NFL Futures Betting Guide
NFL future bets are single wagers placed on future events that won’t be decided right away.
In this betting market, you can place a wager on which team will win each of the two NFL conferences, each of the eight divisions, the Super Bowl, and even awards.
Football futures have heavily benefited from the expansion of online gambling. Betting sites add new futures markets every year and continually make it easier to place bets online.
Here, we’ll show you how NFL future bets work, what are the best sites to place your wagers, and how to bet futures smartly. Read on to learn it all.
NFL Futures Betting Guide
Where To Bet On NFL Futures
What Are NFL Future Bets?
NFL Futures are bets you place on NFL-specific outcomes that won’t be decided until later on in the season or typically at the end of the season.
Some of these bets can include:
- Team Win Totals
- Season Long Player Performances
- Super Bowl Winners
- Coach of the Year
- MVP
- Offensive Rookie of the Year
- Defensive Rookie of the Year
Below is an example of an NFL Future Bet regarding a season-long player prop for Tom Brady this season.
| Tom Brady Passing TDs | Odds |
|---|---|
| OVER 35.5 Passing TDs | -110 |
| UNDER 35.5 Passing TDs | -110 |
Sportsbooks set a number of Passing Touchdowns for Tom Brady, in this case, it is 35.5. If you think He throws 36 or more touchdowns in 2022, you can bet the over, and vice-versa.
What Is The Difference Between NFL Futures And Straight Bets?
Futures are different from straight bets on sides and totals due to the definitiveness of their results (no pushes).
They also generally take place over a considerably longer time frame compared to traditional wagering.
Futures can take months to settle in many cases, especially when they are placed well before the start of the season.
NFL Futures Betting Odds Explained
Most NFL Futures odds are read in list form, showing each option and its odds next to it. These are most often ranked from best chances to win to worst.
Let’s use a couple of this year’s Super Bowl futures odds as an example:
| Super Bowl Winner | Odds |
|---|---|
| Bills | +550 |
| Eagles | +2200 |
For example, the 2022 Super Bowl futures odds have the Buffalo Bills set as the favorites to win, listing them at the top of the futures odds at +550 (win $550 on a $100 bet).
The Philadelphia Eagles, on the other hand, have longer odds to win the Super Bowl and are listed near the bottom of the futures odds at +2200 (win $2,200 on a $100 bet).
Best NFL Futures Betting Sites
There are plenty of sites to bet on NFL futures. However, the key is to find sportsbooks that offer good bonuses and favorable odds.
We’ve done the work for you. Here are the best NFL futures betting sites you can use to place your bets:
| Rank | NFL Sportsbooks | Deposit Bonus | Highlights | Get Started |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Bovada |
Deposit Bonus 50% Up To $250 |
Highlights
|
Bet Now |
| 2 |
BetUS |
Deposit Bonus 100% Up To $2,500 |
Highlights
|
Bet Now |
| 3 |
Betonline |
Deposit Bonus 50% Up To $250 |
Highlights
|
Bet Now |
Check Our Review Of The Best NFL Online Sportsbooks
Top NFL Futures Betting Sites Reviewed
Betus – Great bonuses to bet on NFL futures
BetUS is one of the top sportsbooks in the industry. They have over 25 years of experience in the sports betting market.
“America’s favorite sportsbook” offers many of the most popular NFL Futures, including MVP, Division Winners, Season Stat Leaders, Team Specials, and the Super Bowl winners.
The main reason why we consider BetUS to be the best NFL futures betting site is that their bonuses and promotions are unparalleled.
You should sign up and take advantage of their 100% Up To $2,500 Welcome Bonus. It can be claimed with your first deposit.
You can’t go wrong with BetUS if you want to bet on football or any other sport.
Bovada – NFL Futures Betting Made Easy
Bovada, founded in 2011, has become one of the American bettors’ most popular offshore sportsbooks.
Their 50% Up To $250 Welcome Bonus offer has the lowest rollover among our top betting sites.
Bovada carries all the NFL Futures you are looking for. Like BetUS, they offer Super Bowl Winner, Super Bowl Matchups, Team Totals, Season-Long Player Props, Awards, Conference Winners, and Division Winners.
On top of offering division winners, you can also bet on the exact finishing order of each division.
Bovada also offers NFL “Special” Futures. These Specials range from the number of starts Trey Lance gets to Lamar Jackson’s next contract.
MyBookie – Plenty of NFL futures betting markets
MyBookie was founded in 2014 and is based in Costa Rica – one of the most favorable jurisdictions for online sports betting service providers.
The website feels like an actual sportsbook, and it’s very easy to navigate and find what you are looking for.
Like the other two online sportsbooks, they offer all the popular NFL Futures, including Super Bowl Winners, Division Winner, Awards, Team Totals, and Player Props.
You can take advantage of a 100% up to $1,000 Welcome Bonus available with your first deposit after signing up.
Best NFL Futures Bets
The most popular futures markets that bettors will run into are:
- Super Bowl Champion
- AFC Champion
- NFC Champion
- Player and Coach Awards
In the past few years, nearly every major NFL betting site also offered futures wagers on each NFL division.
This is a welcome addition to futures markets and makes for some interesting betting opportunities to make profitable bets.
Let’s take a look at each one of these markets and the options they bring to the table.
Betting On NFL Super Bowl Futures
The most popular NFL Future to bet on is the Super Bowl Winner.
You choose which team you think will win the Super Bowl very early, and you receive a nice payout if that team wins.
Here are the latest future Super Bowl betting odds:
| Super Bowl 57 Winner | Odds |
|---|---|
| Bills | +550 |
| Buccaneers | +750 |
| Packers | +900 |
| Chiefs | +1000 |
| Rams | +1200 |
| Chargers | +1400 |
| 49ers | +1600 |
| Broncos | +1700 |
| Cowboys | +2000 |
| Ravens | +2000 |
| Bengals | +2200 |
| Eagles | +2200 |
| Colts | +2500 |
The Buffalo Bills are the current favorites to win at +550 odds.
If you like the Bills to win the Super Bowl, a $100 bet would win $550. If you like the Rams to repeat as Super Bowl Champs, that same $100 bet will win you $1,200.
If you are looking to have some fun and want to bet on an underdog team all season, listed below are some of the teams with the worst odds to win the Super Bowl.
| Super Bowl Future Underdogs | Odds |
|---|---|
| Panthers | +13000 |
| Jaguars | +13000 |
| Jets | +13000 |
| Lions | +15000 |
| Seahawks | +15000 |
| Bears | +15000 |
| Falcons | +20000 |
| Texans | +25000 |
Placing a $100 futures bet on the Carolina Panthers to win the Super Bowl would pay out $13,000!
Future Bets On The Super Bowl Teams
You can also bet teams to make it to the Super Bowl. You can accomplish this by betting a team to win the AFC or NFC Conference.
Listed Below are the top 5 favorites to win the AFC and NFC:
| Future AFC Winner | Odds |
|---|---|
| Bills | +275 |
| Chiefs | +550 |
| Chargers | +750 |
| Broncos | +850 |
| Ravens | +900 |
| Future NFC Winner | Odds |
|---|---|
| Buccaneers | +330 |
| Packers | +400 |
| Rams | +550 |
| 49ers | +750 |
| Cowboys | +900 |
Future Bets On The Super Bowl Matchup
And at last, you can bet the exact match of the Super Bowl by picking the correct team from the AFC and NFC.
Below Are the top 5 Super Bowl matchups.
| Super Bowl 57 Matchup | Odds |
|---|---|
| Bills vs. Buccaneers | +1600 |
| Bills vs. Rams | +2200 |
| Bills vs. Packers | +2200 |
| Chiefs vs. Buccaneers | +2800 |
| Chargers vs. Buccaneers | +3500 |
Betting On NFL Division Winner Futures
Betting on division winners is one of the more profitable futures you can bet on.
It doesn’t require much luck, and you have a 1 in 4 chance of picking correctly.
Let’s take one of the divisions as an example. Below are the odds for the AFC North for the 2022 Season:
| AFC North 2022 Winner | Odds |
|---|---|
| Baltimore Ravens | +155 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | +190 |
| Cleveland Browns | +300 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | +1000 |
The Baltimore Ravens are the favorite to win the AFC North division with +155 odds. Placing a $100 bet from them to do so would win you $155.
If you are a big Pittsburgh Steelers fan and think Kenny Pickett can lead you to a division title, your $100 bet would win you $1,000.
NFL MVP Futures Betting & Other Awards
Like the Super Bowl, betting on the NFL MVP is another fun and popular future market to bet on.
Odds are listed from best to worst at online sportsbooks. To find the latest odds and learn how to place smart bets on this market, check out our NFL MVP betting guide.
Other Awards you can bet futures on are:
- Coach of the Year
- Offensive/Defensive Player of the Year
- Comeback Player of the Year
- Offensive/Defensive Rookie of the Year
How To Bet On NFL Futures Online (Step By Step)
Choose An NFL Sportsbook
Choose any one of your recommended online sportsbooks from the list above.
BetUS, Bovada, and MyBookie are all great options for NFL futures betting.Create Your Account
Create an account with a valid email address. Most online sportsbooks require the following: Name, Address, Password, Mobile Phone Number, and Email Address.
If you want to keep things as private as possible, check our guide on betting online without SSN.Make Your First Deposit
Most online sites accept major credit or debit cards, ACH (eCheck), online bank transfers, or wire transfers.
Bitcoin football betting and using cryptos, in general, is extremely popular. Transactions are way faster than with other methods, and they don’t carry fees.- Claim A Welcome BonusYou can use NFL betting promos, claim juicy welcome bonuses and boost your bankroll.
Make sure to take advantage of promos. They are one of the biggest advantages of online sports betting. - Place Your Future BetsFind the odds you like to bet on NFL futures markets and go for it.
Add the selection to your bet slip with a simple click, input the amount you want to gamble, and confirm the bet.
NFL Futures Betting Strategy (Expert Tips)
NFL future bets are long-term investments; therefore, they must be done smartly to reduce risk.
Just like with any other type of football bet, you want to analyze the options and the probabilities and make an informed decision.
However, with future bets, things change since there are many factors that affect every outcome. Check out the following NFL futures betting tips to make better decisions:
1. Understand The NFL Futures Betting Market
Futures betting is a recreational-focused betting market, which means it caters much more to amateur bettors than higher-stake betting professionals.
Most people betting futures are amateur bettors who simply want to wager on their favorite teams.
Limits are low, and as described above, the vig can be quite high. Make sure to check our vig calculator to make sure you are not paying too much.
Some betting sites should be avoided altogether for NFL futures because their holds are simply outrageous compared to the rest of the market and are unbeatable.
With all that said, futures betting can be profitable with line shopping and by avoiding high vig markets.
2. Place Your Bets At The Right Time
There are also a few areas where bettors may benefit from waiting to bet on a specific team or by hitting the market early.
Future odds are updated throughout the season based on the performance of each team.
The oddsmakers don’t pay nearly as much attention to futures markets as sides, totals, and NFL moneylines, so in some cases, bettors may be able to get a bet in before the market adjusts to a win or a loss.
Bettors may also have a team that they like to win the Super Bowl or specific division but see a tough early-season schedule for the team where they may lose several games.
Though the long-term outlook in the bettor’s mind hasn’t changed regarding the franchise, the oddsmakers will adjust the odds to account for any losses with more generous odds.
3. Hedge Your NFL Futures Bets
If bettors take a team that is one game away from clinching a division title, Super Bowl, AFC, or NFC Championship appearance, they will also have the opportunity to hedge their bet and lock in a profit.
Bet hedging should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and isn’t always a profitable move even if you’re locking in a profit.
We don’t want to steer bettors away from futures altogether, but steering clear of markets with large vigorish is simply a smart betting strategy.
4. Look For The Best Future Odds
Just because the sportsbook’s hold on a futures market is better than another’s, it doesn’t mean that gamblers shouldn’t shop around for the best price on their wager.
Even if a market has a 40% or more hold, there can still be a better price on a specific team than one with a lower vigorish.
Generally, the less vig, the more potential for +EV wagers, but that isn’t always the case.
The best thing you can do is open accounts at different online sportsbooks and look for the most favorable odds for the future bet you like. That’s called line shopping.
How To Handicap NFL Futures Bets
There are some profitable wagers for betting NFL futures, but first, you need to learn how to handicap futures markets.
That involves calculating the juice of each bet in the market to figure out the implied probability.
Futures markets are notoriously “juiced up” by many sportsbooks, so bettors must break down the odds and line shop appropriately.
Let’s look at an example of calculating the value behind football futures odds.
Calculating The Juice On Futures Bets
We’re going to use betting odds on the winner of the AFC East Title for this exercise.
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| New England Patriots | -160 |
| Miami Dolphins | +375 |
| Buffalo Bills | +425 |
| New York Jets | +1000 |
The above odds are listed for each team to win the division. Calculating the betting site’s vig on a futures market can be done using simple math.
The first step is to divide our risk ($100 with moneyline odds) by our potential payout.
For the odds-on favorite, New England Patriots, we risk $100/$160, which equals .625 or 62.5%.
The number on the right includes our $100 stake and a potential return of $60, which add up to $160.
Underdog Odds
The rest of the percentages are underdogs, so their chances of winning will be considerably smaller.
- Dolphins 100/475 = 0.21 (21%)
- Bills 100/525 = 0.19 (19%)
- Jets 100/1100 = 0.09 (9%)
By adding these percentages together, we can figure out the sportsbook’s vigorish on this futures market. The math is simple addition: 62.5 + 21.0 + 19.0 + 9.0 = 111.50.
These percentages add up to 111.50%, which means the commission charged on these futures bets is 11.5%.
Getting No-Vig
We can get true no-vig moneyline odds by dividing our above percentages by 111.50%:
- Patriots 62.5/111.50 = 56.0%
- Dolphins 21/111.50 = 18.8%
- Bills 19/111.50 = 17%
- Jets 9/111.50 = 9%
Added up, these numbers equal 100.8%, which makes sense since we rounded up several decimal points in our calculations.
True No-Vig Market
Using an implied probability calculator, we can convert these implied probability percentages into moneyline odds to give a true no-vig market.
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Patriots | -127 |
| Dolphins | +432 |
| Bills | +488 |
| Jets | +1011 |
We can see by our true odds that the Jets have the best odds relative to the sportsbook’s hold percentage (+1011 true odds versus +1000).
The above hold percentage of 11.50% is relatively fair regarding NFL futures markets. It’s only slightly more than the standard 10% vig charged on a straight wager on sides and totals.
This isn’t always the case, however. Some online gambling sites have hold percentages that charge players between 20-30%.
Vegas NFL Futures Odds
On the other hand, land-based sportsbooks in Las Vegas are generally much worse, with these percentages charging bettors 40% or higher on some futures markets.
Bettors should almost always look to bet futures at online NFL sportsbooks rather than land-based sportsbooks.
The hold percentages on futures markets in land-based sportsbooks are extremely high.
In some cases, it gets up to 30-40%, which is much higher than the 10-20% that you will find with most online betting sites.
Should You Bet On NFL Futures?
Just like any bet you want to place, you have to do the research beforehand.
You want to ensure you are up to date with as much information as possible, especially if you are diving into the prop and futures market.
Also, be selective. Don’t tie up your entire bankroll all season betting NFL Future Bets. Select 3-5 of your best or favorites and only bet those.
Is There Value In NFL Futures?
There are definitely value opportunities, but one main reason we caution novice bettors from betting too many long-term futures is that it ties up your bankroll for extended periods of time.
If you are a low-stakes bettor, you need all the money you can in the early stages and will be forced to bet less money on other +EV markets that are much more readily available if your money is tied up in futures.
NFL Futures Betting FAQ
What are the most popular NFL futures bets?
The most common NFL Futures are for the Super Bowl Championship, Divisional and Conference winners, and Award Winners like NFL MVP or Coach of the Year.
When to bet on NFL futures?
There is no straight answer here. It depends. Betting something early before the market reacts to news is often more valuable, but in some cases, waiting on an important coaching decision or player battle may turn out to offer you more value in the end.
Are football futures bets worth it?
If you do it right, they can be. It would help if you were very selective, limited the number of bets you place on NFL Futures, and always shop for the best line or odds.
Can you parlay NFL futures?
In many cases, online sportsbooks do allow you to parlay NFL futures. Some sportsbooks may not accept them, but quite a few allow multisport or parlays or NFL future parlays, provided the events are not correlated.
What does +1500 mean in a futures bet?
Odds of +1500 or 15/1 in fraction form mean that team or bet has a 6.25% of winning based on implied probability. For example, placing a $100 bet on a team at +1500 to win, your payout or winnings would be $1,500.
Is NFL futures betting profitable?
Though they are a market with a lot of vigorish – NFL futures can be profitable in the long run. Line shopping and searching for inefficiencies in the odds
