In the world of online sports betting, the conversation often centers around daily bets - because sports betting is a year-round endeavor, there are bets every day of the week that interested users can make on their preferred results. But daily & weekly bets based on specific match-ups and results aren’t the only option for educated bettors. For those looking to take a longer view of things, there are futures bets on long-term results. One of the most common and popular types of future bets is on divisional or conference winners in different sports. And with the NFL being the most popular league in American sports, NFL odds and futures are some of the most popular in the betting world.
When it comes to betting on futures, there are different factors that an educated bettor must consider, and because of the long-term nature of the bet, there’s a much greater inherent risk of a bet not panning out. That’s why using an odds comparison tool to ensure you’re getting the best odds is extremely important. Daily bets take into consideration factors like match-ups, recent records, short-term health of players, and weather, among many other things, but futures bets require all of that and more in order for an individual to make an educated bet. Not only do short term factors need to be considered, but long-term factors, including coaching situation, average player age, and the results of recent seasons need to be considered as well. Because of their greater risk, futures bets often have highly inflated odds compared to a daily match-up bet, so the rewards can be much greater, but they do require a greater amount of effort on the part of each bettor if they’re going to be placed logically.
NFC Favorites for Futures Bets
Looking at the NFC in recent years, there have been far more teams represented in the Super Bowl by NFC Conference winners, largely due to the amount of time that Tom Brady spent in the AFC as a member of the New England Patriots. Now that Tom Brady is entering his third year in the NFC, that paradigm has shifted somewhat. If you were to visit OddsJam.com, you can see that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are currently listed as the betting favorites at ‘+330 to win the NFC title in the 2022-2023 season. There's a good reason for this, as they’ve made it to the NFC championship game once (and went on to win the Super Bowl) since Tom Brady arrived in Tampa Bay and were one score away from making it in 2021 as well, but for educated bettors looking for true value, those odds don’t reflect the fact that he and his teammates are increasingly older than much of the league, and that Brady’s brief retirement may signal an end to his reign atop the league.
Rather than going with the favorite in the Buccaneers, futures bettors may instead consider the defending champion LA Rams (+450), Green Bay Packers (+450), or San Francisco 49ers (+750). While the Rams and Packers odds aren’t hugely different from the Buccaneers, there’s more value to be had - and that’s true to an even more significant degree with a potential 49ers bet. Each of these teams is a legitimate title contender based on pre-season rankings, and health & regular season records for each could be the key to each of them making it to and winning the NFC title.
While there are some clear favorites to win the NFC, a big aspect of futures betting is looking for potential dark horse picks that may have outsized value compared to other bets. In the NFC this year, there are a couple great options that good health & some lucky bounces can turn into very potential realities:
Dallas Cowboys at +900
Philadelphia Eagles at +1100
While neither of these are safe in the way that the Buccaneers, Packers, Rams, or 49ers may be considered safe, they’re in the sweet spot that many educated bettors look for: not good enough based on pre-season rankings to be considered title favorites, but good enough to still be ahead of much of the league.
Key Value in NFC Futures Bets
To bet on conference winners ahead of the season is to bet on good health, a cohesive roster, and above average coaching, among a multitude of other factors. But because of the number of possibilities for a conference winner in each conference in the NFL, the pre-season odds are always in favor of the bettor, and a sharp futures bet can be significantly more profitable than the average game result bet. For individuals looking to make long-term bets that will pan out over the course of an entire season, there are few better options than conference futures and NFL futures as a whole.