With less than a week before Super Bowl LX kicks off in Santa Clara, California, bettors are showing no signs of backing off from the Seattle Seahawks.
Key Takeaways
- Seattle is a consensus 4.5-point favorite against New England.
- The Seahawks have taken as much as 74% of the money at one online sportsbook.
- The total is more split among some shops.
The NFC champion and favorite to win the NFL title Sunday has been a popular wager since beating the Rams on Jan. 25. Seattle’s opponent, AFC champion New England, is getting enough action to keep the spread from ballooning so far, but it’s clear where the money and tickets are going to be by the Big Game.
“It’s been heavy traffic on the Seahawks in pretty much all markets. Not just spread and moneyline, but at the top of all our TD scorer and player prop markets too,” said Adrian Horton, theScore Bet’s North American senior trading director. “Coming off of the conference championships, bettors are clearly backing Seattle to have a big day.”
However, there hasn’t been much of a line shift since oddsmakers opened the Super Bowl with Seahawks -3.5. The spread quickly moved early last week to -4 and -4.5, which has remained the consensus line since then.
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Following the money
DraftKings told Covers on Monday that 74% of the handle and 66% of the bets are on the favorite to cover the spread, very similar to the splits theScore Bet reported late last week. BetMGM reported the same ticket percentage Monday, but a milder 58% of the money is on Seattle.
The Patriots are seeing more love in the outright market. BetMGM opened with New England at +195 on the moneyline, but that’s come down to +190 with 66% of the wagers and 52% of the handle backing the underdog.
FanDuel told Covers on Monday that the Patriots are also getting 66% of the moneyline bets there. However, 57% of the money is still on the Seahawks to win straight up. The Patriots, with odds of +190 at DraftKings, have taken 52% of the moneyline bets and 54% of the handle so far.
Packing points
One of the more popular prop bets at FanDuel is the exact score market, and the online sportsbook says Seattle 24, New England 20 is getting the most action.
The total has only seen one move thus far. After opening at 46 and 46.5 at most shops, it quickly dropped to 45.5 and has held there. FanDuel has seen 57% of the bets on the over, which is getting just a slight majority of the handle despite the Seahawks featuring one of the most feared defenses in the league this year.
DraftKings reported similar percentages, but BetMGM is split, with 54% of the tickets on the over and 60% of the money on the under, while theScore Bet has seen 64% of the bets on the under and 60% of the handle on the over.
