The Super Bowl is regularly the biggest television event of the year, and Super Bowl LX should be no different. While the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks matchup may not be the biggest draw in and of itself, fans can still expect an entertainment extravaganza—and a heavily watched one, at that.
Last year’s Super Bowl was a blowout and still drew a record audience. According to Nielsen (h/t The Associated Press), the audience peaked at 137.7 million viewers in the second quarter.
This year’s game does have some intriguing on-field storylines, of course. Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel has a chance to win a Super Bowl as both a player and a coach for New England. Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold has an opportunity to be the first member of the vaunted 2018 quarterback class to win a Lombardi Trophy.
That 2018 class also featured Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Baker Mayfield.
However, the game isn’t going to feature the sort of star power that appeals to the most casual of fans. Instead, they’re likely to gravitate to the always-entertaining commercials and the Super Bowl’s star-studded lineup of performers.
While Bad Bunny will headline the halftime show, American singer-songwriter Charlie Puth will help open the evening with his rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Brandi Carlile will perform “America the Beautiful,” while Coco Jones will perform “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
According to Puth, he essentially had to audition for the opportunity to be a part of the festivities.
“I actually have always wanted to do this, and I recorded a little demo, just me singing with the Rhodes and sent it to Roc Nation. I’ve been told Jay-Z loved it, and it got to [NFL Commissioner Roger] Goodell and they all said that I could do it,” Puth told Brian Hiatt of Rolling Stone
While fans can certainly enjoy Puth’s rendition for its own merits, they can also wager on the performance—as they can wager on just about every other aspect of the Super Bowl experience.
According to Odds Shark, the over/under for rendition length is set at 119.5 seconds. According to Nick Holz and Andrew Dixon of Odds Shark, only three of the last eight national anthem performers have gone over two minutes.
Last year’s performer, Jon Batiste, finished his rendition in just under 120 seconds. Chris Stapleton was the last performer to go over two minutes, which he did at Super Bowl XVII in 2023. Puth is -110 (bet $110 to win $100) for both the over and the under.
Fans can also bet on the length of the final note, which performers often hold. The over/under for “Brave” is 3.5 seconds. Puth is -122 to hit the over and has even odds for the under.
Wagering options for the national anthem aren’t limited to Puth’s performance itself either. Fans can bet on whether a player or coach cries (-230) during the performance or not (+184).
Fans can also bet on whether Darnold (+100) or Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (-160) is the first quarterback shown during the performance. They can also wager on whether Vrabel (-142) or Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald (+116) is the first coach shown during the national anthem.
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