Meet Matt Burke, Our Contributor
Matt Burke
Contributor
1+ Years ExperienceMatt Burke was born and raised in Massachusetts but also spent a few years in sunny San Diego, California, accomplishing every eight-year-old boy’s dream - writing the bios on the back of baseball cards.
Matt began writing and editing sports betting content in 2018, founding MetroBet - a sports betting content platform under the Metro Newspapers umbrella (now AMNY).
What makes Matt Burke an expert?
Matt began writing and editing sports betting content in 2018, founding MetroBet - a sports betting content platform under the Metro Newspapers umbrella (now AMNY).
Experience
Covers.com
- Contributor
- November 2024 - Present
- Prediction Markets: What They Are and How They Differ From Sports Betting
- Publication
- What Time Will Peyton and Eli Kick in the FanDuel Kick of Destiny contest?
- Publication
Education
Matt attended the University of Connecticut, where he earned a B.A. in Journalism. While at UConn, Matt served as the Associate Sports Editor for the school newspaper. He covered the 2003 NCAA Women's Basketball National Champion UConn team, as well as the 2004 NCAA Men's National Champion UConn squad.
University of Connecticut
- Bachelor of Arts (Journalism)
7+ years in sports betting
Matt has been a trusted voice in sports betting for over seven years.
20+ years in sports journalism
Matt has been in sports newsrooms since 2005 and has written for a variety of outlets in the past 20 years.
Straight from the source
Matt has interviewed top sports betting industry names like DraftKings' Jason Robins and Matt Kalish, and many other sportsbook executives over the years.
News you can use
In recent years, Matt has focused on writing news and information pieces that bettors can use to make more informed bets. This includes athlete injury articles and service journalism pieces.
How does Matt stay up to date?
Matt scours social media channels and is constantly comparing lines from different sportsbooks to see if bettors can gain a potential edge.
Pro Football Reference
Pro Football Reference has some awesome advanced stats throughout each NFL season, including blitz percentage and hurry percentage.
X/Twitter
X continues to be the place to go for breaking sports news. The site is particularly helpful when it comes to injury updates on an NFL Sunday.
Covers
Our Covers crew provides expert sports coverage throughout each season. The game previews have a wealth of information you can use to make an informed wager.
Q&A with Matt
What got you interested in sports betting?
Watching the NFL growing up, there was always a wink and a nod to the betting aspect of the sport. Al Michaels, Brent Musburger, Chris Berman (as "The Swami") and “Hammerin” Hank Goldberg all made me realize that there was a whole different side of the great sport of football.
What was the first legal bet you ever made?
In August of 2018, I traveled to the New Jersey Meadowlands to make my first ever wager on a legal sports betting app (FanDuel). Being a Red Sox fan, I made a moneyline bet against the Yankees (I think it was a random Tuesday night game against the Marlins). I forget if my bet won or lost as I was just amazed and excited that I was actually betting on my phone without the feeling of being sketchy.
Did you play sports when you were younger?
I was a captain on our varsity basketball team that won a grand total of three games my senior year. And I was pretty much a bench warmer on our state champion high school football team. So, I was a perfectly “mid” high school athlete. I played baseball in the Little League years and wish I had stuck with the sport.
What’s your favorite type of sports bet?
I prefer futures bets over game lines because of the value. I enjoy watching bets marinate over the course of a season. Just prior to the start of this past NBA season, I got the Thunder at +650 to win it all. Good teams at plus money is always exciting.
When betting, you want to have as much information at your disposal as possible. Covers floods you with info on its “Scores & Matchups” pages. My favorite part of these pages is the “Line Moves” feature, which allows you to see movement over the course of hours and minutes.
Matt's areas of expertise
NFL betting
Matt’s main betting focus has been on the NFL in recent years. He is especially sharp when it comes to season long Over/Unders for each team.
Injuries
Matt is extremely in tune when it comes to athlete injuries and how they impact betting markets. He stays current with all injury news and projects when key players will be able to return to their teams.
Matt's memories
🚀 Big wins
I rarely bet on my favorite teams because emotions almost always get in the way. However, I had two of my best betting moments in the past few years - placing futures bets on my beloved Boston Celtics and UConn Huskies prior to the start of each season. I love to bet on each NFL team’s win total projection just prior to the start of each season and had my best year ever in 2022-23, going 25-7.
😭 Bad beat?
My worst beat came in 2022 when I placed a season-long bet on golfer Will Zalatoris to win a major that year. Zalatoris finished in the Top 6 in three out of four majors that year. In two of them, he was the runner-up. Despite this, I believe this is finally the “Year of Zalatoris."
Matt's Articles
It's not just Matt doing the research
Eric Rosales
Betting Analyst
Eric has been involved in sports media in many different capacities since graduating from journalism school in 1999, back when getting your own column in a newspaper was still considered a thing. He doubled down and graduated from broadcast journalism school five years later, which led to a move to Toronto and a career with The Sports Network (TSN). From behind-the-scenes production work, he moved into the digital realm, where he had his own hoops column (At the Buzzer), while regularly live streaming and chatting with fans during broadcasts as the character known as LeBlog James. He was also a key contributor to TSN and CTVs Olympic programming during the 2012 London Games. Eric eventually found his way into the sports betting field in 2016 and has been a mainstay ever since. He was tagged on Twitter as a Top 10 NBA sharp during the 2021 season and has been interviewed about basketball and his handicapping process on shows from Vancouver to India. Eric is now a jack-of-all-sports at Covers, where his predictions span the alphabet soup: NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, F1, WNBA, Euro, and Copa. When making picks, he focuses on finding value first and foremost, and ensuring readers have all the information they need to make an informed choice.
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Jon Metler
Betting Analyst
Having played, coached, and officiated basketball, Jon naturally turned his focus to the NBA when he entered the sports betting world. With over 15 years of experience, he specializes in spreads, moneylines, and player propsalways chasing value through sharp market analysis. A firm believer in analytics, Jon trusts the numbers to guide his bets. He monitors NBA betting markets 365 days a year and uses 10+ sportsbooks to find the best prices. If there are NBA games on, Jons up early, caffeinated, and already placing his favorite bets.
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Kyle LaRusic
Betting Analyst
Kyle LaRusic joined Covers in 2020 with a Holland College diploma in Journalism and a Mount Saint Vincent Degree in Public Relations. Stints at Amherst News and the Cape Breton Post helped sharpen his skills in a newsroom setting, while working for MSVU and Dalhousies athletic departments landed Kyle in his comfort zone. Kyle has been an avid bettor for over five years, starting with just one Sports Interaction account before discovering both the beauty and importance of price shopping. bet365 and Pinnacle are his go to books, but accounts at 10+ sportsbooks give him an array of options. Rusty will bet on anything under the sun as long as theres value and good reasoning behind it, but NHL and NFL are his two favorite leagues to watch and wager on especially with friends. Kyles biggest tip for any bettor is simple: gamble responsibly. Only bet what youre willing to lose and make sure to install a proper bankroll method to keep track of your ROI. If youre still dwelling on the amount you lost the next day, its time to decrease your spending.
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