Just as the last season of the NFL takes its final breath, sports fans are already getting ready for the next season of action.
Online bookmakers have already posted their 2012 Super Bowl odds; per Bodog’s numbers, the Green Bay Packers are favorites to repeat their championship win at 7/1, with the New England Patriots very close behind at 15/2.
Next are the Pittsburgh Steelers at 10/1 and the San Diego Chargers at 12/1. The Atlanta Falcons are listed at 16/1; the Baltimore Ravens are 14/1; the Dallas Cowboys are 16/1; the Eagles are at 16/1 and the Colts are listed at 14/1, while the New York Giants currently stand at 18/1 and the Jets at 14/1.
Those numbers have already changed slightly since first being posted earlier this week, though, and it’s guaranteed that they’ll change a lot more over the next few months. Particularly after April’s NFL draft in New York, an event that definitely presents sportsbetting affiliates with some great off-season NFL marketing.
Meanwhile, the NFL may — may — be slowly coming around to the idea of mainstream online gambling.
After all, the league did withdraw opposition to recent online gambling legislation, itself a remarkable event. And CalvinAyre.com has an even wilder story:
“You can be shocked, you can be surprised, you can believe whatever you like, but the fact is NFL.com had Bodog’s Super Bowl odds up on their website for a little while.”
CalvinAyre.com’s John Blaise has the screenshot to back up those words; check it out here.
And regarding the last Super Bowl’s many prop bets, SBRforum’s Craig Tattan offers a nice recap: “If you were a Packer backer, you would have liked Rashard Mendenhall to gain Under 77 ½ yards,” writes Tattan. “When it was all said and done, Rashard Mendenhall had 63 yards rushing and Under proved to be the smart play.”