American football is the number one sport in the US, and it’s also becoming increasingly popular across the globe, with regular season games taking place in London’s Wembley Stadium and at Tottenham Hotspur every year, and the push for a London-based NFL franchise gaining momentum. Whichever side of the pond you’re on, you’ll find that the top sports betting sites now offer a range of exciting markets for American football – plenty of opportunities to land a touchdown at the bookies.
Wondering where to place your bets? Look no further- we’ve helped you out by rounding up the very best American football betting sites in our carefully selected list. From the top bonuses to live, in-play football betting, you’ll find it all at our recommended bookies. Let’s take a look at a few factors to help you get started betting on American football.
American Football Betting Basics
The National Football League (NFL) is the professional league for American football in the US. There’s also college football, the top level being the NCAA, which is a big deal in America — you can bet on it at our recommended best betting sites.
The vast majority of NFL games take place across the States, though London also hosts a few games each year. The NFL regular season is shorter than most UK sports, such as football or rugby, spanning just 18 weeks from September to December. Don’t worry, though, they pack a massive 272 games into this period, so there are plenty of betting opportunities!
NFL League Structure
The league is made up of 32 teams split into two 16-team conferences: the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC). The two conferences are both made up of four divisions — East, West, North and South — each with four teams. Every team plays 17 games in total, 12 against teams from its own conference and five matches against franchises from the other conference.
Once the regular season finishes, the NFL playoffs take place. This is a single elimination tournament played out between seven teams from each conference: the four division winners and three wild-card teams, which are the three remaining teams with the best record. There are three rounds to the playoffs, and the final round determines the champions of the NFC and AFC.
The season ends with the Super Bowl, which is contested between the NFC and AFC conference winners to determine the NFL league champion. The Super Bowl is the showpiece event of American football, so it’s a big date on the NFL betting calendar for bettors around the world.
The Kansas City Chiefs are the reigning Super Bowl champions after knocking off the Philadelphia Eagles, 38-35, in February. Star quarterback Patrick Mahomes proved that Kansas City’s offence could be just as lethal without receiver Tyreek Hill, as he claimed league MVP and won a second championship. However, the Green Bay Packers lead the pack for NFL championship wins by NFC teams, topping the table with an impressive 13 wins, including four Super Bowl victories and nine NFL titles. Combined, NFC teams have racked up 29 Super Bowl wins.
The current AFC champions, the Kansas City Chiefs, won the NFL’s grand prize in 2023, following up on their 2020 win by defeating the Philadelphia Eagles. Sitting on six wins each, it’s the New England Patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers who top the leadership board. Together, AFC teams have 28 Super Bowl wins.