Football Futures Betting

Don’t be scared off if the word ‘futures’ sounds like a complicated stock market term. Basically, futures betting is simply wagering on an event or outcome that will happen in the future.

For NFL bettors, this usually means odds to win the Super Bowl. For college football bettors, this usually means odds to win the college football national championship.

How does futures betting work in the NFL?

There are several types of NFL futures but the most popular and commonly wagered one is Super Bowl futures. As soon as one Super Bowl champion is crowned, odds go up on which team will win next year’s Super Bowl. And those odds will change all season long, based on the NFL draft, NFL free agency, injuries, hot streaks, slumps etc.

So, in the preseason, there are Super Bowl futures. In Week 1, there are futures. Teams rise and fall as they win or lose. A long-shot team in September at 35-1 might be 5-1 in December if they win 8 straight games. A preseason favorite might end up 50-1 because of injuries.

NFL bettors can also bet on division futures (which teams will win each division), conference futures, NFL MVP futures, Defensive Rookie of the Year futures, which quarterback will throw the most touchdown passes etc etc.

How does futures betting work in college football?

College football futures betting revolves around two main markets – odds to win the national championship and odds to win the Heisman Trophy as best college player. There are futures on SEC championship, Big 12 title and most of the other BCS conferences, but there is much less wagering on those futures.

And in college football, with its short list of marquee programs that serve as NFL factories, there are usually only a few teams with legit chances to win. You know the usual suspects – Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, LSU, Auburn, Oklahoma.

There will also be cross-over futures around the NFL draft where college players will be listed as top players for NFL teams to select.

Sometimes people bet on futures because they think they can predict the future or because they really know player stats and tendencies. Some bettors believe they can find betting value by picking a team early in the season at 25-1 if they think they know that team will over-achieve.

It’s also fun to have a $100 bet on your favorite team at 35-1, especially if they get off to a quick start and the odds moved down to 10-1. Now you have a wager on the books that will pay out 35-1, which a less clever bettor can only get at 10-1 now.

Is futures betting a smart strategy?

It can be a smart bet and sometimes a true long shot will win the division or make it to the Super Bowl. But consider these like a lottery ticket for a lottery that won’t be drawn for a few months. Check out your favorite legal online sportsbook to see what types of futures bets they offer.

What are the risks of futures betting?

The main risk of futures betting was just mentioned in the paragraph above. When you place a bet in September for an outcome that won’t be known until Super Bowl Sunday in February, that’s a long time for your money to be sitting there.

It means you don’t have that $100 to bet this week or invest in live betting. So keep in mind that you shouldn’t tie up too much money in futures