When betting on an event as enormous as the Super Bowl, it’s essential to consider all factors.
What time does the Super Bowl start? Will weather be a factor? Who will be officiating the game?
This year, the honor of Super Bowl head referee belongs to Ron Torbert, who will be taking on the illustrious assignment for the second time.
What impact Torbert and his crew will have on Chiefs vs Eagles remains to be seen. But here’s a glimpse at what to expect and how it may affect the Super Bowl odds.
Super Bowl 2025 Referee Crew
- Crew Chief: Ron Torbert
- Umpire: Mike Morton
- Down Judge: Max Causey
- Line Judge: Mark Stewart
- Field Judge: Mearl Robinson
- Side Judge: Boris Cheek
- Back Judge: Jonah Monroe
- Replay Official: Kevin Brown
Keep up with the latest Chiefs vs Eagles lines heading into Super Bowl Sunday.
Ron Torbert 2024 Refereed Game Betting Trends
- Games in Charge: 17
- Average Total Points Scored: 46.4
- Over/Under Record: 10-7-0
- Favorite/Underdog Results: 13-4-0 SU & ATS
- Average Total Penalties: 13.8
- Average Penalty Yards: 115.18
Torbert will take charge of the Super Bowl for the second time in four seasons. He previously presided over Super Bowl 56, which saw the Rams defeat the Bengals 23-20 at SoFi Stadium. There were just six accepted penalties in that contest that set the teams back a combined 41 yards.
Torbert’s crew was among the most flag-happy during the 2024 regular season, ranking third in accepted penalties and penalty yards. However, that won’t necessarily translate to this game, as the NFL will use an All-Star crew of top officials at each position.
✅ Read the best ways to bet on The Big Game with our Super Bowl 58 predictions.
Torbert and side judge Boris Cheek, who is making his fourth Super Bowl appearance, are the only officials on this crew with previous experience on this stage. However, the crew has over 80 years of experience as NFL officials.
Super Bowl Referee Betting Tips
Do the Chiefs Get More Calls?
Technically, yes. Through 19 games, the Chiefs have been penalized 18 fewer times than their opponents. However, with a sample size as large as an entire NFL season, that margin is relatively small.
Kansas City has netted 100 yards from penalties over the year, which averages out to just over five yards per game. That figure ranks eighth in the NFL, well behind league leader Minnesota (415 net yards) and AFC runner-up Buffalo (171).
Super Bowl 59 head referee Ron Torbert hasn’t taken charge of a Chiefs game in over two seasons, last presiding over KC’s AFC Championship Game victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in January 2023. He refereed two Eagles games this year (Week 1 vs Green Bay and Week 18 vs New York), and Philadelphia’s opponents (16) were flagged twice as often as Nick Sirianni’s squad (eight).
More Penalties = Fewer Points?
While one would assume a flag-happy crew would lead to lower-scoring games, that hasn’t been the case with Torbert’s squad this season.
Part of that has to do with what types of penalties are getting called. While Torbert’s crew flagged the fourth-most offensive holdings (2.88 per game), it often eventually canceled those out with penalties against the defense. His crew was responsible for the third-most unnecessary roughness calls (15 in 17 games) and fifth-most roughing the passer penalties (eight).
Despite overseeing games with the fourth-lowest average Over/Under (44) of any crew, Torbert’s contests finished in the middle of the pack with a scoring average of 46.4 points per game. Overs went 10-7, tied for the fourth-best Over record for any crew this season.
Historically, Torbert’s games have aided the Under, which has a 43-24-1 record over the past four seasons.
Torbert Favoring Favorites in 2024
One noteworthy stat from Torbert’s crew in 2024 was that betting favorites went 13-4 straight up and against the spread in games it officiated. That was the second-best ATS mark of any official, falling just shy of the 13-3-1 ATS and 16-1 SU mark of Alex Kemp’s crew.
To put that statistic in some context, NFL betting favorites had a historic year in 2024. They went 194-78 straight up and 142-122-8 ATS during the regular season. That run has generally continued in the playoffs, although the Commanders did spring a pair of upsets to reach the NFC Championship Game.
The Chiefs have opened as 1.5-point favorites over the Eagles at most Super Bowl betting sites as they look to complete a historic Super Bowl three-peat. Given Kansas City’s history and how favorites have performed this year, I’m backing Patrick Mahomes to win and cover as one of my best NFL bets today.
