Christian McCaffrey’s return to the Bay Area created an immediate seismic shift in NFL futures odds.
The San Francisco 49ers enter Week 7 in a three-way tied atop the scuffling NFC West and are only a half-game ahead of the cellar-dwelling Arizona Cardinals. However, they would also be the No. 4 seed in the NFC if the playoffs started today.
That’s why general manager John Lynch pushed all of his chips to the center of the table, sending three draft picks next year and one in 2024 to Carolina to acquire McCaffrey. The former Heisman Trophy candidate will now play his home games 20 minutes down the road from where he starred at Stanford.
With McCaffrey taking over the lead role in the injury-plagued backfield, the 49ers went from +100 at BetMGM to win the division to -120. Their odds of winning the NFC Championship shifted from +800 to +650, while their odds of winning the Super Bowl shortened from +1800 to +1400.
The sportsbook reported Friday that 63 percent of the bets made since the trade were on the 49ers to win the Super Bowl, 94 percent were on them to win the NFC and 83 percent were on them to win the division.
The impact was similar at SportsBetting.ag, where San Francisco’s title odds were trimmed from +1600 to +1000. The 49ers now have the fourth-shortest Super Bowl odds at the sportsbook.
“We were already pretty exposed in terms of futures liability with the Niners,” said Robert Cooper, the head trader at SportsBetting.ag. “It seems like McCaffrey will be a good fit for that (Kyle) Shanahan system, and the bets are coming in heavy across the board despite San Fran looking like a very average team so far this season.”
I’m forever grateful for all of the people who have helped make these past 5 1/2 years so special for me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Carolina, I will always love you??#KeepPounding pic.twitter.com/0rBS8Ajhgy
— Christian McCaffrey (@CMC_22) October 21, 2022
The Panthers’ future odds predictably went in the other direction with McCaffrey following coach Matt Rhule (fired) and wide receiver Robbie Anderson (traded to Arizona) out the door.
Carolina was already tied for the longest odds to win the NFC (+30000) and Super Bowl (+75000) at BetMGM, but the Panthers did shift from +4000 to +5000 to win the NFC South.
That’s despite general manager Scott Fitterer insisting the team is tanking this season to focus on next year’s NFL draft.
“No,” Fitterer said. “I think what we had to figure in was what’s best for the organization. Our focus is still on going out and competing every weekend. We expect to win. That was (coach Steve Wilks’) mindset this weekend.
“The NFL is a business where you lose guys – whether it’s injuries, trades, whatever happens. The expectation of winning never changes. Those guys in the locker room fight too hard. They work too hard every day. So, we owe it to them. That’s our expectation as an organization is to go out and win every game.”
–Field Level Media