Was the Gatorade Color Compromised Before Super Bowl LVIII Kickoff? 

Did someone get caught with their hand in the Gatorade cooler? 

That’s what is being alleged after the betting line on which color the winning coach would be bathed in took a massive spike in purple’s favor before Sunday’s kickoff. 

On DraftKings, the odds for purple dropped from -275 to -130 before the start of Chiefs-Niners, according to the New York Post. In the days leading up to the game, purple had received just 1% of the overall market money on BetMGM. 

Of course, purple, usually a grape-flavored variant of the sports beverage, was the color Andy Reid was doused in after the Chiefs beat the 49ers in overtime. DraftKings and BetMGM reported a similar spike in bets on the color as kickoff approached, with roughly 17–18% of the money coming on purple, leading some gamblers to wonder whether the color leaked out. 

The handle @DailyHitman on X (the app formerly known as Twitter) posted a pair of texts without providing much context that say they were tipped off about the color being purple. They could also be fake, but the information was still accurate, leaving room for wonder.

Betting on the Gatorade color was already a niche market among prop betters, as such odds are outlawed in 32 states. Only six states and Washington, D.C., allow gamblers to wager on the Gatorade color. With such a finite market for such bets, it could be the end of such bets, though companies claim they’ll shut down the market if word leaks onto social media. Should it happen, those wanting to bet on a color could always turn to roulette.