With Super Bowl 52 in the rear-view mirror, the sportsbooks are already looking toward next season, and have launched the early odds for Super Bowl 53.
Despite falling to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 52, the New England Patriots are the early favorites on the Super Bowl 53 futures odds at +500. As long as Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are still around, expect that to continue. But there is change coming to New England with defensive coordinator Matt Patricia leaving to become the head coach of the Detroit Lions.
New England’s roster is expected to look fairly similar next season with only a few notable players such as Dion Lewis and Danny Amendola eligible for free agency. After the Super Bowl loss, questions around Rob Gronkowski’s future came up, but that was in the aftermath of the Super Bowl disappointment so bettors may not want to read too much into that yet.
Following New England on the Super Bowl futures are the Eagles and the Green Bay Packers, both at +900.
As good as the Eagles were this season on the way to their first Super Bowl win, they could be even better next season with a healthy Carson Wentz at quarterback for the full season and if offensive lineman Jason Peters decides to return as well. They’ll also have Jay Ajayi for a full season after picking him up via trade near the deadline.
The Packers’ success, as they proved this season, depends almost solely on Aaron Rodgers. Green Bay went from contender to pretender overnight after Rodgers broke his collarbone. If the Packers are able to get Rodgers some help in the offseason on either side of the ball, their odds should improve.
Rounding out the top five on the Super Bowl futures are the Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers, both at +1200.
The Vikings have a decision to make at quarterback with Sam Bradford, Teddy Bridgewater and Case Keenum all free agents. Keep an eye on the quarterback situation in Minnesota as it could have a big impact on the odds.
The Steelers’ biggest free-agent decision to make in the offseason is on running back Le’Veon Bell. They could simply franchise him again, but that could completely sour an already complicated relationship.
Looking at a few other playoff teams from last season, the Kansas City Chiefs and Jacksonville Jaguars both present interesting value at +2800. The Jaguars have a couple of notable free agents in linebacker Paul Posluszny and wide receiver Allen Robinson. The biggest question for Jacksonville in the offseason is quarterback Blake Bortles. Will he be back as the starter, or will the Jaguars try to upgrade the position during the offseason?
The Chiefs already made their big offseason move by shipping quarterback Alex Smith to the Washington Redskins. That leaves the offense in the hands of Patrick Mahomes. It will be interesting to see if Mahomes keeps the Chiefs’ offseason moving forward, or if he needs some seasoning and time to grow into the starter’s role.