As sports betting becomes legal in more parts of the United States, it is skyrocketing in popularity. In fact, 20% of American adults will place a bet on NFL football this year.
To be clear, that’s not the number of adults that will place a bet on just any sport this year—that is only the amount that will bet on NFL games. The opportunities to put a little skin in the game are steadily increasing with expanding legality and methods by which you can bet on NFL games and players.
From fantasy football to daily fantasy sports to just straight-up betting, this blog has got you covered.
If you’re ready to get your feet wet when it comes to betting on football games or if you’ve already begun to bet on football and are looking for betting advice or tips, read on.
How to Bet on NFL Games
First and foremost, it is critical that you check your local gambling laws and excise tax codes before placing any kind of bet on any sport—whether it be online or in person. Sports gambling laws vary widely from state to state, and violating those laws can come with hefty penalties.
So, one more time – check your state’s sports gambling laws before placing a bet or wager. Instead, you might have to (gasp) enjoy watching your favorite team play without gambling.
Sometimes catching your favorite teams or players can be a bit complicated since the end of net neutrality and the advent of streaming subscription services, but knowing how to watch your players play is almost mandatory.
Now, with that out of the way, let’s take a deep dive into everything there is to know about today’s odds and betting on the NFL.
Different Ways to Bet on the NFL
As mentioned above, there are several different ways to bet on NFL games and even individual players. The oldest and most popular method is traditional fantasy football.
Traditional Fantasy Football
Ah, old-school fantasy football—the original underground way to bet on football. Traditionally, fantasy football is conducted between a group of friends that comprise a “league.” However, the advent of modern technology has helped give rise to this “sport” that was previously reserved for stats nerds.
In “traditional” fantasy football, each “team owner” drafts a team of various players from throughout the league based on their statistics and regardless of which real-life team for which they may play. League fees are collected by the “commissioner” of the league (where legal), and payouts come at the end of the season, depending on where each respective team finishes in the standings.
The rules, draft rules, and scoring are very dynamic because of the customizable nature of the game. It comes down to the personal preference of each league, their commissioner, and ultimately the “team owners” therein.
Leagues may also play for bragging rights, a trophy, or to avoid some kind of creative punishment at the end of the season. The only limits are your imagination (and obviously the law in your state).
Traditional fantasy sports will also introduce you to the colloquial term “handcuff,” which refers to your star player’s backup player. Consider them an insurance policy should something unfortunate happen to your big stud ballplayer.
Daily Fantasy Sports
Similar to traditional fantasy football but confined to the microcosm of one specific day’s slate of games, daily fantasy sports leagues allow players to bet a customizable amount of money toward any number of public “pools” before drafting players for their team on that day alone—usually for an arbitrary “salary cap” amount. While payouts are much smaller and harder to hit big with, the quick turnover is attractive to some bettors.
Another favorable side of daily fantasy sports in the eyes of bettors is that it is set up in a much more traditional, almost “day-trader” type format. This allows people that may not be huge fans of watching football games to place more of a situational-based bet on NFL games and players.
When it comes to daily fantasy sports (a.k.a. DFS), the higher the wager, the higher the payout. While this is a basic tenet of gambling, you should remember that if you’ve got the dough to be a high roller, you’re also pricing out some of the riff-raff and decreasing the chance of someone getting lucky at random.
There is still trepidation on some fronts because of early snafus with ineligible gamblers and creative cheaters gaming the daily fantasy sports world. Still, it appears that since the industry has grown out of its infancy, those fears and instances have decreased considerably.
Daily fantasy sports is now a profitable, viable, legitimate way for fans to bet on NFL players and games.
Betting the Spread
Now we’re getting into the territory of old-school gambling. “Betting the spread” is a term that those unfamiliar with sports gambling have probably heard, even if they have no idea what it means.
Each game has a set “spread” determined by sports experts and “bookkeepers” that have sources inside the game. The “spread” is the amount set for one team to defeat another points-wise. This is not in relation to fantasy football but rather actual, real-life football games.
If you’re still not picking up what I’m putting down, think of it like this: Team A is favored to win by 6.5pts (a.k.a. +6.5) over Team B. Since there are no available ways for football teams to score half points, you are betting about whether one of the two teams is going to score 6 or 7 more points than the other team.
If the underdog team (in this situation, “Team B” wins by any point margin and you bet on them to win, you’re going to profit. However, this bet comes with a significantly higher risk, hence the more straightforward win.
If “Team A” in this situation wins by seven or more points and you bet on them to do so, you stand to profit from the bet, albeit at a lower profit margin than taking the underdog.
Betting the Over/Under
Another common stat that targets folks who bet on NFL games or players is the “over/under.” This term refers to the total amount of points that will be scored in a game by both teams combined. For example, if you bet the “under” on a game with an over/under of 37.5 points, you are betting that both teams in a given game will score 37 or fewer total points.
Many sports enthusiasts will tell you that “life is too short to bet the under,” but it is often a worthwhile wager. The key to the new generation of betting tips is to sniff out irregularities in the market and mitigate risk. In the end, placing a bet on NFL games or players isn’t much different than buying or selling stocks.
Betting the Money Line
Betting the money line is when a bettor bets for a team to win, regardless of the spread. Betting on the favored team will pay much less if they win, but it will still pay.
Money line bets are typically best suited for gamblers who have some feeling or information that lead them to believe that the underdog might win. Die-hard fans of a team that may come out as underdogs when betting opens are the most likely to bet against the money line.
How to Bet Smart on Football Games
Now that you’ve gotten a rudimentary rundown of the most common ways to bet on NFL games and players, let’s dive into some fundamental strategies that might help you make money off the hobby.
For now, let’s focus on the straight-up money line, over/under, and spread betting, and save the fantasy football advice for later.
Money Line Bets
The simplest to bet and the riskiest to research, money line bets can make or break you on game day. A great example was the Colts/Jaguars tilt in Week 2 of the 2022-2023 season. The Colts opened as 11.5-point favorites because they are easily the better team talent-wise.
Many bettors were caught off guard by the 24-0 drubbing that the Jags laid on the Colts, who were suffering from a glut of injuries on both sides of the ball. What many bettors also likely ignored was the fact that Jacksonville has spanked the Colts mightily over the last 2-3 seasons, roster rotations be damned.
Over/Under Bets Will Catch You Sleeping
Sure, life’s too short to bet the under. Who wants to watch a boring, low-scoring game? Smart bettors, that’s who. Too many folks bet optimistically, hoping for a raucous good time as they watch two teams duke it out on their way to a big fat payday for the bettor.
Bookies see you, folks. There’s an easy uptick on over/under bets for this reason alone.
In the end, over/under bets are typically the most successful if you can keep emotion and fandom out of the equation.
Betting the Spread Pays Fools Well
Look, betting for your team to win by (x) number of points is one of the purest ways to put some skin in the game, regardless of the sport. It’s also the quickest way to lose money when you bet on NFL games.
When you bet on football games, basketball games, or any kind of competition in general, a particular illusion of knowledge floods bettors’ minds. Sure, you might be the most prominent New York Jets fan since Joe Namath made The Guarantee, but if you keep betting on the Jets to win and cover, you’re also going to be a very poor gambling Jets fan.
Parlays Are Doom
A “parlay” is when you make multiple bets on many different games or aspects of a game. While parlays pay huge dollars, they are notoriously difficult to hit correctly. Parlays will lose your money for you in a hurry unless you know what you’re doing. Newbies, beware.
Professionals Shop Around for the Right Money Line
It may seem like nitpicking, but the truly great bettors will shop around for a half point or o through each available sportsbook. It is shocking how accurate bookkeepers can be about predicting scores, so a half point here or there can be the difference between losing big and pumping money into your vacation fund.
Common Sites to Bet on Football
Whether you are looking for a betting website or app on your mobile device or PC/Mac, there are a few very prominent betting services to partner with if you want to bet on NFL games or players. Let’s take a quick look at these common and popular services.
- DraftKings
- FanDuel
- BetMGM
- Barstool
- PointsBet
- BetRivers
All of the above sportsbooks are legitimate and legal betting services (again, we can’t stress it enough…only in states where sports gambling is legal)
While the basic setup remains the same from site to site, you’ll notice that the interface and bonuses will vary. Promotions also run the gamut from “free money” to loss refunds for new bettors again, depending on the service and site themselves.
One More Warning
Remember to ensure that you comply with local and state laws before attempting to place a real money bet or wager on any type of sports outcome. This site nor the author should be held liable for any misinterpretation of this fact.
If you learned something from this blog or if you’re looking for more information about sports that bucks the mainstream on how to bet on the NFL, check out our other content for news on entertainment, sports, technology, and pop culture.
