NFL Futures Betting: Odds to Win Division Titles, Odds to Win Super Bowl
by Richard Gardner, Bodog Sportsbook Manager - 8/20/2010
What’s the toughest division in the NFL? It’s a question that makes for great debate in football circles, and it’s waged every year among media members and between fans. And when people are debating things, they’re usually willing to bet on it, and that’s good for us.
Last year, the AFC South racked up the most total wins, with Indianapolis, Houston, Tennessee and Jacksonville combining for 38 victories against just 26 defeats. For what’s it worth, the worst division in football was the NFC West, with Arizona, San Francisco, Seattle and St. Louis putting together a pathetic record of 24-40.
This year, Bodog has made odds on which division will have the highest winning percentage, as well as which division will produce the Super Bowl winning team. The favorite for the first question is a tie between the AFC South and NFC East, both at 7/2. After that, it’s the NFC North, NFC South and AFC East, all at 5/1. The long shot is hardly a surprise – it’s the woeful NFC West, at 10/1.
So far, most of the action has been on the two favorites, with practically nobody betting on the long shot, despite the big potential payout.
So what about those co-favorites? I already mentioned the AFC South. The NFC East – with Dallas, Philadelphia, New York (Giants) and Washington – put together a 34-30 record last year, and many expect the Redskins, who won just four times in 2009, to be much improved this year under Mike Shanahan. For example, we’ve set Washington’s total wins at 7.5, with the over/under action fairly even to date.
We’ve also seen fairly good action on the NFC North, especially since Brett Favre announced his intention to play again for the Vikings. Meanwhile, the Packers are a legitimate Super Bowl contender and you have to think Chicago can play better than last year (not that they will for sure, but they certainly can). As for Detroit, well, the Lions can’t do much worse than two victories, which was all they could muster in 2009.
Regarding which division will produce the Super Bowl winner, we’ve got four co-favorites – the NFC East, NFC North, AFC East and AFC South, all at 9/2 odds. Again the NFC West is the long shot, at 12/1 and receiving little action.
Save for the NFC West option, the betting has been fairly even on this prop, which shouldn’t be a huge surprise when you look at the top teams in each division. In the seven divisions other than the NFC West, there’s at least one team with 11/1 odds to win the Super Bowl or better.
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