Man Bets $75,000 on Alabama to Beat Middle Tennessee. Here’s Why That’s FOOLISH

Yesterday a couple of sports outlets picked up on the story that a bettor in Miami had placed a $75,000 bet on Alabama to beat Middle Tennessee straight up. Known as a money line wager, a bet of this nature means that you either win or lose the bet if the team you wagered on wins or loses the game - there are no points to give or take and no spread to cover. His $75,000 bet was simple: if Alabama beats Middle Tennessee, he wins the bet. Now, is Alabama going to beat Middle Tennessee? Yes. Can anything happen? Yes, but let’s be real here for the sake of argument and answer the bigger question: how much can you win for putting down that much money?

Obviously, it wouldn’t be a fair bet if he got $75,000 because Alabama is almost certainly going to win. It’s as near-certain of an outcome as any in life. So what does he win? The bettor gets $300 if Alabama wins. Think about that for a second. In the event of the unthinkable, he loses $75,000, but most likely he will collect $300. Is that massive risk worth the near-certain reward? No, it isn’t. Why not take that $75,000 and put it in a high-yield savings account? Additionally, most banks are paying sign-up bonuses of well over $300 just for opening an account with them for an amount that large. Moreover, if you want to get your money back in a month without having to commit to the usual 3-6 month minimum sign-up period, just put it in a savings account that isn’t paying a bonus.

Considering the game is nearly a month away, he could opt to make just as much money by going into a high-yield savings account for a month - without taking on ANY risk, let alone losing everything. Never assume that just because someone has a lot of money they are money-wise and not dollar foolish.