Market movers and the best early bets for Super Bowl LII

MAJOR developments and drama surround Super Bowl LII with market odds moving after every dramatic turn.

The NFL Super Bowl is one of the most important sporting events in terms of overall betting volume in the world, and because it only happens once each year, there’s a tremendous amount of focus on each little thing that happens that could affect the result.

Things are pretty calm some years, but in 2018, the events leading up to this big game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots have been anything but smooth sailing.

All of this drama means you have odds moving back and forth, which gives you more opportunities to find a bet to beat the bookies.

Carson Wentz isn’t coming back this year

The starting quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles went down earlier this season with an ACL injury, and the big story ever since is about whether or not he’ll make it back in time for the Super Bowl.

Thankfully for him, he had successful surgery back in December. However, there’s no way he’s going to be available by February 4, the day of the championship game. This is bad news for a team that would likely be the underdog anyway, but a recent development evens the odds a bit more.

Nick Fowles, Wentz’s replacement at QB, is paying +160 at Bovada to throw the first touch down pass of the game.

Tom Brady injures his throwing hand

In practice the week before their game with the Jacksonville Jaguars (which determined which team went to the Super Bowl), New England’s star quarterback Tom Brady injured his hand in practice.

Brady had a collision with running back Rex Burkhead that bent his thumb backwards on his throwing hand in a very serious way, and it was so bad that it required at least 10 stitches. He was able to get the win against Jacksonville in spite of this injury, but it could still means he’s likely to not be 100 percent once Super Bowl LII comes around.

Current Super Bowl LII market odds

As it stands now, after details of Brady’s injury has been made public and with knowledge that Wentz will have no chance of returning, most oddsmakers have the Patriots as a 5.5-point favorite.

With that having been said, the Super Bowl always has a lot of other bets available, and the over/under for the total points scored is one of those wagers where we are seeing some divergence between the different bookies to a certain degree.

BETMGM has the money line for the Patriots scoring under 27 at -120, but Bovada has the same bet at even money. There are similar differences for other combinations, so there are some good reasons to shop around if you’re trying to find the best lines for these types of wagers.