NFL MVP Odds: Wilson Is Running Away With It

Despite being one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL since entering the league eight years ago, Russell Wilson has notoriously never received a vote for the NFL MVP Award. According to the sportsbooks’ NFL MVP odds, that’s likely to change in 2020.

For the first time ever, Wilson is the favorite to become NFL MVP at ​Bovada. The 31-year-old is the heavy -190 favorite to win the award, with Patrick Mahomes (+300), Tom Brady (+700), Aaron Rodgers (+1200) and Kyler Murray (+1600) trailing him.

The Seahawks rank fourth on the Super Bowl oddsboard, behind the Kansas City Chiefs, Pittsburgh Steelers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Here’s a look at the players with the best odds to win the 2020 NFL MVP Award at Bovada. For a full list of the top places to bet on football, head over to our Best NFL Sites page.

Who Is Favored to Win the NFL MVP Award?

Odds as of November 4 at Bovada

Wilson’s Odds Skyrocket With Win Over 49ers

The Seahawks bounced back from their first loss of the season in a big way by beating the San Francisco 49ers 37-27 in Week 8. Wilson had a flawless performance against the banged-up 49ers defense, completing 27 of 37 passes for 261 yards and four touchdowns. 

Wilson now has 253 passing TDs in his career, joining Dan Marino and Peyton Manning as the only players in NFL history to throw for at least 250 touchdowns in their first nine seasons. That’s especially impressive considering names like Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers didn’t even make that list.

Wilson, who was -110 prior to Seattle’s victory, is now the runaway favorite at -190 odds. This is the steepest the 31-year-old’s odds have been all year long, and it’s hard to see anyone overtaking him at this point in the season.

Brady Continues to Shine for the Bucs

It’s safe to say Brady is fitting in well with his new surroundings in Tampa Bay. Through seven games with the Buccaneers, Brady has thrown for 2,189 yards and 20 touchdowns to go along with only four interceptions. 

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Even though the Bucs ended up beating the New York Giants 25-23 in Week 8, it wasn’t a feel-good win for Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers trailed the Giants 14-6 at halftime before scoring 19 points in the second half, yet it was far from a smooth victory.

Brady went 28-for-40 with 279 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns to propel Tampa Bay to a narrow triumph late. In the process, his odds improved from +1200 to +700 – the biggest shift of the week in MVP odds.

Jackson is Well Out of the Running

There were plenty of questions surrounding Jackson when he entered the 2018 NFL Draft, but the former Heisman Trophy winner answered all of those last year to become the 17th signal-caller since 2000 to become MVP. Marshall Faulk (2000, 2001), Shaun Alexander (2005), LaDainian Tomlinson (2006) and Adrian Peterson (2012) are the non-quarterbacks to win the award in that span.

Just how much of a surprise was Jackson’s triumphant 2019 campaign? The Louisville product opened the year as a +4100 long shot to garner the bragging rights as the best player in the NFL. He ended the season with 36 touchdowns and 3,127 passing yards while throwing only six interceptions.

More impressively, Jackson broke Michael Vick’s record for most rushing yards in a single season by a quarterback, finishing with 1,206 yards on the ground and seven scores.

Jackson hasn’t been nearly as dominant in the 2020 campaign, as he’s slipped to ninth on the oddsboard. His numbers aren’t up to MVP standards right now and he’s essentially already out of the race at +5000.

For more football betting information, check out our NFL page.

How to Bet on NFL MVP Odds

Popular NFL bets include point spreads and totals (OVER/UNDER). For those looking for something different, you can wager on which player will be named MVP. As football season progresses, you’ll see the MVP action changing. To get in on the action, you can make a futures bet.

What is a Futures Bet?

A futures wager is a bet on events that will take place in time, like the Most Valuable Player award in the NFL. At your betting site of choice, you’ll see NFL MVP odds listed like so:

Dak Prescott +200

Tom Brady +250

Patrick Mahomes +400

Lamar Jackson +700

Unlike a moneyline bet where favorites would be marked with the minus sign (-) and underdogs with the plus sign (+), the fave here would be the player with the lowest odds. In this case it’s Dak Prescott.

Let’s say you have $55 to spend and you decide that you like Mahomes for MVP. A winning bet would give you a payout of $275 – your original $55 is returned along with your loot of $220. The higher the odds, the more money you’ll see. But, don’t bet on a +5000 MVP candidate in September in the hopes that you’ll make bank at the end of the regular season. Oddsmakers don’t only look at current performance when setting the odds. They also look at past performance, off-season activities and training camp.

Our Odds Calculator can show you how much you’d win based on the odds and amount wagered.

With futures bets, it’s important to snag odds early. As we get closer to the Super Bowl, the lines will move. Oddsmakers update the odds as players up their production or are plagued by injuries. Keep in mind that if you were to back a player in the MVP race and he suffers a season-ending injury, most sportsbooks will give you your money back since you technically didn’t lose the bet and have no way of winning it.

As soon as the Most Valuable Player trophy is awarded to the winner, sportsbooks will update the betting results and you can cash out your bet.