How to bet on NFL games
NFL betting is the most widely bet sport in America. Here, we outline how to bet on NFL games, the markets on offer to place a bet and how to be a good football bettor.
With so many various betting markets to have a selection from and player and team bets available, the NFL presents up opportunities for countless potential gamblers. The league schedule also lends itself to gambling, with solo primetime games and Sundays full of games allowing gamblers to bet in a variety of different ways. Here you can check out Detroit Lions betting tips.
How to bet on NFL games
When a player visits the "NFL" section of a bookmaker, the first bets he'll come across are spread, money line and total of the future NFL games.
Point spread
The most popular and prevalent NFL wager to put is the spread. In most NFL games, there is a favorite and an underdog. The favorite will be favored to win by some amount of points, designated by a "-"/"-<" symbol with a number. The underdog will be "offered" some points, indicated by a "+<<" sign and a figure. For example, when the Eagles met the Panthers in the 2024 campaign, they were favored by 13.5 points. The spread appeared as PHI -13.5 and CAR +13.5.
When you spread bet on the Eagles in this case, they need to win by a minimum of 14 points to cover the spread, and for you to win your bet. When you place a bet on the Panthers, they need to win or lose by 13 points or less for you to win your bet.
The spread odds are almost "even" for both sides. The spread "gives" the underdog as many points as the sportsbooks project to make it an even race. You'll usually see spread odds of -110, though you can also find -105, -115, or -120.
Money line
The money line is a much simpler bet than the spread. You're simply betting on which team wins the game outright. Money line odds vary much more than spread odds. In a closely matched game, you might have odds nearly even. For example, in Super Bowl 59, the Chiefs were slight favorites at money line odds of -120 and the underdog Eagles at money line odds of +100.
In contrast, when the Browns hosted the Ravens in the last week of the 2024 season (a game the Ravens needed as they were attempting to secure playoff seeding with the Browns having dropped out of playoff contention), Browns were +1350 on the money line in certain books while the Ravens were -2800. If you had wagered on the browns for $100 in the game Ravens Browns, you would have won $1,350 if they won, but you would have had to wager $2,800 on the Ravens to gain a profit of $100.
Total
When you wager on the total (better known as over/under), you're betting on the combined score of both teams. The outcome of the game doesn't matter. The aggregate will often be a half figure, like 48.5. If the Dolphins are playing the Bills, and the aggregate is 48.5, a bet on the Over will pay off if the two sides score a combined minimum of 49 points and a bet on the Under will pay off if they score a combined 48 or less points.
NFL parlays
Parlays are a highly used type of sports betting in which customers combine multiple distinct bets (or "legs") on one ticket to maximize their potential reward. Parlays may be over multiple games or within one game, commonly referred to as a "same-game parlay."
Even though parlays are extremely popular because they have enormous potential payout, they are difficult to win because all of the single legs on the parlay must win for the parlay to be a winning bet. If a bettor bets a five-leg parlay and the first four legs "score" and the fifth one doesn't, the payoff is zero. Had the identical five bets been placed individually, and four of them were winners and the fifth one a loser, the first four would have been paid. But the four individual bet wins would be significantly less than they would have been if they were bunched together in a parlay
Sample three-leg parlay
Here's a Week 17 2024 season sample parlay that would have been a winner:
- Chiefs money line (-135)
- Ravens money line (-320)
- Seahawks money line (-215)
All three individually, if wagered on individually, were favorites, so if a user had wagered all three individually, their payout, as a multiple of what they wagered, would have been small. However by wagering on all three to win in a bundle package, a user would receive +235 odds, meaning a winning $100 wager would cash out at $235.
But if a bettor hedged all three of those covering the spread, the bet would have lost. Although the Chiefs and Ravens covered as favorites, the Seahawks, who were 3.5-point favorites, won just 6-3.
Sample same-game parlay
Parlays can include a lot of various types of bets, like basic bets like spreads, money lines, or totals, but even props and futures are there to include in your parlay, and same-game parlays are not unique. One example of a same-game parlay that would have been a winner in Week 17 of the 2024 season is:
- Chiefs money line (won 29-10)
- Patrick Mahomes OVER 2.5 passing touchdowns (he threw for three)
- Kareem Hunt anytime TD (he scored one)
But assume that a bettor put on a fourth leg of Mahomes OVER 0.5 interceptions. The bettor who had successfully predicted the first three legs would not have mattered since Mahomes had no interception.
NFL prop betting
Prop betting is betting on something to happen in a game unrelated to how the game will end. A lot of individuals here "prop betting" and the first thing they can think of is betting on a player's stats, and although that's a terrific and common example of a prop bet, there are a variety of other kinds of props to bet on within an NFL game.
Touchdown scorer
It is easy: Will a player score a touchdown? Scorer of touchdowns can be "anytime" (if a player scores a touchdown at any time during the game, the wager is successful), first touchdown scorer (if the player scores the game's initial touchdown, the wager is successful) or touchdowns scored. Odds will lengthen with specificity; a player is more likely to score a touchdown sometime than to score the game's initial touchdown, for example.
On the most popular bookmakers, all players of relevance will be tabulated with touchdown scorer odds. Players such as Derrick Henry, who get into the end zone virtually every week, will have a "-" anytime touchdown scorer odds. It was not out of the ordinary to find Henry with -220 odds to score at the end zone in a particular game. Compare that to a tight end who will have a few targets per game and score a few touchdowns over the course of the season who could have anytime touchdown odds of +650 or more.
Player props
Apart from touchdowns, most NFL players will have a full menu of prop lines for every game they participate in. A receiver like Justin Jefferson could have props like O/U 99.5 receiving yards, O/U 9.5 receptions and longest reception O/U 49.5 yards. Each of the highlighted skill position players in a game will have a number of prop lines where you can bet the Over or the Under.
Team props
You are also able to bet on team props. Some team props are the amount of points a team will score, the amount of touchdowns a team will score, how many times a team will turnover the ball, and other wagers of that nature
Game props
Bookmakers make it possible for players to be even more precise on game wagers, such as which team will score first, which team will be ahead after a half/a quarter and the number of lead changes in a game. These are also highly wanted in parlays.