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NFL Public Betting Trends – Latest Bet & Money Percentages for Week 3



Latest NFL Football News, Picks & Analysis


Matt McEwan

By Matt McEwan

Updated:

NFL public betting splits above are updated hourly; the data presented in the public betting chart is an average of the NFL public bets and NFL public money from multiple North American and global sportsbooks.

Here is what we’re seeing from the early money bet on Week 3 of the 2024-25 NFL season:

  • The public loves the 49ers in a bounce back spot against the banged up Rams in Week 3. We are seeing 93% of the ATS money on San Francisco as 7.5-point favorites in LA on Sunday.
  • There is only one other team seeing at least 80% of the money bet against the spread in their respective matchup: the Giants. New York is surprisingly getting 83% of the ATS handle as 6.5-point underdogs in Cleveland. I am confident this is people eager to fade Deshaun Watson and the Browns rather than people keen to bet on Daniel Jones.

Public’s NFL Betting Record

Week Public’s Record Against the Spread
Week 2 4-11-1
Week 1 5-10-1
2024-25 TOTAL 9-21-2
2023-24 TOTAL 137-126-12
2022-23 TOTAL 122-149-8
2021-22 TOTAL 147-143-4

The public took losses in the first two games of the 2024-25 NFL season, as both the Ravens and Packers failed to cover as road underdogs. It didn’t get a whole lot better for the public on Sunday of Week 1, as they went 5-7-1, and then took a loss on MNF as well. The push was on the Seahawks -6, which was still available at one sportsbook when the game kicked off, though the consensus line was 6.5.

Here is how the public has fared against the spread in games where more than 75% of the money is on one side (a pick they are very confident in) at closing:

  • Week 2: 2-4
  • Week 1: 1-2
  • 2024-25 Overall: 1-2
  • 2023-24 Overall: 32-28-2

Here are some quick stats looking back to the public’s 2023-24 (last year) record against the spread:

  • Had an unbelievable 13-3 record against the spread in Week 1, which was also the public’s best week of the season
  • Worst week was Week 9 (3-9 ATS)
  • The public had winning weeks in five of the first seven weeks
  • Lost money in five of the final six weeks of the season
  • The public turned it around in the playoffs, though, going 10-3 ATS
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Looking for the latest NFL odds? – Get current spreads, totals, and moneyline odds for all upcoming games this week here.

What Are NFL Betting Trends?

Online sports betting sites are very good at bookkeeping. Every single bet they take from a customer is recorded and stored in their system. Using all these financial transactions, we can sew together NFL betting percentages based off the total number of bets placed and total amount of money bet on any given game, whether it be the moneyline, spread, or total. This data can help inform your decisions on any NFL betting apps you’re wagering with.

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What are Money Percentages?

In my opinion, the money percentage is the more important of the two NFL public betting percentages. You’ll often hear money percentages referred to as the “% of handle”. First off, the betting handle is simply the total amount of money wagered on an event, often broken down by bet type.

The money percentage simply pools all the money wagered on any game together, first sorting it by the type of bet (moneyline, against the spread, or over/under), and then breaks down what percentage of the handle is bet on each side.

The money percentage (obviously) tells you which side the money is on, and can give you a better picture of who the sharper bettors are siding with.

What Are Bet Percentages?

Though I don’t value betting percentages as much as money percentages, they still vital in helping to paint the full picture of NFL public betting. Bet percentages are frequently referred to as “% of tickets” or “% of bets”. Tickets are just a term used for all the bets placed – when you make a bet, a ticket is created.

To get the bet percentage, you look at all the bets placed (regardless of the amount of money risked on each one), again, sorting first by the type of bet, and then look at the percentage of tickets on each side of the game.

This is a more square way to look at NFL betting trends, since a $1 throw-away bet holds the same weight as a $1,000+ play.

How Can Bet Percentages and Money Percentages Signal Sharp Action?

As mentioned, ticket percentage does not consider the amount risked on each ticket, and just counts each bet placed. If we compare the bet percentage and money percentage of the same team (for the same bet type), you’ll know something is up if they are not relatively similar.

For example, if Team A has 78% of the tickets bet against the spread, but only has 50% of the money, we now know the bets being placed on Team A are quite small – or the bets being placed on Team B are quite large.

A large difference between a team’s bet and money percentages can help signal sharp action. In order to calculate this, just subtract their bet percentage from their money percentage. If the result is a positive number, you’ve got larger bets being placed on this team. If the result is a negative number, you’ve got larger bets being placed on the other team.

This is not 100% accurate in signaling sharp action, however. It does provide an early sign, but you’d need to know the total handle bet on the game to properly sniff out sharp action. For example, if a game only has $1,000 wagered on it, you can throw out the idea of sharp action.

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NFL Public Betting Trends FAQ

Is it better to bet against the public in NFL?

The answer changes from season to season. In 2021, betting against the public resulted in a winning record (140-137-4) but because of the juice (usually -110) it was not profitable. With a standard -110 vig, bettors need to win 52.4% of their wagers to make a profit. Last year, betting against the public only resulted in a 47.1% win rate.

What percentage of NFL favorites cover the spread?

NFL favorites only covered the spread 51.3% of the time.

What is the biggest trend in NFL betting?

Looking for something to follow blindly? SBD's NFL score predictor has been very successful since being created. To see its projections, go to SBD's NFL odds page, find the matchup you're interested in, and click FULL GAME STATS. The ensuing page will display the predicted score.


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