The NFL preseason officially kicks off this weekend with the Hall of Fame Game, making it an opportune time to check in on the latest Super Bowl odds.
Nothing has changed at the top where the New England Patriots are still Super Bowl favorites at +600. Tom Brady’s suspension has been reinstated, costing him the first four games of the season, but that hasn’t sullied the Patriots to the oddsmakers.
Brady’s suspension will place the starting quarterback job in the hands of Jimmy Garoppolo. In two seasons Garoppolo has attempted only 31 passes and he’ll be thrown into the fire right away in Week 1 against the Arizona Cardinals, who boast one of the top pass defenses in the league.
The only other teams getting triple-digit odds on the Super Bowl futures right now are the Green Bay Packers at +850 and the Seattle Seahawks at +900. The Packers were a Wild Card team last season at 10-6 and are hoping the return of injured wide receiver Jordy Nelson will spur their offense, which ranked a disappointing 23rd last year.
The Seahawks were a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde team last season, starting 2-4 before winning six of their last seven games of the regular season. With the retirement of Marshawn Lynch there’s no more Beast Mode, but Russell Wilson looks poised to continue to lead a strong offense that may rely more on the pass.
What about last year’s Super Bowl teams the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers? The Panthers are slotted in at +1200 along with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals. After going 15-1 in the regular season Carolina rolled through the first two rounds of the playoffs before losing the Super Bowl as a 4.5-point favorite.
The Broncos are the defending Super Bowl champions but they’re only getting +1800 odds to repeat following the retirement of QB Peyton Manning. Mark Sanchez gets the unenviable task of replacing the future Hall of Fame quarterback but the rest of the Broncos roster remains mainly intact, including their top-ranked defense.
According to the early predictions being tossed around the team bettors might want to take a chance on right now are the Steelers. Pittsburgh has a three-headed monster on offense with Ben Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown. Bell will miss at least a few games early on due to a suspension, but that could just mean even bigger numbers for Brown.