Benzinga - by Chris Katje, Benzinga Staff Writer.
Each year, millions of people watch other people play video games across genres like shooting, turn-based and sports. Watching a simulation of a leading sports franchise could have made a big profit for fans who followed along with a prediction for the outcome of Super Bowl LVIII.
What Happened: The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers in overtime with a score of 25-22 on Sunday. The win gave the Chiefs back-to-back Super Bowl victories, joining a short list of teams to accomplish the feat.
Prior to the start of the 2023 NFL season, a simulation of all the scheduled and playoff games was done using the popular Madden 24 video game from Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ:EA).
In the simulation, it was the Chiefs who were predicted to win the Super Bowl, defeating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl LVIII. The simulation not only correctly predicted the Chiefs winning Super Bowl LVIII, but also correctly predicted that quarterback Patrick Mahomes would win a third Super Bowl MVP.
Not everything in the simulation went according to plan. The prediction got seven of the 14 NFL Playoff teams correct, but missed out on the Baltimore Ravens, San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions making the postseason. The three teams were the other members of the semi-finals alongside the Chiefs.
The simulation of Madden 24 follows a Benzinga story of the FIFA video game from Electronic Arts being used to correctly predict the winner of four straight World Cup winners.
Related Link: Super Bowl LVIII Could Break Viewership Records: Are Viewers More Excited About Football, Usher, Commercials Or Taylor Swift?
Betting Odds: Bettors who took the Madden 24 simulation to heart and thought the Chiefs could win back-to-back Super Bowls would have profited nicely.
The Chiefs had odds of +600 to win Super Bowl LVIII at the beginning of the season. This means a $100 bet would have paid out a profit of $650.
The simulation also correctly predicted Mahomes winning the Super Bowl MVP. Mahomes was the favorite to win the Super Bowl MVP once the Super Bowl matchup was set, with odds of +125. Mahomes would have paid more depending on when a bet was placed. A $100 bet on Mahomes to win Super Bowl MVP before the Super Bowl paid out a profit of $125.
Benzinga previously listed three potential bets based on the Madden 24 simulation, which included the Green Bay Packers winning the NFC North at +400, the Buccaneers making the playoffs at +400 and the Buccaneers winning the NFC South at +1,000. The bets were based on outcomes that weren't favorites from sportsbooks like DraftKings Inc (NASDAQ:DKNG).
While the Packers didn't win the NFC North, the Buccaneers won the NFC South and made the NFL Playoffs. Betting $100 on each of these three outcomes for a total of $300 would have turned into $1,400 in profits.
Benzinga will keep readers informed about the upcoming sports video game simulations, while reminding that previous outcomes do not guarantee accuracy in future predictions.
The Chiefs are currently ranked as the second favorite with +650 odds to win Super Bowl LIX, trailing behind the 49ers, who lead with +550 odds for the upcoming Super Bowl victory. To date, no NFL team has won three straight Super Bowls.
Read Next: Patrick Mahomes Signs With Logan Paul-Backed PRIME Drink Company: Why This Could Be Bad News For Coca-Cola And Pepsi
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