Confetti still fell from the Caesars Superdome's ceiling in New Orleans when bettors were already placing wagers on the NFL’s next champion. Before a 40-22 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX, the Philadelphia Eagles had the seventh-most bets and handle in ESPN BET’s futures market.
Dethroning the two-time reigning champs changed Super Bowl LX odds and next season's perception.
“Since the final whistle last night, the Eagles have the most bets and handle of any team to win next year’s Super Bowl, and now have the largest shares of tickets and money in the overall 2026 SB market on ESPN BET,” a spokesperson for the online sportsbook told Covers.
Market volatility
The Eagles opened at +850 and are currently in a tie for second at +700 in the Super Bowl winner 2026 market. They're getting 11.5% of the bets and 20.9% of the money, the most at ESPN BET.
The Chiefs opened on Jan. 22 at +600 and now moved to +650, a first-place tie with the Baltimore Ravens. K.C. is second at ESPN BET with 9.4% of the tickets and 10.2% of the handle while the Detroit Lions, Cincinnati Bengals, and Buffalo Bills all get at least 7.5% of the futures money.
The Eagles, +650 favorites at BetMGM and ahead of the Ravens (+700), are second in tickets (12.5%) and handle (11.3%). Sunday’s Super Bowl winners became the online sportsbook’s third biggest liability in the futures market.
The Lions lead all of those BetMGM categories with 13.5% of the bets and 12.9% of the money. The Bengals (+1,800) are currently BetMGM’s second-biggest liability.
MVP liability
BetMGM made Ravens' quarterback Lamar Jackson the +450 favorite to take home the league’s MVP award next season, followed by Bills' QB Josh Allen (+600) and Chiefs' QB Patrick Mahomes (+700), but bettors have other targets.
Bengals' signal caller Joe Burrow, fourth at +750, is getting 35.3% of the handle while Eagles' quarterback Jalen Hurts is BetMGM’s MVP market biggest liability with 13% of the tickets and 11.8% of the money. Denver QB Bo Nix, 20th with +6,600 MVP odds, is the third biggest liability behind Hurts and Burrow.
Ward going first?
While the next Super Bowl winner is nearly a year away, a different NFL betting market that concludes in April is getting interesting action.
According to ESPN BET, Miami Hurricanes' QB Cam Ward is both the favorite and the most-bet player by handle in the No. 1 overall draft pick market. Ward (-110) is getting 39.1% of the money to go to the Tennessee Titans. His 14.7% of the tickets ranks in a tie for third.
Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders, fourth in ESPN BET’s market at +500, saw the same percentage of bets as Ward and 20.6% of the handle, the second-most among the more than 40 players offered. Colorado receiver/defensive back Travis Hunter (+350) saw a leading 23.7% of the bets and 16% of the money while Penn State linebacker Abdul Carter (+185) is at 18.9% of the tickets and 11.8% of the money.
