Chiefs betting faves for SB; Mahomes for MVP

David Purdum, ESPN Staff WriterSep 7, 2023, 08:56 AM ET
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- Joined ESPN in 2014
- Journalist covering gambling industry since 2008

Oddsmakers have pegged Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs as consensus Super Bowl favorites, continuing their recent run as the team to beat in the NFL.

Caesars Sportsbook had the Chiefs at 6-1 to win the Super Bowl on Thursday morning, hours ahead of their season opener against the Detroit Lions.

Mahomes also is a 6-1 favorite to win the regular-season MVP. Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is next at 7-1 in Caesars Sportsbook’s MVP odds.

It’s the fourth time in the past five years the Chiefs have entered the season as Super Bowl favorites at sportsbooks; the Buffalo Bills were preseason Super Bowl favorites last year. In the past two decades, the New England Patriots (2007-11) and Chiefs are the only teams to have been preseason Super Bowl betting favorites in four of five years.

Kansas City’s 6-1 odds this year are comparable to those in previous seasons, three of which ended in appearances at the Super Bowl, including a pair of comeback victories authored by Mahomes.

The Philadelphia Eagles (15-2), who lost to the Chiefs in last season’s Super Bowl, have the second-best title odds at sportsbooks to begin the season. The Eagles, however, have the support of the betting public. At FanDuel, more bets have been placed on Philadelphia to win the Super Bowl than on any other team.

The San Francisco 49ers (9-1), Bills (9-1) and Bengals (10-1) make up the next tier of Super Bowl contenders at Caesars Sportsbook.

The New York Jets, who were 200-1 long shots to win the Super Bowl last season, are 16-1 this year with quarterback Aaron Rodgers under center. The Jets attracted bets throughout the offseason after opening at 40-1, and they remain one of the popular bets to win the Super Bowl. In fact, the Jets winning the Super Bowl would cost Caesars Sportsbook more money than any other team doing so.

The largest Super Bowl bet so far this season at Caesars Sportsbook, though, came from an unidentified bettor in Nevada who placed a $20,000 wager on the Las Vegas Raiders to win the Super Bowl at 40-1 odds. The bet would win a net $800,000.

The Houston Texans and Arizona Cardinals are the biggest Super Bowl long shots, both with odds around 200-1. A DraftKings spokesperson told ESPN that the company received an $89 bet on a Texans-Cardinals Super Bowl at 10,000-1 odds.

The 49ers are the largest division favorites, listed at -185 to win the NFC West. The Jacksonville Jaguars (-175, AFC South), Chiefs (-170, AFC West) and Eagles (-140, NFC East) are also odds-on favorites in their respective divisions.

The Chiefs were 4.5-point favorites over the Lions in Thursday’s season opener. The point spread dropped this week, from Kansas City -6.5, after news of tight end Travis Kelce suffering a knee injury in practice. The Chiefs have officially listed Kelce as questionable.