CFL Grey Cup Odds 2021: Ticats listed as preseason chalk
For the first time in over 100 years, the Grey Cup wasn’t awarded as the 2020 CFL season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, a full 2021 campaign is on the horizon and it is the Hamilton Tiger-Cats who will head into the season as the favorites in CFL Grey Cup odds for 2021.
It just so happens that the 108th Grey Cup game will take place at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers, the defending Grey Cup champions after beating the Ticats 33-12 in the 2019 Grey Cup, are second on the oddsboard.
Online sportsbook Bovada has released CFL Grey Cup odds for 2021 with Hamilton the favorite at +300, Winnipeg at +450, Calgary at +500, Saskatchewan at +500 and Toronto at +800 to round out the top five teams on the oddsboard.
Looking at the CFL Grey Cup odds for 2021, our sports betting calculator tells us that Hamilton’s odds of +300 represent an implied win probability of 25 percent. Additionally, a $100 wager on a Ticats Grey Cup victory would profit you $300.
Who will win the 2021 Grey Cup?
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Hamilton Tiger-Cats | +300 |
| Winnipeg Blue Bombers | +450 |
| Calgary Stampeders | +500 |
| Saskatchewan Roughriders | +500 |
| Toronto Argonauts | +800 |
| British Columbia Lions | +850 |
| Edmonton | +900 |
| Montreal Alouettes | +900 |
| Ottawa Redblacks | +1400 |
Odds as of March 2 at Bovada
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Why are the Ticats favored in 2021 CFL Grey Cup odds?
There definitely will be some uncertainties heading into the 2021 CFL season with teams having been sidelined for over a year after the coronavirus pandemic wiped out the 2020 campaign.
In 2019, Hamilton ripped through the East Division with a 7-1 record against fellow East teams and had a franchise-best 15-3 record overall, including going a perfect 9-0 at Tim Hortons Field. The Ticats scored the most points in the CFL at 551, 43 more than Winnipeg, and also allowed the fewest points at 344, 42 less than second-ranked Saskatchewan.
However, those numbers were slightly skewed due to the woeful play of division mates Toronto and Ottawa, the only two teams that failed to surpass 400 points scored on the year.
2021 Hamilton Ticats
Looking at the CFL Grey Cup odds for 2021, East Division rivals Montreal and Ottawa have the longest odds and should guarantee some victories for the Tiger-Cats. The aforementioned defense that surrendered the fewest points in the league remains relatively intact, including Simoni Lawrence and newly acquired Ciante Evans.
What causes some apprehension in backing Hamilton is the lack of success of the franchise in recent memory. You have to go all the way back to 1999 to find the last time the Ticats lifted the Grey Cup. They have reached the Grey Cup in three of the last seven years but lost each time. For me, I’d have to see a little more value to wager on Hamilton.
Which team has the best CFL Grey Cup odds value?
I think that there is another team from the East Division that grabbed headlines in the offseason and could play drastically different than 2019 and that is the Toronto Argonauts at +800.
Perhaps one of the biggest splashes in the offseason came with reigning Most Outstanding Canadian Cameron Judge moving on from Saskatchewan. The 26-year-old was one of the best linebackers in the league and could definitely put a Band-Aid on an Argonauts defense that allowed the second-most points in the CFL in 2019.
Toronto didn’t focus only on its defense, as the offense needed a jump-start as well. Former Calgary wide receiver Eric Rogers, who scored the third-most touchdowns in 2019, will surely be a red-zone target for Nick Arbuckle, who also left the Stampeders to join the Argos.
New playmakers on both sides of the ball in a not-so-great East Division may be good enough to get into the playoffs and anything can happen if you make the dance.
