4 Fun NFL Betting Options in the Offseason

Did you play the Super Bowl Squares, or did you place a bet on the Super Bowl and end up losing?

Hey, there are a lot of ways to bet on the Super Bowl online. You could bet on the color of Gatorade poured onto the coach after winning the big game or even place a wager on the coin flip. And if you only succeeded in just one of many bets, you don’t need to wait until August before betting on the NFL again.

If you’re looking for ways to keep yourself busy with NFL-based bets during the offseason, especially if other sports bets don’t suit you, consider our list of the football wagers you can place online.

Below, you’ll find four avenues in which to bet if you want to look beyond those Super Bowl blues.

1 – NFL Free Agency

Betting on NFL free agency is simple. You have a list of free agents, and you place bets where you think they’ll land. There are also other nuances, such as how much their contract is and how long it’s in effect.

Will the player live up to their incentives? Will they still be around toward the end of their five-year deal? And will they retire with their new team?

There’s so much to bet on here, it’s hard to find a starting point. But the simplest way to bet is this: Find a list of players for a team you’re familiar with. You can bet whether they re-sign with the team or if they’re looking to venture out and about to other pastures.

One reason it’s good to start this off with a team you’re familiar with is because you will have an idea as to who that team will look to keep and who they’ll look to get rid of. You’ll also have a general idea regarding the cap hit if they keep a player as opposed to letting them go.

And since players often talk, you’ll also know who is looking to stay in town and who wants to test the free agent market.

Once you get a solid idea by betting on players on your favorite team or a team close to your metro area, then you can expand. But starting close and familiar gives you a good avenue to test drive this exciting method of NFL betting.

2 – NFL Draft

Betting on the NFL Draft is risky at times because there’s so much unknown here. So, unless you have insider information regarding specific NFL teams, it’s best to refrain from a few of these games.

Games that include things like submitting mock drafts or predict the pick are risky because one tiny trade within the round in which you bet will derail both mock drafts and predicted picks.

However, they also have live sports betting in states where it’s legal. In some states, you can do this wherever as long as you remain within their borders. As for other states, the bets must take place within a designated zone, like a casino.

So, check with your state’s sports betting laws beforehand. Live betting games you can play involve predicting the pick for the team who is up for a selection. You can bet if they trade the pick, go with offense, defense, or even a specific position or player.

If you’re interested in submitting mocks or predicting the pick, be sure to know the rules of the game first. The best games to play are points-based, where you receive a point for every correct pick you make. The most points wins the highest cut of the cash.

The difference between predict the pick and a straight up mock draft is this: In predict the pick, you’re predicting the overall selection. In the mock draft, you’re picking the exact team and overall selection in which a player lands.

See the difference? The other methods, your live methods, require less explanation. You’re basically betting on one draft pick and you’re not submitting anything. So, when the New York Jets are on the clock, you’ll predict who they’re selecting at that moment. Or as mentioned above, if they’ll trade the pick.

3 – NFL Futures

NFL futures bets involve overall predictions. For example, you can place a futures bet on variables such as: Who wins the Super Bowl? What teams represent the NFC and AFC in the Super Bowl? Who makes the playoffs? Who wins the division? And who finishes over or under?

Since you know enough about the West, you may place an over/under bet on the four teams. The over/under will give you a number. Let’s say it’s 8.5 wins for the Arizona Cardinals. If you think the Cardinals will win 9 games or more, you’d bet the over. If you think they’ll win 8 or fewer, you’ll bet the under.

Often, you’ll also see odds when you place futures bets. The more talented the team, the better their odds. So, let’s look at the Kansas City Chiefs. When you place a futures bet, their odds rest at a 4-1 chance at winning the Super Bowl.

If the Chiefs win, you’ll win money, but not as much as you would if you bet on the Cincinnati Bengals and they somehow won the Super Bowl with 125-1 odds when you placed your bet.

Often, you’ll see bettors place lower bets on teams with longer odds. A $10 bet for the Cincinnati Bengals to win the Super Bowl will go a long way at 125-1 odds. But you won’t even win a fraction if the Chiefs won the Super Bowl at the same bet.

So, it’s a risk-reward thing when you look at NFL futures bets.

4 – NFL Player Props

You can also do player props during a single game in the season. But if you’re looking to bet NFL player props before the season begins, doing so resembles that of NFL futures bets—except instead of a team, you’re now betting on individual player statistics.

Let’s stick with the Kansas City Chiefs and use Patrick Mahomes here. Say Mahomes’ player prop sits at 30.5 touchdown passes in 2021. Your bet is simple. If you think Mahomes will throw for over 30 touchdowns, you’ll bet the overall. If you think otherwise, you’ll bet the under.

The same numbers would go with passing yards, interceptions, quarterback ratings, etc. So, for Mahomes, his props may look like this:

30.5 touchdown passes, 7.5 interceptions, 4,500.5 passing yards, 102.5 quarterback rating.

You just place bets on the statistics you want. Other player prop bets can even go for whether a player will start or play in all 16 (or perhaps 17 in 2021) games. Or will they sit the final game? So, as in the case with Mahomes, the number may rest at 15.

If you think Mahomes will miss at least one game in 2021, you’d place a bet for the under. If you think he’ll start all 16 games, you’ll bet the over. You can use the blueprint above as a player prop bet for every position. You’ll see the same things go for running backs, wide receivers, defensive players, and even specialists.

And as mentioned, you can bet on player props during the season. The only exception here is that you’ll see much smaller numbers for in-game bets as opposed to seasonal bets. So, instead of 30.5 touchdown passes for Mahomes, you may see 2.5 for a single game.

Player props are more interesting because they sort of resemble fantasy football. The only exception is that you’re betting on overall numbers for the entire season as opposed to a single game.

Conclusion

There are many cool ways to keep your NFL betting hand warm during the offseason, and the above are just a few of many examples that you can use.

The best thing to do is to start off with just one category above; preferably, the categories in which you’re well-versed in.

Do you place bets on games as opposed to player bets? NFL futures may be a better option than player props. But if you’re proficient at fantasy football, player props may be your niche.

If you follow the NFL Draft and have built stellar mock drafts in the past, perhaps betting on the draft or even free agency is a solid option.

What kind of offseason NFL betting do you take part in? Let us know in the comments and share your experience with the above.