NFL Public Betting & Money Percentages
| Scheduled | Open | Best Odds | % of Bets | % of Money | Diff | Bets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
12:00 AM  Panthers CAR 101  Cardinals ARI 102 | -1.5 +1.5 | -1.5-104 +1.5-110 |
NFL Public Betting – Percentages, Trends & How to Use Them
The NFL is the most-wagered-on sport in the United States, with billions bet each season. Since online sports betting became legal in dozens of states, Sunday afternoons have turned into a high-stakes contest between casual bettors and sharp professionals.
One of the most powerful tools for understanding the betting market is NFL public betting data — showing where the majority of bets and money are going. Learning how to read this information can help you spot potential value, avoid traps, and even identify “sharp” sides before kickoff.
In this guide, we’ll break down:
- What NFL public betting means
- How to read % of bets vs % of money
- Weekly public betting percentages
- Trends from past NFL seasons
What is NFL Public Betting?
NFL public betting shows the percentage of bets placed on each side of a wager, usually tracked across major sportsbooks.
Key metrics to know:
- Percentage (%) of Bets – The share of total tickets placed on a particular side. Example: If we track 20,000 bets on the Steelers-Bills game and 13,000 are on the Buffalo Bills, that’s 65% of bets on Buffalo.
- Percentage (%) of Money – The share of total dollars wagered on a particular side. Example: If the total handle (amount wagered) is $6 million and $5 million is on the Steelers, that’s 83% of the money on the Pittsburgh Steelers.
How to Read NFL Public Betting Data
When comparing % of bets and % of money, look for discrepancies. Looking at the difference between the percentage of bets and the percentage of money can help The Action Network users find the NFL sides that have "sharp money" — in other words, those wagered on by pros. We also have expert NFL picks coverage.
This is important information because not every bet is the same. Some bettors will place a wager of $5 while others might bet $5,000. The sharp and professional bettors are the ones who tend to bet more, but those bets still count as just a single bet.
- High % bets + Low % money: Public is on one side, but big bettors aren’t.
- Low % bets + High % money: Smaller number of wagers, but larger dollar amounts — possible sharp action.
- Big differences (>15%): Worth investigating for potential value.
Example: If the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have 69% of spread bets but 92% of the money, that’s a +23% difference, suggesting professional bettors are leaning Tampa Bay. Of course, it's also important to look at the total number of bets placed on the market, which we also display on this page for The Action Network users. If there are just a few hundred bets, the resulting bet and money percentages might be skewed by the small sample size. In contrast, if that game has thousands and thousands of bets, you can trust that data more.
NFL Public Betting Trends
Historical patterns show the public often gravitates toward:
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Favorites (especially in prime-time games)
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Overs (rooting for points is more fun)
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Popular teams (Dallas Cowboys, Kansas City Chiefs, Green Bay Packers)
However, “fading the public” — betting against the majority — has historically produced value in certain situations, especially when 70%+ of bets are on one side.
When it comes to NFL betting, we have plenty of resources available to you: NFL Odds & Betting Lines, NFL Betting Futures Odds, Expert NFL Picks, and NFL Teams Against the Spread Standings. If you're more into NFL Props, we also have NFL Props Projections and NFL Touchdown Props!
You can learn more about the Best NFL Betting Apps and Best NFL Betting Promos by checking out our reviews!
And if you need help with odds conversions, check out our betting odds converter tool.
How the Public Bet the 2025-26 NFL Season
Before diving into the 2026-27 season, it's worth reviewing how the public fared last year — the same betting patterns tend to repeat, and knowing where the crowd went wrong is one of the best ways to find value this fall.
The 2025-26 season was a rough one for chalk bettors. Favorites won 65.9% of their games outright but covered the spread just 47.8% of the time — a sharp drop from 2024, when favorites went a historic 71.7% straight up and 53.3% against the spread.
Even so, betting volume kept climbing, with DraftKings calling its NFL handle "off-the-charts great" and same-game parlays continuing to surge.
Key Public Betting Trends From Last Season
- The public backed the usual suspects. The Lions, Bills, Eagles, Chiefs and Cowboys drew the most betting action all season — big brands and preseason contenders, not the teams actually cashing tickets.
- Volume, not record, drove public losses. Detroit finished a middling 8-9 ATS, but the sheer number of bettors backing the Lions week after week made them a loss leader.
- The best values were the least-bet teams. The Patriots and Seahawks — both +6000 preseason longshots — finished as the two most profitable teams for bettors, each going 12-5 ATS.
Most-Bet Games of the Season
Standalone prime-time games dominated the handle charts, with early-season matchups attracting the most money. The biggest betting event, as always, was the Super Bowl: the public backed Seattle early and often, pushing the spread from -4.5 to as high as -5.5, and bet slips piled up on the Seahawks to cover. Seattle's 29-13 win cashed those spread tickets, but the public's beloved over went down in flames — the 42 combined points fell well short of the total, a reminder that the crowd's over bias cuts both ways.
Biggest Fades That Paid
Contrarian bettors had plenty to celebrate in 2025-26:
- Fading the Chiefs: Kansas City lost nine games outright as a favorite and failed to cover in 10 — both league worsts.
- Fading heavy favorites generally: with favorites covering under 48% of the time, taking the points was the winning side of the ledger.
- Backing live underdogs: the Panthers won eight games outright as an underdog, tied for the most in a season in the Super Bowl era.
What It Means for 2026-27
The lesson heading into this season: the public will pile onto the same big-name favorites and overs it always does, and sportsbooks will shade lines accordingly. Watch for early public money inflating spreads on last year's darlings — the Seahawks and Patriots will carry Super Bowl hype into 2026-27, putting them at risk of becoming this year's overbet teams. Our live betting splits above update throughout the week once the season kicks off, so you can track exactly where the crowd is leaning in real time.
