For that reason, Vegas NFL odds were often used on TV broadcasts to highlight which team was the favorite and which team was the underdog. You might find that the Titans become 9.5-point favorites, 10-point favorites and then 10.5-point favorites.įor many years, Nevada was the only state in which sportsbooks could legally offer odds on NFL games. If most people bet on the Niners to cover, the sportsbooks will move the line. For example, let’s say the San Francisco 49ers open the week as 8.5-point favorites against the Seattle Seahawks. Lines also change to reflect each team’s popularity among bettors. If news breaks of an injury to an important player, the NFL predictions will be adjusted accordingly given the new projected scores and odds NFL teams will have attached to them from bookmakers. Two things can cause the line to move: public sentiment and team news. The line is then liable to move over the course of the week.
You will often hear this described as the opening line. Online sportsbooks typically release new NFL lines and odds at the start of the week, though you will see early lines for multiple weeks - including NFL Week 1 odds through Week 18 odds - right after the schedule is released in the spring.