Will there be an Octopus in Super Bowl 2026? Odds, History, and How to Bet

It's time to ponder one of the annual burning questions ahead of kickoff: Will there be an octopus in Super Bowl 2026?

While a football-playing octopus would take the challenge of beating the Seattle Seahawks' defense from daunting to impossible, that's not what we're looking at here (though tell us if there's a depth-chart change).

Let's add to our Super Bowl predictions while diving into how an octopus does appear on a football field.

🐙 Will there be an octopus in Super Bowl 2026?

In football, an octopus occurs when the same player accounts for eight points on one drive while scoring both a touchdown and the subsequent two-point conversion. It's always one of the most entertaining props to include as part of your Super Bowl Novelty prop bets.

There's only been one Octopus in Super Bowl history, though it occurred in the not-so-distant past. It happened in the fourth quarter of Super 57, and in a development that surprises absolutely no one, the tush push was involved.

While Jalen Hurts is responsible for the lone octopus during a Super Bowl game, there are usually a handful scattered throughout every NFL season.

However, this past campaign was light on octopus occurrences, with only three after 11 in 2024. Chris Godwin of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was the most recent to accomplish the feat back in Week 15.

The betting odds at the best Super Bowl betting sites always feature a tasty payout if an octopus surfaces in the title game, including the offering from DraftKings this year, which can be found under the "game props" menu. 

🔮 Super Bowl Octopus prediction

Sure, octopus sightings during the Super Bowl are rare, but it's not difficult to envision the perfect scenario setting up tonight, just as it did for Hurts.

While he's not on Hurts' level of mobility because few are among quarterbacks, Patriots passer Drake Maye is still plenty athletic. He accounted for 450 rushing yards this season, the second straight year in which he's tallied 400-plus yards on the ground. And he scored four times as a runner.

He also reached pay dirt in the AFC Championship game, and Maye has registered 65-plus rushing yards twice during the playoffs. So he comes with ample scoring potential for a team likely to be playing from behind late while coming in as a 4.5-point underdog.

Maye would need to give us one scamper to get into the end zone, and then he wouldn't be far away from completing a second lunge.

Approach with the proper sprinkle here, as the implied odds of this bet hitting are just 6.25%. But the fun police will arrive at your door immediately if you bet "no."

Prediction: Yes (+1500)