NFL Betting
Types of NFL Football Bets – A Beginner’s Guide (April 2024)
The National Football League, or NFL, is the top level of American football in the US and Canada. It is arguably the most popular sport in the country, and games draw in the highest attendance figures of all sports across the world. Fierce rivalries and historic franchises make football all the more exciting to watch, and there is plenty of action to look forward to. If you are a bettor, that action can translate into exhilarating betting opportunities.
Types of NFL Bets
As NFL is so massively popular, most bookmakers offer a broad range of betting markets on games. There are also a number of specialist sportsbooks, which can offer even more detailed bets. Here is a rundown of all the bets you should know.
- Futures
- Moneyline
- Point Spreads
- Over/Under Totals
- Quarters and Halves
- Game Props
- Parlays
- Teasers
- Round-Robin Bets
- Live Betting
Futures
Futures are bets on a whole NFL season. Instead of betting on what will happen during the weekend, you are betting on the entire NFL championship. The main wager in this betting market is which team will win the Super Bowl? You can put your money on any team in either Conference and simply back them to win. Then, there are other futures markets such as which Conference will win the Super Bowl, which Division will win it, will a certain team make the playoffs, and even bets on which player will be the MVP.
You can place a futures bet at any time during the season, or before it even begins. Bookmakers may offer bets as soon as the Super Bowl is finished, so you can get your bets in nice and early. The odds will change throughout the course of the season, and these are affected by events both on and off the field. For more information on these bets and what strategies you can use, check our guide on futures betting.
Moneyline
This is a simple, two-way bet on which team will win a game. Odds are offered on either team, and you have to bet which team you think will win. The odds on each team will reflect how likely they are to win. Sometimes the gap between two teams is minimal, but there can be David vs Goliath games in which the difference is tremendous. Our moneylines explained post brings you all the information about this bet you need to know.
Point Spreads
That is where point spreads come in. These are the same as moneylines, in which you have to pick which team will win, but the odds are evenly balanced. This is because the sportsbook introduces a betting line – which is a number of points that will close the gap between the teams. The line is subtracted from the stronger team’s score if you bet on them to win. Should you bet on the underdogs, the line is added to their score, giving them a better chance of winning.
Then, there are also alternative point spreads, where the bookmaker offers a big range of lines. The odds are generated from the line, and how much it aids or hinders a team’s chance of winning. You can then weigh up how much riskier you are willing to go with your bet, to generate longer odds. Or, how careful you want to be, at the expense of shorter odds.
You can find some examples of these bets and how to use them in our introduction to spread betting.
Over/Under Totals
This is a bet in which you do not need to predict which team will win. Instead, you are trying to guess how many points will be scored during the game. It also uses a line, but this time you are betting on whether the two teams will score over or under that number of points.
For example, if the line is set at 30.5, then you can bet on the game to end with 31 or more points, or to end with 30 or fewer points.
Just as in point spreads, there are many alternative lines to pick from, each with its own odds and risk. The riskier your bet is, the longer odds it will have. This can be done by betting on the game to end with a huge amount of points or to end with very few. The more extreme your range is, the longer the odds and higher the risk.
Quarters and Halves
The three standard bets: moneyline, point spreads and totals, are also offered for quarters and halves. These betting markets allow you to divide up the game into separate periods, and bet on them individually. For example, a bet on the second quarter of the game will only relate to what happens in that quarter. The points from the first quarter do not carry on into the second, nor is the second quarter affected by what happens afterwards in the game. You simply need to predict what will happen in that specific time frame.
Bookmakers can also deliver bets such as first half/second half moneylines. Here, you are betting on what which team will be ahead (or if there is a draw) in the first half, and then which team will win the game at the end. The odds for this bet are quite juicy, but it comes with a lot more risk than simple moneylines.
Game Props
Game props are the more detailed types of bets that can single out statistics, player performances, or virtually anything else. Statistics can relate to points with bets such as how many touchdowns will be scored, which quarter will be the highest scoring, or which team will score the first field goal. Then, there are other stats such as interceptions, penalties, and much more.
Betting on individuals can bring a lot of excitement, specifically if you are backing one of your favourite NFL players. You can bet on passing yards, total touchdowns, whether they will score a field goal, and various other feats.
There is no end to what bookmakers can offer for NFL games. For big hyped-up games such as the Super Bowl, you may even find props relating to whether a fan will run onto the field. Be sure to read our analysis of props bets, where you can learn more about props bets.
Parlays
These are combination bets, in which you pick multiple selections and put them into one wager. The odds for each of your picks are multiplied against each other, generating extremely long odds. However, it also comes with a larger risk, as you need all of your selections to win. Should just one of your predictions fail, then you lose the parlay bet.
There are many methods and strategies that bettors use when it comes to parlays. You can pick as little as two selections, or combine 10 bets or more. The choice is up to you. You can bet on different games, or pick multiple bets on the same game, such as combining moneylines and totals.
There is no shortage of innovative ways to form your combination bets, and you can find out more about them in our guide to parlay betting.
Teasers
This bet is basically a parlay on point spreads but with decreased risk. Each point spread is a 50-50 bet, and the more selections you add to your parlay, the bigger that risk becomes. However, in teasers, you can simply reduce the risk by adding +6 points to each of the betting lines. This will shorten the odds on your parlay bet, but in exchange, you have a 6-point cushion to help you win each game. There are also 6.5 and 7 points teasers, and some bookmakers offer even greater ones. Read all about them in our article on teaser bets.
Round Robin Bets
If you want to get into the really complicated stuff, then you have to dive into round robin betting. This is also a form of parlay betting, in which you have to pick multiple selections. However, instead of betting on them all to win, your stake is divided into equal parts and put on a number of smaller parlays.
It only works when you have 3 selections or more in your bet. Let’s call them A, B and C. Instead of placing a parlay, where you need A+B+C to win, your stake is divided into 4 parts. This is called a Trixie bet, and instead of one bet on A+B+C, you are betting on the following:
- A+B+C
- A+B
- A+C
- B+C
There is one triple bet and three double bets. Should all your predictions come through, you win your entire bet. If A was to fail, you would still win some money through your parlay on B+C to win. This example only used 3 selections with 4 parlays, but you can find round robin bets using 7 selections and 127 parlays. The combinations can go even higher, and it beats parlays by giving you lots of insurance. On the downside though, round robin bets will not bring as much money as parlays. Make sure you read our extensive guide to round robin betting to find out what other combinations you can make.
Live Betting
Live betting on NFL games is a great source of entertainment for bettors. Once a game starts, the live betting markets are opened, with constantly fluctuating odds. You can bet moneylines, point spreads, totals, props and make all sorts of predictions during a game. There are many reasons why punters enjoy making these wagers. Whether it is to watch those crucial first minutes of the game or because they want the thrill of betting on what happens next.
Most of the pregame betting markets are available as live bets, and there are a few more that relate to what is happening at that very moment. For example, you can bet on the drive and whether a team will score their points or be stopped by the opposition. There can be bets such as which team will score next, will a team score three times unanswered, and many more.
There are a lot of different ways that you can approach live betting. To give yourself a head start, head on to our guide to live betting.
Where to Bet
NFL is most popular in the US and Canada, so players in those countries will have the lion’s share of sportsbooks to pick from. There are also many specialized books that have much more extensive betting markets that relate to all aspects of NFL games.
This does not mean that the rest of the world misses out. On the contrary, there are many sports betting sites that deliver amazing bets on the NFL. There may not be as many bookmakers that specialize in the sport though.
Conclusion
Now that you know all the different types of NFL bets there are out there, the world is your oyster. You can browse through our sports betting sites and explore the wealth of betting markets that they offer. As far as betting on the NFL is concerned, there is no fixed place to start. Try different bets and test your NFL knowledge to the maximum. You may find that you have a knack for certain bets or have more luck betting on specific teams. Make sure that you bet within your financial limits, and hopefully, you can make money on your winning predictions.
