An anytime touchdown scorer bet wins if the player you pick scores at least one touchdown at any point in the game, and overtime counts. It does not matter whether he scores first, last or three times: one touchdown is enough.
The settlement questions are where bettors get caught out: which touchdowns count, what happens to the quarterback who throws one, and what happens when your player sits. The answers below come from the published house rules of two sportsbooks, FanDuel and Caesars, as filed with the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. Rules differ between books, so the house rules where you bet are the ones that decide.
What does anytime touchdown mean?
It means the touchdown can come in any quarter. FanDuel’s rules say “Overtime counts for all markets unless stated otherwise” in American football, and Caesars’ say “Overtime counts in all markets unless otherwise stated.” Neither carves anytime scorer bets out of that, so a touchdown in overtime pays.
The scorer is the player with the ball in the end zone. FanDuel’s rule: “the winning selection is the player who possesses the ball in the endzone. For example – on a pass TD play, the receiver in the endzone is graded as the winner, not the QB.” Caesars, which calls the bet Player to Score a Touchdown, says “The player who crosses the goal line with the football or catches the ball in the end zone is considered the touchdown scorer.”
That matches how the NFL rulebook defines the score itself. Rule 11, Section 2 says a touchdown is scored when the ball “is on, above, or behind the plane of the opponents’ goal line (extended) and is in possession of a runner who has advanced from the field of play into the end zone,” or when a player “secures possession of a loose ball that is on, above, or behind the opponent’s goal line.”
Which touchdowns count
| Touchdown | FanDuel | Caesars |
|---|---|---|
| He runs it in | Counts | Counts |
| He catches it in the end zone | Counts | Counts |
| He throws it to a teammate | Does not count for him; the receiver is the scorer | Does not count for him; the rule names the player who carries or catches it |
| He returns a kick, punt, interception or fumble for a score | Counts: he has the ball in the end zone | Counts: he crosses the goal line with the ball |
| He recovers a loose ball in the end zone | Counts: he has the ball in the end zone | Not named in the rule; ask the book |
The quarterback row is the one that settles most arguments. Under both rules, a quarterback who throws four touchdowns and runs in none has not scored, and an anytime bet on him loses. The touchdown belongs to whoever had the ball in the end zone.
What if the player does not play?
At both books the stake comes back, but the line is drawn in slightly different places. FanDuel: “Only when a player does not play a snap in that game are the selections voided.” So one snap and the bet stands, even if he leaves hurt on the first play. Caesars: “For football game player propositions, players must play in the game or else wagers will be void.”
If nobody scores a touchdown at all, Caesars’ rule is plain: “If no touchdowns are scored, the wager will be lost.”
Anytime, first, last and 2+ touchdowns
The anytime bet is the widest of the scorer bets. DraftKings’ prop board for Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns on Sunday, October 18, read through ESPN at 05:54 UTC on October 16, lists these scorer markets side by side:
| Bet | Wins if |
|---|---|
| Anytime touchdown scorer | He scores at least one touchdown in the game |
| First touchdown scorer | He scores the game’s first touchdown |
| Last touchdown scorer | He scores the game’s last touchdown |
| 2 or more touchdowns | He scores at least two |
| 3 or more touchdowns | He scores at least three |
| First-half or first-quarter scorer | He scores in that period only |
First and last scorer need one particular touchdown out of all of them, so they pay more for the same player. On Caesars’ first and last scorer bets, “If no touchdowns are scored, then no touchdown will be the winning selection.”
What the price means
An anytime price is a chance written as odds. A plus price states less than 50%: +150 states 40%, because 100 divided by 250 is 0.40. A minus price states more than 50%: -125 states 55.56%, because 125 divided by 225 is 0.5556. Both prices here are examples, not prices on any player this week.
So a +150 anytime bet only pays over time if the player scores in more than 40% of games like this one. Our guide to how betting odds work shows the conversion for any price, and the prop betting guide covers player bets more widely.
Anytime scorers are also a common leg in a same game parlay, where the anytime rules above still apply to that leg. For the full range of NFL player bets, see our NFL player props guide, and for this week’s picks, our best NFL player prop bets.