Giants Fan Wins $50,000 on Super Bowl Safety Prop Bet, Plans to Donate All of His Winnings to Charity
Jona Rechnitz's $1,000 bet on a safety being the first scoring play of the Super Bowl may have seemed like he was just throwing away good money. That was until Tom Brady was called for intentional grounding in the end zone of the first quarter of Sunday night's game.
Brady's mistake meant a big payday for Rechnitz who was getting 50-to-1 odds on a safety being the game's first scoring play. Do some quick math, and you'll realize that he won $50,000 on his gamble.
That story by itself would be a pretty cool one, but it gets even better when you hear what Rechnitz plans to do with the money.
He told TMZ.com that he plans on donating all of the money to charity. Of those donations, he also said that he plans on donating $5,000 to a charity of Brady's choice, with hopes of the donation being matched.
Covers.com points out that Rechnitz actually won $60,000, as he also put a grand on there being a safety in the game.
"Our initial reaction was to laugh at a crazy bet," Rechnitz's friend, Benjamin Lyons, told Covers.com "We made fun of him endlessly."
In the end, though, Rechnitz — a Giants fan — got the last laugh.
"Everyone is thrilled about the win and about the charities that will benefit from Jona's benevolence," Lyons added.