NFL moneyline betting is the simplest way to wager on pro football, asking bettors to pick which team they believe will win the game.
Betting the NFL moneyline doesn’t require a team to win or lose by a certain number of points, keeping things neat and tidy – especially for those new to betting on football odds. A 30-point blowout or a one-point squeaker all count the same.
We run you through how NFL moneyline betting works, what the moneyline odds mean, and some essential tips and tactics for betting moneylines in the NFL.
How betting the NFL moneyline works
As mentioned above, betting football moneylines is very straightforward: bet on the team you think will win the game.
Moneyline odds appear in hundreds (also known as American Odds). Oddsmakers calculate moneyline odds based on the implied probability of winning the game. Most sportsbooks use a “20-cent moneyline”, meaning there is a difference of 20 between the two moneyline values.
Not all games are equal in competition, so the moneyline odds reflect which team is the stronger of the two and which is the weaker.
The team projected to win the game is the moneyline favorite. The negative value indicates favorites in their odds. The weaker team is the underdog, and its odds have a positive value.
Using the chart below, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are -125 moneyline favorites versus the Dallas Cowboys, who are +105 moneyline underdogs. As you can see, there’s a difference of 20 between the two values (105 and 125).
Because Tampa Bay is the favorite to win the game and holds less risk, bettors must wager $1.25 to win $1 ($125 to win $100). And because Dallas is the underdog and holds more risk, bettors need only to wager $1 to win $1.05 ($100 to win $100).
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | -125 |
| Dallas Cowboys | +105 |
Betting the spread vs. the moneyline
The NFL point spread and the moneyline are the two most common ways to wager on pro football, but what are the differences and what’s best: spread or moneyline NFL betting?
Unlike picking an outright winner with the moneyline, NFL point spreads set an estimated difference in the final score between two sides. To win the bet, the favorite must win the game by more points than the spread, or the underdog must lose by less than the spread or win outright.
Because the spread handicaps the stronger team and levels the competition between two sides, spread bets come with standard flat odds of -110 for both the favorite and underdog (risk $1.10 to win $1).
For example, a team could be a -130 moneyline favorite to win outright and a -2.5 (-110) favorite on the point spread. Their opponent is a +110 moneyline underdog and a +2.5 (-110) point spread underdog. The point spread favorite needs to win by three or more to cover the spread, while the underdog needs to lose by less than three to cover.
If the favorite won by only two points, it would win for -130 moneyline bettors but lose for -2.5 (-110) spread bettors.
