Coloradans bet enough money on Super Bowl LVII to buy Russell Wilson’s Cherry Hills Village home, but not enough to cover his annual salary as the Denver Broncos’ quarterback.
Total Colorado wagers on last month’s Super Bowl came in at $38 million, according to a news release from the state Division of Gaming.
For what it’s worth, Wilson bought his house for $25 million in 2022. He earned an average annual salary last season of $48.5 million while leading the Broncos to a 5-12 record and a last-place finish in the AFC West.
While $38 million is a lot of money, Colorado’s gamblers were less enthusiastic about the Super Bowl this year than the 2022 game, as wagers dropped 7.5%, the gaming division reported. Total wagers in 2022 were $41 million.
Perhaps it’s Kansas City Chiefs fatigue. The Broncos’ archrival won its second Super Bowl in four years.
“It could be,” said Suzanne Karrer, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Revenue.
Karrer has another theory, though. Call it the Tom Brady Phenomenon.
“Everybody placed bets on Tom Brady performing well,” she said. “That’s my personal theory. But we don’t know for sure.”
The total sports-betting wagers for January 2023 also were down. Gamblers in Colorado bet $547 million on all sports in January 2023, compared to $573 million during the same month in 2022, the gaming division’s news release said. That’s a 4.6% drop.
The most popular sports for Colorado gamblers in January were:
- NBA: $178 million
- NFL: $122 million
- NCAA basketball: $50 million
- Tennis: $29 million
- Hockey: $22 million
The Denver Nuggets’ success is driving increased betting on the NBA, Karrer said.
“Coloradans really love their teams,” she said. “Any way they can interact with their teams, they take advantage of it.”
Colorado collected $2.6 million in taxes off January sports betting, the gaming division said.
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