Advertisement

What happens with no live sports due to coronavirus? 'Unprecedented' betting on the NFL draft

You might have laughed at your buddy who was sweating a bet on how many quarterbacks would be taken in the first round of last year’s NFL draft.

This April? NFL draft betting is the only game in town, unless you’re really into the Belarus Premier League.

Without much other action to offer, BetMGM pumped up its NFL draft props. There are more than 160 NFL draft prop bets at BetMGM, from which team will draft Tua Tagovailoa to whether the Dallas Cowboys’ first pick will be an offensive or defensive player (offense is +200, defense is -250).

A couple months ago, even with the NFL draft scheduled to take place in Las Vegas, MGM wasn’t entirely sure if it would post draft props at all. Now, it’s doing brisk business on them.

A lot of betting action on NFL draft

Clearly, it’s a unique time for sportsbooks. The entire NFL draft will be unlike any other we’ve ever seen before, due to coronavirus restrictions.

It’s not really a surprise that with practically nothing on the sports calendar to bet on, NFL draft props have been more popular than ever before.

“Activity on the 2020 NFL draft has been unprecedented and our customers’ desire to wager on NFL is once again evident,” Roar digital VP of trading Jason Scott said in a statement.

BetMGM got way more creative than years past and expanded the offerings. Offering prop bets on the NFL draft is relatively new. The Nevada Gaming Control Board approved that in 2017. With baseball, hockey and basketball going on, there were plenty of options that weren’t related to how many SEC players would be drafted in the first round.

This year, the game has changed. There are plenty of props on selected players’ draft positions, team-specific props and even how many trades will happen in the first round. And there has been interest. For example, MGM took enough action on Oregon’s Justin Herbert being the second quarterback drafted that the odds took a dramatic turn you don’t often see with any prop bet.

Perhaps betting on the NFL draft will become an annual tradition for fans.

Nick Bosa was the second pick of last year's NFL draft. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
Nick Bosa was the second pick of last year's NFL draft. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Tua Tagovailoa is a focal point of draft bets

There’s no doubt about the most intriguing figure in the draft.

Tagovailoa’s high profile at Alabama, then his horrible hip injury that ended his college career make him the headliner of the draft. Depending on how certain teams feel about him, it seems he could go as high as third overall or slip into the middle of the first round. Given the restrictions on medical exams during the coronavirus, there’s more mystery than usual about what teams think about Tagovailoa.

That makes the betting market on Tagovailoa the most active among the draft props.

“While the first two picks seem to be locked in with Joe Burrow and Chase Young, the player garnering the most interest right now is Tua,” Scott said. “The markets around him have seen the most total bets and largest volume, and he seems to be the key discussion point of this draft.”

There has been a late push on Tagovailoa as the second quarterback drafted. Tagovailoa went from -500 to even with Herbert, then spiked back up to -150 due to some late action. Bettors can also bet on Tagovailoa’s draft position (over 5.5 is +135, under 5.5 is -167) or which team picks him (the Miami Dolphins are the favorite at -106). When Tagovailoa gets drafted, it’ll be a big moment for sportsbooks and bettors, too.

There’s always interest in the NFL draft. Given how many fans are discovering betting on NFL draft props, there will be more drama than usual.

More from Yahoo Sports: