Lamar Jackson Quickly Emerges as Betting Favorite for NFL MVP

Brock Purdy was the betting favorite to win NFL MVP entering Monday Night Football in Week 16. That status held even halfway through the worst game of his season. In the end, Purdy threw four interceptions and Lamar Jackson became the new favorite.

Justin Byers - Contributor at Covers.com
Justin Byers • Contributor
Dec 27, 2023 • 11:29 ET • 4 min read
Lamar Jackson Baltimore Ravens NFL
Photo By - USA TODAY Sports

The race to claim the NFL’s Most Valuable Player Award has changed course.

The NFL MVP odds have changed drastically following a lackluster performance on Christmas night by San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, who had been the odds-on favorite. The 24-year-old signal caller had emerged as the NFL MVP frontrunner at over -200 odds before Christmas Day due to a season that had seen him throw for 3,795 yards and 29 touchdowns through 14 games.

However, Purdy’s status would quickly change against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night when he threw four interceptions in a blowout 33-19 loss.

Through two quarters, Purdy was still the favorite but that quickly changed in the second half.

The loss helped propel another MVP hopeful — and 2019 winner — Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson. The former first-round pick would excel against the 49ers by throwing for 252 yards, two touchdowns, and rushing for 45 yards, helping his team earn a 12-3 record on the season.

The on-field results led Jackson to emerge as the betting favorite to secure his second MVP award, leapfrogging another 49er in the race — running back Christian McCaffrey — in the process.

McCaffrey, who also has receiver skills, has run for 1,395 yards and 14 touchdowns this season.

The betting odds for MVP have continued to change as another week approaches and the end of the regular season nears. On Wednesday, Jackson opened as a -170 favorite on DraftKings to win MVP with McCaffrey having the next-best odds at +400.

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is third at +1,000 while Purdy rounds at the top four at +1,200 — a far drop from previously being considered the favorite to win.

Purdy’s poor performance and his steep odds change came after a bettor relinquished their investment in the quarterback. Last week, a bettor sold a $2,000 straight bet ticket for Purdy to win NFL MVP at +10,000 odds which would’ve netted $202,000. The bettor sold the ticket on PropSwap before Monday’s game for $125,000 — the biggest sale in PropSwap history.

The MVP odds may continue to change throughout the last two weeks of the regular season as teams look to solidify their spots in the playoffs. Until then, Jackson has become the favorite to win the coveted award but a bad performance could once again change the shape of the race.  

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Justin Byers is a sports betting industry news contributor at Covers.

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