NFL Parlay Betting Strategies for the 2025-26 Season

As the 2025-26 NFL season approaches, bettors are always looking for the best odds. After all, the right wager can lead to a big payout if you know what you are looking for. More often than not, that kind of result comes not from a single wager but through some parlay bet.

For that reason, NFL parlay betting has become a massive trend. With one wager, you could win big. If you want to amplify your bet slip and turn a single bet into massive potential winnings, then you need all the help you can get. In our guide, we’ll cover NFL parlay picks, how to choose the perfect parlay, and how to combine multiple bets skillfully.

What is an NFL Parlay?

An NFL parlay is different from standard NFL betting. For most bets, individuals are betting on one of two teams. More often than not, bettors at online sportsbooks are taking a straight bet like the money line, but point spreads are popular as well. NFL parlay picks are a little different.

Rather than making individual wagers on an NFL game, a parlay bet involves multiple bets. NFL parlay picks can include several wagers inside of the same game – same-game parlays – or bets on multiple teams. So long as there is more than one wager in your bet slip, you have a parlay bet.

As opposed to a single bet, an NFL parlay has substantially higher odds. The more NFL picks you include in a parlay, the higher the odds. Though the potential win on these bets can be quite substantial, a parlay loses more often than not. To win outright, each leg (team) must win. NFL Parlay picks are much tougher to nail down compared to individual wagers.

Example of an NFL Parlay

Still not quite sure how NFL parlay betting works? Let’s look at an example. Though you could wager on a two-team parlay or even a three-team parlay to improve your odds, let’s look at a more complicated parlay option:

·         Kansas City Chiefs -7.5

·         Tampa Bay Buccaneers money line

·         Green Bay Packers money line

·         New York Giants +5.5

·         Houston Texans/Washington Commanders – Over 46.5 points

·         Las Vegas Raiders/New Orleans Saints – Under 41.5 points

This NFL parlay bet is a bit more complicated than most other bets. In a single wager, we have taken point spreads, point totals, and money line bets and combined them into one bet. For this NFL parlay to win, each game in the entire parlay has to win. If even one NFL game fails to hit, the parlay bet loses.

Depending on where you place your bets, you may be eligible for parlay insurance. If your parlay wins, you lose the insurance, but if it fails, you get some of your initial wager back. NFL picks are tough to make, especially several-game parlays. Odds on an NFL parlay bet vary based on the sportsbook and the number of teams you choose, but one of this size could result in a pretty big win.

NFL Parlay Types

Impacting your NFL parlay picks is the type of bet you choose. Odds differ for money lines, point spreads, totals, player props, and more. In the space below, we will cover each of the different NFL betting types and how they can play a role in your NFL parlay bet.

Money line

In the National Football League, and in virtually any other sport, you can choose which team will win the game outright. It is a simpler form of NFL parlay bet, but one that is still quite difficult to win.

Odds tend to be best with money line picks, especially if there is a mismatch. A game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Cleveland Browns, for example, would likely feature odds heavily in favor of the Chiefs. On the other hand, a game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Minnesota Vikings may have odds closer to even.

Point Spreads

Another type of NFL parlay bet involves just point spreads. Rather than picking who will win, you are choosing a team to cover a particular “spread” of points. Let’s take a look at an example of this kind of NFL parlay:

·         New York Jets +10.5

·         Dallas Cowboys +2.5

·         Tennessee Titans +13.5

·         Denver Broncos -2.5

·         Philadelphia Eagles -5.5

In this example of NFL betting, we have taken three underdogs and two favorites. The underdogs must either win the game outright or lose by less than the listed amounts. Likewise, the favorites must win by at least that many points to create a successful parlay wager.

Point Totals

Point totals – also known as over/unders – can also comprise NFL parlay picks. In your average NFL matchup, you will find three primary bets: the spread, the money line, and the total. Rather than choosing a team to win or cover, the bettor wagers whether the total number of points will be more (over) or less (under) than the listed total. Let’s look at an example:

·         New England Patriots vs. Indianapolis Colts – Under 44.5

·         Arizona Cardinals vs. Dallas Cowboys – Over 46.5

The picks in this type of parlay bet are pretty straightforward. We are looking for the Patriots and Colts to score 44 points or less, while in the Cardinals and Cowboys game, we need both teams to account for 47 points or more.

Mixed and Same-Game Parlays

Finally, we have the same-game parlay as well as mixed-game parlays. The latter involves multiple bet types – money line, props, point spreads, etc. – in one betting ticket. A same-game parlay, meanwhile, involves multiple picks from the same game.

Let’s go back to the aforementioned matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Cleveland Browns. A same-game parlay may look something like this:

·         Cleveland +11.5

·         Over 48.5 points

·         Patrick Mahomes over 225.5 passing yards

The beauty of a same-game parlay is that it can be anything you want it to be. Whether choosing game outcomes, player props, or a mix, you can construct any kind of parlay you want. Same-game parlays are a great way to add a bit of spice to what would otherwise be a seemingly throwaway matchup.

The Best NFL Parlay Betting Strategies

Before you begin making NFL parlay picks, you need a little help. When you have the right strategy in mind, you won’t look at parlays the same again. These three strategies should help give you a leg up and improve your odds of hitting a multi-team bet.

Keep Your Parlays Small

The best way to turn out more successful parlays is to keep them small. While it might be enticing to throw together an eight-team parlay, your average odds are going to be well north of +18000. You may hit one of those in your lifetime if you are lucky.

If you have to put together a parlay, keep them to two- and three-team parlays, at the most. They might not have the sexy lottery ticket odds of a bigger parlay, but there is a much better chance of your pick hitting. Besides, even a small parlay can see odds in the +100-+200 range, which is a pretty nice return.

Correlated Parlays

In what may be the smartest parlay option, you can work on correlated parlays. This involves making bets that are all linked to one another and depend on each leg to hit.

Let’s say that you go with a team that needs to cover a 10.5-point spread. In that scenario, you need a lot of points. For that reason, taking the over makes sense as well. Finding related bets at least reduces the variance of parlays to some degree, improving your chances of hitting.

Hedging

It is a common occurrence to see a parlay come down to a single game. Winning all of the earlier games is nice, and you can practically taste the massive payout as the last leg approaches. In this situation, it may be wise to hedge your parlay so that you can guarantee a profit.

If you have a four-team parlay bet of $100 at +1100 odds, you could have a win of $1,100 if your final pick (an underdog at +3.5) wins. You could take half that money ($550) and put it on the favorite. No matter which outcome happens, you will walk away with a profit.

Make Smarter NFL Parlay Picks

It is tough to win when making NFL parlay picks, but it is easily one of the most intriguing and fun bet types out there. With each added leg, odds increase, and the potential for a massive payout looms large.

Though it is generally harder to win parlay bets, you can at least approach your wager with a strategy in mind. Although it may not become a regular occurrence, you can ensure that you take the parlay option with a much better chance of winning. All it takes is one big win to change your NFL season.