The champagne hadn’t even dried yet from the Los Angeles Rams victory in Super Bowl LVI.
But oddsmakers were already busy at work Sunday night determining who would be the winner of the Vince Lombardi trophy come next season.
However, after the Rams downed the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 in a thrilling finale, neither club was the odds-on favourite for next year.
Instead, the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills are the early front-runners for next year, which will be a record-setting NFL season for sports betting in Canada.
“Kansas City and Buffalo are the (favourites), in large part because they have two of the best quarterbacks in the league,” said Brett Collson, lead analyst for TheLines.com said in a press release. “With two notable retirements and some high-profile quarterbacks potentially moving to new teams, the lines should shift significantly in the offseason.”
Truly, any bets on superstars Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen can’t be considered too foolish.
Opening odds for Super Bowl LVII, per TheLines
The opening Super Bowl odds come via TheLines.com, a website devoted to following the US regulated sports betting market.
The site tracks many of the major books there, including BetMGM Sportsbook, Caesars, DraftKings and FanDuel. Those sports gambling powerhouses will launch on or near the April launch date for Ontario sports betting.
According to The Lines, the consensus places the Chiefs and Bills evenly at +725 (European equivalent = 8.25) as the odds-on favourites for Super Bowl LVII.
The reigning champion, Rams, have the third-best odds at +800 (the best amongst NFC teams).
Meanwhile, the Bengals have the fifth-best odds, tied with the Green Bay Packers at +1400 (15.00).
Rams, Bengals not favoured by major sportsbooks
It should be noted that both Cincinnati and Los Angeles came as relative surprise Super Bowl finalists and now both enter the offseason with many question marks.
Los Angeles has a number of decisions to make when it comes to its payroll. The most pressing issue comes via contract extensions as a number of high-profile players (e.g. Von Miller, Odell Beckham Jr.) need to be addressed.
Meanwhile Cincy – while amongst the best teams this year – must re-evaluate its roster construction. The club lost eight games this year with five of its wins coming via a late-game winning field goal.
Was it a flash in the pan or will this season build some moxie for the squad moving forward?
Evidently, oddsmakers are mulling over the same questions.
Opening odds for Super Bowl LVII as per Ontario’s Proline Plus sportsbooks
Closer to home in Canada, Ontario’s only legal sportsbooks, Proline Plus has the Bills (+6.00, +500) as the outright favourite for next season.
Kansas City follows with the Rams and the Bengals afterwards.
Here’s how their top 10 favourites were listed on Monday morning:
- Buffalo Bills (+6.00, +500)
- Kansas City Chiefs (+8.00, 700)
- Los Angeles Rams (+11.00, +1000)
- Cincinnati Bengals (+13.00, +1200)
- San Francisco 49ers (+13.00, +1200)
- Green Bay Packers (+15.00, +1400)
- Dallas Cowboys (+17.00, +1600)
- Baltimore Ravens (+21.00, +2000)
- Denver Broncos (+21.00, +2000)
- Tennessee Titans (+21.00, +2000)
Proline Plus lists the New York Giants with the longest shot at 126.00 (+12500) odds.
Odds and future bets dependent on slew of high-profile quarterbacks
Amidst all of the odds being thrown around, punters should be giving huge consideration to the NFL free agency period.
The frenzy begins on March 16 and rumours have been swirling around some huge names recently.
Seattle’s Russell Wilson, Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers and Derek Carr of Las Vegas all reported to be looking around.
That can’t be taken lightly. The addition/subtraction of a starting QB in the modern game can swing odds significantly.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a living testament of that.
The club opened its line at +1000 favourites. They have since plummeted to +2600 odds after its star quarterback Tom Brady announced his retirement.
Green Bay, Pittsburgh and Denver are all darkhorse teams that could pick up a huge name in the offseason.
“Football is the ultimate team sport but quarterbacks are kings, and we’ve seen how that position can change the fortunes of a franchise,” Collson said.
Los Angeles’ wide receivers, Beckham Jr., Kupp shine in Super Bowl LVI
In a hotly contested match for Super Bowl LVI, it was the Los Angeles’ wide receivers who took centre stage. Beckham Jr. got the party started with the game’s opening touchdown before succumbing to injury later on.
Then it was Cooper Kupp’s turn to take them home.
With 1:44 left in the game and the Rams trailing 20-16, Bengals’ linebacker Logan Wilson was called for holding on Kupp. The whistle proved to be a pivotal moment as it resulted in a new set of downs and a touchdown score four plays later.
Kupp – who finished with 92 yards and two touchdowns – caught that game-winning ball en route to winning the Super Bowl MVP. He is just the eighth wide receiver to ever win the award.
Kupp also won Offensive Player of the Year and the Receiving Triple Crown this season.
Unpredictable game results in ‘most bet on Super Bowl ever’
Social media backlash has been swift and divisive on Wilson’s holding call on Kupp.
Leading up to that game-winning drive, the zebras had only called four penalties the entire game. They whistled four on the go-ahead touchdown drive alone.
The drama added to the event’s unpredictability.
“BetMGM had a challenging start to the Super Bowl with Odell Beckham Jr. scoring the first touchdown and unfavorable results in the first quarter and first half,” said Jason Scott, VP of Trading, BetMGM. “That said, the second half went the book’s way. We dodged a bullet with the Rams winning in regulation as overtime would have been the worst possible result in what was the most bet on Super Bowl ever.”
The NFL’s next big betting event will be its annual draft held on April 28-30. Major sportsbooks often carry markets for where players will land. And Canadians should have all sorts of options for betting platforms at that time.
