The Kansas City Chiefs have become one of the NFL’s elite teams in recent years—and an excellent team to bet on. Since 2018, the Chiefs have compiled a 58-18 record straight up and 41-33-2 against the spread. They have made it to the AFC Championship game the last four years and the Super Bowl twice (winning one), and there is no reason to think the coming season will be any less successful.
But that is not what makes the Chiefs a great team to bet on. Their recent track record helps, but there is more to why there is no better time than the present.
History
The Super Bowl 57 odds for the Chiefs will probably never be longer than they are right now (+1000 via DraftKings). The last time you could get the Chiefs at that price during the off season was the 2018 off season—before Patrick Mahomes had become the star he is today.
To be fair, it has not been impossible to get the Chiefs at higher than +1000 during the season. Since 2019, Kansas City’s Super Bowl odds (via SportsOddsHistory.com) have been longer than +1000 prior to just seven weeks during the regular season. There was a four-week stretch during the 2019 season (Week 8-11) and a three-week one last season (Week 8-10).
So, if you think you might do better than +1000—probably not. But that is not the only thing that makes now the time to bet on the Chiefs to win the Super Bowl. Once the 2022 NFL Draft takes place in a few weeks, their odds will get shorter.
The 2022 NFL Draft
Since taking Mahomes in the first round in 2017, Kansas City has only had one first-round pick—Clyde Edwards-Hellaire, the No. 32 pick of the 2020 NFL. But this year, the Chiefs will have a plethora of picks—12 overall, five inside the top 100 picks, and two first-round selections (No. 29 and 30).
Having two selections will allow them to add at least two playmakers to a roster that is already stacked with talent. Of course, who they take will be crucial.
Do they go for a wide receiver in the first round to help make up for the loss of Tyreek Hill? JuJu Smith-Schuster was a solid addition, but he did his best work in Pittsburgh as the No. 2 guy opposite Antonio Brown. Can he be a No. 1 guy teams will fear? Eh.
Mecole Hardman will likely get every chance to emerge and prove his worth, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling was a solid addition to the wide receiver room. But the Chiefs win by outscoring everyone. In the 2022 season, defensive coordinators will likely plan on blanketing Travis Kelce and force Kansas City to rely on one of the other guys.
With that in mind, it would not be a bad idea to add another talented player to the wide receivers room—like Arkansas’s Treylon Burks or Western Michigan’s Skyy Moore (or Chris Olave if he is still available). With another weapon added to Mahomes’ arsenal.
Other than wide receiver, the Chiefs would be wise to use either (or both) of those first-round picks for help on the defensive side of the ball, i.e., edge rusher, cornerback. While doing so may not make as much of a splash as adding a receiver, the team will be better—which means their odds will likely get shorter.
Sports Betting Coming Soon To Kansas?
At the moment, fans and sports bettors in the Sunflower State will have to travel to nearby Colorado or Iowa to place their bets via one of the legal sports betting apps in those states. But there is a chance that could change sometime in the near future.
With Missouri looking to legalize sports betting, lawmakers in Kansas have been stepping up their efforts. A bill was recently passed by the Kansas House in a narrow vote, 63-49. The legislation will now move on to the Senate, which is currently in recess, for approval. Mobile and retail sports betting would become legal under the bill. Kansas sports fans will most likely see sports betting brands like Caesars Sportsbook Kansas going live after the legislation passes.
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly is expected to sign the bill into law, should it cross her desk.
If the bill does get passed relatively soon, fans and bettors in Kansas will probably still have to wait until next season to bet on the Chiefs using their mobile devices. It often takes several months for states to pound out the rules and regulations—but the Chiefs will probably be just as good in 2023 (so, that’s okay).
