Is It Worth Betting The Exact Super Bowl 55 Matchup?

• The Kansas City Chiefs (+325) and Baltimore Ravens (+350) lead the odds to win the AFC.
• No other AFC team is under +1000 odds to contend for the AFC Championship.
• All 17 of the top favored matchups in Super Bowl 55 consist of the Chiefs or Ravens.

KANSAS CITY – As the NFL is led by dynasties and powerhouse teams, the AFC seems all but locked up by two of them.

According to the oddsboards, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens are destined to be one of the two teams to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.

While an underdog is not to be ruled out, the abilities of the quarterbacks in question cannot be either. While Patrick Mahomes has already won an AFC Championship and a Super Bowl, Lamar Jackson has yet to win a single playoff game.

Still, that doesn’t stop the Super Bowl betting odds from representing these two teams are the strong co-favorites.

While selecting these two teams could see a return of over 3x a bettor’s risk, betting on both of them could decrease the payout slightly, but greatly increase the probability of hitting.

If a bettor put $850 on both the Chiefs and Ravens to win the AFC Championship – and one of these teams accomplished this feat – the bettor would walk away with $1912.50 (Chiefs) or $2125 (Ravens) in profit.

While this would be a return of investment of 12.5% and 25%, respectively, the question remains if this is a bettor’s best investment.

As the Chiefs and Ravens are so heavily favored, picking the exact matchup of the Super Bowl could be slightly easier than normal. Because these two teams occupy the top 17 spots on the “name the finalist” Super Bowl prop, bettors may be able to add some risk and potentially a payout as well.

These two teams give bettors 17 chances to win and if bettors were to risk $1700 ($100 on each bet), payouts would be greatly different. In this arbitrage betting example, NFL bettors could win anywhere from $600-$5000 depending on the result.

When betting on either team to play against the Saints, 49ers, and Buccaneers, bettors would be best to stick with the odds to win the AFC Championship. The near $2000 payout would be a much greater payout than the $600-$1200 that would come by selecting the exact matchup.

Added into this group is also the odds for the Chiefs and Cowboys to match up in the Super Bowl ($1700).

However, the real change starts to happen once it gets past the top three projected teams in the NFC. If a bettor truly believes in the Ravens or Chiefs, then taking them in the exact matchup would prove to be favorable.

Bettors can make anywhere from $2400-$5000 depending on the correct result.

• Kansas City Chiefs vs. Philadelphia Eagles - $2400
• Kansas City Chiefs vs. Seattle Seahawks - $2400
• Baltimore Ravens vs. Dallas Cowboys - $2400
• Kansas City Chiefs vs. Green Bay Packers - $3400
• Baltimore Ravens vs. Philadelphia Eagles - $3400
• Baltimore Ravens vs. Seattle Seahawks - $3400
• Kansas City Chiefs vs. Minnesota Vikings - $4400
• Kansas City Chiefs vs. Los Angeles Rams - $5000
• Baltimore Ravens vs. Green Bay Packers - $5000
• Baltimore Ravens vs. Minnesota Vikings - $5000

Which Is The Best Way To Bet?

With the same $1700 risk across both style of betting, the answer lies solely on a bettor’s belief on the NFC teams. For those who think the NFL will be rather chalk, taking the AFC odds is the play, while those who think an underdog will represent the NFC would be best to try their hand at a longshot bet.

Keep in mind that the seven “less-profitable” bets against the top NFC teams could be removed entirely due to having a better option available at the NFL sportsbook. With this, bettors could extend their exact Super Bowl matchup list of bets by another seven to possibly include AFC teams like the Buffalo Bills… or to further increase the options of NFC challengers against the Chiefs or Ravens.

These bets will be locked up for another six months and while this can deter bettors, the simple mindset behind increasing their bankroll should suffice. With the ability to get a return of up to 300% with these bets even after paying out the losing ones, it seems too good to pass up.