Despite being months away from the start of the football season, it can sometimes make sense to place a bet on a team early. The reason for that is, of course, that you may know something the sportsbooks don’t know. For example, your team might make a couple of big, game-changing acquisitions before the season kicks off.

Other times, however, it may not be so smart to place that early bet on the action. A case in point being a bet on the Super Bowl LIII favorites, the New England Patriots. The Patriots, despite losing to the Eagles in Super Bowl LII, have been priced as low as 4/1 from the moment the final whistle blew in Minnesota. That’s around half the odds of the next favorites, the Philadelphia Eagles (9/1), and nearly a third of the odds of the Pittsburgh Steelers (11/1) and Green Bay Packers (11/1).

As mentioned, sometimes rosters look a little different in September than they do in February; sometimes they look drastically different. But what if the team that you bet on early was to lose their talisman and one of the greatest quarterbacks in the history of NFL? This, of course, refers to the current rumors from ESPN that Tom Brady has not yet signaled his commitment to the Patriots for the 2018 season.

Brady Rumors Make for Early Super Bowl Betting Intrigue

For the moment, those are just rumors, and Brady could have quashed them by the time you read this. But just how small would those odds of 4/1 look if it turned out to be true and the Patriots could not install a worthy replacement? To be fair, some sportsbooks are a little higher on the Patriots, with Ladbrokes going 11/2 on the five-time Super Bowl champions. You can check the latest Ladbrokes free bet deposit bonus if you wish to back them, or anyone else, for free.

Betting Markets Will React Dramatically If Tom Brady Does Not Commit

It seems that it might be worth waiting until Brady confirms what is happening with his future before backing the Patriots. Indeed, you could see many sportsbooks raising their price on them if he does indeed confirm his retirement. It is worth saying though, that most pundits agree that it still looks unlikely that we will not be seeing Brady play next season.

However, some teams might be worth taking a chance on in the early betting markets for the Super Bowl. One such side might just be the Los Angeles Rams, currently coming in at 14/1 with some major bookmakers. Fans have been rushing in to back them at those odds, with the Rams taking 52.47 percent of all Super Bowl LIII bets (data from Oddschecker). That’s a massive majority when you consider the Patriots are taking less than five percent of bets.

Rams, Vikings, and Giants Offering Early Value

The point with the Rams is that the price could move downwards in the coming months, not due to any major shifts in personnel, but simply because so many punters are backing them. The odds will follow the money. Teams in a similar position include the Vikings (14/1) and the Giants (25/1). Punters see both teams’ odds as being higher than their potential worth at the start of the season. Put simply, they offer a bit of value right now. Can we say the same about the Patriots? Probably not.

The post Tom Brady Rumors Make for Early Super Bowl Betting Intrigue appeared first on Last Word on Pro Football.