The Kansas City Chiefs are the underdogs to win Super Bowl LVIII against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday – and their cause may not have been helped by a bet placed by mega-wealthy rapper Drake.
The Canadian sports fan, whose full name is Aubrey Drake Graham, revealed the huge wager in one of his familiar social media posts showing off his betting slips on huge events on Saturday.
Drake’s 145 million followers were treated to a shot of the slip which appeared to show that the chart-topper had placed a $1.15 million stake on the Chiefs on Friday.
“I can’t bet against the Swifties,” Drake added, referencing fellow musician Taylor Swift, who is expected to attend the game because her boyfriend – tight end Travis Kelce – plays for the Chiefs.
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Should the Chiefs win, Drake will pocket a total payout of $2.346m – although estimates of his net worth suggest that would amount to less than 1% of his vast personal fortune.
The 37-year-old will have more riding on the result than most when he watches the showpiece at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium, where rapper Usher will perform in the highly-anticipated half-time show.
What is the Drake ‘curse’?
Drake has a mixed record when it comes his long history of gambling on sporting events, leading some fans to speak of a Drake ‘curse’ which they believe spells bad news for the teams and athletes he bets on or shows support for.
The Philadelphia 76ers and Kentucky Wildcats have lost after being backed by the five-time Grammy Awards winner, although he lumped on the Chiefs before they won Super Bowl LVII and has also been a lucky charm for the Los Angeles Rams.
Prepare for Super Bowl LVIII with our other NFL news stories:
Super Bowl LVIII: Kansas City Chiefs v San Francisco 49ers preview
Flacco, Foles, Brady, Mahomes: A decade in Super Bowl MVPs
Lamar Jackson still has ‘stuff to prove’ despite MVP award
Boxer Anthony Joshua suffered a shock defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr after earning Drake’s support in 2019, and Conor McGregor was supported at ringside by Drake when he lost his colossal UFC showdown with Khabib Nurmagomedov a year earlier.
An avid admirer of sports jerseys, Drake’s appearances in Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain shirts have preceded defeats for the European football giants.
There was a curious situation during the 2022 Fifa World Cup final when Drake placed $1m on Argentina to beat France.
Despite Drake picking the winners correctly, his bet appeared to be a losing one because he backed Lionel Messi’s side to win after 90 minutes.
For bookmakers’ purposes, the match finished in a draw in regular time before being settled after extra time and penalties in Qatar.
