
USA Today via Reuters
Aug 11, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay watches game action against the Dallas Cowboys during the first half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

USA Today via Reuters
Aug 11, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay watches game action against the Dallas Cowboys during the first half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
The Los Angeles Rams were a couple plays away from making it to the Super Bowl last season. They lost a close one to their NFC West rivals, the Seattle Seahawks, in the NFC Championship game, and they are hellbent on not letting that happen again in 2026.
The Rams identified the cornerback position their biggest weakness this offseason, so what did they do? They traded a first round pick for All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie before signing his teammate, Jaylen Watson, the best cornerback available in free agency, later in the offseason.
But the Rams weren’t done there. They felt confident in their offense, which finished the 2025 season averaging exactly 30 points per game, which ranked first in the NFL. So, after making two big additions to their defensive backfield, the Rams pulled off one of the biggest blockbuster trades the NFL has ever seen, sending Jared Verse, a 2027 first rounder and more draft capital to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for the best defensive player in the league, Myles Garrett.
Garrett is coming off a record-setting 23-sack season in Cleveland, and now the 30 year old will take his talents to Los Angeles, and join the team that was already widely considered to be the Super Bowl favorites.
After the trade was announced, the Rams became overwhelming favorites to win it all in 2026. FanDuel currently has the Rams at +550 to win the Super Bowl, which is basically unheard of for this point in the offseason. Once you get to August or September, you can see teams in the 500-600 range, but you rarely ever see them in that range this early in the offseason.
The real indicator of just how heavy of favorites the Rams are this season is everyone else’s odds. The team with the second-best Super Bowl odds are the defending champions, the Seahawks, who currently sit at +1100 to win it all. The last time the team with the second-best Super Bowl odds were +1000 or longer was back in 2018, when the New England Patriots were the favorites at +600 and the Pittsburgh Steelers, Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Rams were all tied for second at +1000.
It’s not often that a team is as heavy a favorite as the Rams are this year, so today, we’re going back through the last 10 seasons and comparing the Rams’ odds to other preseason favorites.
Rams’ Odds Compared to Others in Recent Years

Imago
Jan 25, 2026; Seattle, WA, USA; Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) leaves the field after the 2026 NFC Championship Game against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images
As it currently stands, the Rams are +550 to win the Super Bowl in 2026, meaning if you bet $100 on LA to win it all, you’d win $550. And you have to remember, this is early June. By the time August or September rolls around, those odds will probably be closer to +450 or possibly even lower.
So how does this compare to other recent preseason favorites? Let’s take a look back at the last 10 years and see what everyone’s odds looked like.
| 2025 | Philadelphia Eagles | +700 |
| 2024 | Kansas City Chiefs | +500 |
| 2023 | Kansas City Chiefs | +600 |
| 2022 | Buffalo Bills | +600 |
| 2021 | Kansas City Chiefs | +450 |
| 2020 | Kansas City Chiefs | +450 |
| 2019 | New England Patriots | +400 |
| 2018 | New England Patriots | +600 |
| 2017 | New England Patriots | +275 |
| 2016 | New England Patriots | +600 |
In the last 10 years, five teams have entered the season with better Super Bowl odds than the Rams have currently. I don’t mean to beat a dead horse, but as more money comes in on the Rams and we get closer to the season, I’d be shocked if their odds don’t drop down to the +400 to +450 range. In that case, only two teams (both of which were the Tom Brady-led Patriots) would’ve entered the season with better odds than the Rams.
And you have to remember, all but one of these teams were coming off a Super Bowl and/or had Tom Brady or Patrick Mahomes under center.
The Rams also have the largest disparity between their odds and second place of any team in the past decade. The Rams (+550) and Seahawks (+1100) are the two biggest favorites, but the Rams are still 550 points ahead of the Seahawks on FanDuel.
Here’s a list of every preseason favorite, and how their odds compared to the team with the second-best odds.
| 2025 | Philadelphia Eagles | +700 | Buffalo Bills | +700 |
| 2024 | Kansas City Chiefs | +500 | San Francisco 49ers | +600 |
| 2023 | Kansas City Chiefs | +600 | Philadelphia Eagles | +750 |
| 2022 | Buffalo Bills | +600 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | +780 |
| 2021 | Kansas City Chiefs | +450 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | +700 |
| 2020 | Kansas City Chiefs | +450 | Baltimore Ravens | +500 |
| 2019 | New England Patriots | +400 | Kansas City Chiefs | +600 |
| 2018 | New England Patriots | +600 | Pittsburgh Steelers | +1000 |
| 2017 | New England Patriots | +275 | Seattle Seahawks | +800 |
| 2016 | New England Patriots | +600 | Seattle Seahawks | +800 |
If you take out the 2017 Patriots, who were +275 to win the Super Bowl (which we’ll likely never see again), the average disparity between the favorites and second favorites over the past decade is 170. That puts into perspective just how crazy it is that the Rams are 550 better than the Seahawks.
The Rams haven’t quite reached unprecedented territory yet, but they’re getting very close.
How Often Do Preseason Favorites Win it All?

Imago
Sam Mellinger: The continuing evolution of Patrick Mahomes, leader of men Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes scrambles for yardage in the first quarter against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, Oct. 11, 2020, at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. Tammy Ljungblad/The Kansas City Star/TNS Kansas City MO USA EDITORIAL USE ONLY Copyright: xx 1800453 TammyxLjungbladx krtphotoslive895140
In the last decade, only three teams that have entered the season as Super Bowl favorites have gone on to win it all.
The most recent team to accomplish the feat was the 2023 Chiefs, who entered the season with +600 odds. The Eagles (+750) and Bills (+900) weren’t far behind them, but the Chiefs were coming off their second Super Bowl of the Patrick Mahomes era, and went on to become the first repeat champions since the Patriots in 2003 and 2004.
Speaking of the Patriots, they are the only other team in the past decade to win the Super Bowl after entering the season as the favorites. And they’ve done it twice. Once in 2016 and once in 2018. Anytime you have Tom Brady under center, you’re going to be one of the biggest favorites to win it all, but those mid-to-late 2010s teams were loaded with talent.
The only thing standing between the Rams becoming the fourth team on this list is themselves. On paper, this is the best roster in the league. They deserve to be the overwhelming favorites to win it all, but we’ll have to see if they can live up to the hype.
