Following the difficult loss for the Detroit Lions in the NFC Championship, many Michiganders may have had a common reaction.
“I’m not watching the Super Bowl this year!”
The disappointment of the Lions blowing a 17-point lead to the San Francisco 49ers left a bad taste in the mouths of the fanbase toward football.
While those original sentiments toward the Super Bowl LVIII may have been a very real feeling, they weren’t realistic in hindsight.
Let’s face it, if you’re a football fan, you are watching the Super Bowl.
You can still make your proclamations about boycotting the game, but Michigan sports betting trends show that the state is as interested in this year’s game as ever.
Michigan leading BetMGM’s Super Bowl betting
If Lions fans are truly avoiding the Super Bowl, they certainly aren’t avoiding betting on the game.
According to BetMGM Sportsbook Michigan, Michigan currently is the state with the most bets on the Super Bowl on its application.
Michigan sits No. 1 at BetMGM, with Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, and Nevada rounding out the top five.
When it comes to support, Michigan bettors are riding with the Kansas City Chiefs as the slight underdog.
Where Lions fans could still be jaded is rooting against San Francisco.
According to DraftKings Sportsbook Michigan, 71% of the handle on the Super Bowl is going on the Chiefs. That makes up 67% of the bets.
BetMGM indicated that the majority of Michigan’s Super Bowl wagers were also going on Kansas City.
US projected to wager $1.29 billion on Super Bowl
All signs are pointing to Super Bowl LVIII will be the most wagered-on sporting event in the United States.
PlayMichigan sister site Legal Sports Report is projecting that $1.29 billion will be legally wagered on for this year’s game. That’s a big jump from last year’s $1.08 billion for Super Bowl LVII.
When it comes to Michigan, LSR is projecting Michigan to make $46.6 million in wagers on the Super Bowl this year. That would rank ninth amongst all states with some form of legal sports betting.
LSR projects the following states as the top 10 in betting on Super Bowl LVIII:
- Nevada: $169 million
- New York: $139 million
- New Jersey: $114 million
- Florida: $90.4 million
- Ohio: $88.4 million
- Pennsylvania: $85.2 million
- Illinois: $82.3 million
- Arizona: $62.8 million
- Michigan: $46.6 million
- Maryland: $46.4 million
Michigan’s projected Super Bowl betting this year would be slightly ahead of last year’s wagering in the state, which was closer to $44 million.
Lions moving up 2025 Super Bowl markets
Although Super Bowl betting in Michigan is the main attraction right now, Detroit Lions fans have started to turn their attention to the 2024-25 NFL season.
Early markets for next year’s Super Bowl winner have the Lions among the favorites.
DraftKings lists the Lions at +1200 to win next season’s Super Bowl. They rank fifth among the shortest odds in the league. San Francisco is favored at +550.
FanDuel Sportsbook Michigan opened its market with the Lions at +1700 to win next year’s Super Bowl. However, those odds have already moved up to +1200. That ranks fourth in FanDuel’s current 2025 Super Bowl market.
With Detroit being able to retain coordinators Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn, Lions fans believe that next season could finally be the team’s year.