Last night, a field goal kick with three seconds left to spare in the AFC Championship Game broke the "Drake Curse." Besides vaulting the Kansas City Chiefs into the Super Bowl, the team’s win also represented a success for the rapper, who seemingly always bets on the losing horse.
On Saturday night, Drake posted a screenshot to his Instagram story of his bet on the Kansas City Chiefs winning against the Cincinnati Bengals, much to the chagrin of many Chiefs fans. Wagering $1.1 million on the Chiefs, he wrote: “Big Sunday let’s buy mama something nice.”
For once, Sandi Graham (Drake’s mother) might be able to cash out from her son’s proclivity for sports betting; Drake received a payout of over $2 million.
A multimillionaire celebrity partaking in some sports betting isn’t unusual; many are even known to buy or invest in sports teams to build their wealth, after all. Drake has already diversified his income streams beyond the recording studio through a partnership with Apple Music, brand endorsements for big names like Burger King and Sprite, and investments in real estate and products like plant-based chicken. Winning big bets is just a gamble of a business strategy, another way for him to continue his ascent as one of the world’s richest rappers.
But there’s light-hearted superstition (that some take seriously) around the "Hotline Bling" rapper’s bets. Simply put: The Drake Curse means that when he bets on a team, they tend to lose.
Last year alone, he wagered that the Duke Blue Devils would win against the North Carolina Tar Heels in the Final Four, that FC Barcelona would beat Real Madrid, and that Israel Adesanya would come out victorious against Alex Pereira in a UFC middleweight title fight. His bad luck continued at the World Cup—even though he bet $1 million on Argentina, who ended up winning, he still lost all his cash in two minutes since he had placed his bet in the 1x2 market, which doesn’t account for extra time.
But Drake’s betting history isn’t pure misfortune—or maybe betting against the Bengals is where he gets lucky. The former Degrassi star took home $1.4 million after betting that the Rams would win in the Super Bowl against the Bengals last February.
Nearly a year later, he has lifted the curse once more. And while Rihanna (who Drake has continually publicly held a flame for) is the real star of the Super Bowl, Drake will likely have some stake in the game as well.
