Image Credit: Bernhard Lang/Getty Images 
A graphic that allegedly leaked and went viral last week purports to show the final score of the upcoming Super Bowl LVII, with the Philadelphia Eagles defeating the Kansas City Chiefs 37-34.
After being viewed over 12 million times from account called FearKyrie, the betting odds leaning towards that exact score of 37-34 skyrocketed.
Most bet (tickets) Super Bowl correct score:
Eagles 37-34 Chiefs
Odds have moved from +25000 to +8000 at @BetMGM pic.twitter.com/TyIjjxWeyG
— John Ewing
(@johnewing) February 7, 2023
“After it was viewed more than 12 million times, the image was taken down, but not before that it had an effect on betting markets, with the 37-34 exact score receiving a flurry of bets as punters don’t want to take the chance on the outcome not being what has been predicted,” Newsweek reported Thursday.
“DraftKings spokesman Stephen Miraglia has said that 37-34 Eagles is currently the most popular correct score bet so far.”
Conspiracy theories proliferated social media about the supposed “script,” with some claiming it proves NFL games are rigged, while others insist the graphic was intentionally released by the NFL to trap bettors.
all fun and games until KC is up 10 after 1, we’re all gonna be like pic.twitter.com/KvJOjxvBzf
— Josh’s Sports Dump (@sportstalkJU) February 5, 2023
The nfl releasing a fake script to trap bettors pic.twitter.com/833vZPS4AH
— Kyle Lewandowski (@KyleLewandowsk4) February 6, 2023
“Fact-checkers” like Snopes and Politifact quickly attempted to debunk the “leaked script” conspiracy theory.
“…as some users realized, this was simply a continuation of a sarcastic and comedic discussion that had occurred on a podcast in the days before the tweet went up,” Snopes claimed.
“In an episode of the ‘Macrodosing: Arian Foster and PFT Commenter’ podcast from Barstool Sports, former NFL player Arian Foster had played along with a comedy bit about how the NFL was ‘rigged’ and that he would receive “scripts” for how his seasons with the league would play out.”
@ArianFoster tells the truth about #NFLrigged on @MacrodosingPod pic.twitter.com/BtrvMlv53b
— Viva La Stool (@VivaLaStool) January 31, 2023
This isn’t to say football games can’t be rigged. Some certainly have been swayed in one way or another.
Perhaps now that this conspiracy theory received so much attention, the final score will be totally different.
But conspiracy theorists will have a field day if the final score is the same as the one shown in the graphic.
Super Bowl LVII begins at 5:30 PM CST today.
