The NFL Draft is always a fun and unique betting event, but it often gets lost in the shuffle with baseball starting, and basketball and hockey entering their respective postseasons.
Not this year.
The NFL Draft takes center stage on Thursday, and American sportsbooks have taken advantage by posting an array of props.
Will Tua Tagovailoa be picked before or after pick No. 6? Will there be a running back drafted in the first round? Will Jerry Jeudy go before Henry Ruggs?
Those types of bets and plenty more will be available on Thursday night.
Here's how and where to bet them.
How to Bet on the NFL Draft
States with full-scale online betting have an advantage over states that require in-person betting and registration, since casinos across the country are closed.
Those states include New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana and West Virginia. See where your state stands with legal betting.
Here are some of the books where you can bet the NFL Draft.
- PointsBet: NJ and IN only
- FanDuel: NJ, PA, IN and WV only
- DraftKings: NJ, PA, IN and WV only
- BetMGM: NJ, IN and WV only
- SugarHouse: NJ and IN only
- bet365: NJ only
What Props Should I Bet?
We've been writing about NFL Draft props for the last few months, and Matthew Freedman covered more than 100 props for just the first round here.
Keep in mind that these lines move fast based on new information, especially as news gets leaked closer to the draft, so we wouldn't recommend betting many of these props at significantly worse prices.
Draft Prop Bonuses
Want free money betting on the draft? Here's how to get it.
From FanDuel: We've teamed up with FanDuel to offer an exclusive promotion — 2-1 odds that Joe Burrow goes No. 1 overall.
Burrow is actually listed at -100,000, meaning you'd have to risk $100,000 to win $100.
Those odds imply that there's a 99.9% chance Burrow goes No. 1 overall, and you're getting 2-1 odds on it.
The max bet is $25, so if it wins, you'll net $50 in profit. If you’re in New Jersey, Indiana or West Virginia and haven’t yet signed up for FanDuel yet, passing on this promo is like seeing $50 on the street and walking by.
From DraftKings: DraftKings is offering new and existing users a 20% bonus on two draft props of their choice.
Say you bet $25 on CeeDee Lamb +200 to be selected in the top 10. Normally, you'd profit $50 if the bet wins, but using this bonus, you'll win $60.
From PointsBet: Most of the betting market has Tua Tagovailoa as a -150 favorite to be the second quarterback selected, but PointsBet has boosted his odds to +125 as of Thursday morning. And here's the best part: PointsBet is moving the line in your favor for every 100 bets it takes on the prop.
This is available to both new and existing bettors.
Best Prices on NFL Draft Props
DraftKings is offering the most favorable prices on player draft position props, and many other draft markets.
Most of DK's odds have 20-cent lines, meaning the juice you're paying is roughly equivalent to what you'd pay to bet a regular NFL point spread.
For example, Jacob Eason's draft position prop of 49.5 has -110 on both the over and the under.
Many other sportsbooks are offering 25-cent lines or worse on player position props. Eason's over/under at FanDuel is 47.5, but the over is at -138 and the under at +108.
You're paying 1.2% more per dollar bet at FanDuel, which doesn't seem like much, but will add up in the long run.
How do you figure out if you're getting the best price? Add each price to our odds converter, add up the implied probabilities of all the outcomes, then subtract from 100. The higher number remaining, the worse price you're getting.
Most Variety
Our Matthew Freedman, who has been betting props non-stop since before the NFL season ended, says DraftKings, FanDuel and PointsBet have the most prop offerings.
DraftKings and FanDuel are available in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana and West Virginia. PointsBet is available in NJ and Indiana.
