The Pope sports betting effect has made its way to the NFL
Key Takeaways
- BetMGM has the Bears at +3,500 to win the Super Bowl.
- Chicago has gone from an underdog in Week 1 against the Vikings to a favorite.
- NFL Week 1 action offers some interesting early splits.
BetMGM reported on Tuesday that the online sportsbook has seen a 157% handle increase on the Chicago Bears in the Super Bowl winner futures market since Robert Prevost was announced as the new Pope on May 8.
The Bears are now a hot betting commodity, especially after Vice President JD Vance recently presented the first American-born Pope with a jersey of Chicago’s NFL team with Pope Leo XIV's name on the back.
The Bears have Super Bowl odds of +3,500 at the online sportsbook, tied for the 12th shortest in the market with the Houston Texans, Minnesota Vikings, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Last week, BetMGM said the Bears are the most-bet win total team by tickets and had also received the most over win total bets of any NFL squad.
Chicago has gone from a +1.5 underdog in Week 1 against the Vikings to a -1.5 favorite. Since the schedule was announced last week, the Bears have received 89% of the money and 64% of the bets.
Sparking a city
Since taking the name Pope Leo XIV, the Chicago native has sparked a “divine intervention” theory throughout the city’s sports teams. Prevost is a noted White Sox fan who attended Game 1 of the 2005 World Series and was seen on the FOX broadcast. The team recently installed a graphic in his seat.
The last-placed team in the AL Central even caught fire for a bit, winning four out of five games shortly after the new Pope was announced, but they’ve recently dropped five consecutive games.
Before he became the Pope, he was cheering on the White Sox at Game 1 of the 2005 World Series on FOX 🙌 pic.twitter.com/7I3GROAXYR
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) May 10, 2025
Week 1 NFL action
The NFL’s Week 1 game with the most wagering so far is the first contest of the season, scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 4. As a +7 underdog, the Dallas Cowboys are the most-bet team by tickets, getting 60% of the bets, but 54% of the money is on the favored Philadelphia Eagles to cover the spread, third-most among the teams listed by BetMGM.
Another popular Week 1 matchup is the Pittsburgh Steelers versus the New York Jets. Pittsburgh (-3) has received 85% of the handle, the most of any team, while the Jets have taken 94% of the bets, second-most in tickets so far.
The Detroit Lions are a popular -1.5 favorite, receiving 99% of the bets in their opener against the Green Bay Packers. Detroit is fifth behind the Bears by tickets. The New England Patriots (-2.5) are favored – for the first time since Drake Maye took over at quarterback last season – in their Week 1 matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders. New England is the fourth most-bet team by handle at BetMGM.
