Super Bowl 2024: Early bettors love the Chiefs, but line moves back toward 49ers
The bets that come in the first two days after the Super Bowl matchup is set is just a small fraction of what will be wagered on the game before kickoff.
But the early bettors do like the Kansas City Chiefs, who are slight underdogs to the San Francisco 49ers.
As of Tuesday morning, the Chiefs were getting the money and the bets on the Super Bowl LVIII line at BetMGM. Of all the early money bet on the Super Bowl point spread, 78% of the money and 71% of the bets were on the Chiefs, according to BetMGM. That's a pretty big gap for a game like the Super Bowl.
It's also not too surprising that Kansas City is the preferred side so far. The Chiefs have been the hotter team in the postseason, beating the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens on the road in consecutive weeks to make the Super Bowl. They won last season's Super Bowl and have Patrick Mahomes. Bettors being drawn to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl, especially as an underdog, makes sense.
The line move, based on all of that, is surprising. At BetMGM, the line opened on Sunday night at 49ers -2. Quickly, it moved to 49ers -1.5. Most NFL point spreads move based on the activity of bettors or sometimes on injuries. Many bets, or some bets from sharp players, can cause sports books to move the line.
But with more than three-quarters of the money coming in on the Chiefs, the line moved back to 49ers -2. There has been no injury news on either team to cause the move to San Francisco's side.
The Super Bowl spread can and probably will move multiple times in the two weeks leading up to the game. But those who like betting early will be rooting for the Chiefs.
