Top 5 Bet Types for Beginner NFL Bettors

NFL wagering has grown exponentially in recent years. Sports bettors can bet on virtually any kind of match result: money line (who will win the game outright), point spread (how many points a team will win or lose by), total points scored, and more.

NFL games are exciting as it is but when you bet on football, you take the game to another level of excitement. If you plan on making NFL bets, it helps to know what your betting options are. In the guide below, we will cover football betting, each bet type, and how to craft a betting strategy that will work best for you.

Why is Football Betting so Popular?

NFL games are among the most popular in all of sports. In terms of sports betting, NFL bets can take an already fantastic game and make it even better. As it turns out, football betting offers several benefits to your team winning.

Win Some Money

The simplest explanation is that NFL bets offer the chance to win a little bit of money while watching a game. Whether betting on the money line, point spread, player props, or how many points will be scored, all types of football betting present a chance to win.

Depending on the odds, a single game can lead to a substantial payout. There is nothing like watching a game knowing that if your bet wins, you will walk away with a nice little score. Betting throughout the regular season and all the way through the Super Bowl means potentially winning along with the teams playing.

Add Excitement to Any Given Game

Let’s face facts: not every game features two great teams. A favored team against a particularly large underdog can create a major mismatch. Sometimes, two teams just come out flat in the game and don’t have it. For that reason, NFL odds can spruce up any game and make it more enjoyable.

For example, perhaps there is a game late in the season between the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs where neither team needs to win the game particularly bad. When you bet on football, however, the action suddenly seems more important. Depending on the odds offered, you could stand to have a bigger win than the team that manages to win the game.

RELATED: NFL Betting Promos: Best Football Betting Bonuses and Offers for 2025

Bring Friends Together

Watching a game from the opening kickoff to the final whistle with friends is a great option. But when you implement a betting line into the equation, the final score becomes even more important. Even a simple straight bet can allow friends to come together and experience the drama at a heightened level.

Talking to friends about the point spread, a same-game parlay, team scores, futures bets, or who will win outright adds another layer to each game. How many points will the home team score? Do you have a winning bet, or will your friend earn the potential payout? Compare odds and individual bets, then see who has bragging rights when the game is over.

Top 5 Bet Types for Beginner NFL Bettors

Ready to get started on your NFL betting journey? Familiarize yourself with these different bet types, earn bonus bets from your preferred sportsbook, and get ready to start enjoying the action.

Money Line

The money line is the simplest way to wager on a game. Simply put, you are betting on which team will win the game outright. For beginners, this is the easiest type to get a grasp on. American odds (featuring a + or – symbol) are the most common you will find attached to each game.

Odds on a moneyline wager can be a bit off-putting, however. For instance, let’s say the Buffalo Bills are playing the Cleveland Browns. The money line odds might look a little something like this:

• Cleveland Browns (+280) vs. Buffalo Bills (-175)

We can spot a few pieces of information immediately. For one, the Buffalo Bills are the home team, and they are favorites. Given the odds posted here, we can glean that the Bills are sizable favorites and expected to get the home win.

Betting on the favorites is often considered the “safe” play, but any team can win on any given Sunday. In a particularly lop-sided matchup, betting on the favorite may create far too low of a reward for the risk involved. It is important to analyze matchups and have a strategy in mind, especially when it comes to the money line.

Point Spread

After the money line, the most common bet type is the point spread. Let’s go back to the aforementioned game between the Browns and Bills. Knowing the Bills are favored, a point spread may look like this:

• Cleveland Browns +9.5 (-110) vs. Buffalo Bills -9.5 (-110)

You may be asking, “why is there a half point?” This is done by sports betting sites in order to avoid a tie or “push.” By setting the half-point line, a bettor would need the Browns to win the game outright or lose by less than 10 points in order to cash the bet. On the flip side, the Bills would need to win by 10 points or more in order to cover.

Odds on the average point spread are roughly even (-110) because it truly is a 50/50 proposition. A number of factors go into creating the spread for each game. While it may be somewhat easier to accurately choose who will win, predicting whether they will cover or not is substantially more difficult.

Totals (Over/Under)

If you don’t feel comfortable picking which team will win, there is another alternative related to the outcome of the game: the over/under. Also referred to as point totals, a sportsbook will set the line for the expected number of points that the two teams will account for. Bettors can then wager whether the total will be more (over) or less (under) than the stated total.

Over/under betting is a fantastic way to give yourself a rooting interest in a particular game even if neither team really matters much. In some of the more boring matchups, especially between plodding, struggling teams, a little excitement can be injected by betting on the over/under.

The one caveat to betting totals is that it really is as close to a 50-50 result as can be. For instance, during the 2020 NFL season, overs managed to hit 49.8% of the time. Betting on totals is akin to flipping a coin, but there is something freeing about betting on more points or a tight defensive battle.

RELATED: NFL Over/Under Wins: Best Team Totals to Bet Now (2025)

Props (Team Props, Player Props)

Another fun way to enjoy the average NFL game is by engaging in player props. Team outcomes can be boring to some NFL bettors, so what way to enjoy the action than by wagering on specific player outcomes instead?

With team props, you can wager on very specific outcomes. How many total points will a team score? Can they get a first down on this next drive or will they punt the ball away. The same goes with player props. Wager on things like quarterback passing yards, first touchdown scorer, and so much more.

RELATED: NFL Prop Bets: Player Milestones and Records to Watch (2025-26)

Futures Bets

Do you feel like you know the NFL well enough that you have a bit of a Nostradamus complex? Put your skills to the test by making NFL futures bets. Most major sportsbooks offer odds on things like individual player milestones, team win totals, individual awards, and even who will win the Super Bowl.

Compared to other bet types, futures bets require a bit more patience. After all, you’ll have to wait until at least the end of the regular season for some of these to settle. Still, there is no better feeling than accurately picking a futures bet that comes true.

RELATED: Best NFL Futures Bets to Make for 2025-26

Other Bets

There is one other type of betting that should be mentioned: live betting. Not sure how the game will go? Wait until the game starts before betting on who will win the game outright. A spread wager can make more sense after seeing how the two teams are playing going into half time.

Live betting offers the chance at more favorable odds, to analyze the current score, and create a better match result. For instance, in a game between the Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills, things may be tight in the first half. Going into the second half, player prop bets, moneyline bets, and even a spread wager can suddenly make more sense. Think of it as picking your spot. Halftime wagers can wind up being the best decision and give you better odds to create a win.

Take Your Football Betting to a New Level

Ready to take your betting experience all the way to the Super Bowl? Peruse the odds, bet on the money line, predict the correct score, make player wagers and prop bets, and determine whether the teams combine for more or less points than listed.

RELATED: NFL Parlay Betting Strategies for the 2025-26 Season

Depending on your bet type and the odds, you can take advantage and feel like a winning coach. If you score bonus bets from your chosen sportsbook, the odds only improve. Player scores, prop bets, team win totals, the combined score, and so much more will allow you to elevate the average NFL viewing experience.