Could COVID-19 Affect The Super Bowl Date? Odds Signal No

• The NFL postseason is listed at +450 odds of being played in a bubble format.
• Super Bowl LV is scheduled to take place Sunday, February 7, 2021, in Tampa, Florida.
• The NFL season has -10000 odds of not being abandoned.

TAMPA – The NFL regular season has already undergone many postponements and alterations due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The NFL’s biggest event Super Bowl LV is less than two months away and it remains to be seen if the coronavirus will cause the NFL to shift course en route to the championship game being played.

Super Bowl 55 will take place on February 7, 2021, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. Making this the fifth time the NFL has chosen Tampa as its Super Bowl host city. The relaxed laws regarding the coronavirus pandemic in Sunshine State will allow the NFL quite a bit of leeway in the number of people and type of events they can host.

Knowing that COVID-19 cases are rising throughout the United States the NFL will still likely have a reduced number of fans in attendance.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been playing in front of a reduced number of fans for a majority of their home games at Raymond James Stadium and the Super Bowl is likely to follow suit.

Bovada has listed a trio of NFL betting props that all could impact when Super Bowl LV will be played. Another COVID-19 case outbreak and the NFL could have to implement a Week 18 to the regular season schedule while the date of the Super Bowl being pushed back due to the coronavirus cannot be ruled out.

Winner: Yes (+280). The NFL has had to shift the scheduling of its games already and another COVID-19 outbreak this late in the season could warrant extending the regular season one extra week to play any games that could help determine the proper playoff seeding. Roll the dice on the +280 odds that the NFL is forced to extend the regular season by adding in a Week 18 for the first time in recent memory.

Winner: No (-850). It seems unlikely that the NFL will adopt a bubble format for the postseason. Things could change as the NFL Playoffs get closer to the start date but the league hasn’t announced any plans or began a search committee to find a host city. The NFL has a lot of confidence in its contact tracing and updated COVID-19 protocols. Super Bowl bettors should take the -850 odds that the postseason will be played how it normally is.

Winner: No (-10000). The NFL season being abandoned at this point is highly unlikely the league is 14 weeks into play and it's hard to imagine the players being content with letting this season be a wash. Take the -10000 odds on the NFL to keep the season going and eventually crowning a Super Bowl champion.

The NFL has made changes to its COVID-19 protocols and contact tracing, but it cannot predict when the next outbreak will happen. With two months until Super Bowl 55, the league has ample time to schedule more games or shift the postseason schedule.