The wildest bets in sports of 2025, from the Pope to Jake Paul to the CFP

It is simple to say this now with the yr behind us, however wanting again at 2025, some betting selections had been, maybe … miscalculated.

Just a few examples:

This previous offseason, DraftKings reported taking a $25,000 wager on the Las Vegas Raiders at 100-1 to win the Tremendous Bowl. The Raiders would fall very wanting successful the Tremendous Bowl.

102 entries in Circa Survivor, a high-stakes NFL survivor contest operated by a Las Vegas on line casino, did not submit their picks by the weekly deadline this season and had been eradicated. The competition had a $1,000 buy-in and an $18.7 million prize pool.

Prediction market Kalshi famous that one in every of its clients invested $183,954 in social-media-influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul to beat energetic, two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua. Paul ended up within the hospital with a damaged jaw, courtesy of a devastating proper hand from Joshua in his knockout victory. Reside and study, proper?

The yr wasn’t all unhealthy for gamblers. There have been some betting success tales that left sportsbook executives lamenting to shareholders about „customer-friendly outcomes“ or pleading to playing regulators to permit them to void angle-shooting parlays altogether. Regardless of these setbacks, the bookmaking enterprise is predicted to outlive within the new yr.

As we mirror on the yr in betting, we want you fewer miscalculations in 2026.

2025’s wildest bets

Jan. 9: A bettor with DraftKings positioned a 50-cent, 19-leg faculty basketball parlay at +43,473,946 odds. All 19 groups coated the unfold; 17 of them had been from small conferences, together with Stetson, Jacksonville and IU Indianapolis.

The 50-cent parlay received $217,370.23.

Jan. 28: A bettor with DraftKings positioned a $1,000 wager on Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza to win the Heisman Trophy at 100-1 odds. Eleven months later in December, Mendoza was awarded the Heisman, leading to a internet $100,000 win.

Feb. 9: The Philadelphia Eagles blew out the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs in Tremendous Bowl LIX 40-22. BetMGM clients misplaced extra money on the Tremendous Bowl than on every other sport in any sport in 2025, the sportsbook reported.

April 21: Sportsbooks started noticing an uncommon spike in house run bets on a Wednesday morning, early within the MLB season. The bets weren’t on Aaron Decide or Shohei Ohtani. They had been on Nick Castellanos, a journeyman outfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies and the topic of an web meme that left him with a repute for homering on days with massive information.

Editor’s Picks

2 Associated

„We began wanting round to see what was happening, and noticed that the Pope had died,“ BetMGM’s Halvor Egeland recalled.

Egeland mentioned BetMGM not often accrues sufficient legal responsibility on a house run prop to regulate the chances, however they did in order that day, shortening Castellanos‘ value from +775 to +550. It did not sluggish the motion. By the tip of the day, extra bets had been positioned on Castellanos to homer than there have been on every other group or any participant in all sports activities.

Castellanos went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in a 5-4 Phillies‘ loss to the New York Mets.

June 5: A bettor in Ohio with BetMGM positioned an $8 million wager on the closely favored Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder to beat the Indiana Pacers within the NBA Finals at -700 odds.

The Thunder outlasted the Pacers in seven video games, and the bettor received a internet $1.42 million.

June 15: J.J. Spaun, a 150-1 lengthy shot, received the U.S. Open. Spaun had the longest odds of any participant to win since Phil Mickelson (200-1) received the PGA Championship in 2021.

June 24: A bettor in Arizona with BetMGM positioned three massive bets on the winner of the School Soccer Playoff:

$300,000 on Texas at 5-1$200,000 on Penn State at +750$115,000 on Clemson at 13-1

All three groups missed the CFP.

June 25: The Dallas Mavericks chosen Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 decide within the NBA draft. The Mavericks had been 500-1 to choose Flagg, the longest odds of any single futures wager supplied by DraftKings in 2026.

Aug. 23: Coming into the faculty soccer season, North Carolina, with first-year coach Invoice Belichick, had attracted the identical amount of cash and bets to win the nationwide championship as Indiana at BetMGM sportsbooks. The Hoosiers completed the season undefeated and entered the CFP as the highest seed, whereas the Tar Heels went 4-8.

Aug. 30: A bettor with DraftKings picked the winner of all 15 MLB video games that Saturday to win $125,088.36 off a $5, 15-leg parlay.

All of ESPN. Multi function place.

Watch your favourite occasions within the newly enhanced ESPN App. Be taught extra about what plan is best for you. Signal Up Now

Aug. 31: A bettor with FanDuel tailed beloved faculty soccer character Lee Corso’s closing picks on School Gameday and received $1,317.18 off a $10 six-leg parlay that included Florida State over Alabama straight-up. Corso retired from the present this yr.

Sept. 7: The Buffalo Payments mounted a outstanding comeback to beat the Baltimore Ravens 41-40 within the Sunday prime-time sport in Week 1 of the NFL season. The high-scoring affair resulted within the largest win on any sport for purchasers at BetMGM on the yr, the sportsbook reported. In an earnings name, DraftKings mentioned Payments-Ravens produced the most important loss ever for the sportsbook.

Sept. 11: A bettor with Caesars Sportsbook risked $715,000 on +140 underdog Terence Crawford to beat Canelo Alvarez and received a internet $985,000 when Crawford received by unanimous choice.

Oct. 15: A bettor in Massachusetts with DraftKings positioned 27 parlay bets centered on the variety of hits Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Nathan Lukes would have within the American League Championship Sequence in opposition to the Seattle Mariners. The bettor risked $12,950 for an opportunity to win $934,147.83.

DraftKings informed the Massachusetts Gaming Fee (MGC) {that a} technical error allowed the bettor to incorporate Lukes five-plus, six-plus, seven-plus and eight-plus hits through the ALCS in parlays to escalate the chances. Lukes recorded 9 hits within the ALCS.

DraftKings informed the MGC that it believed a relative of the bettor was amongst six clients in New Jersey who additionally positioned related parlays on Lukes, leading to a $1.8 million win. Gaming regulators in Massachusetts and New Jersey denied DraftKings‘ request to void the wagers.

Nov. 2: One week after Nationwide Tight Ends Day, a bettor with Caesars Sportsbook put 5 tight ends to attain the primary landing of their respective video games in a collection of parlays. 4 of the 5 — the New York Giants‘ Theo Johnson, the Los Angeles Rams‘ Tyler Higbee, the Payments‘ Dalton Kincaid and the Detroit Lions‘ Sam LaPorta — delivered for the bettor, leading to an roughly $111,000 win.

„The shopper wager each permutation of those 5 picks and wager $2.50 a leg with a possible win of just below $2 million,“ Joey Feazel of Caesars Sportsbook mentioned. „Whereas the bettor didn’t hit all 5, hitting 4 of the 5 netted over $111,000 in winnings. A unbelievable funding for the bettor.“

Dec. 7: A bettor with Arduous Rock BET hit a $1, 20-leg parlay that includes all faculty basketball unders that resulted in a $344,902.81 payout. At +34,490,181, it is the longest odds on a profitable parlay ever at Arduous Rock BET, the corporate mentioned.

Dec. 8: A bettor with Fanatics wagered $1.47 million on a four-leg NFL parlay in Week 14 that paid a internet $1.86 million, the most important successful wager of the yr on the sportsbook. The 4 legs: Rams cash line over the Arizona Cardinals; Inexperienced Bay Packers cash line over the Chicago Bears; and Denver Broncos over the Raiders and beneath in Pittsburgh Steelers-Ravens (alternate line).

Dec. 14: A bettor efficiently predicted the participant to attain the primary landing in 5 NFL video games, turning a 10-cent parlay right into a $7,356.80 payday.

ESPN’s Doug Greenberg contributed to this story.