Patriots’ Super Bowl Odds Remain at +350 After Releasing Antonio Brown

• The New England Patriots have released wide receiver Antonio Brown just 11 days after signing him
• New England’s odds of winning Super Bowl 54 remain unchanged at +350
• The Patriots were due to pay Brown the first installment of his $9 million signing bonus on Monday

Anyone who suggested that Antonio Brown would have no impact on the odds of the New England Patriots winning Super Bowl 54 has been proven correct.

The Patriots released the troubled yet talented wide receiver on Friday and it didn’t cause a dent in the chances of New England winning the big game.

Before Brown’s release, the Patriots were +350 in the Super Bowl odds.

Super Bowl 54 Odds

Odds taken on 09/20/19. 

After his release was announced Friday afternoon, the Patriots remained unchanged at odds of +350.

Patriots Games

Let’s be honest here – the Patriots really didn’t need Brown. They signed the NFL’s problem child because they could afford to take the risk.

Just got fired on Friday 🤔🤷🏾‍♂️🤦🏿‍♂️

— AB (@AB84) September 20, 2019

It’s how they’ve always operated under head coach Bill Belichick. And it’s because of Belichick’s iron-fist rule that they can take such chances.

Teams often speak of the importance of a winning culture. No squad in pro sports owns a more locked-in culture of success than the NFL team in New England.

A timeline of Antonio Brown’s last few months. pic.twitter.com/vW6rozSdjn

— ESPN (@espn) September 20, 2019

It’s why they weren’t afraid to take a chance and find out what Brown could do for them, when every other NFL team was ducking for cover.

New England Can Take Chances

Sometimes in the past when they’ve gone all in on malcontents, it’s come up aces. But even when it does, the moment the player became difficult, he was shown the door by the Pats.

From our breaking news coverage: Antonio Brown was cut by the #Patriots. What it means… pic.twitter.com/1cUSbgdr5k

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 20, 2019

New England loved Randy Moss when he was scoring 23 touchdowns for them in 2007. But when he became a disruptive presence in 2010, he was quickly dispatched elsewhere. That messy divorce with Moss impacted the Patriots so much that they only finished 14-2.

Maybe the people around Antonio Brown should not be spending all their time trying to find him another team and perhaps should try to get him to stop the behavior that led to his release. Stop ignoring the behavior. Fix it first.

— Judy Battista (@judybattista) September 20, 2019

The following season, they added two more troubled souls in Washington Redskins defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth and Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson (a.k.a. Ochocinco). Neither came close to panning out, and New England slumped to 13-3.

Brown Out?

The move won’t cause a misstep in New England. In two games, the Pats have outscored the opposition 76-3. By comparison, in 2007, their 16-0 season, the Patriots outscored the opposition 76-28 in their first two games.

Brown accounted for just six of those points.

If the Patriots hold the New York Jets and third-string quarterback Luke Falk to nine points or fewer on Sunday in their Week 3 meeting, they’ll set a record for the fewest points allowed by a team through its first three games during the Super Bowl era.

New England is a 22.5-point favorite over the Jets.

The Patriots have outscored their first two opponents by a combined 76-3. Per @nfl, if they hold the Jets to nine or fewer points on Sunday, they'll set the record for fewest points allowed through their first three games in the Super Bowl era (1966-present).

— Bob Glauber (@BobGlauber) September 20, 2019

The 2001 Green Bay Packers and 2004 Seattle Seahawks each held their first three opponents to a combined 13 points.

The Patriots Will Be Just Fine, Thank You

Sports Illustrated opted to put New England’s signing of Brown into sports betting terminology. When they made the move, the Patriots were playing with house money.

They’re way ahead of the game, so taking on a high-risk wager wasn’t all that concerning. If it cashed in, the more for the merrier. Now that it’s crapped out, they move on unscathed.

.@AdamSchefter says the Patriots' release of Antonio Brown could be "a kiss of death." pic.twitter.com/Ngl2XRmyD2

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 20, 2019

Deflategate. The Aaron Hernandez murder trial. Owner Robert Kraft’s misadventures in a rub and tug.

None proved capable of distracting the Patriots from their mission. Compared to those, Brown isn’t even a blip on the radar.

It's a good thing the Patriots had Antonio Brown against the Dolphins, though. Who knows what would've happened without him.

— JJ Zachariason (@LateRoundQB) September 20, 2019

With or without him, New England was always going to be Super favorites.

That hasn’t changed.