In the NFL, the easiest path to the postseason is for a team to win its division. This grants teams the ability to qualify for the postseason without having to sweat out a Wild Card berth, and affords them a home game in at least the first round of the playoffs. Here, we provide a hub for betting on NFL division odds this season, including links to betting odds for each division, and strategic advice for wagering on these markets.
NFL Divisional Previews
How To Bet NFL Divisional Futures
NFL division odds and futures betting means betting on the team that will have the best regular season record when only considering the teams in a given division.
There are eight divisions of four teams in the NFL. There are two conferences, the AFC and the NFC. Each conference has four divisions and each division has four teams. Those divisions are the AFC East, AFC North, AFC South, AFC West, NFC East, NFC North, NFC South, and NFC West.
Oddsmakers post the first set of odds to win the division well before the start of the season. Those odds are then updated throughout the time leading up to the season, and during the season after the completion of each week of action.
These odds are referred to as futures odds. Sportsbooks will hold your wager until the bet is decided, which would be in the month of of January in a traditional football season, but could be sooner if a division is clinched earlier in the year. Once the division outcome is determined, the bets will be graded and you will either receive your winnings or your bet will be graded a loser and no longer be shown as a pending bet.
For more information on NFL betting, check out our NFL Betting Guide.
Understanding Divisional Futures Pricing
If you want to make a divisional futures bet, it is important to note the difference between a minus price and a plus price. A team with odds of -200 to win the division would be viewed as a heavy favorite to have the best regular season record among the four teams in that division. With minus prices, you have to bet a higher amount to win a lower amount, such as $200 to win $100 on a -200 favorite.
With plus prices, however, smaller bet amounts will pay back larger win amounts. For example, a division price of +175 would mean that you could bet $100 to win $175 on a team. How big a plus price is corresponds to how likely a team is to win their division. The team with +175 odds from our example here would be considered a team with a reasonable chance of winning their division.
In a lot of instances, though, you will also find teams at bigger numbers such as +600 or higher. The same concept applies that you can bet $100 to win $600, but these are teams that are very unlikely to win the division. However, instances of these longshots winning a division may be more common than you might think. Look no further than the 2021 Cincinnati Bengals or 2022 Jacksonville Jaguars as an example of teams overcoming those long odds.
The Best Odds For Divisional Futures
We compile odds from a lot of different NFL sportsbooks here at ATS. The ability to shop around for the best NFL division odds is very important and will always help your bottom line. If a team is +125 at one sportsbook and +150 at another, why wouldn’t you bet $100 to win $150 and have a chance at the extra $25 in profit for the same bet amount?
There is no rule to have a limit on the amount of different sportsbooks you can use, so long as they all operate in your state. Be sure to not keep yourself from getting the best value. If you are not sure which sites you might want to open an account with, we have a guide to the best sportsbooks here. The links on that page will also get you the very best promos and best bang for your buck on your first deposit.
Division winner odds are updated throughout the season based on what has happened and you may find that you have a better betting opportunity during the season than during the offseason, so keep checking back to see how the odds look each week at ATS.
