New England Disappears From Sports Books

With the NBA and NHL playoffs and baseball season in full swing the furthest thing from bettors minds at the beginning of the week was the controversy known as “Deflategate.”  However, a report released earlier this week is having a major effect on NFL future betting.

A NFL-commissioned report by Ted Wells found that Tom Brady most likely knew that the footballs in the New Engalnd Patriots AFC title game against the Indianapolis Colts were deflated. With the possibility of some serious punishment on the horizon for Brady, the sportsbooks have reacted accordingly. Not to mention that the report also said that the team in general most likely knew of the deflation. The report concludes:

Based on the evidence developed in connection with the investigation and summarized in this Report, we have concluded that it is more probable than not that New England Patriots personnel participated in violations of the NFL Playing Rules and were involved in a deliberate attempt to circumvent those rules. In particular, we conclude that it is more probable than not that Jim McNally and John Jastremski participated in a deliberate plan to circumvent the rules by releasing air from Patriots game balls after the examination of the footballs by NFL game officials at the AFC Championship Game.

The future odds over at Bovada have been seriously affected by the report. The AFC title futures, AFC East futures and Super Bowl odds have been completely taken off the board. Some books that looked to get an early start on regular season line betting also have removed the odds for the Week 1 Pittsburgh Steelers-Pats game.

No one is sure what exactly the punishment will be, if there will be any. However, it is being said that the difference between Brady playing and not playing if suspended is as much as a 7-point difference in line odds.

Now the betting world awaits a decision by Roger Goodell. When a decision is made the Pats will return to the boards with adjusted odds. Until then sportsbooks are playing it safe and keeping them off the boards all together.

Last season, the Pats defeated the Colts in the AFC Championship game where deflated balls were apparently used. They went on to defeat the Seattle Seahawks to become Super Bowl champs.