NFL Spreads

Betting NFL spreads has fast become the most common form of wagering today, but that doesn't mean that everyone knows exactly what NFL spreads are or how they are created. First of all, who comes up with these numbers? In short, oddsmakers at sportsbooks are the one's setting the spreads for each game based on a great number of factors. In the end their goal is to create equal betting action on each side of the game. The idea here is that if fifty percent of all of the money wagered is on each half of the game, the sportsbook still makes money because of the vigorish (commission) on each bet.

So, what does an NFL spread look like? Here's an example you might see:

San Francisco 49ers +3 -110
Minnesota Vikings -3 -110

The first indicators we look at are the plus or minus signs immediately following the team names. A minus indicates the favorite in the game, the plus indicates the underdog. The number following those symbols shows us how many points the team is either giving or getting. In the example above, the 49ers are the underdog and they are getting three points. This means they can either win the game outright or lose by less than three points and still be a winning wager. With the Vikings giving three points (-3), they must win the game and win by more than three for a wager on them to win. The next number in the sequence (the -110 in the example) is the vigorish. Always think of this number in terms of $100. The -110 means you would have to wager $110 to win $100 on either team (or $55 to win $50, etc.). Below we've provided you with a live feed of the latest NFL odds from several of the leading online sportsbooks.

Line moves colors: < 1 min. < 3 min. < 5 min. < 10 min.

Date

Teams

No lines found yet