NFL Odds Explained: Bet the 2026 NFL Season

Pro sports leagues don’t get much bigger or better than the NFL. If you’re thinking of placing bets during the 2026 NFL season, we have a wide variety of betting markets and user-friendly features. Of course, before you place a bet, keep reading to make sure you understand the different betting markets and how to bet on the NFL at Stake Sportsbook.

What NFL odds are and how to read them

Every NFL bet has specific odds that determine how much the payout will be if that bet wins. The NFL odds may not be the same for every game or every betting option for a particular game. Therefore, it’s critical to read and understand the odds before finalising your bet.

While betting on the NFL, you may see odds with a negative sign (-) in front of them. This means the profit from the bet will be less than the wager. It’s common to see a bet with -110 odds, meaning a wager of $110 is required to profit $100. If you were to place a $10 bet with these odds, a winning bet would mean a profit of $9.09.

Meanwhile, odds with a positive sign (+) in front of them mean the profit will be larger than the wager. For example, if you bet $100 on +200 odds, a winning bet will result in a $200 profit.

The best NFL betting markets to place a bet on

There is no shortage of sports betting markets available at Stake during the NFL season. Those with more betting experience may want to explore game-specific props, player props, teasers, alternate betting lines, live betting, and other markets.

However, novice bettors may want to focus on point spreads, moneyline bets, and over/under bets.

Point spread - why winning the game is not enough

Spread betting is the most common type of NFL wager. Every game has a favourite and an underdog, as well as a point spread. If you bet on the team that’s favoured, they must win by more than the point spread to win your bet. This is called covering the spread.

For example, if a team is favoured by 6.5 points, they must win by at least 7 points; otherwise, the losing team will win the bet. Conversely, if you bet on the underdog in a game that has a 6.5 point spread, you can still win your bet if that team loses if they lose by 6 points or less.

Moneyline - how to bet on who wins the game outright

Betting using the moneyline takes the spread out of the equation, so the only thing that matters is the outright winner of the game. However, the betting odds won’t be equal for both teams. Therefore, betting on the favoured team will have a lower payout than betting on the underdog, which will have a more lucrative moneyline because that team is less likely to win.

Over/Under - how NFL totals work

Over/Under is a bet on the total points scored in a game. This bet ignores the winner and loser and only relates to the combined points the two teams score. Similar to the point spread, every game has an over/under value. Bettors decide whether the total points scored will be higher or lower than that number.

How NFL parlays and futures work at Stake

NFL parlays are also popular, as they allow bettors to package multiple bets into one larger bet. For example, you may place three separate bets into a parlay together. If all three bets win, the profit will be considerably larger than if you placed three individual bets. However, if just one of those three bets loses, the whole parlay loses. In some cases, you can use Stake’s same game bet builder to create a parlay of multiple bets from a single game.

Stake also offers NFL futures markets. These are long-term bets rather than bets focused on just one game. The most common futures market is the Super Bowl winner. However, bets can also be made on the winner of each conference, the winner of a specific division, whether or not a team will make the playoffs, and the number of games a specific team will win during the season.

There are also player-specific futures markets for awards like MVP or statistical categories related to the most yards or touchdowns.

Who to bet on to win the Super Bowl this season

Both before and during the NFL season, some fans place bets on the winner of that season’s Super Bowl. For the 2026 season, the Los Angeles Rams are the pre-season favourites, followed closely by the reigning champion Seattle Seahawks. Meanwhile, the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens have the shortest odds among AFC teams.

Last season, the two teams that made the Super Bowl were both considered long shots before the season, so anything can happen. In that sense, it might be better to bet on a team that has longer odds, making it a more lucrative bet.

Right now, the Denver Broncos are among the most undervalued teams. They were arguably one ill-timed injury away from the Super Bowl last season. The Broncos also bring back most of their key players from a strong defence. If Bo Nix recovers from the injury he suffered in the playoffs last season, Denver has all of the qualities of a championship team.