As pre-season action gets underway this week, the New England Patriots sit as heavy +375 betting favourites to repeat as Super Bowl champions on the NFL futures at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
The Patriots kept busy following their second Super Bowl victory in three years by making a number of key off-season acquisitions, including wide receiver Brandin Cooks, who joined the club in a trade with the New Orleans Saints, and free agent cornerback Stephon Gilmore, who inked a lucrative five-year deal with the Patriots in early March.
New England’s off-season retooling has made it the strongest pre-season Super Bowl favourite in three years according to OddsShark, with the Patriots sitting well ahead of the +650 odds they owned prior to the start of the 2016 NFL campaign.
The Green Bay Packers represent New England’s closest competition on the futures with solid +750 odds, followed by a quartet of contenders at +1200, including the Dallas Cowboys, Seattle Seahawks, Oakland Raiders, and Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Packers were also busy this past off-season after losing in the NFC Championship Game for the second time in three years, signing former Patriots tight end Martellus Bennett while parting ways with rushers James Starks and Eddie Lacy.
Green Bay’s off-season moves have been well received at the sportsbooks, where the club’s Super Bowl odds have climbed dramatically from +1200 since early May.
Dallas enters Thursday night’s Hall of Fame Game matchup against the Arizona Cardinals at Tom Benson Stadium in Canton, Ohio looking to build on last season’s impressive 13-3 campaign and first-place finish atop the NFC East, while the Seahawks enter the upcoming season aiming to rebound from back-to-back 10-win campaigns followed by early exits from the playoffs.
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Led by quarterback Derek Carr, who signed a five-year, $125-million contract in June, the Raiders hope to build on last year’s 12-4 season, but have played just one post-season contest since their last championship victory at Super Bowl XXXVII.
The defending NFC champion Atlanta Falcons return to action trailing the favourites with +1600 Super Bowl odds, followed by the Houston Texans, who are joined by the Denver Broncos, New York Giants, and Carolina Panthers at +2200.
The Kansas City Chiefs edged out the Raiders to claim the AFC West division title last season, but trail on the Super Bowl LII odds at +2500. Arizona is deadlocked with the Minnesota Vikings and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at +3300, while the Saints are knotted with the Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Ravens, and Tennessee Titans at +4000.
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