There is no joy in Motown.
As the clock ticked down on the Detroit Lions’ 46-31 loss to the Washington Commanders, legions of heartbroken football fans shuffled out of Ford Field with dreams of a Super Bowl shattered.
However, across the globe, sportsbook operators aren’t sharing that sorrow. Bookies are doing backflips over the Lions’ upset loss in the NFL Divisional Round.
Detroit held the most liability for operators across the industry, garnering the most tickets written to win Super Bowl LIX and the most money wagered on the Super Bowl odds. Had the Lions fulfilled their destiny with a Big Game victory, books were on the hook for massive payouts.
Heading into the Divisional Round matchup with Washington, the Lions were around +300 favorites in the Super Bowl LIX odds — a spot that reflected their winning ways but also the sportsbooks’ liability on Detroit.
According to BetMGM sportsbooks, the Lions entered the second round with almost 15% of the total ticket count for their Super Bowl book along with 16% of the total handle — the total amount of money wagered on the SBLIX odds.
Those figures included a $20,000 wager on Detroit to win the Super Bowl at the team’s opening odds of +1200. Had the Lions gone on to claim the Lombardi Trophy, that one bettor would have won $240,000.
With Detroit eliminated from the playoffs, the Super Bowl LIX odds got a shake-up ahead of Sunday’s final two Divisional Round contests.
The Kansas City Chiefs, who advanced to the AFC title game with a victory over the Houston Texans, are now the favorites to win the Super Bowl, priced around +225 across the industry.
The Chiefs entered the Divisional Round with more than 12% of tickets written and almost 16% of the money riding on a third straight title for the Chiefs. But because Kansas City’s odds were short most of the season — opening at +650 — the liability is greater on some of the other remaining postseason teams.
The Baltimore Ravens (+450) and Buffalo Bills (+550) battle tonight, with bookies showing a rooting interest in Buffalo at home.
The Ravens are now the biggest risk to the Super Bowl book, drawing about 10% of tickets and 13% of handle. Baltimore opened at +850 to win SBLIX and a slow start to the season had its Big Game odds puffed up to +1400 before finding its form in Week 3 and jumping to the top of the AFC North.
The winner of Sunday’s game between the Los Angeles Rams (+1300) and Philadelphia Eagles will host Washington (+650) in the NFC Championship Game. And with the Eagles as the favorites in that meeting, Philadelphia is now the second overall choice to win SBLIX at +275.
