Russell Wilson is now betting favorite for NFL MVP

Posted by Josh Alper on September 24, 2020, 6:59 AM EDT
Getty Images

Russell Wilson is cooking on the football field and in the sportsbooks.

The Seahawks quarterback has never received an MVP vote during his NFL career, but the first two weeks of the season have many thinking that is going to change this season. Wilson has starred during the Seahawks’ 2-0 start and is now the favorite in future betting for the award at a number of sportsbooks, including William Hill.

William Hill has Wilson at +320 to win the award while preseason favorites Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson are at +450 and +500, respectively. Aaron Rodgers and Kyler Murray round out the top five choices at this point in the season.

Wilson’s MVP bid is getting support from bettors. ESPN notes that 21 percent of the sportsbook’s bettors have placed their money on Wilson since the season began, which is the most of any player in the league. Wilson will have a chance to keep it going against the Cowboys this weekend.

Permalink 35 Comments Feed for comments Back to top

35 responses to “Russell Wilson is now betting favorite for NFL MVP”

  3. Can’t argue against Wilson, and don’t discount Mahomes and Rodgers either. However, if Lamar stays healthy, Lamar runs away with it yet again and likely unanimously, yet again. As good as he was last year, he looks even better this year.

  4. I think the new normal is all about over-reaction. We see it everywhere even in the world of sports betting. At least sports and betting on sports is a distraction and relief from the over-reactions in real life. Russell Wilson is a great player and great representative for sports in general. After two weeks of play he is certainly the MVP and after two weeks of play we know we have the uncertainty of the next 14 games to be played.

  7. PFF has Rodgers as the NFL’s top rated player through the first two weeks, which is weird considering Wilson has better numbers.

  9. miemsaha says:
    September 24, 2020 at 7:45 am
    After two weeks? I wouldn’t make that bet.
    —–
    Vegas has multiple bets before the season even starts so this isn’t unusual. What’s going to change as the year goes on are the odds and the payout so if you truly believe Wilson will win MVP it’s better to place that bet now because the returns are lower the longer you wait and if his level of play continues.

  11. Viking fans have assured us that the great Kirk Cousins is better than Rodgers. So what are his odds?

  12. The NFL media is really pushing the betting aspect of the game now that is legal because they’re going to be losing so much money on the other side of things due to COVID-19. Everyone is going to be seeing these types of articles all season long about betting lines. It’s not just to promote Wilson as MVP, but to entice fans to spend more money on this sport. This is the same thing with the new analytics. Ever since Redzone and Gamepass came out where you don’t have to sit and watch a game in it’s full length anymore, the NFL has seen drops in people watching other games (not just their home town team) so they’re trying to get people to nerd out with all these off the wall statistics and game film highlights to support the analytics. It’s all advertising folks. Love it or hate it.

  14. First of all, it’s not going to happen, because he’s Russell Wilson and people spend more time making excuses for why he shouldn’t be MVP than they do acknowledge the obvious reasons for why he clearly is the most valuable player in football, and has been for the last 5 years.

    The fact is, he’s not the prototype. And the NFL is all about prototypes. Fans love prototypes. We favor the biggest, fastest, sexiest players, and overlook the most consistent and productive players who don’t meet our “prototype” bar.

    So yes, it would be nice for Russell to win it. But it’s not going to happen.

  15. And let the hating begin… LOL! Derek Carr is looking like he might be the sleeper and BP if the Raiders make it to the playoffs and get four. At this point they look like they’re going to the playoffs we’ll see what they do the season is still early but he’s got like a hundred and twenty quarterback rating so far and the Raiders have scored 64 points on offense. It’s one of the reasons why the NFL has the highest scoring season so far.

  16. bannedtwice says:
    September 24, 2020 at 9:23 am
    Kyler Murray…. the one with 2 tds and 2int… you’re serious?

    Five TDs, Heisman winner, 2019 ROY, 150+ rushing yards in two games, drafted top ten in MLB draft and first in NFL draft Kyler Murray. That one.

  19. Russel Wilson was the favorite last year at this time too. Then Lamar Jackson raised his game. Basically Wilson sets the baseline that others then can beat.

  20. Two weeks in and people are making bets?!? I imagine these are the same people at the 7-11 slowing the lines to get a tone of lottery. I would be fine with the betting on sport, it I haven’t already had to sit through soo many bad commercials and pop-in ads: “hey this is so and so from Draft Junkies!” Win a million even if you bet on the Falcons!

  21. It’s kind of early to be making these sorts of projections. Like betting on who will win the Superbowl — really! Fools and their money are soon parted.

  22. I’m sure the Odds have changed. Before the season Josh Allen was 5000-1 MVP shot.
    A $ 10 bet would bring you $ 50,000.00 a
    $ 100 bet would get you $ 500,000
    Worth taking a flyer for $ 10 or $20

  27. I know people are thinking Mahomes but can anyone remember the MVQB for that season to win the SB ? … Wilson would rather have the championship …

  28. You are not betting on Wilson, but on the health of the offensive line.
    It’s not “run first” or “pass first,” but BLOCK FIRST.

  29. Calling Wilson the MVP after two games is like calling a horserace before the horses even get to the first turn.

    Yes, Wilson has looked great…through 2 games. But try waiting for at least 8 or 10 games before trying to name the MVP.

  30. This not Vegas already declaring him MVP after 2 games people.
    This is merely Vegas setting the betting odds….reading with comprehension is a good thing.

  31. Wilson will have plenty of eye catching shootouts this season to have the chance to earn MVP but his performances lead to people overrating his team. In terms of talent the Seahawks have less than every other team in their division but have the highest expectations. This will come back to bite him and his MVP candidacy when he has “upset” losses throughout the season – they nearly lost to the patriots and could easily lose to the cowboys with that non existent pass rush, as well as 4 tough games against kyler murray and jared goff who will have all day to throw in the pocket.

  33. Why don’t they change it to MVQ, since only quarterbacks seem to be considered anymore.

    —

    Great post. I was going to make the same point but you beat me to it. QB’s live a charmed life these days.

    1)You can’t hit them.
    2)The rules on defense have been watered down to favor the offense (especially the passing game).
    3)QB is the highest paid position in the NFL. Somehow they’ve managed to convince NFL owners that spending 18-20% of the team salary on one player on a 53 man roster year end and year out in a capped league is a good thing.
    4)No other position is even considered for MVP unless it’s a RB who has a record shattering season (ex: LT’s 2006 season, AP’s 2012).

    I think changing the name of the reward to Most Valuable QB is a fine idea.

  35. It’s a little early isn’t it? Doesn’t one have to actually have to play the season to earn it???

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to leave a comment. Not a member? Register now!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.