Futures Bet

A futures bet is simply a wager on an outcome that won’t be settled until some later date, often several weeks or even months away. The classic examples are picking a team to win a championship, betting on a player to take home a season-long award like MVP, or backing a team to hit a certain win total by the end of the year. You’ll find futures markets in nearly every major sport, from the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL to soccer leagues and the big golf and tennis tournaments.

Because you’re locking in your pick so far ahead of the result, the odds are usually more generous than what you’d see right before the deciding event. That’s the upside: futures bets can pay out handsomely compared to your stake. The catch is that your money stays tied up for a long stretch, and there’s a lot more uncertainty to navigate than with a one-off game bet.

Example

Before the NFL season kicks off, you place a $25 futures bet on the Cincinnati Bengals to win the Super Bowl at odds of +3000. That means for every $1 you wager, you’d pocket $30 in profit if the Bengals go all the way.

• Stake: $25
• Odds: +3000
• Potential profit: $750
• Total payout: $775 (profit plus your original stake)

If the Bengals win it all, you collect $775. If they get knocked out at any point in the season or playoffs, your $25 stake is gone. The bet stays open right up until the Super Bowl is played, so your funds are committed for the whole season.

Key Points

• Long time horizon: A futures bet only settles once the event finally wraps up, which might be months after you placed it. Your stake is locked in for that entire stretch.
• Higher odds and bigger potential payouts: Thanks to all that extra uncertainty, futures bets often carry much longer odds than game-day wagers, which makes them appealing if you’re chasing a large return from a small stake.
• Odds shift over time: Futures prices get adjusted all season long based on how teams perform, plus injuries, trades, and other news. Betting early can let you grab better odds before a team’s outlook brightens.
• Available across many markets: Beyond championship winners, you’ll find futures on division titles, conference champions, regular-season win totals, individual honors (MVP, Rookie of the Year), and plenty more.
• Cash-out options may be available: Some sportsbooks let you cash out a futures bet before it’s decided, so you can bank a partial profit or trim your losses if things have changed since you placed it.