NFL Betting in 2026 | How To Bet on Football

Moneyline Example:

Let’s take the example of the Dallas Cowboys at home against the Philadelphia Eagles. The moneyline odds might have the Cowboys as the favorite at -120. Favorites will always be shown with a negative sign. This means you would bet $120 to win $100 on Dallas.

The Eagles would be the underdog, indicated by a positive sign, and their odds might be +110. Here, you would need to bet $100 to win $110 on the Eagles.

Spread Bet Example:

Keeping with the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys, the Cowboys might be favored at -2.5, so Dallas would have to win by 3 points or more for the bet to come through, as you obviously can’t win by a half point. In this example, Philadelphia is the underdog at +2.5, so they would need to lose by less than 2.5 points (2 or fewer), or win outright to cash their side of the bet.

Most spreads are set by a half-point to avoid a push. A push means the outcome lands on that number, and the bettor just wins their wager amount back.

Totals Example:

The total for the Eagles/Cowboys might be 49.5. In this type of bet, you would wager on whether the final score will be over or under a certain total. If the final score if 30–27, that adds up to 57 points and would count as the over on a 49.5 bet. However, a score such as 23-20 would only equal 43 points, and would therefore go under a total of 49,5.

Player Prop Example

An example of a player prop in the NFL could be Patrick Mahomes’ passing yards line, set at 299.5. You would bet the over/under on that number for Mahomes’ total passing yards, trying to predict his outcome.

The most popular player prop is betting on touchdown scorers—to either score first, or to find the endzone at any time in the game. Rushing yards, wide receiver receptions, which player will get the first penalty, and field goals are also popular.

Team Prop Example

An example of a team prop might be, “Will the Packers score on their first drive?” You would bet a simple yes/no answer for this. Do your research on these types of props, as you might find out that the Packers are a fast-starting team.

Simpler NFL team props could focus on the over/under for just one team’s total points scored or their number of TDs scored.

Futures Examples:

For example, betting on Super Bowl winners can be a futures bet. Odds for Super Bowl winners are usually released as soon as the season ends, so you can bet on the outcome long before the season even starts.

Other examples of NFL futures are NFL MVP, Rookie of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, NFC/AFC Conference Champions, and season win totals. Meanwhile, one of the most talked about Super Bowl futures, are the half-time show odds for performances and viewership figures.

Parlay Example:

Let’s stick with moneylines for this example. Say that the Dallas Cowboys are favored at -120, but you want to parlay that with the Miami Dolphins, who are -150 against the New England Patriots, and the Seattle Seahawks are a +140 underdogs at the San Francisco 49ers.

Those odds would be calculated at +633, which means you would win $633 on a $100 bet. However, all three legs of the parlay have to win, or you lose the entire bet. It’s one of the more high-risk NFL bets, so do your research.

Teaser Example:

Let’s take the above three teams and say that the Cowboys are favored at -2.5, the Dolphins are favored at -4.5 and the Seahawks are a +3.5 underdog. You can tease the lines to make it more tenable for you.

If it’s a four-point teaser bet, you can make it Dallas -6.5, Miami at -8.5, and Seattle +7.5. The odds’ price change would vary, but you would receive less of a payout since you are buying points.

Also, similar to parlays, all three legs of your teaser have to win to get paid out.

Another teaser betting strategy is to play 6-point teasers where you tease favorites from -7.5 to -1.5 or underdogs from +1.5 to +7.5, therefore, crossing two key numbers of 3 and 7.

American Odds Example:

In American odds, the favorite is denoted with a “-” sign before odds, such as -200. Whereas, the underdog has a “+” sign, such as +150.

And even-money wager is displayed as +100. So a $100 wager at +100 odds, would return $200 ($100 initial wager and $100 of profit).

A +150 wager is essentially the same as a 1.5 return, meaning that same $100 bet would return a total of $250 ($150 profit).

Meanwhile, a bet on -200 odds is the opposite, returning just a 50% ROI. Therefore, a $100 bet generates a $150 return and just $50 of profit.

For Example:

An NFL matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos might start with Kansas City’s spread at -7.5, meaning KC is favored by 7.5 points at kickoff.

However, the Broncos are playing well and leading the game into the fourth quarter. The live odds for this game might have Denver’s spread at -1.5 at the start of the final quarter, making them the new favorites.

If you had bet on the Chiefs at the beginning of the game, you might want to bet on Denver at this point to hedge your bet and attempt to come out even. NFL live betting odds can also adjust moneylines, totals, and more.