Cousins to Falcons shifts betting odds; Super Bowl, NFC South, MVP odds change
The Kirk Cousins era in Minnesota is over.
Per reports, the four-time Pro Bowler is signing with the Atlanta Falcons.
From a betting perspective, the news had an immediate impact. Cousins' MVP odds, as well as conference and Super Bowl odds, shifted after the big news.
Let's dive into how the move impacted the futures markets.
Before the news broke that Cousins was taking his talents south, the Falcons' Super Bowl odds sat at +3500. Soon after Cousins agreed to his new contract — which is reportedly worth $180 million — the team's odds of winning it all next year shortened to +2800.
On the flip side, Minnesota's Super Bowl futures moved to +7500 from +5500 in the wake of the news.
Another market impacted was division odds.
The Falcons are now the favorites to win the NFC South at -105, and that's after Baker Mayfield signed his own massive new deal with Tampa Bay over the weekend. Baker and the Buccaneers have the second-best odds to take the division at +300.
To win the NFC, Atlanta sits at +1400 behind San Francisco (+230), Detroit (+600), Dallas (+650), Philadelphia (+750) and Green Bay (+1000).
When it comes to individual accolades, Cousins' MVP odds moved from +2500 to +4000. While Cousins has never snagged this award, if he can lead Atlanta to the playoffs, he would be a contender.
On Monday's episode of The Herd, host Colin Cowherd gave his thoughts on the signing.
"Here's why it works," Cowherd explained. "He's coming off surgery, and they have an excellent O line. So he'll get protection.
"Also, weakest division in football. So his impact in this division is much greater — in my opinion — than his impact in the better NFC North."
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Cousins was drafted in the fourth round of the 2012 NFL Draft out of Michigan State. Over the course of his veteran career, he's thrown for a total of 39,471 yards.
In the eight games in which he appeared last season, the QB threw 2,331 yards. During his 2016 campaign as Washington's starting signal caller, he passed for 4,917 yards.