For the first time in American sports betting, Nevada sportsbooks are offering a player destination prop bet. The subject of the bet is Tom Brady, who racks up yet another first in his historic career.
Now, odds are up for which team Brady will take his first snap of the 2020 NFL season with.
Until now, the majority of sportsbooks, including the well-known books in Nevada, have refrained from offering such a prop bet for a number of reasons.
First of all, bookmakers have to constantly monitor social media due to the volatile nature of such a betting market. Inside information is another fear for sportsbooks, as the determining factors of a bet like this remain outside the boundaries of a rule-based contest.
However, competition is increasing in a U.S. betting market that continues to expand. As such, bookmakers are growing more aggressive, leading to the bet on which team Brady will play for this season.
The advent of player destination prop bets in American sportsbooks is likely just the beginning for these types of bets. For example, a similar bet would likely have been available regarding Kawhi Leonard’s potential destinations during the last NBA free agency.
For now, the focus is on which uniform Brady will be wearing when the NFL kicks off this season.
Patriots Favored to Keep Brady
For the first time in his NFL career, Tom Brady is set to become a free agent. So, there’s a very real possibility that Brady could close out his Hall-of-Fame career with a team not residing in New England.
However, the Patriots have opened as the odds-on favorite to keep Brady. With odds of -140 at FanDuel Sportsbook, New England is now likely to retain the services of Brady and coach Bill Belichick for at least one more season.
However, there are a number of viable destinations, meaning a number of teams currently hold relatively strong odds of landing Brady.
Closest to the Patriots are the Titans, who currently own odds of +220. With the presence of Mike Vrabel at coach and the opportunity for Brady to slide into a playoff team that felt like they were one piece away, this move makes perfect sense.
Then there are the Raiders, who’ve reportedly put a deal on the table to sign Brady for two to three years. With odds of +650, the Raiders are currently third on the list of favorites.
The trio of the Chargers (+850), 49ers (+1000), and Buccaneers (+1500) rounds out the list of teams with odds better than +2900, serving as a sort of cutoff line between the teams with a real shot and those on the fringes of the Brady sweepstakes.
FanDuel Offering Slew of Player Destination Bets
At FanDuel Sportsbook, the Brady bets are just the beginning of the fun when it comes to player destination bets. In addition to Brady, they’re offering bets on all of the following quarterbacks:
- Philip Rivers
- Andy Dalton
- Jameis Winston
- Ryan Tannehill
- Teddy Bridgewater
- Nick Foles
While some of these QBs have strong links to particular teams – Rivers to Indy is -160 and Tannehill remaining with Tennessee is -250 – other bets show uncertainty for the future of some big-name players.
For example, Bridgewater is set to be one of the prizes of free agency, but there’s no clear favorite to lure the former backup in. For now, the Saints own the best odds at +180, followed by the Dolphins (+220) and Bears (+380).
The same can be said for Dalton, for which four teams have odds between +350 and +450. While the Dolphins are currently the slight favorite, the Colts (+400), Bears (+430), and Patriots (+450) trail closely behind.