What Is An Octopus In Football, and Will There Be One In Super Bowl LVII?

If you’re like me, the Super Bowl is equivalent to Christmas in the gambling world. There are so many fun little novelty bets that you can place, from the outcome of the coin toss to the jersey number of the first touchdown scorer–you can seemingly bet on everything. That includes this one elusive bet that leaves many people scratching their heads while scrolling through their favorite online sportsbook:

Will there be an Octopus?

Now I’ll be honest, the first time I saw this on DraftKings Sportsbook a few years ago, I thought they were literally asking if an octopus would get any screen time during the big game. I know, childish–but that would be an electric bet to follow and there’s no telling me otherwise. 

In reality, an Octopus is something that makes MUCH more sense–so let’s get into it.

What is an Octopus?

An octopus in football terms is when a team successfully scores a touchdown and then converts the two-point conversion. So, it’s a total of eight points. Eight points, eight legs, octopus…get it?

There have been approximately 7,500 games since the two-point conversion was implemented in 1995, and only 168 octopuses…octopi?...have been completed. One of the most infamous octopi occurred the last time the Eagles were in the Super Bowl, in the form of the Philly Special.

Will there be an Octopus in Super Bowl LVII?

According to DraftKings Sportsbook, probably not. The odds are currently listed as such:

Will there be an octopus?

Yes (+1400)

No (-10000)

Yep, that says -10,000. BUT, if you really think there might be an octopus–this isn’t a bad bet. ESPECIALLY considering the Eagles and their Philly Special history. I’ll be sure to have a ton of bets on the board for the big game, and I can almost guarantee that an octopus occurring will be one of them.