NFL Betting

The NFL is the most popular sport in the US and continues to grow its global audience. It's also immensely popular among sports bettors who carefully examine NFL odds every week from the kickoff weekend in early September through to the Super Bowl in February.

The NFL regular season lasts 18 weeks, with each of the 32 teams playing 17 games and taking one bye week, and a schedule of up to 16 games per weekend. At the end of the regular season, a 14-team, single-elimination playoff culminates in the Super Bowl, the biggest sporting event in the US every year.

For every NFL game, there are several betting markets. This gives you several angles for examining NFL betting odds and placing wagers. Let's take a closer look at how NFL odds work, the various betting markets available on American football, and how to bet responsibly at talkSPORT BET Sportsbook.

Handicap Bets

Handicap bets are known as point spreads in the United States, and they’re the most common way of betting on the NFL.  

Placing a handicap bet on a game is a way of levelling the playing field and getting an equal amount of betting on both sides.  

For example, one NFL team might be favoured by 5.5 points. This means they must win the game by six points or more for point-spread bets on that team to win.  

In contrast, bets on the underdog will pay out if that team wins the game or loses by five points or less. Most of the time, each side of the bet will have odds of 10/11. This means that a bet of £100 would have a payout of £190.91, meaning a profit of £90.91. 

Moneyline

Betting on an NFL game using the moneyline takes the point spread out of the equation. A moneyline bet is only concerned with the winner of the game. However, this means that the odds each NFL team receives are often unbalanced. For instance, a team that’s favoured might have odds of 2/5, meaning that a £100 bet results in a £140 payout.

The underdog in that game may have odds around 2/1, meaning a £100 bet results in a £300 payout. Since the underdog winning is less likely to happen, the payout is larger while the safer bet on the underdog comes with a smaller payout.

Totals (Over/Under)

In some cases, NFL betting odds ignore winners and losers and focus on the total number of points scored in a game. This is called totals or over/under-betting.  

For each NFL game, a total points line is set (for instance, 45.5). You can then bet on whether over or under this number of points will be scored in the game.  

Similar to point spread bets, total bets often come with odds around 10/11, so a bet of £100 typically has a payout of around £190.91. 

Outright Betting

In addition to betting on specific games, NFL betting odds are available for future outcomes, which is also known as outright betting in the United Kingdom.  

These are bets placed on a team accomplishing something specific or reaching a milestone. Backing a team to win the Super Bowl is the easiest way to place an outright NFL bet, but you can also bet on divisional and conference winners, as well as the season MVP.  

Since there are multiple teams in contention to win the Super Bowl during the season, the odds tend to be more lucrative. One of the top favourites might have odds around 5/1, meaning a £100 winning bet will pay £600. 

A team that’s more of a dark horse to win the Super Bowl could have 20/1 odds, meaning a £100 winning bet would payout £2,100. 

Prop Bets

Prop bets are a slightly more complicated type of NFL odds. These are wagers made on events that happen within a game rather than the outcome of the game itself. This can create an almost endless list of NFL betting odds for every game on the schedule. There can be game props, team props, and even player props.

In an NFL game, there could be prop bets for whether the game will go to overtime, whether any team will score at least 30 points, whether every quarter will have a touchdown, among many other possibilities.

There could also be prop bets for the first and last team to score in a game. Team props often refer to the total points a specific team will score in the game or in a particular half or quarter. There can also be props for how many touchdowns or field goals a team will score in a game.

Finally, player props also offer many possibilities during NFL games. Similar to totals on the number of points scored in a game, there are over/under numbers assigned to the total number of passing, rushing, or receiving yards a specific player will have in a game.

Similarly, there are also over/under values for a quarterback’s pass attempts or pass completions in a game or a player’s rush attempts or receptions. Player props can also include bets on a specific player to score a touchdown during the game.

The Seattle Seahawks are the reigning NFL Champions after winning Super Bowl LX at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California on 8 February 2026.

In one of the most dominant Super Bowl performances of recent years, the Seahawks defeated the New England Patriots 29-13 to claim their second Lombardi Trophy in franchise history. The Seahawks' league-leading defence sacked Patriots quarterback Drake Maye six times and forced three turnovers across the contest, while running back Kenneth Walker III was named Super Bowl MVP after rushing for a game-high 135 yards on 27 carries. Kicker Jason Myers also set a Super Bowl record by converting all five of his field goal attempts in the win.

The Patriots, contesting their 12th Super Bowl appearance, missed out on what would have been a record seventh franchise title. The defeat ended what had been a promising season under second-year quarterback Drake Maye and head coach Mike Vrabel.

As the defending champions, the Seattle Seahawks will arrive at the 2026/27 NFL season as one of the leading contenders to retain the Lombardi Trophy. The Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens, Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers are all expected to feature prominently at the head of the Super Bowl LXI futures market as the new season approaches.

Other contenders to keep an eye on include the Cincinnati Bengals with Joe Burrow back at full health, the Green Bay Packers under Jordan Love, and the New England Patriots themselves bouncing back from their Super Bowl LX disappointment. The Houston Texans and Washington Commanders are also among the up-and-coming sides that have been priced shorter in recent futures markets after strong recent seasons.

Check out the latest NFL Super Bowl odds before placing your outright bets at talkSPORT BET. You can pick your Super Bowl winner at any stage of the season, but locking in your selections early in the calendar year typically secures the best value odds.

Here at talkSPORT BET, you can find a full listing of American Football odds and a list of Super Bowl odds for Super Bowl LX. Also, we have betting odds for other sports, including basketball odds and baseball odds.