NFL fans love it when Sunday rolls around, and they are treated to hours of back-to-back football. However, many football games are played simultaneously, and if you’re an NFL betting fan, it can be difficult to keep up with all of your bets. That’s why so many bettors love parlay bets, as all of your wagers are combined into one bet with one stake.
Another type of betting NFL fans love is spread betting. In many games in the NFL, there is an obvious winner, which takes some of the excitement out of the game. That’s why legal US sportsbooks will offer spread bets, which means you can bet on the losing team and have your bet still come through if they don’t lose by a certain amount of points.
These are two great different types of bets that millions of bettors use every week. If only there were some way to combine them. Well, there is! In this guide, our expert will explain NFL spread parlays, how they work, and how you can use them to bet on NFL to make your Sunday even more exciting.
What is a Spread Bets?
Betting on the result of NFL games can sometimes feel a bit repetitive. Favorites are given such short odds there’s not much point, and although upsets can happen, they are hard to predict. That’s why spread betting equalizes the field.
In this type of betting, you’re wagering on whether a team will cover a point spread. So the favorite will have to win the game by a certain number of points, or your bet won’t come through. Likewise, the underdog must keep the scoreline closer than the spread or win the game for your bet to be a winner.
For example, say you’re betting on the Kansas City Chiefs, and they are favorites with a -5.5 spread. If the Chiefs win the game 7-0, you’re bet will come through. However, if the Chiefs won 7-3, your wager will not come through as the Chiefs did not cover the spread.
The inverse applies to underdogs. If the underdogs in a game are the Miami Dolphins at +5.5, a 7-3 loss would be great for your spread bet. A 7-0 loss would not. If the Dolphins won the game by any margin, your wager would also come through.
What is a Parlay Bet?
A parlay is a bet that combines two or more betting markets into just one wager. You can stake one bet and essentially wager on all the markets with better odds. Each of these betting markets put into your wager is called a leg. The more legs you add to a bet, the bigger the payout. The increased payouts make parlay wagering one of the most popular options in the US.
The downside with these bets is that every one of your legs has to be successful for it to payout. If even just one leg fails, the whole bet will be unsuccessful. This is an added risk, but the rewards are often seen as worth this risk.
NFL Spread Parlays
Let’s take a look at some examples using our favorite wagering market: the NFL. Let’s imagine that two games are being played with spreads odds as below.
Minnesota Vikings +5.5 +210 vs. Indianapolis Colts -5.5 -150.
Washington Football Team +2.5 +140 vs. New York Giants -2.5 -135.
For ease, let’s say you are betting on the underdogs in both games to cover the spread. That means you’re wagering on the Vikings and the Football Team.
Spread Explained
Let’s say we pick the underdogs in both games. We need both teams to overcome the point spread for your bet to be a winner. Remember, with a parlay if even one leg fails, the whole wager falls through.
In this case, you need the Vikings to lose by less than 6 points or win the first game. For the second game, we need the Football Team to lose by less than 3 points or win. If both these results go your way, your bet will be a winner, and you’ll be rewarded with a generous payout.
Parlay Explained
If you bet $100 on each underdog individually, and both results went your way, you would win $580 ($240 + $140 + $200 stake). That’s a pretty good return, but with a parlay bet, that return could have been $744 from a $100 stake ($644 + $100).
Legal NFL Betting in the US
Now you understand NFL spread parlays, a whole new range of betting options will be available to you on your sportsbook app. Since 2018 when the PASPA was struck down, US states have been legalizing online sprits betting, and if you live in one of those states, you will be able to bet safely and legally.
To get involved in the action, download a sportsbook app to your mobile device, make sure you are of legal betting age, and start placing your NFL spread parlays now.
