Football returns the first week of August as pre-season play kicks off with the Hall of Fame Game on Thursday, August 3rd, in Canton, Ohio. The New York Jets and Cleveland Browns battle it out in the first NFL action since the Kansas City Chiefs took down the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII in mid-February.
If you are new to sports gambling or just need a refresher on the different betting options you have for this upcoming season, you are in the right place. We will cover some of the common bets a bettor has at their disposal that can make the NFL season more entertaining.
Check out the full NFL 2023/24 odds over on Bookmaker
Win Totals and Futures
These are bets you can place before the season begins and track throughout the year. Prior to the start of every season, your book will give out over/under win totals for each of the NFL’s teams. These are 50/50 wagers, with the bettor deciding if that team will either eclipse or fail to hit that win total.
Future bets can be placed on teams or individuals. These wagers might include future Super Bowl winners or conference MVPs. There are numerous future bets on each betting site, so check them out before the regular season begins.
Spread and Point Total Single-Game Bets
These two are the most commonly placed wagers on NFL contests. The spread typically comes out the week prior to the contest, and the point total follows shortly after. These lines can fluctuate during the week leading up to the contests, as injury reports and the weather forecast can have an effect on both numbers.
Let’s look at the example below:
| Detroit Lions | Kansas City Chiefs |
| +7 (-115) | -7 (-105) |
| O 54 (-110) | U 54 (-110) |
In this Week 1 contest, the Chiefs are favored by seven points, and the point total sits at 54. If you believe the Lions will cover the spread (+7), a $100 bet will return $186.96 ($100 bet plus $86.96 winnings).
If you wager on the over (54 points) and win, a $100 bet will payout $190.91 ($100 bet plus $90.91 winnings).
If the Lions lose by seven or the total hits exactly 54, your $100 bet will be returned to your account and deemed a push bet.
Not only are game lines available, but quarter and half spreads and point totals are typically available for all games as well.
Prop Bets
A growing trend in sports wagering has been the prop bet. There are many different forms of a prop bet, but we will focus on team and individual prop bets below.
Leading up to a game, most sportsbooks will offer team and individual totals a bettor can wager on. Some examples of this might be team total points; team total rushing yards, individual reception totals, or individual rushing yards.
Prop bets have become popular as many sportsbooks now offer same-game parlays where a bettor can parlay two or more prop bets together for a greater potential payout. Look for these wagers to come out later in the week leading up to the game.
In-Game Betting
Finally, in-game betting has also changed the betting landscape as access to sportsbooks has become as easy as logging into an app on your mobile device. In-game betting has live lines, like the spread and point total, as well as options to bet on how a particular quarter or series will end (punt, field goal, touchdown, etc).
As sports betting continues to become more mainstream, in-game betting has seen a dramatic rise in popularity.
