NFL Odds Explained

The Point Spread is a margin set by the oddsmakers to handicap both teams for betting purposes. The oddsmaker will predict that the favoured team will win by a certain number of points and this is known as the point spread.  The favoured team is indicated by a minus sign (e.g. -7.5) and the underdog has a plus sign (e.g. +7.5).  If you bet on the favourite you need to cover the margin of the point spread to win your bet. For example you had the Green Bay Packers -7.5 to beat the Chicago Bears, Green Bay would have to win the game by more than 7.5 points so 8 points or more.

A Money Line which is a less popular way to bet NFL it’s more commonly used for betting baseball, is basically just betting on which team will win the game outright with a given price. The favourite will be indicated with a minus sign (e.g. -150) and this number -150 is the amount you would need to bet to win $100, so if you liked the Green Bay Packers to win the game outright with a money line of -150 you would need to bet $150 to win $100. The underdog will be indicated with a plus sign (e.g. +140) and this number means you would need to bet $100 to win $140.

The Over/Under also commonly known as the total is the number of points oddsmakers think both teams combined will score in a game. When betting the over/under or total you would bet on if you think the total number of points scored by both team will go over or under a set number provided by the oddsmakers. An Example would be Green Bay verses Chicago Bears with a total set at 38 points. If you think this game will be a high flying, high scoring game and both team will scored more than 38 points you would bet the over but if you think it will be a tight defensive game you could bet the under.