What Is A Prop Bet? How To Make A Prop Bet
Updated July 22, 2026
Editorial Review By: Jay SaninHead of Sports
In sports betting, there are mainstream markets that get a ton of attention in every sporting event. But sports betting is so much more than betting on point spreads and totals today. Thanks to the rise of prop bets, bettors can use their creativity and in-depth knowledge of sports to come up with new ways to get an advantage and win over the sportsbooks.
This prop betting guide was written by a contributor who covers U.S. sports betting markets, wagering mechanics, and sportsbook rules. The explanations and examples below are based on commonly offered proposition markets across regulated U.S.-facing sportsbooks and were reviewed against published sportsbook rules at the time of writing.
A prop bet short for proposition bet is a wager on a specific event or individual performance within a game that doesn’t rely on the final score. Instead of betting on who wins or loses, you’re betting on what happens along the way. Think stats, moments, and small storylines that unfold during the game.
Prop bets exist alongside traditional wagers like the spread, moneyline, and totals, but they feel very different. You can win a prop bet even if your team gets blown out, which is part of the appeal. A quarterback might still clear his passing yards, or a star scorer might hit the points total, even in a losing effort.
Quick Examples
Not tied to final score
Prop bets focus on specific player stats, team events, or game moments rather than simply picking the winner.
NFL Props
Quarterback passing yards, anytime touchdown scorer, first scoring play, rushing attempts.
NBA Props
Player points, rebounds, assists, three-pointers made, double-double markets.
MLB Props
Pitcher strikeouts, batter hits, home runs, total bases, team to score first.
Soccer Props
Anytime goalscorer, cards, corners, shots on target, both teams to score.
Simple way to think about it: a moneyline bet asks who wins. A prop bet asks what happens during the game.
An example of a prop bet is wagering on a specific event within a game rather than the final score, such as betting on a quarterback’s passing yards, an NBA player’s three-pointers made, or whether a baseball player hits a home run.
Prop bets come in a few broad categories, each appealing to a slightly different kind of bettor.
Player Props
These focus on the statistical output of a single athlete. They’re especially popular in sports like football and basketball, where individual stats are easy to track.
Examples include betting on a quarterback to go over or under 250 passing yards, a basketball player to score 25+ points, or a pitcher to record a certain number of strikeouts.
Team Props
Team props look at how one team performs within the game, without tying the bet to the final result.
Common examples include which team scores first, how many three-pointers a team makes, or whether a team records a safety.
Game Props
These bets revolve around general events that may occur during the game. They’re not tied to one player and don’t require picking a winner.
You might bet on whether the game goes to overtime, how many yellow cards are shown in a soccer match, or whether the first scoring play is a field goal or a touchdown.
Novelty or Exotic Props
Mostly seen around big events like the Super Bowl, these props lean more toward entertainment than pure sports analysis. Availability varies by sportsbook and jurisdiction.
Classic examples include the coin toss result, the length of the national anthem, or the color of the Gatorade dumped on the winning coach.
Prop bets keep people watching. Even if the game gets lopsided early, there’s usually something left to root for one more touchdown, one more rebound, one more strikeout. That constant engagement is a big reason props have exploded in popularity.
They also offer variety. Not everyone wants to sweat a full-game spread or total, especially in matchups that feel unpredictable. Props let bettors zoom in on specific angles they understand well.
Finally, some experienced bettors believe props can offer value. Sportsbooks post hundreds of them for major games, and it’s reasonable to think a few lines may be slightly off. With solid research and a good feel for player usage or game scripts, prop betting can sometimes reward attention to detail more than picking a side.
Yes, prop bets are legal in the U.S., but only where state law allows them, and the rules vary widely. Most legal sports betting states permit proposition bets, but some restrict or ban props tied to college athletes, individual player stats, or in-state teams.
Props and parlays are types of sports bets. A prop (proposition) bet focuses on a specific event or player outcome within a game, while a parlay combines two or more bets into one wager, all of which must win for the bet to pay out.
Putting together prop parlays has become a prominent feature of the sports betting industry in the United States, particularly with the rise of same-game parlay products.
Now, it should be noted that prop bet parlays are not the best bets from an expected value point of view. Bettors tend to lose more on parlays than they do with any other form of wager, whether it be through prop-related parlays or other forms of parlay wagers. But if bettors use this feature responsibly and manage to stay within a budget for these types of wagers, they can have some fun and some occasional success with prop parlays.
NBA basketball is widely considered the easiest sport to prop bet on because of its high number of games, consistent player minutes, and deep statistical coverage. These factors make player performance trends easier to track compared to lower-volume sports.
The NBA stands out for prop bettors because teams play frequently, star players log predictable minutes, and injuries are reported transparently. This creates a steady flow of reliable data for bettors.
Popular NBA prop markets include:
Because basketball has constant scoring and repeated player involvement, outcomes tend to be more stable than in sports with fewer scoring chances, like baseball or hockey. That doesn’t guarantee wins, but it does make research-driven prop betting more approachable.
As always, available markets and odds can vary by sportsbook and state.
Some proposition bets have grown to legendary status over the years, either due to their ingenuity or the popularity of the event. We’ll look at several of the most-well known here.
In 1980, gasoline was $1.19 a gallon, Ronald Reagan was elected president, the United States boycotted the Summer Olympics and VCRs in their infancy cost upwards of $600, but the big news for many people was the shooting of J.R. Ewing on the television show “Dallas.” Always one to see an opportunity, Castaways sportsbook director Sonny Reizner offered odds on “Who shot J.R.?” and thousands of people placed bets on who the villain was.
Reizner was no dummy and realized that the Nevada Gaming Control Board wasn’t likely to look upon his bet favorably, so he attempted to present it as a sports bet by offering 500-to-1 odds that Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry was the shooter, but the GCB wasn’t impressed and ordered the bet be taken down and all wagers refunded. But it was great publicity for Reizner and the Castaways.
Five years later, the Chicago Bears and their Super Bowl Shuffle were the talk of the sports world, with rookie defensive lineman William “the Refrigerator” Perry receiving a good deal of attention. Chicago coach Mike Ditka used the 325-pound rookie in the backfield on occasion during the year and he actually scored two touchdowns on five carries during the 1985 season.
Ditka said Perry wouldn’t see the ball in the Super Bowl, but that didn’t stop bettors from wagering that Perry would score and his odds dropped all the way down to 2-to-1 by kickoff. With Chicago cruising to a 37-3 third-quarter lead over the New England Patriots, Ditka changed his mind and gave the ball to Perry, who scored (the Bears beat the Pats 46-10). Las Vegas sportsbooks lost quite a bit on the proposition but received plenty of publicity and this bet marked the beginning of the Super Bowl prop craze.
Editorial Review By: Jay Sanin, Sports Betting Analyst – This article was reviewed for accuracy to ensure betting terminology, odds examples, and grading explanations reflect commonly used sportsbook rules. Betting rules may vary slightly by sportsbook and event.
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Written by
John Ryan is a handicapper for the digital sports betting era. He doesn’t go on gut instinct or “feel” like a lot of sports handicappers. In fact, his philosophy works to leave human emotion completely out of the equation by using stats-based computer algorithms to predict game outcomes.