Sep 21, 2023; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) jogs onto the field before the game against the New York Giants at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

49ers jump Chiefs as Super Bowl favorite

Brock Purdy is making believers and the 49ers’ odds jump to the top of the Super Bowl LVIII futures market are clear evidence San Francisco has rising support.

Purdy remains perfect as a starter in the regular season. The 49ers are off to a 3-0 start and newly released odds for the Lombardi Trophy winner from BetMGM have the 49ers at +550 ahead of the Kansas City Chiefs at +600.

The Chiefs and 49ers are even at +600 at FanDuel.

The Chiefs opened as favorites at most sportsbooks and their odds remain unchanged after a 41-10 thrashing of the Chicago Bears on Sunday.

The Eagles, in action Monday night at Tampa Bay, are third at +700 at BetMGM and FanDuel (opening odds were +900) with the Bills, Cowboys and rising Miami Dolphins all +1000 at BetMGM. Buffalo is +950 at FanDuel.

The Dolphins drubbed the Denver Broncos by 50 points in Week 3. Miami is 3-0 for the second consecutive season following the 70-20 victory and the biggest riser on the futures board for Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas. Miami opened at +3000.

The Cincinnati Bengals are +2500 after opening at +850 and are among the biggest fallers on the odds board.

The Chicago Bears dipped to +40000. The Bears are winless and opened at +6600.

Since the season-ending injury to Aaron Rodgers, the Jets have fallen from +2400 to +15000 at BetMGM.

–Field Level Media

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) runs onto the field to face the Buffalo Bills in the home opener at MetLife Stadium on Monday, Sept. 11, 2023, in East Rutherford.

Super drop: Jets’ odds nosedive minutes after Aaron Rodgers’ injury

Aaron Rodgers left four plays into his tenure as New York Jets quarterback, deflating MetLife Stadium and oddsmakers’ outlook on the franchise’s Super Bowl chances.

The Jets were 18-1 to win the Super Bowl before kickoff and dropped immediately to 34-1 at FanDuel as a signal of the shocking reversal of fortunes for the maligned franchise.

Rodgers attempted one pass, an incompletion, and left the game on a cart. He wore a protective boot on his left foot when entering the locker room for X-rays the team said were negative.

Rodgers was expected to undergo an MRI exam to determine whether his Achilles was damaged. The injury was reflected in odds shifts at nearly every sportsbook.

DraftKings dropped the Jets from the seventh-best odds (+1600 to +2800). BetMGM also had the Jets down from +1800 to +2800.

The Jets were also shifted from -130 to make the playoffs to +240.

PointsBet had not immediately adjusted Super Bowl futures and offered the Jets as Super Bowl champs at +1500.

MVP futures odds were off the board at multiple sportsbooks. Rodgers, a four-time MVP, won the award in 2020 and 2021 and had +1600 consensus odds entering Week 1 to capture the honor again this year.

–Field Level Media

Dec 25, 2022; Inglewood, California, USA; Nickelodeon sideline reporter Dylan Schefter during the game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Denver Broncos at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

NFL takes Super Bowl to Nickelodeon

Nickelodeon scored the first alternate network Super Bowl simulcast and will air the NFL broadcast aimed at youth viewership at the end of the 2023 season.

CBS is the primary broadcaster of Super Bowl LVIII, which will be played in Las Vegas on Feb. 11, 2024, and pushed to pair the traditional game coverage and network telecast with the alternate audience of Nickelodeon. Two playoff games have aired on the kid-friendly network with graphic and broadcast elements built to entertain the underage viewers.

Nickelodeon and CBS are sister networks.

“We’re thrilled to partner with CBS Sports and Nickelodeon to present the first alternate telecast of the Super Bowl,” said Hans Schroeder, the executive vice president of NFL Media, in a statement. “Our previous telecasts on Nickelodeon have been huge hits and created a new and different way to experience an NFL game. We’re excited to bring that creativity to Super Bowl 58 and give our fans another way to enjoy one of the world’s most popular sporting events.”

Nickelodeon also will provide a kid-friendly option for the Christmas Day game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Las Vegas Raiders. In 2022, the Christmas game featuring the Los Angeles Rams and Denver Broncos aired on Nickelodeon.

–Field Level Media

Feb 4, 2023; Paradise, NV, USA; AFC receiver Tyreek Hill of the Miami Dolphins (10) during Pro Bowl Games practice at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill: ‘I will break 2,000 yards’

Wide receiver Tyreek Hill has set lofty goals for both himself and the Miami Dolphins in the upcoming season.

Hill said on his podcast, “It Needed to be Said,” that he will become the first pass catcher in NFL history to break the 2,000-yard receiving mark. Hill also added that the Dolphins will win the Super Bowl for the first time since they captured back-to-back titles in the 1972 and 1973 seasons (Super Bowl VII and VIII).

“I will break 2,000 yards next year, bro,” Hill told co-host Julius Collins. “I’m just checking it off my bucket list. All I’m going to say is 2,000 yards was on my bucket list to get before I leave this league. You all think the Cheetah gonna leave without doing something he promised himself he was going to do as a kid? 2,000 yards and another Super Bowl. We’re getting that. Believe that.”

Hall of Fame member Calvin Johnson holds the receiving yards record with 1,964, set in 2012. He averaged 122.8 receiving yards per contest while playing in all 16 games that season for the Detroit Lions.

Hill, 29, was on pace to eclipse that receiving yards total through his first nine games in 2022 before settling for career highs — and franchise-best totals — in catches (119) and receiving yards (1,710). The four-time All-Pro and seven-time Pro Bowl selection caught balls from three different quarterbacks: Tua Tagovailoa, Teddy Bridgewater and Skylar Thompson.

“I feel like I’ve got the right tools around me,” Hill said. “I’ve got obviously the most accurate quarterback in the NFL (in Tagovailoa), I’ve got one of the best head coaches in the NFL (Mike McDaniel) and also my position coach is a monster also (Wes Welker). So just having those three things and me just keeping the same mindset each and every day that I want to get better and I want to break the record and I do want to break the record.

“So I feel like this is one of those years that I can achieve it.”

–Field Level Media

Apr 27, 2023; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes greets fans during the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft at Union Station. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Chiefs visit White House, present Joe Biden with jersey

The Kansas City Chiefs visited President Joe Biden at the White House on Monday to celebrate their Super Bowl victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes led the Chiefs’ delegation in Washington, D.C., just short of four full months after guiding the Chiefs to a 38-35 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII in Glendale, Ariz.

Biden was presented with a Chiefs’ No. 46 jersey in an outdoor gathering. A notable moment came when Biden was presented with his jersey, and tight end Travis Kelce veered away to approach the microphone.

“So I have been waiting for this moment,” Kelce began to say as Mahomes made like a Secret Service agent, quickly cutting off his favorite target and ushering him back with the team.

Mahomes also led the Chiefs a Super Bowl victory in February 2020 but the team did not visit the White House because of COVID-19 restrictions. The franchise won the Super Bowl after the 1969 season, before White House visits were common for sports champions.

During the visit, Biden recognized Norma Hunt, wife of Chiefs founder Lamar Hunt, who passed away Sunday at 85.

–Field Level Media

Feb 11, 2023; Phoenix, AZ, USA; The Super Bowl 50 ring to commemorate the Denver Broncos 24-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. Feb. 7, 2016. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Super Bowl LX officially awarded to San Francisco Bay Area

Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., was officially approved as the site of Super Bowl LX on Feb. 8, 2026 on Monday.

The announcement was made during the NFL Spring League Meeting in Minneapolis.

This will mark the second Super Bowl in Santa Clara and the third in the San Francisco Bay Area. Levi’s Stadium hosted Super Bowl 50 on Feb. 7, 2016, while Stanford Stadium was the site of Super Bowl XIX on Jan. 20, 1985.

“The Bay Area was an incredible host for Super Bowl 50, and we are thrilled to bring the Super Bowl back,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. “We look forward to working with the 49ers and the Bay Area Host Committee to create an impactful Super Bowl LX in 2026 that showcases all the great things the region has to offer.”‘

Levi’s Stadium is home to the San Francisco 49ers.

According to an independent study in 2016, the event generated nearly $250 million for the Bay Area economy.

“We are honored to host the Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium once again, and to be stewards of one of the biggest sporting events in the world,” 49ers president Al Guido said in a news release. “Since hosting Super Bowl 50 in 2016, Levi’s Stadium has cemented its reputation as a world-class venue. I’m confident Super Bowl LX will be a terrific event that benefits the entire community.”

Las Vegas is host of the 2024 (2023 season) Super Bowl and New Orleans is the 2025 site.

–Field Level Media

Jan 22, 2023; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) celebrates after scoring a touchdown during the fourth quarter of a NFC divisional round game against the Dallas Cowboys at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Report: Super Bowl coming to Bay Area in 2026

NFL owners are expected to award Super Bowl LX in 2026 to Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., according to a Sports Business Journal report on Thursday.

The owners’ spring meeting is slated for May 22-24 in Minneapolis, where they will vote on the site of the 60th Super Bowl game for February 2026 and televised on NBC.

Levi’s Stadium, which opened in 2014 as a replacement for Candlestick Park as the San Francisco 49ers’ home stadium, hosted Super Bowl 50 on Feb. 7, 2016, when the Denver Broncos defeated the Carolina Panthers 24-10.

The 49ers have been seeking funds from the league for upgrades to the stadium to host the Super Bowl. Levi’s Stadium also is one of 11 NFL venues hosting 2026 World Cup soccer games in the summer of 2026, when the United States, Canada and Mexico will serve as co-host countries.

The Los Angeles Rams said in April that they would like to host Super Bowl LXI in early 2027 at SoFi Stadium.

The Las Vegas Raiders will host next season’s game at Allegiant Stadium, and New Orleans will welcome back the Super Bowl in 2025 after not hosting since 2013 at the Superdome.

–Field Level Media

Aaron Rodgers' days in Green Bay appear over.

Syndication The Post Crescent

Jets QB Aaron Rodgers among betting favorites for MVP in ’23

Aaron Rodgers packed his bags and moved on from Green Bay, but a double-check reveals the new Jets’ quarterback isn’t available at a discount in MVP futures markets.

The four-time NFL Most Valuable Player is among favorites to win the award in 2023 at +1600, which is even with Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence and Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. At FanDuel, a three-way tie at +700 is shared by quarterbacks Josh Allen (Bills), Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs) and Joe Burrow (Bengals).

Chargers QB Justin Herbert (+1200), Eagles QB Jalen Hurts (+1400) and Ravens QB Lamar Jackson (+1500) are on the crowded second tier at FanDuel.

The Jets are +1400 to win Super Bowl, which is fourth in the AFC behind favorite Kansas City (+700), the Buffalo Bills (+900) and Cincinnati Bengals (+1000) at DraftKings and BetMGM.

The Jets are currently +850 to win the AFC at FanDuel and +800 at BetMGM, and +250 to win the AFC East behind the Bills (+100).

–Field Level Media

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) is tackled by Philadelphia Eagles linebacker T.J. Edwards (57) during the second quarter in Super Bowl LVII at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Feb. 12, 2023.

Nfl Super Bowl Lvii Kansas City Chiefs Vs Philadelphia Eagles

Nielsen: 113M watched Super Bowl, No. 3 TV broadcast of all time

Super Bowl LVII earned an average TV audience of 113 million people, Nielsen reported Monday, making it the third most-watched Super Bowl on record and the third most-watched television broadcast of all time.

The Kansas City Chiefs’ 38-35 win over the Philadelphia Eagles came up just shy of the record of 114.4 million viewers, on average, that watched the New England Patriots beat the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX in February 2015.

Super Bowl LI, the Patriots’ famed 34-28 comeback win over the Atlanta Falcons in February 2017, hit 113.7 million for Fox between network and streaming, making Chiefs-Eagles Fox Sports’ second most-watched broadcast ever.

About 106 million viewers watched Super Bowl LVII on Fox and Fox Deportes, and the other seven million utilized streaming platforms that factored into the total.

It represents a modest bump over last year’s Super Bowl between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals, which reported 112.3 million viewers on average.

Rihanna’s halftime show drew an average of 118.7 million viewers, Nielsen said, making it the second most-watched Super Bowl halftime performance on record.

The average of seven million streams made Super Bowl LVII the most-streamed Super Bowl to date, Fox said.

Predictably, Kansas City and Philadelphia were the top two metered markets for the broadcast, followed by Cincinnati, Detroit and Pittsburgh.

Final Nielsen data is expected to be released Tuesday.

–Field Level Media