2025–2026 NFL Season Preview: Super Bowl Contenders and Betting Outlook

The NFL’s 2025–2026 season is fast approaching, and anticipation is building among fans and sports betting enthusiasts alike. This year’s Super Bowl outright odds suggest a wide-open championship race with no single dominant favorite. Offseason moves, roster upgrades, and coaching changes have shifted the betting markets, and multiple teams are entering Week 1 with legitimate title aspirations. In this analytical preview, we evaluate the top Super Bowl contenders, compare their football odds across major bookmakers, and forecast which teams have the best chance to reach (and win) the Super Bowl. Bettors will find plenty of storylines and betting odds to consider – from heavyweights justifying short odds to dark-horse value picks offering enticing payouts.

Top Super Bowl Contenders and Their Odds

Several teams sit at the forefront of the Super Bowl conversation. As of late August 2025, the Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens, and defending champion Philadelphia Eagles have emerged as joint or near co-favorites in many futures markets. For example, the Bills are priced around +650 at Bet365, roughly +700 at FanDuel and Betway, and about +750 on DraftKings and William Hill. These moneyline futures odds imply roughly a 13% chance that Buffalo will hoist the Lombardi Trophy. The Eagles and Ravens are each hovering in that same range – approximately +650 to +700 at most sportsbooks – reflecting how tightly bunched the top tier is. Meanwhile, the perennial powerhouse Kansas City Chiefs are generally around +750 to +800 (e.g. +800 on FanDuel, +750 at DraftKings) after falling just short last season. The rising Detroit Lions round out the leading contenders, typically about 10/1 (+1000) at major books.

These slight discrepancies in outright odds highlight the importance of line shopping for bettors. A team at +700 in one place and +750 in another offers a better potential payout for the same outcome – savvy bettors look for such value bets. Across the five major bookmakers (Bet365, FanDuel, DraftKings, William Hill, and Betway), no team is an odds-on favorite to win it all. The consensus “betting favorite” – the Bills – still comes with a generous price, and multiple teams are priced close behind. This parity at the top of the odds suggests a highly competitive field – and potential value in backing a strong team that isn’t a prohibitive favorite.

AFC Powerhouses: Bills, Ravens, and Chiefs

Buffalo Bills: Buffalo enters 2025 with enormous expectations and the shortest Super Bowl odds of any team. Quarterback Josh Allen leads a stacked roster that’s been on the cusp of a championship for years. The Bills had a solid offseason shoring up the defense (including re-signing veteran safety Jordan Poyer) and still boast a potent offense spearheaded by Allen’s connection with star receiver Stefon Diggs. Oddsmakers set Buffalo’s win total over/under around 11.5 – a number reserved for elite teams – underscoring their perceived strength. Buffalo is often a touchdown favorite on the point spread in regular-season matchups, a sign of how dominant they can be. At roughly +650 to +700, the Bills are the AFC front-runners in the futures market, so bettors backing Buffalo are essentially trusting that this is finally the year they break through and deliver a title.

Baltimore Ravens: It’s “championship or bust” in Baltimore. The Ravens aggressively retooled their roster for 2025 to support former MVP Lamar Jackson. They traded for powerhouse running back Derrick Henry to energize the offense, and beefed up the defense by signing All-Pro cornerback Jaire Alexander (from Green Bay) and adding rookie safety Malaki Starks. With these upgrades, Baltimore looks extremely balanced on both sides of the ball. Head coach John Harbaugh – already a Super Bowl winner – knows how to navigate deep playoff runs, and he might have his best lineup in years. Fittingly, Baltimore’s futures odds (around +650 to +700) are right alongside Buffalo’s as a co-favorite in the AFC. For bettors, the Ravens offer championship upside at roughly the same price as the Bills – a value proposition if you believe this is the year they get over the hump.

Kansas City Chiefs: The Chiefs have ruled the NFL in recent years – three straight Super Bowl appearances with two titles – yet they enter 2025 in an unfamiliar spot: not atop the odds board. Kansas City’s Super Bowl odds in the +750 to +800 range rank them third or fourth among contenders, an unusually long price for the defending AFC champions. Some roster turnover and questions (aging stars like Travis Kelce and a younger receiving corps) have given oddsmakers pause. Still, this is a battle-tested squad. With Patrick Mahomes at quarterback and Andy Reid on the sideline, the Chiefs’ offense remains a juggernaut capable of scoring on anyone. Betting on Kansas City around 8/1 could be a savvy value bet for those who believe the Chiefs’ dynasty has more chapters to write – few teams can match their talent and championship experience when it matters most.

NFC Front-Runners: Eagles and Lions Leading the Pack

Philadelphia Eagles: The defending champs aim to be the first repeat Super Bowl winners in two decades. With dynamic quarterback Jalen Hurts behind center and a deep, talented roster, the Eagles remain one of the NFL’s most complete teams. Yes, a few veterans from last year’s squad retired or departed, but savvy drafting and roster depth have filled those gaps. It’s no surprise Philadelphia’s title odds (around +700) are right up there with the AFC’s elite. In the NFC, they are clearly the team to beat – no other NFC club has odds anywhere close. Barring a Super Bowl hangover, the Eagles have a great chance to return to the big game. History isn’t on the side of back-to-back champions (it hasn’t happened since 2004), but this Philadelphia team has the talent and experience to defy that trend. For bettors, the champs at ~7/1 still offer a solid blend of probability and reward.

Detroit Lions: Detroit has swiftly gone from perennial underdog to legitimate contender. After a deep playoff run last season, the Lions have earned roughly +1000 odds to win the Super Bowl – a remarkable rise for a franchise that spent decades as an afterthought. This team is young, hungry, and dangerous on both sides of the ball. Quarterback Jared Goff helms an explosive offense with playmakers at every position, and the Lions boast one of the league’s best offensive lines. Just as importantly, their defense has improved dramatically; star pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson is back healthy to lead an aggressive, revamped unit. In short, Detroit is well-rounded and lacks any glaring weakness. In betting terms, the Lions could be a classic value bet – they aren’t favored like the Eagles, but at 10/1 they offer a hefty potential return for a team capable of winning the NFC. They’re favored to win the NFC North and could secure a high playoff seed, so the path to the Super Bowl is there. The pressure of new expectations will be a test, but if the Lions play to their potential, they absolutely belong in the championship conversation – a statement that hasn’t been true in a very long time.

Other NFC teams linger as second-tier contenders. The San Francisco 49ers still have a loaded roster and an excellent coach in Kyle Shanahan; their current odds around +1500 reflect uncertainty at quarterback, but if that position stabilizes, the 49ers have the pedigree to challenge the Eagles and Lions. Traditional powers like the Dallas Cowboys, however, have fallen back – Dallas is roughly 50/1 (+5000) after a rough 2024 season – and no other NFC team is currently below 18/1. That suggests the conference is seen as Philadelphia’s to lose, with Detroit (and perhaps San Francisco) posing the most credible threats.

Sleepers and Long-Shot Value Picks

Among the longer shots, the Pittsburgh Steelers have emerged as a trendy dark horse pick. Pittsburgh aggressively revamped its roster, including a headline-grabbing move to sign four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers at quarterback. The 41-year-old Rodgers joins a team with a championship-caliber defense, and the Steelers also traded for star receiver DK Metcalf to jump-start the offense. On paper, Pittsburgh suddenly looks capable of a playoff run behind Rodgers’ veteran leadership. Their Super Bowl odds have shortened from as high as 80/1 down to about 40/1 (+4000) after these moves – a significant line movement that reflects the growing optimism around them. They remain an underdog, but the potential payoff is significant – the Steelers offer a classic boom-or-bust opportunity for bettors willing to take on more risk in exchange for a huge reward.

A couple of other teams have seen notable odds swings. The Washington Commanders, for instance, are now around 20/1 after an offseason that injected new life into the franchise. Washington hasn’t been on the contender radar in a long time, so seeing them with such relatively short odds indicates that oddsmakers expect a significant improvement (perhaps due to a new quarterback and regime). Similarly, the Houston Texans (approximately 30/1) have leapt from league basement to respectable long shot, thanks to a talented young core and an influx of promising players. Both Washington and Houston remain outsiders in the Super Bowl race – it would be stunning to see either in the final – but their rising odds illustrate how quickly fortunes can change. For bettors, these teams represent high-risk, high-reward propositions: even a small stake on one of them could yield a massive return if lightning strikes.

For those who really crave huge odds, some sportsbooks even offer exotic wagers like picking the exact Super Bowl matchup or parlay bets combining a team’s conference title and Super Bowl victory. These can produce eye-popping payouts (often 50/1 or more for plausible combinations) but require multiple correct predictions, making them long shots of the highest order. In general, whether you’re backing a favorite or a long shot, it’s wise to compare odds across bookmakers. The goal is to find bets where a team’s true chances of winning are higher than what the odds imply – that’s the essence of finding value in futures betting.

Forecast: Who Will Win Super Bowl 60?

After weighing all the evidence, our forecast calls for a showdown between the Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LX. Both teams have the balance, star power, and motivation to navigate their conferences and reach the big game. Buffalo seems poised to finally break through in the AFC, while Philadelphia has a slightly clearer path in the NFC as the reigning champ.

So which team lifts the Lombardi Trophy? Our pick is the Buffalo Bills to win it all. The Bills’ combination of a top-tier offense, a strengthened defense, and the hunger from past near-misses gives them a slight edge over other contenders. At around +650, Buffalo has been the betting favorite for good reason, and we expect them to justify that status. That said, the NFL is never predictable – powerhouses like the Ravens or Chiefs could easily crash the party in the AFC, and an upstart such as the Lions or 49ers could upset the Eagles in the NFC. This uncertainty is exactly what makes futures wagering exciting. The 2025–26 season is set to be highly competitive, and fans and bettors alike should buckle up for what promises to be a thrilling ride all the way to Super Bowl 60.