What is the Drake curse? Were the New England Patriots hit with it?

Glendale, Ariz. — Super Bowl 60 ended in familiar fashion for anyone who tracks the intersection of celebrity wagering and sports outcomes: rapper Drake walked away lighter in the wallet, and the team he backed, the New England Patriots, never found traction in a 29-13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. The result has revived talk of the so-called “Drake curse,” the pop-culture theory that any athlete or franchise the Toronto megastar publicly supports with a hefty bet is doomed to fall short.

Drake confirmed before kickoff that he had staked $1 million on the Patriots. A victory would have returned $1.95 million in profit, pushing his total payout to $2.95 million. Instead, the Seahawks controlled the second half, and Drake’s wager evaporated in real time. The defeat drops the Grammy winner to 4-8 on Super Bowl bets documented by tracking site TheDrakeCurse.com since 2022. His only other known NFL wager this season, a $250,277 play on the Baltimore Ravens in Week 1, also failed to cash.

The concept of the curse is straightforward: whenever Drake places a high-profile bet or poses in a team’s jersey, the squad in question underperforms. Skeptics call it coincidence; believers point to a pattern stretching across boxing title fights, Champions League finals, and UFC pay-per-views. Sunday’s outcome added another bullet point to the legend, as Patriots quarterback Drake Maye—no relation—was denied a storybook championship in his first year as starter.

Not every Drake in town endured the same fate. Seattle Seahawks linebacker Drake Thomas, an undrafted free agent who carved out a role on special teams, left State Farm Stadium with a Super Bowl ring and a smile, providing a rare counter-example to the evening’s narrative.

Drake’s company in the high-roller club did not fare any better. Model-influencer Kendall Jenner placed an identical $1 million wager on New England and missed out on the same $1.95 million payday, while Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy forfeited a potential $1.8 million win when the Patriots failed to cover.

The rapper’s most recent Super Bowl success came two years ago, when he collected $2.3 million after backing the Kansas City Chiefs over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl 58. That victory briefly quieted whispers of a hex, but Sunday’s result ensures the superstition will follow Drake into whatever championship game he targets next.

For now, the only certainty is that gambling remains a zero-sum pursuit. Drake’s latest loss serves as a high-profile reminder that even the deepest pockets cannot buy immunity from an upset, and that the “Drake curse,” real or imagined, lives on for at least another season.