The Chiefs are the favorites in Super Bowl betting, while the Lions are attracting attention

It turns out that the 2023 NFL season opener between the Detroit Lions and the Kansas City Chiefs was a showcase for the two teams that will have the most significance to the future of the Super Bowl heading into the 2024 season.

The two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs are the bookmakers’ favorites and one of the most popular picks to win an unprecedented third straight championship. They are priced at +500 on ESPN BET and have attracted a whopping 13% of tickets and 17% of the turnover.

DraftKings and FanDuel also see Kansas City as the leader in terms of betting and turnover, reporting 17% of tickets and 17% of turnover and 11% of tickets and 19% of turnover, respectively.

“It’s a one-way street again for the Chiefs in terms of betting interest,” said Patrick Jay, ESPN BET’s head of sports betting.

According to Christian Cipollini, BetMGM’s manager of trading, Kansas City was a popular bettor last season because the reigning Super Bowl champion always needs an influx of money right away.

“There’s a lot of action and a lot of money on the Chiefs, but when you’re 5-to-1, it takes a lot more money to put you in a dangerous position as a bookmaker,” DraftKings director of sports betting Johnny Avello told ESPN. “When you have all these other teams with much higher numbers, it takes less money to put you in danger.”

One such team is the Lions (+1000), who have earned a 15.9% share and a leading 13.3% of the wagers at BetMGM, making them the bookmaker’s biggest draw. ESPN BET, DraftKings, and FanDuel all show Detroit with the second-highest percentage of wagering, both in terms of bets and money. The Lions have been a crowd favorite since coach Dan Campbell took over.

“Last season, we had a lot more responsibility on them because they opened at 40-to-1, 30-to-1, whatever it was. Now at 12-to-1, it’s a much easier pill for a bookmaker to swallow,” Cipollini said. “A lot of Michigan bettors were definitely betting on the Lions last season, and I think they put their bets on them to win the division or whatever they won last season.”

Based on this, there is no consensus on which teams are the most popular among punters, but according to bets and/or opinions from various bookmakers, the Cincinnati Bengals (+1300), Philadelphia Eagles (+1100) and Baltimore Ravens (+1000) are in the top three.

The reigning NFC champions, the San Francisco 49ers (+600), have been relatively less active in the market, but they do have the third-largest amount of bets at BetMGM (9.4%).