Happy Friday! We have a loaded slate today with 30-plus college basketball games and 10 NBA games. For an updated breakdown of Friday's betting action, be sure to tune in to the VSiN Market Insights Podcast with Josh Appelbaum. It will be posted at noon ET. I'll also be joining the Lombardi Line with Michael Lombardi and Patrick Meagher at 12:25 p.m. ET to offer a market update.
With the NFL Playoffs about to begin, many sports bettors will be looking to place a futures bet or two. They can spice up the playoffs by providing a rooting interest in the overall outcome, and hopefully another way to pad your bankroll outside of individual playoff game bets. The odds to win each conference and the Super Bowl will surely move based on the outcome of this weekend's games. While many bettors have already gotten much better numbers on these teams by placing futures bets weeks and months ago (or before the season began), there is still time for savvy bettors to lock in some value bets as we head into Wild Card Weekend. For some teams, now is the last shot to get them at their highest payouts. If they advance this weekend, their odds will shorten.
Here are the latest odds via BetMGM
To win the AFC
Chiefs + 100
Bills + 375
Ravens + 550
Steelers + 1400
Titans + 1400
Colts + 2200
Browns + 2200
To win the NFC
Packers + 210
Saints + 325
Bucs + 360
Seahawks + 400
Rams + 1400
Bears + 4000
Washington + 500
To win the Super Bowl
Chiefs + 240
Packers + 550
Bills + 700
Saints + 750
Ravens + 1000
Bucs + 1100
Seahawks + 1400
Rams + 2500
Steelers + 2500
Titans + 2500
Colts + 4000
Browns + 4000
Bears + 8000
Washington + 10000
Of course, when you place a futures bet you hope that team will come through for you and win it all. But it's important to note that futures can also present hedging opportunities. For example, let's say you like the Steelers as a + 1400 longshot to win the AFC. The ideal scenario is that they win the AFC and reach the Super Bowl. However, you could also just cross your fingers that they reach the AFC championship game, where they might be facing the Chiefs or Bills. If that scenario comes to fruition, you could either let your bet ride on the Steelers + 1400 or hedge it by betting their opponent (Chiefs or Bills) on the moneyline, thereby guaranteeing yourself a profit.
Here are the latest Super Bowl matchup odds (top 10)
Chiefs vs Packers + 525
Chiefs vs Saints + 750
Chiefs vs Bucs + 850
Chiefs vs Seahawks + 900
Bills vs Packers + 1400
Bills vs Saints + 1400
Bills vs Bucs + 2000
Bills vs Seahawks + 2200
Ravens vs Saints + 2500
Ravens vs Bucs + 2800
On Wild Card Weekend, bettors can also wager on which game will be the highest scoring. Here are the latest odds along with their totals.
Ravens at Titans + 210 (OU 55)
Colts at Bills + 300 (OU 51)
Bears at Saints + 500 (OU 47)
Browns at Steelers + 525 (OU 47.5)
Bucs at Washington + 600 (OU 45.5)
Rams at Seahawks + 900 (OU 42)