2025 Big Bets Report: 6-Figure, 15-Leg Parlay Alive; CFP Bettor Loses $1.25 Milly

There were bunches of big bets and interesting player-prop parlays between Thursday and Sunday, in NFL Week 16 odds and College Football Playoff odds.

But arguably the most intriguing play is one that remains alive heading to Monday night.

Picking any NFL game against the spread is often no easy task. Throwing three or four teams into a point-spread parlay significantly heightens the degree of difficulty.

String together a 15-game spread parlay? Forget about it.

Or maybe, think about it, as a DraftKings Sportsbook customer did. That ticket is alive running to tonight’s 49ers-Colts game, with a six-figure payout on the line.

More on that pizza-money parlay, along with a million-dollar wager gone awry, and other big bets and fun parlay payouts, as we recap NFL and college football betting this past weekend.

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Monday Night Miracle?

I don’t advise making 15-leg parlay bets. Too many things have to go right, and it’s just too easy for one or more things to go wrong.

But I understand the lottery-ticket-type attraction. So, as long as you keep expectations — and more importantly, bet size — reasonable, then have at it.

A DraftKings customer did just that and is in position for a major monetary gift just in time for Christmas. The bettor put $10 on a point-spread parlay that included every game from Saturday afternoon to Monday night.

The odds: A ridiculous +1650477, or just shy of 16505/1.

Amazingly, the first 14 games are in. The bettor mixed in just the right underdogs — including the Patriots, Panthers, Browns and Titans — and got the escape of a lifetime on the Bears’ stunning 22-16 overtime win vs. the Packers on Saturday night.

All that remains: 49ers -5.5 vs. the Colts.

If San Francisco wins and covers tonight, then that $10 turns into a whopping $165,057.78. That’ll make me a Niners fan, and I haven’t got a penny on this game.

Million-Dollar Miss

On Friday night, in the first game on the College Football Playoff oddsboard, No. 8 Oklahoma was a 1.5-point home favorite against No. 9 Alabama.

By the end of the first quarter, the Sooners led 10-0. Barely four minutes into the second quarter, Oklahoma went up 17-0, and it looked as if the rout was on.

That was good news for the DraftKings customer, who put a whopping $1.25 million on Oklahoma -125. All the Sooners had to do was win, by any margin, and that customer would land a Christmas bonus of $1 million profit (total payout $2.25 million). 

But Alabama was having none of it. 

By halftime, ‘Bama tied the game at 17, and the Crimson Tide ultimately went on to a stunning 34-24 victory.

That’s a rough way to roll into Christmas week.

Parlay Partay

Let’s get back to some great winners, on bet sizes much more relatable to all of us average Joes and Janes.

At Fanatics Sportsbook, a customer strung together a six-leg anytime touchdown parlay, tied to players in three of Sunday’s four late-window games: Steelers-Lions, Jaguars-Broncos and Falcons-Cardinals.

The wager: A mere 10 bucks. The odds: A massive +112513. Or in easier-to-consume terms, about 1125/1.

Better still, the bettor utilized a 25% profit boost promotion, hiking those odds beyond 1400/1. 

And even better than that, the wager settled by halftime of all those games, with the last touchdown by far the craziest.

Steelers running back Kenneth Gainwell was literally on his back — due to pass interference — but still somehow made a juggling catch of a long pass from Aaron Rodgers. Having not been touched after getting possession, Gainwell jumped up and scampered the final 11 yards for the score.

So by halftime of those games, that customer’s $10 investment became a $14,076.06 payout.

Working Overtime

How about this shot in the dark: On Thursday night, a Fanatics customer had a feeling that the big Rams-Seahawks showdown might go to overtime.

Oh, and that the Pelicans-Rockets and Mavericks-Pistons games would stretch beyond regulation, too.

So the bettor put all of nine dollars on a parlay of all three games going to overtime. 

Pelicans-Rockets went to OT tied at 119, with New Orleans going on to win 133-128. Mavs-Pistons was tied at 110, and Dallas then won 116-114 in overtime.

Rams-Seahawks didn’t seem like overtime was in the cards, with Los Angeles up 30-14 well into the fourth quarter. But Seattle made a big comeback that included a punt-return TD and three 2-point conversions.

Again, all the bettor needed was all three games to go to overtime. The final score didn’t matter. That said, at odds of +111700 (1117/1), the final score for the bettor was a blowout win of $10,053.

Also in the Rams-Seahawks thriller, in the brief break before overtime began, a FanDuel Sportsbook customer quickly cobbled together a six-leg in-game parlay that played out perfectly. 

That included the cappers of Puka Nacua scoring for the Rams, which he did on a 41-yard catch-and-run, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba scoring for the Seahawks, which he did on a 4-yard reception.

With odds of +21061 (about 211/1), the parlay proved a superfast way to turn $5 into $1,058.07.

Here’s Hoping You Had It

It’s not all about making big bets or cashing out huge on a 10-leg parlay. Which, just to be clear, is rare. Always keep that firmly in mind.

Sometimes, it’s about putting 10 bucks on a single straight bet, backing a long shot or semi-long shot, and getting a solid return on investment.

Or maybe just a two-leg parlay. At least keep it a little simpler.

A FanDuel customer followed that logic in Sunday’s early window of NFL games. The bettor put $9 on Harold Fannin Jr. +1500 to score the first touchdown of the Browns-Bills game, and Ryan Flournoy +2000 to score the first TD of the Cowboys-Chargers game.

Add that up, and you’ve got odds of +33500, or 335/1.

Fannin gave Cleveland a 7-0 lead with a TD early in the first quarter, and Flournoy did likewise for Dallas.

In less than five minutes of game time for both matchups, the bettor’s nine bucks became $3,024.

Simpler still, of course, is just betting on one thing to happen. At DraftKings, after the Bears-Packers game went to overtime, and while Green Bay had the first possession, a customer put $75 on Bears wideout D.J. Moore scoring a touchdown, at +7500 odds (75/1).

The Packers ultimately fumbled away the ball, and the Bears won 22-16 on Moore’s 46-yard TD catch. 

So a $75 flier bet turned into $7,500.

At FanDuel, Bears wideout Jahdae Walker was +1600 to score a touchdown against the Packers.

Walker scored the TD that sent the game to overtime tied at 16. If you’d put a tenner on that, then you’d have an extra $160 in your wallet today.

If you got frisky and put $100 on it, then that’s a $1,600 bankroll boost. We’d all take that kind of ROI.

I Like Big Bets and I Cannot Lie

Major wagers landed from Thursday through Sunday on NFL Week 16 and CFP odds, most notably the aforementioned $1.25 million play that went begging.

On Sunday, a DraftKings customer plunked $500,000 on Buccaneers -3 vs. Panthers. But Tampa Bay tumbled 23-20 on a late Carolina field goal. So that’s another huge donation to the house.

Other notable wagers over the past few days:

• $180,000 Bengals moneyline -180 vs. Dolphins (Hard Rock Bet). Cincinnati rolled to a 45-21 victory, and the bettor banked $100,000 profit (total payout $280,000).
• $108,000 Seahawks -1.5 (-108) vs. Rams (DraftKings). Seattle made the stunning comeback, but didn’t cover in the 38-37 overtime victory.
• $100,000 Dolphins moneyline +185 vs. Bengals (Hard Rock). Miami got thumped, as did this bettor.
• $100,000 Giants moneyline +124 vs. Vikings (DraftKings). New York couldn’t pull off the modest upset, losing 16-13 at home.
• $80,000 Ravens -2.5 vs. Patriots (DraftKings). Baltimore blew a 24-13 fourth quarter lead, falling 28-24. That’s another losing bet.
• $70,000 Rams +1.5 (-112) vs. Seahawks (Caesars Sports). Yes, Los Angeles fell in OT, but as noted above, only by one point. So by the slimmest of margins, the bettor profited $62,500 (total payout $132,500).

Those two Rams-Seahawks spread bets demonstrate how tough it is to win when wagering on the NFL. And keep in mind, those high-roller types have the ability to absorb such losses. So keep your wagers and your expectations reasonable. 

Never bet more than you can afford to lose.

Patrick Everson is a sports betting analyst for FOX Sports and senior reporter for VegasInsider.com. He is a distinguished journalist in the national sports betting space. He’s based in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golfing in 110-degree heat. Follow him on X: @PatrickE_Vegas.

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