SportsBetting3.com’s NFL futures odds guide explains everything you need to know about NFL futures bets. It explains what an NFL futures bet is and how to place a futures bet. This guide also includes the latest odds for the most popular NFL futures markets, plus the best sports betting sites where you can legally place bets in your jurisdiction. NFL futures odds will update throughout the season, so be sure to bookmark this page and come back after each week’s action has concluded.
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Table of Contents
What are NFL Futures Bets?
A futures bet is placed on the outcome of a distant NFL event. Your bet wins if you chose the correct outcome. You may bet on more than one outcome at once, however the odds for each outcome will likely differ depending on each selection.
Popular NFL futures bets include odds to win the Super Bowl, AFC and NFC conferences, and each division winner. Additionally, sports betting sites will have odds to win the league MVP and other player awards like the Offensive and Defensive players of the year. You can also bet on teams to win the most or fewest regular season games.
You can place a futures bet up to any point before the actual event begins or the player award is announced. Odds will vary as the season progresses. A team with a strong winning record will gradually become a favorite to win the Super Bowl. On the other hand, an underperforming player will gradually become a long shot underdog to win the league’s MVP award.
NFL futures odds offer sports bettors two opportunities. One, the chance to bet on a distant event with a potentially higher payoff than any single game bet. Two, insight into which teams or players are likely to come out on top by the end of the season. Whether you actually bet the future or not, the changing odds are a useful datapoint to sharpen your NFL handicapping as the season progresses.
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How NFL Futures Bets Win or Lose
Your futures bet wins if you select the correct outcome. The bet loses if you select the wrong outcome, or if the team, player, or result you selected is no longer eligible for the event. This often happens with championship futures when a team is eliminated from the playoffs. It also happens with player awards when a player gets injured early in the season and can no longer compete against rivals.
What NFL Futures Odds Mean
Each possible NFL future outcome will have moneyline odds at American sportsbooks.
The most likely, or favorite outcome, will have a minus value. The minus value indicates how much you risk to win $100. -150 futures odds mean you risk $150 to win $100.
All other outcomes will have plus values. The plus value indicates how much you win if you risk $100. +250 futures odds mean you win $250 if you risk $100. Similarly, +3000 futures odds mean you win $3000 if you risk $100.
Some futures bets will not have a clear favorite. In this case, all odds will have plus values. The lowest value is considered the most likely, while the highest is considered the least likely.
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How NFL Futures are Graded
The sportsbook will grade the NFL futures bet when the event has officially passed.
In the case of a championship event like the Super Bowl, the bet will be graded when a winner is determined. Likewise, the sportsbook will grade a player award futures bet when the winning player is announced.
Some sportsbooks will mark your bet as a loss if your team, player, or selection is no longer viable. This happens when a team is eliminated from the league’s playoffs and cannot win the championship.
When Do NFL Futures Come Out?
NFL Futures bets typically come out as soon as the current season’s playoffs have concluded. That means you can expect to see next year’s Super Bowl futures within a week or two after the current year’s Super Bowl winner has been crowned.
Sports betting sites will release futures odds for conference and division winners 2-3 weeks after the Super Bowl odds.
The final futures odds for the upcoming NFL season will be published in late May and June. These will include player awards, team performance futures, and any less popular futures bets that can’t be offered until oddsmakers have enough information to create a betting market.
NFL Futures Bet Example
|
Team |  BetMGM |
|---|---|
| Chiefs | +200 Bet |
| Bills | +275 Bet |
| Ravens | +325 Bet |
| Steelers | +1200 Bet |
| Texans | +1400 Bet |
| Chargers | +1500 Bet |
| Broncos | +2500 Bet |
| Dolphins | +3500 Bet |
| Bengals | +5000 Bet |
| Colts | +12500 Bet |
| Browns | +75000 Bet |
| Jaguars | +75000 Bet |
| Jets | +75000 Bet |
| Titans | +75000 Bet |
| Raiders | +100000 Bet |
| Patriots | +100000 Bet |
The following NFL futures bet example is for the odds to win the AFC. The example table contains odds for the top four teams.
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Chiefs | +350 |
| Bills | +425 |
| Bengals | +500 |
| Ravens | +1000 |
Sizing Up the Odds
Reviewing the table, no team has a minus value that would indicate it is a clear favorite to win the AFC. Instead, the top four teams all have plus values, with the Kansas City Chiefs considered the mostly likely to win at +350 odds.
A $100 bet on Kansas City to win the AFC would pay $350. The Buffalo Bills are close behind at +425 odds. A $100 bet on the Bills would pay $425.
However, the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens are less likely to win the AFC based on the odds above. At +500, a $100 bet on Cincinnati would pay $500 if the Bengals win the AFC championship. A winning Baltimore Ravens bet would pay even more: at +1000, a $100 bet would return a hefty $1,000 payout.
Betting 2 or More Teams
Note that you could bet on two or more teams to win the AFC. Though this strategy improves your chances of a winning wager, it will come at the cost of a higher upfront investment and potentially greater loss should none of your selections win.
For example, suppose you bet $10 on Kansas City to win $32.50, and $10 on Baltimore to win $100.
If Kansas City wins the AFC, your net result would be $32.50 (Kansas City wins) – $10 (Baltimore loses) = $22.50. In this case, the $20 you risked returned $22.50, representing a 112.5% return ( ($22.50/$20) * 100).
If Baltimore wins the AFC, your net result would be $100 (Baltimore wins) – $10 (Kansas City loses) = $90. Here the $20 you risked returned $90, producing a whopping 450% return ( ($90/$20) * 100). Not bad!
However, if the Buffalo Bills end up winning the AFC, you’d lose both bets and take net a -$20 loss. With 16 teams in the conference, and at least 5-6 likely contenders, futures bets offer the possibility for high returns if you’re willing to take a big risk.
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How to Bet NFL Futures
Time needed: 1 minute
How to place an NFL Futures bet
- Review odds for the NFL’s upcoming events
Review futures odds for the NFL’s upcoming events. Popular events include league, conference and division winners. Also review odds to win player awards.
- Each outcome has moneyline odds
Each outcome will have moneyline odds at American sports betting sites. Minus values indicate how much you risk to win $100. Plus values indicate how much you win if you risk $100.
- Make your selection and place your bet
Make one or more selections and bet your desired amount.
- You may place one or more futures bets on the same event
You can place multiple bets on the same event at once or at different times. Simply choose a different outcome and place another wager.
- Your bet wins if you picked the correct outcome
Your bet wins if you picked the correct outcome. Review your sportsbook’s rules to see when a futures bet can be cancelled.
NFL Futures Bets
The following are the most popular NFL futures bets. These bets are the most commonly placed by recreational and professional bettors alike. Use the odds to guide your handicapping throughout the season.
- Super Bowl
- AFC Futures
- NFC Futures
- NFL Team Performance
- NFL Player Awards
- Player Performance Futures
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When to Bet NFL Futures
There’s an art and science to betting NFL futures. The trick is to properly time your bet. You don’t want to bet too early without knowing much about how your team or player will perform. But you also don’t want to bet so late that your selection is an obvious winner with a small return. Consider the following before placing a futures bet:
- Do I have good data to backup the bet I’m making? – Don’t pick a team to win the league championship unless they have a winning record and are likely to win throughout the playoffs. Review the team’s recent performances, standings, and stats.
- What does the rest of the schedule look like? – An underdog team that gets off to a surprisingly good start may just have an light early-season schedule. Check the back half of their season. If they’re up against powerhouse opponents, their record will take a quick turn for the worse and they might not be playoff contenders after all.
- Are key players healthy and will they remain in good health? – Though you can’t predict the future health of a particular player, you do know how they’ve fared in recent matchups. Keep tabs on injury reports, no matter how insignificant. A player that gets injured late in the season will almost certainly fall out of contention for a league award, and may impact their team’s chances of progressing through the postseason.
Moderate Your Risk
For every person that wins a big bet on a longshot, there are dozens more that lose. Futures bets are inherently more risky than single-game wagers. Therefore, it’s best to bet on 1-3 selections with a reasonable chance of winning. You may also consider betting small amounts on longshots with higher payouts and larger amounts on likely winners with smaller payouts. This ensures your net result, no matter what happens, will at least produce a breakeven result or a small profit.
NFL Futures FAQs
A futures bet is placed on the outcome of a distant NFL event. Your bet wins if you chose the correct outcome. You may bet on more than one outcome at once, however the odds for each outcome will likely differ depending on each selection.
Minus values indicate how much you risk to win $100. Selections with a minus value are considered strong favorites. Plus values indicate how much you win if you risk $100. Selections with plus values are considered underdogs. A selection with the lowest plus odds value among a market with no minus value favorite would be considered a modest underdog to win.
Your futures bet wins if you select the correct outcome. The bet loses if you select the wrong outcome, or if the team, player, or result you selected is no longer eligible for the event.
The most popular NFL futures bet is the team to win the Super Bowl. Odds for each team to win the next Super Bowl will be released shortly after the current year’s Super Bowl winner has been crowned.
There’s an art and science to betting NFL futures. The trick is properly timing your bet. You don’t want to bet too early without knowing much about how your team or player will perform. But you also don’t want to bet so late that your selection is an obvious winner with a small return.
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NFL Betting Resources
- How to Bet on the NFL – An in-depth look at how to place bets on the NFL, including common straight bets and exotics like parlays, teasers, and props.
- NFL Betting Sites – Our list of the best NFL betting sites features licensed and legal US sportsbooks, just in time for the action on the gridiron.
- NFL Betting Odds – Current NFL odds for upcoming matchups, including the preseason and postseason. Review futures odds, the greatest all-time teams, regular-season standings, and valuable handicapping strategies.
- NFL Prop Bets – Prop bets from upcoming NFL matchups, including a complete NFL prop betting tutorial. Learn how to bet on NFL props.
- NFL Futures Odds – Odds for popular NFL Futures, like the Super Bowl, AFC and NFC conference winners, each division winner, and offensive and defensive player awards. Learn how to bet on NFL futures in minutes.
- NFL Win Total Odds – Review regular season win total lines and odds for each team. Remember to place you bet before each team’s first game of the regular season.
- NFL Game to Overtime Prop Bet – See odds for upcoming games, then review overtime game counts from recent seasons.
- NFL Safety to be Scored Prop Bet – Review odds of a safety happening in upcoming games, then bet “Yes” or “No”.
- NFL First Team to Score Prop Bet – See odds for which team will score first, then learn how to bet on this prop.
- Undefeated NFL Teams – See which teams are still undefeated in the current regular season.
- NFL Biggest Rivalries – Review the NFL’s biggest rivalries by division, catching up on each rivalry’s history and recent matchup results.
- Super Bowl Betting – The latest Super Bowl odds for every NFL team, plus a great guide to how to bet on the Super Bowl. Review how to bet Super Bowl props and recent winning teams.
- Quarterback Props – Review each quarterback’s regular season performance props. Bet over or under the sportsbook’s line.
- Running Back Props – See performance props for the league’s top running backs. Bet over or under the sportsbook’s line.
- Receiver Props – Have a look at regular season performance lines for receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, then bet over or under the sportsbook’s line.
- How to Read NFL Odds – Great for beginners: learn what the numbers for each bet mean.
- NFL Team Betting Odds – Betting odds and bonuses for each NFL team, including their Super Bowl, Conference, and Division futures, plus historical standings going back to before you were born.