Chiefs break the infamous ‘Drake curse’ after $1M bet in Super Bowl 58
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Although he hasn’t lost all of his sports bets, rap superstar Drake is known to curse teams and athletes from winning sporting events after placing massive wagers.
The curse has even extended to him simply being in photos wearing a team’s jersey or publicly rooting for certain programs and franchises.
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That narrative might change since he won a $1.15 million bet he placed on the Kansas City Chiefs to beat the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl 58.
One day before the big game, Drake took to Instagram with a screenshot of his bet and a caption reading, “I can’t bet against the swifties.” It paid off to the tune of $1.196 million based on the moneyline odds (2.04 units) he got.
Some may be thinking, who’s Drake cursed in the past with his high-stakes gambles and fandoms?
The sportsbook Fan Duel put out a “history and timeline of the ‘Drake Curse’ in sports” in 2019.
According to the popular sports betting app, the curse can be traced back to the NBA’s Toronto Raptors and NCAA’s Kentucky Wildcats basketball. The Toronto, Canada, native has regularly attended Raptor games.
The article claims “the Raptors have lost in heartbreaking fashion every year since Drake took” on a Global Ambassador role for the organization in 2013.
However, that changed when the Canadian franchise won its first championship in the 2019 NBA finals with Kawhi Leonard leading the way.
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As for Kentucky basketball, he has a relationship with the longtime Wildcats head coach John Calipari. One blog says Drake has been supporting the college team since 2010, a year after Calipari took over.
Kentucky’s last national title was in 2012, and ironically, the musician released his album “Nothing Was the Same” a year later.
More recently, he’s allegedly cursed UFC fighters like Sean Strickland and Jake Paul. Drake placed a $700,000 bet on Strickland who lost to Dricus du Plessis in the middleweight title on Jan. 20.
He faded Strickland against fighter Israel Adesanya in September 2023 with a $500,000 bet that he lost since the fight went to a decision instead of hitting Drake’s usual bet on a KO.
Drake bet $1.2 million on the YouTuber and WWE star Paul to beat the undefeated Tommy Fury but lost his wager in a split decision. Paul reportedly blamed Drake for the loss.
Paul made up for it in October 2023 when he beat Dillon Danis by disqualification, which cashed out Drake’s $850,000 bet that the YouTuber won on a technicality.
Then in January, he went to Instagram showing a $250,000 bet in favor of MMA fighter Leon Edwards to knockout Colby Covington. Edwards won, but it was by decision — meaning Drake lost.
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Another example of the curse was when Drake put $1 million on Argentina to beat France in regulation of the 2022 World Cup final. Lionel Messi’s team won the game, but it finished in a penalty shootout, resulting in money lost for the rapper.
Despite his inconsistencies, Drake has actually fared pretty well in recent Super Bowls.
He won a $700,000 bet on the Chiefs moneyline in Super Bowl LVII against the Philadelphia Eagles. The year before that he placed his money on the Los Angeles Rams who took down the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI.
