Early NFL Futures: Best Bets for MVP (2021) by Matt Barbato February 12, 2021. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won Super Bowl LV in resounding fashion, but we all know it’s never too early to start thinking about the 2021 season. Let’s start by examining the NFL MVP market. Right now, Patrick Mahomes is unsurprisingly the favorite and is +500 to. Betting on the NFL MVP winner is one of the most popular football futures bets aside from picking which team will win the Super Bowl. Futures bets are wagers placed on outcomes far before the event in question. Believe it or not, you can bet on which player will win the NFL MVP. According to DraftKings Sportsbook, Stafford is tied for the seventh-best odds to win 2021 NFL MVP at +1600. He’s tied with Tom Brady, Lamar Jackson and Kyler Murray, with only six players.
Regular season MVP is the biggest award a player can receive in the NFL. It’s the pro version of the HeismanTrophy and, similarly, tends to go quarterbacks who have the ball in their hands a lot.
Astute NFL bettors cashed in big time last season with Lamar Jackson of the BaltimoreRavens, who hit the board as a +4100 long shot to bring home the bacon. For 2020-21 he finds himself neck and neck with Patrick Mahomes on the odds board to win the MVP again at US online sportsbooks.
2020-21 NFL MVP Betting Lines and Award Race Recap What a surprising end to a topsy-turvy season of MVP betting at FanDuel. Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers overtook the MVP race after lagging behind Pat Mahomes and other QBs throughout the regular season. See current odds for who will win the 2020 NFL MVP.
If you want to bet on 2020 NFL MVP futures, buckle up as we show you how to get your money in to pick the next king of the NFL.
2020 NFL MVP odds
Odds are you see beside a player are the best offered at any legal US online sportsbook. Scroll down the table to see the top MVP candidates; click on the Metabet logo to see even more odds. Click on any of the odds or the sportsbook logo to claim your bonus and register a new account.
NFL MVP betting apps
DraftKings Sportsbook — NFL lines are a big deal at DraftKings with individual game lines, team futures, award futures, player totals, offseason specials and season leaders all on the table.
The NFL MVP race is, of course, one of their biggest markets with active line movement from Day 1 of the off-season right through to the end of the regular season
Open an account at DraftKings to bet NFL MVP and get:
- $50 in free bets (No deposit needed)
- 20% bonus up to $1,000 on first deposit
Use DraftKings Sportsbook online in: NJ, CO, PA, WV, IN, IA, TN, NH and IL
FanDuel Sportsbook — Already widely known for its parlay insurance, odds boosts and ease of navigating through both its online sportsbook and app, FanDuel is one of the most attractive mobile betting apps to have with its highly competitive betting odds and lightning fast payouts.
Use FanDuel Sportsbook online in: NJ, CO, PA, WV, NV, IL, IA, TN and IN
Get up to a $1,000 risk-free bet on sign-up here:
FOX Bet Sportsbook — The marriage between PokerStars and the Fox Network has made a name for itself early on with intriguing betting options including Super Boosts, Spin and Bet and a cash-out option that lets you get out of bad bets at discounted prices.
FOX Bet has also been more competitive in the NFL MVP odds market early on by offering greater payoffs than competitors. It too offers up a $500 total bonus that includes a 50% deposit bonus and first-bet insurance up to $500.
Which states can you bet NFL MVP online in?
| State | Online / Mobile | Retail |
|---|---|---|
| New Jersey Sports Betting | Yes | Yes |
| Pennsylvania Sports Betting | Yes | Yes |
| Colorado Sports Betting | Yes | Yes |
| Indiana Sports Betting | Yes | Yes |
| Iowa Sports Betting | Yes | Yes |
| West Virginia Sports Betting | Yes | Yes |
| Virginia Sports Betting | Yes | No |
| New Hampshire Sports Betting | Yes | No |
| Illinois Sports Betting | Yes | Yes |
| Michigan Sports Betting | Yes | Yes |
| Tennessee Sports Betting | Yes | No |
How does an NFL MVP bet work?
Though all sportsbooks ultimately differ in the way they do business, a full regular season would need to play out for there to be action when betting on NFL MVP.
If a player can’t play in 16 games due to the season being canceled, your bet would likely be refunded. If it’s an injury that cuts a player’s season short, it will be up to the sportsbook to decide how it wants to go about that dilemma. More times than not, a good faith refund will be administered.
As for how it pays out … Patrick Mahomes is, unsurprisingly, the front-runner to win the 2020 NFL MVP Award. His odds check in at around +400 or 4-1 at most sportsbooks before the season starts. This means a bet on Mahomes would pay out $400 for every $100 bet should he ultimately win the MVP award for the second time in his career.
Though his numbers tailed off dramatically a season ago from his rookie campaign, they were still pretty impressive. His current implied probability of pulling off the feat checks in at 20%, which has online sportsbooks praying to the gambling gods that another record-breaking season isn’t upcoming in his third full campaign.
NFL MVP Race – Betting Trends
In perusing this season’s NFL MVP candidates you’ll notice the odds are quarterback-heavy at the top — and for good reason. A QB has won the award each of the last seven seasons. Since the turn of the century, a grand total of four running backs have taken home the trophy:
- Adrian Peterson in 2012
- LaDainian Tomlinson in 2006
- Shaun Alexander in 2005
- Marshall Faulk in 2000
No other position player has won the award during that stretch, which means 80% of the NFL MVPs this century were quarterbacks. You’ll also notice that wide receivers offer up ungodly returns on investment.
Michael Thomas is arguably the best wide receiver currently in the game yet his odds of winning the NFL MVP check in at 100-1. That’s because not a single WR has won the award since it came into existence all the way back in 1954. Heck, even a kicker won it!
Don’t put much thought into backing a defensiveplayer, either. Lawrence Taylor’s 1986 season saw him become the first and only player who lined up on that side of the ball to win the award. Do yourself a favor and hitch your wagon to an NFL MVP candidate who has the keys to what’s likely to be one of the league’s more potent offenses.
It would also help if said team was playoff-bound, as well.
2020-21 NFL MVP Odds – Favorites
Lamar Jackson
Before throwing your money down on Jackson to pull off the repeat, just know that it’s darn near impossible to do. The only players to win successive awards in the past 40 years are:
- PeytonManning
- BrettFavre
- Joe Montana
- Walter Payton
That said, Jackson enters 2020 with a gargantuan-sized chip on his shoulder after his Baltimore Ravens flamed out in the playoffs against the TennesseeTitans. While you’d love to see him improve his ball security, Lamar looked like a man against boys in his second full season, throwing for over 3,100 yards and 36 TDs while racking up another 1,200+ yards on the ground to go along with seven more scores.
Motivation is a key factor in cashing these types of futures tickets, and Lamar is going to be locked in.
Dak Prescott
Dak got paid this offseason for one year of service in Big D, and the betting markets are buying into him living up to the biggest payday of his career.
Now offering up around a 14-1 return, his odds to win the NFL MVP initially hit the board at 20-1.
With the addition of Oklahoma’s CeeDee Lamb to the wide receiver corps alongside studs Amari Cooper and MichaelGallup, the Cowboys possess one of the premier pass-catching corps in the league. Prescott currently owns the keys to that sports car and looks to have a big season ahead of him.
2020 Nfl Mvp Betting Odds
Tom Brady
The GOAT has already won the NFL MVP three times in his career, most recently back in 2017. Though Brady just turned 43 years old, Tampa Bay believed him to be the missing ingredient that takes its stacked offense to the next level.
Seriously, Brady has never played with the type of talent that will be surrounding him in 2020. Mike Evans goes for 1,000+ receiving yards every season. Chris Godwin blew up last year. He’s also been reunited with Gronk and has another athlete at tight end in O.J.Howard.
Brady’s got a spoil of riches to work with, and his odds of winning are expressed as such, with them around +1600 after opening at +2800.
2020-21 NFL MVP Odds – Wild Cards
Kyler Murray
Live Nfl Mvp Betting Odds
The reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year Award winner has seen his odds of winning NFL MVP in 2020 shortened since first hitting the board at 35-1. While much of it had to do with DeAndre Hopkins becoming a member of the Arizona Cardinals in the offseason, it also had much to do with what he did in his rookie campaign.
Murray threw for over 3,700 yards and 20 TDs, but also proved to be a dual-threat QB with nearly 550 rushing yards and four more scores. If he can cut down on the interceptions and build a solid rapport with what looks to be a fantastic pass catching corps, the sky will be the limit for the second-year player—especially if ‘Zona figures out how to compete in the ultra-competitive NFCWest.
Saquon Barkley
Remember that chip on Lamar Jackson’s shoulder? Well, Barkley’s just might be bigger. It was a lost 2019 campaign for 2018’s Offensive Rookie of the Year. He suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 3 versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and was a shell of his former self for weeks after returning from the injury.
That was up until Week 15 when he started to look like the Saquon Barkley we all know and love. He combined for 393 rushing yards and four TDs the last three weeks of the regular season and added another 115 yards and a score catching passes out of the backfield.
If 100% healthy and running with purpose, Barkley could put an end to the running back position’s MVP drought. Even if the G-Men stink and Barkley puts up monster numbers, the AP and others will be forced to pay attention.
Alvin Kamara
See a trend here? Kamara makes it three straight Offensive Rookie of the Year Award winners worth targeting for NFL MVP this season. It’s now or never for the New OrleansSaints. Drew Brees is in the twilight of his career, so the window of opportunity for N’awlins to win another Super Bowl is closing.
Even so, big things are expected from the dual threat out of the backfield after struggling through an injury-marred 2019 campaign that saw him grossly fail to match the outputs of his first two seasons in the league. The Saints will likely possess one of the best offenses in the league should all the pertinent pieces remain healthy. If so, you can bet your bottom dollar Kamara plays a big role in the unit’s efficiency.
NFL MVP list past 10 years
| Year | MVP |
|---|---|
| 2019 | Lamar Jackson |
| 2018 | Patrick Mahomes |
| 2017 | Tom Brady |
| 2016 | Matt Ryan |
| 2015 | Cam Newton |
| 2014 | Aaron Rodgers |
| 2013 | Peyton Manning |
| 2012 | Adrian Peterson |
| 2011 | Aaron Rodgers |
| 2010 | Tom Brady |
More NFL futures bets:
- Odds to win AFC
- Odds to win NFC
- Odds to win divisions
- Regular season win totals
- AP Offensive Player of the Year
- AP Defensive Player of the Year
- AP Comeback Player of the Year
- AP Offensive Rookie of the Year
- AP Defensive Rookie of the Year
- Coach of the Year
The mid-point of the NFL season is always a good time to reassess some preseason futures bets and either double down on early favorites or bet on an overlooked long shot. Below, we look at BetMGM‘s odds for the player to be named the NFL’s 2020 MVP, and make our best NFL futures picks and predictions.
2020 NFL MVP predictions: Favorites
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Tuesday at 1:45 p.m. ET.
Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson (-164)
Wilson is finally getting some long-overdue credit in his ninth NFL season. He leads the NFL with 26 touchdowns through just seven games while completing 71.5% of his passes for 2,151 yards. He has thrown just 6 interceptions and has added 260 yards on the ground.
The Seahawks are among the Super Bowl LV favorites atop the NFC West at 6-1 and are well on their way to a third straight postseason berth. Seattle has scored at least 30 points in all but one game, and Wilson’s passing attack is the main reason.
Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes (+300)
Mahomes is second to Wilson by the odds. His 21 touchdown passes through eight games are just 5 fewer than his total from the 2019 regular season. He has thrown for 2,315 yards with just one interception on 284 attempts with a completion percentage of 66.9.
The trouble for Mahomes is the same fate that has previously befallen Tom Brady in the NFL and LeBron James in the NBA. With one regular-season MVP and a Super Bowl MVP under his belt already, his performance in 2020 seems oddly pedestrian by his own elite standards.
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2020 NFL MVP predictions: Contenders
Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Tom Brady (+1100)
Brady has the Buccaneers atop the NFC South at 6-2 in his first season in Tampa Bay. Getting the Bucs to the playoffs for the first time since 2007 and holding off the New Orleans Saints for the division title could be enough to win him his fourth MVP in his first season outside of the New England Patriots organization.
Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger (+2200)
The Steelers (7-0) are the NFL’s last undefeated team of 2020. Roethlisberger is leading a strong turnaround after Pittsburgh went just 8-8 in 2019 with Big Ben missing all but two games due to injury. The 38-year-old has never won an MVP, either, so voters could view this as somewhat of a lifetime achievement award for the likely future Hall of Famer.
2020 NFL MVP predictions: Long shots
Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen (+3500)
Allen, and the Bills, have cooled off since starting the season 4-0. They’ve gone 2-2 in their last four games, and while they’ve won two straight, Allen has zero touchdown passes and one interception in those two wins.
The third-year signal-caller has taken big strides from his sophomore season and is completing 67.1% of his passes. He has led two fourth-quarter comebacks and three game-winning drives, and has run for four scores.
Minnesota Vikings RB Dalvin Cook (+10000)
A running back hasn’t won the NFL MVP since Adrian Peterson did so as a member of the Vikings in 2012. Cook’s Vikings are last in the NFC North at 2-5 through eight weeks, but they have an outside shot of still getting to the playoffs or even the top of the division after beating the Green Bay Packers 28-22 in Week 8.
Cook scored a total of four touchdowns in that game and leads the NFL with 11 rushing and receiving scores, despite playing just six games. He’s the focal point of the Minnesota offense and if the Vikes can overcome a horrible start, he’ll get his share of the credit.
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