What is an octopus in football? Most have never heard the term in football parlance. With so many new words and phrases popping up in our lexicon, it sure is hard to keep up.
If someone asked you the question, “What is an octopus in football?”, perhaps you may think it is a new formation inspired by the tv show Ted Lasso. One can picture Inter Miami in the MLS just having eight guys always running around Lionel Messi, ready to receive a pass from perhaps the greatest playmaker in soccer history.
But that would be the wrong sport. Now maybe you’re wondering if it refers to a new-fangled defensive scheme prepared to take on the impressive aerial attacks so dominant in the NFL today. But that too would have been woefully incorrect. So really, what is an octopus in football?
What is an octopus in football answered and a few fun facts
An octopus is a term that originated back in 2019 which refers to the same player scoring a touchdown and then following it up with a two-point conversion directly after. The eight total points scored by that player equal the eight appendages of an octopus, hence the name. Now if you’re ever on Jeopardy, you can picture yourself saying “What is an octopus in football” to claim a Daily Double.
An octopus in football is when a player scores a touchdown and then scores the subsequent two-point conversion. It’s named this as the player has scored eight points, the same as the number of limbs on an octopus.
Here are a few more interesting facts you can wow your friends with whenever they ask “What is an octopus in football”. The NFL instituted the two-point conversion attempt option back in 1994. Since that time, there have been 175 of these successful octopus instances, or octopi as it were.
There have been a grand total of 2,436 two-point attempts over that time. Of those, 1,168 conversions have been successful, or about 48%. That calculates out to a 7% chance a two-point conversion attempt results in an octopus.
Can one bet on an octopus in football?
Now the question of “What is an octopus in football?” has been answered, the logical follow-up for most fans with a penchant for speculating is can they bet on it? With the term being invented just a few years ago, it hasn’t really caught onto the mainstream yet. So far, it’s only been available for a couple of Super Bowls and major games.
For last year’s Super Bowl, FanDuel and DraftKings offered +1400 odds on there being an octopus in the Super Bowl LVII. Many other online sportsbooks, such as Stake which has a great monthly bonus, also offered this betting market. One did not transpire, however, even in a game with superstars like Jalen Hurts and Travis Kelce, always two strong contenders to get the ball into the end zone. It has actually yet to happen in a Super Bowl, but that just means it is only a matter of time before it will.
For next year’s Super Bowl, one that we are still waiting to hear key details on such as who will perform at halftime, we can expect this betting market to be offered once more. This is a fun betting market that gamblers of all experience levels can fully understand and cheer for.
A closer look at the numbers
Looking at the numbers, there were 113 two-point conversion attempts that first year in 1994 but that number wasn’t surpassed until just recently in 2018 when there were a total of 129. In the last few years the trend has been pointing up for two-point conversions and after a slowdown last season with “only” 119, expect that number to go up this year with more high-powered offenses and some stiff competition to make the playoffs.
Due to the fun novelty and uniqueness of the octopus, you’ll likely start seeing it as an option offered by more sportsbooks moving forward. With such high odds, it would be fun to take a flier on so keep an eye out for the octopus prop bet at your favorite sportsbook. Until then, at least now you too can answer the age-old question of “What is an octopus in football?”