With the 2024/25 NFL season now fully underway, many football fans are already putting their predictions into play by placing bets as to which teams, players or possible outcomes are likely to come to fruition according to their personal bold opinions.
All sports fans aim to showcase their supreme knowledge ahead of any major encounter where the atmosphere and excitement is building towards a crescendo ahead of gameday, with NFL football fans being no different as some of the league’s most passionate and knowledgeable fans are always quick to place a wager ahead of any vital fixture.
Betting on the NFL has quickly become one of the best aspects of following the league for many football fans as numerous US states have since aimed to allow sports betting to become a much more utilized method of both gaining income and keeping patrons satisfied.
With many sportsbooks now fully operational and allowing a wide range of wagers for the nation’s most celebrated sporting league, there are many intriguing terms and slangs that are used for a variety of bets that are centered around the sport of football and more specifically the NFL.
If you’re aiming to place a bet for any upcoming fixture or for a lofty prediction that you believe could come true later this season, here is a brief breakdown of some of the most popular terminology that is often used for NFL betting.
- Types of Bets:
The most important part of betting on football is to understand which type of wager best suits your prediction as well as how much you’re willing to spend, whether that being on the NFL or even whilst viewing the latest college football odds that are available on DraftKings.
When placing a bet there are a number of specific wagers that are available to all punters which can lead to different outcomes of winnings should the bet be successful, with certain types of wagers often requiring the punter to utilize their full amount of knowledge in order to score a successful outcome.
The most common types of wagers are usually totals which basically equate to whether there will be an over/under on a specific outcome, with an NFL example being if the Kansas City Chiefs are likely to score at least three touchdowns against the San Francisco 49ers, with a money line sign often showcasing which way the sportsbook views the potential outcome.
Parlays are also a frequent betting choice for football fans as these are basically the accumulation of multiple bets into one major wager where the punter must score a correct result in every single category in order to walk away with a winning outcome, which is usually a massive sum of money given the stakes that are up for grabs.
Most NFL fans usually place parlays ahead of the Sunday 1pm kickoff games when multiple teams are in action at the same time as a means to score a variety of winning outcomes during the action-packed weekend of action.
During primetime games, viewers may often look to choose same-game parlays which can cover multiple events from the game itself with the inclusion of props such as whether the Baltimore Ravens will score on their opening drive against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry to score at least two rushing touchdowns and T.J. Watt to register at least two sacks.
- Common Betting terms:
As previously mentioned above, money line is the most commonly used terminology when presenting NFL betting odds as this provides punters with a basic understanding as to who is the favorite (minus/negative symbol) or underdog (positive/addition symbol).
Money line is always displayed alongside a number that showcases the possibilities of the bet as well as the amount of money that will required to be wagered depending on the outcome, with an example being that the Jacksonville Jaguars are +350 to beat the Buffalo Bills whilst the Bills are -450 to win.
This means that if you bet $100 on the Jags who are the clear underdogs, then you will win $350, while if you bet on the Bills who are the clear cut favorite, then you will need to wager $450 to win $100.
Some other notable terms that are used during the preparation or conclusion of a wager include a push (which is when the sports bet ends in a tie), a juice or vig (which is when the odds tie into one another), a leg (which is the indication of a parlay wager), bad beat (used to describe a bet where the victory is snatched away from the punter at the very last minute) and finally a hook (where the punter can place half-a-point on a point spread.
These are amongst the most commonly and widely used terms that many experienced punters continue to utilize ahead of, during and after gameday in an effort to find a winning outcome whilst watching one of the world’s most unpredictable sporting leagues.
