Martwon Weaver had $5 and a dream.
A few wild predictions on NFL awards has resulted in a five-leg parlay that is on the cusp of paying him $680,955.
The bet now has a 55-65 percent chance of cashing, based on sportsbooks’ differing odds, with one leg seeming the most volatile.
But due to financial hardship induced by a seizure he sustained while driving in 2022, he wants – even needs – to sell the ticket before Thursday’s NFL awards ceremony.
“I’m confident that my bet could hit,” Weaver told The Post in an exclusive interview.
“I’m feeling good. But if we could sell it, that would be good also, so we can take the ‘if factor’ out of it.”
Weaver can’t cash out on the bet because sportsbooks do not allow such actions with awards betting.
He’s instead trying to find a bettor with a big bankroll to buy him out of his position around market value for a win-win proposition.
According to projections, his bet — which had a less than 0.1 percent chance to cash when placed with +13619100 odds — is worth about $200,870.
If this bet cashes, it will be one of — if not the — longest-reported winning sports bets of the season and rival some of the most unlikely bets in FanDuel history.
“In the six figures, I’d be willing to talk. It would be tough to turn down,” he said. “But if the price ain’t right, I’m feeling good. With a 70, 85 percent chance at getting $680K, I could take my chances.”
Weaver’s prediction of Lamar Jackson to win MVP (15/1) combined with CJ Stroud for Offensive Rookie of the Year (+700), Christian McCaffrey for Offensive Player of the Year (18/1), Myles Garrett for Defensive Player of the Year (+700) and Jalen Carter for Defensive Rookie of the Year (+600) is something maybe only a time traveler could foresee.
The NFL player awards odds were finalized as follows before Week 18:
Carter’s odds are why this bet isn’t a lock.
The Eagles defensive tackle entered Week 18 as a -1000 favorite, but was bet down to -180 by game time, indicating sharp money was bet on challenger Will Anderson of the Texans.
Media members vote on awards, and BetMGM exclusively told The Post that some voters began sharing their picks for awards during the week, indicating that Carter’s negative line movement was due to voters leaking they were voting for Anderson.
Weaver, a commercial truck driver from Arizona and a former standout athlete for Marcos de Niza High School in Tempe, has tapped start-up company WagerWire to help potentially facilitate the sale.
They have had conversations surrounding the ticket.
“We feel like Martwon is the perfect case of why WagerWire needs to exist in the sports betting marketplace today,” Travis Geiger, co-founder of WagerWire, told The Post. “There needs to be a place for him to sell his ticket at market rate; it’s a win-win.”
Weaver knows the tough bounces a football — or bet — can take.
He was a top-25 defensive back and wide receiver in Arizona during his prep days, according to 247 Sports, but poor grades ruined his football career and led to him dropping out of college.
His life then changed two years ago.
“I had a seizure while I was driving, a really bad accident,” Weaver said. “I totaled the semi-truck, but no scratches, didn’t harm anyone, thank God.”
Weaver, 31, had no place to go after the accident. He moved back in with the grandmother who raised him.
He had been making $3,000 a week as an independent contractor, but didn’t receive disability or health insurance benefits from his employer after the accident.
“I had a bunch of money saved up since truck drivers make a lot of money, but these were really hard times. I had goals and plans of buying a house, getting a brand new car and getting a truck so I can work for myself,” said Weaver, who is single. “It was tough, all of that crashing in a moment. It’s like, ‘You can’t do nothing for a year.’ It’s like, damn, everything was going good and here we go with this s–t.”
Weaver is taking the cautious approach as he attempts to find a buyer.
If he can sell the ticket, the plan is to start his own business.
He took a breath before thinking of the words to describe how it would feel if he holds the ticket and wins.
“Woof, that would be life-changing, man,” Weaver explained. “I’d pay my grandma, I think she owes about $60,000 left on her house. She raised me, I lost both of my parents. I’d probably pay my grandma off and give back to her, get a car and still get a truck in there and make more money with it.”
The flip side is the dreaded result that any sports bettor has to deal with: coming away with nothing.
“If it doesn’t win, we just get to work. I’ve been cleared for about a month now, we just get back to work, like a normal day – nothing changes,” Weaver said.
Weaver will be in Las Vegas for the Super Bowl and watching the player awards show with Wager Wire’s founders, Geiger and Zach Doctor.
“It’s tough to sell. It’s hard to sleep just anticipating all of this. It’s nerve-wracking,” Weaver said. “I definitely want to ride it, I don’t want to act like I want to give up, but at the same time, I gotta be smart.”