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You can spend your money however you like because you earned it. But if you spend it in a silly way, people might laugh at you.
And that’s usually how it goes.
Luckily, society often follows this rule. If someone falls for a pyramid scheme, we eventually notice when they try to sell us weird products like Invigaron berries. Similarly, if someone makes a terrible bet on an NFL MVP candidate, the sportsbook usually lets the world know.
In this case, someone placed a bet on Sam Darnold to win the NFL MVP. Yes, Sam Darnold, who now plays for the Minnesota Vikings.
MVP chants for Sam Darnold will only come from one person in 2024.
By Week 1, many will be surprised to see Darnold on a new team. He signed a one-year deal with the Vikings worth $10 million on March 13. The plan is for him to hold the fort while rookie QB J.J. McCarthy gets ready for NFL action.
And that makes betting on Darnold even more amusing.
One bettor at @FDSportsbook wagered $250 on Sam Darnold at 300-1 odds to win NFL MVP this season.
Bet would win $75,000
— Ben Fawkes (@BFawkes22) July 7, 2024
Fortunately, it’s only a $250 bet; otherwise, we’d be talking about financial delusions here. Instead, it’s about someone (probably Darnold’s mom) not quite getting his role this year.
The Vikings aren’t aiming for championships in 2024. They’re just hoping Darnold can get them through to their bye week in Week 6 and maybe a few more games so McCarthy isn’t thrown into chaos right away.
It’s not an easy task either. The Vikings’ schedule includes tough matchups against San Francisco, Houston, Green Bay, the New York Jets, and Detroit in the first seven weeks. If Darnold manages these games well, he might earn at least one MVP vote.
Maybe Mrs. Darnold was thinking her son could pull off some miracles because he’s Dick Hammer’s grandson and all that jazz.
Or perhaps it was some guy from Duluth who had too many beers by Lake Superior and convinced himself that Sam was ‘The Guy.’ Who knows?