The NFL opener regularly turns into one of the most heavily bet regular-season games of the entire year, and Thursday's matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles is no exception.
By the time the last bet is placed on Thursday's opener, gambling experts estimate that hundreds of millions of dollars will be on the line across the nation just with U.S. sportsbooks, not including how much is in play at daily fantasy sites, prediction markets, offshore sportsbooks and with local bookmakers.
"The excitement of football returning really reignites bettors," said Joey Feazel, who oversees football odds for Caesars Sportsbook, adding that the company nearly tripled the betting options for football in preparation for the NFL season. "Eagles-Cowboys is lining up to be the biggest bet game of the opening week thus far, and we would expect it to lead us in handle as we go through the season."
In 2024, only the Super Bowl and two conference championship games attracted more money from bettors at DraftKings than last season's opener between the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs. ESPN BET said more bets were placed on the Ravens-Chiefs opener than any other game during the regular season, and Caesars Sportsbook said that the first two isolated games of Week 1 -- Ravens-Chiefs and Packers-Eagles -- both ended up in the top 10 of the most heavily bet games for the entire regular season.
Season openers in other major U.S. sports, such as the NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball, don't receive the same spike in interest as the first game of the NFL season, bookmakers say, partly due to the sports calendar.
Betting volume dips significantly during the summer, before taking off in September. Colorado sportsbooks reported taking $173.1 million in bets on pro football last September. That's nearly as much as was bet on baseball in August and July combined, according to the Colorado Department of Revenue. The NBA and NHL seasons begin in mid-to-late October, when football season is reaching its midway point.
"You get the countdown to the NFL -- '181 days to football' -- all offseason,'" Johnny Avello, sportsbook director at DraftKings and a 40-year Las Vegas bookmaker said. "When football gets here, [bettors] do have money set aside."
Ed Salmons, a veteran Las Vegas oddsmaker with the Westgate SuperBook, recalled the spike in betting interest that occurred when sports returned from being halted by the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
"When COVID happened and the world stopped and baseball started back up, I remember the first week of baseball, our handle was ... I'd never seen anything like it," Salmons said. "They just wanted to bet."
Similar pent-up demand for football typically lasts for the first two months of the season, bookmakers say, before leveling off after Thanksgiving. The early success rate of bettors also plays into it.
"When you look at your handle [the amount bet], not counting playoff games, usually Weeks 1 and 2 are the highest bet weeks of the season," Salmons said. "Obviously, if the public does good the first two weeks, it will carry over to Weeks 3 and 4."
But, for bettors, the first game of the NFL season typically tops them all.
"Let's just say, they have more money to start the year, in the beginning," Salmons said.
The Eagles are growing favorites over the visiting Cowboys in Thursday's season opener, which, as of Wednesday, was the most bet game of Week 1 by a "considerable margin" at ESPN BET.