02 million transactions were identified in New York.
The average wager at DraftKings’ Illinois sportsbook in December came in at $47.80 (on a sample size of six million wagers). The Illinois metrics are gleaned from a mix of pro and college football on the month. Over the first 30 days of online sports wagering in New York, the sportsbooks handled more than $600 million on football, the NYSGC disclosed. The handle includes last month’s College Football Playoff national championship, contested on the third day of mobile sportsbook operations in the Empire State.
Next up: March Madness
Following the Super Bowl, the sports betting industry enters a relatively quiet period before the start of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament on March 15. The KeyBank Center in Buffalo will serve as one of eight regional sites for the first and second rounds of the tournament, more commonly known as March Madness.
By then, it’s possible one of the two remaining holdouts, Bally Bet and Resorts World, will have made its New York debut.
Addabbo, who pushed for an open market with more than a dozen mobile skins in New York, is impressed with the early returns considering that the state only has seven online sportsbooks.
“I’m amazed at those numbers, given the circumstances,” Addabbo added.
Matthew Stafford passed for 281 yards on 26-of-31 completions and two TDs and Cam Akers scored the go-ahead touchdown on a five-yard run with 8:26 left in the game as Los Angeles defeated Cincinnati, 27-20, in a simulation of this Sunday’s season-ending football contest by Strat-O-Matic (@StratOMatic), the market leader in sports simulation. Akers’ winning score capped an 11-play, 94-yard L.A. drive, and Cincinnati’s final possession ended with 0:22 left on a fourth-down sack by Aaron Donald.
With his team trailing, 17-13, early in the third quarter, Stafford engineered a 14-play, 75-yard drive that consumed almost six minutes, ending in a 3-yard scoring pass to Odell Beckham to give Los Angeles the lead. After a second Evan McPherson field goal tied the game with 0:16 left in the third, Cincinnati could not take advantage of a Jessie Bates interception on the next play, eventually punting to the Los Angeles 6 yard line, leading to the eventual winning drive.
The last two Cincinnati possessions ended on downs, including the Donald sack at the Cincinnati 15 closing the contest.
Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow completed 20-of-45 passes for 197 yards and a touchdown, while teammate Joe Mixon rushed for 106 yards on 16 carries to lead all runners. Sony Michel (15 carries, 54 yards) and Akers (12 rushes, 52 yards) shared the load on the ground for Los Angeles.
Sports Gambling Podcast Network (SPGN) hosts Sean Green and Ryan Kramer will make their debut on Super Bowl Radio Row next week, producing live, daily, mid-afternoon shows for the Blue Wire Podcast Network at the National Football League’s annual promotional extravaganza.
One of the fastest-growing sports wagering prognostication and analysis website/podcast platforms, SGPN hosted the first-ever show last year from the showpiece Blue Wire Studio at Wynn Las Vegas, where some of America’s most prominent podcasts are produced. SGPN co-founders Green and Kramer will interview prominent guests each day on Radio Row as they provide their unique, entertainment-oriented analysis and predictions on the Feb. 14 confrontation between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals.
They will also be doing guest appearances on other shows during the week-long mediafest, providing definitive calls on the side, over/under and on the hundreds of prop bets that populate the sportsbooks in this new-age world of legalized wagering.
A primary feature of the week’s content will be SGPN’s $100,000 Super Bowl Props Contest, in which entrants must
predict the outcome of 10 specific offerings with money to be awarded to those who go 10-for-10.
Fans can enter the SGPN Super Bowl Props Contest on the SGPN App, which is available on all devices and is downloadable at Apple’s App Store, the Google Play Store and from www.SportsGamblingPodcast.com. SGPN is the only independently-owned and operated sports gambling media network that places a premium on entertainment value.
The no-cost app includes content for sports wagerers on the move from over 50 SGPN writers and personalities plus exclusive access to multiple, free audience contests, now including the $100,000 Super Bowl Props Contest.
“We do expect some of our biggest audiences as we host from Radio Row during Super Bowl Week,” offered Green, whose company will be celebrating its 10th anniversary this spring. “We’ll let people know who, what, why and how much on the Rams and Bengals, for sure. We’ll also have the other major sports covered for those seeking input on betting options across the entire spectrum of sports.”
“We appreciate our friends at Blue Wire and look forward to being part of the action next week,” offered Kramer, who correctly picked Georgia plus the under January 10 in the College Football Playoff Championship Game. “The NFL is surging to the end of a great season, there’s tremendous interest in these quarterbacks and the game will likely live up to the hype.”
Today, Super Squares®, the live mobile game show that launches Advertising as a Sport™, announces the World’s Biggest Super Bowl Squares Party, happening concurrently with Super Bowl LV on Sunday on February 7th where the Kansas City Chiefs will go head-to-head with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Thousands will play the football squares game using the free-to-play app while watching the NFL Championship game on television. Fans seeking a multi-screen experience will be able to join a live Twitch watch party hosted by notable NFL analyst Mike Golic, and NFL Super Bowl XLVII Champion and Commissioner of Sports at React, Matt Birk.
The football squares tournament happening on Super Squares® has been designated as a World Record attempt by Guinness World Records, allowing every participant the opportunity to help set a World Record simply by competing in the app. In addition to the Guinness World Record attempt and fun happenings on Twitch.tv, Super Squares® offers a $2.4 million prize pool, including a $1 million Perfect Game Jackpot that will be doubled to $2 million when shared with a ‘Buddy’ who may have referred the Winner to Super Squares®. The highest score during the tournament-culminating Bigger Game® event will be awarded a $80,000 Rivian Electric Adventure Vehicle, expected to roll into production later this year.
“Playing the football squares game is a tradition that brings everyone together and I’m happy we can still do so virtually this year,” said Mike Golic, notable NFL analyst and former ESPN commentator. “I’ve always been a fan of the squares game and I’m proud to lead the charge for fans to move from paper squares to Super Squares®. Mobile technology has eliminated paper in mail, maps and even Fantasy Football, and Super Squares® takes a game that millions have played on paper to the next level – just in time for a season where social distancing is keeping us apart.”
While in-person paper-based squares games usually found in offices, pubs and parties are less practical, the Super Squares® app still allows friends to play against each other using a proprietary “SkyBox” feature. To demonstrate, Golic has created his own SkyBox and is inviting “…everyone to crash my SkyBox and compare your final score to mine. I’ll award $250 from the Pro Football Hall of Game store to the highest score in my SkyBox, IF you can beat me!” Super Squares® players can enter the SkyBox by using the password “Golic” when joining gameplay on February 7th.
The free-to-play app combines the score matching elements of squares, with prediction and ad gamification, to provide a unique game show element that attracts casual and avid sports fans alike. Since the start of the 2020 season Super Squares® has already awarded over $300,000 to more than 3,000 players, and the Guiness World Record attempt will be the first time the entire nation will converge in a national tournament around the Super Bowl.
“This has been a different NFL season for all fans and I’m thrilled to be part of something that is bringing everyone together to bond over the game, but also be part of the real-time feedback for Super Bowl advertising,” said Matt Birk, Commissioner of Sports at React, the company behind Super Squares® and NFL Super Bowl Champion. “The Super Bowl is, of course, about crowning the NFL Champion, but it has also developed into a showcase for ads and people all over the country talk about advertising. Super Squares® understands this unique relationship and puts brands at the center of the action.”
Super Squares®, which piloted in May 2020, is the first reactive product showcasing the natural relationship between sports and branding. Players compete while watching live sports and are prompted to rate each in-app mobile TV commercial and then answer questions about them and are rewarded for being correct. This provides instant ad sentiment while verifying attention and ad recall, removing all the guesswork brands have about the delivery and effectiveness of their ads. These reactions provide participating brands and agencies with census-level validation of fan engagement and sentiment, measurable over time. This depth of understanding is simply not available to brands delivering traditional TV ads, even when they spend $5.5 million for a single TV spot. The live game show app provides consumers an opportunity to “get in the game” and will ultimately allow sports fans around the world to engage with all sports, no matter the league.
Sports is all about excitement—sportsbooks count on it. As legal sportsbooks across the U.S. grew over the decade, automated video highlights production platform Thuuz culled data from more than a quarter million events to determine the most exciting games of the last 10 years.
“We all have our memorable moments, but what we have been able to
do, and do every day, is measure the overall excitement in a wide
range of sports events to produce this very special list,” said
Warren Packard, Thuuz CEO. “This amazing cross section from around
the world shows the global nature of sports fandom and provides us
with a unique snapshot on what really made hearts pound the last ten
years.”
Using their
custom designed algorithms to measure real-time event excitement,
Thuuz provides a unique look into what games have gotten fans the
most excited and engaged through the close of 2019.
The game
excitement ratings are measured on a 0 to 100 scale and take into
consideration game pace, team parity, play novelty, momentum shifts,
social buzz, and historical context. The algorithms behind the
excitement ratings are statistically calibrated to insure the
appropriate distribution of ratings across the duration of a season
or course of a tournament.
Using the Thuuz
excitement measurement platform, the top ten most exciting games of
the decade were:
New England
Patriots 34, Atlanta Falcons 28 (NFL): 2/5/2017. The Patriots
rally to claim their Super Bowl title in one of the greatest
comebacks in NFL history. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=016LXFHpFCk
St. Louis
Cardinals 10 Texas Rangers 9 (MLB): 10/27/2011 David Freese late
game heroics created an instant heart stopping classic and helped
lead the Cardinals to the World Series title.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4cd3XzzqMw
FC Barcelona 6
PSG 1 (UCL): 3/8/2017 Barca was down 4-0 after 1st leg and had to
rally with a massive comeback, the greatest comeback in Champions
League 2 leg history. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CgHT6_leeI
Novak Djokovic
vs Rafael Nadal 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-5 (ATP): 1/29/2012:
Probably the greatest tennis match ever in 5+ hour epic took place
Down Under in the Australian Open final Aussie Open Final.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kaaXz4IgrA
Villanova
Wildcats 77, North Carolina Tar Heels 74 (NCAAMB): 4/4/2016:
Villanova goes end to end with Kris Jenkins buzzer beater giving the
Wildcats the national title.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFKZ84aV-qw
