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- Multiple sportsbooks believe Tom Brady’s plan to mount a comeback leaked before the news officially broke
- A number of operations accepted large futures wagers on Tampa Bay in the days leading up to the QB’s announcement
- Read more sports betting news here
Last year, we learned Adam Schefter was being courted by a number of potential suitors in the gambling realm in the hopes he might defect from ESPN when his current contract ends.
That pivot might seem a bit unexpected at first glance, but it does make sense for both parties involved: any sportsbook that hires him would theoretically get access to insider information before anyone else, and Schefty would undoubtedly be paid very handsomely for helping give them an edge when it comes to setting NFL odds.
Collecting and keeping tabs on developing news and information has always been a big part of the job for the people tasked with coming up with the spreads and lines that are offered to bettors, and while technology has made it easier to keep tabs on things and adjust the numbers accordingly, I can only assume having access to a neverending flow of information has made an already taxing job even more demanding thanks to the sheer number of factors that need to be taken into consideration.
Sportsbooks had plenty on their plate over the past week with March Madness in full swing, but as ESPN reports, a number of operations in Las Vegas also fielded some sizeable bets from customers who seemed to have a lot of faith that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would win next year’s Super Bowl in the days leading up to Selection Sunday.
Those sportsbooks, on the other hand, weren’t too high on the Bucs, as the franchise was listed at around 50-1. However, that all changed when some guy named Tom Brady revealed he was taking his talents back to Tampa just a couple of months after announcing his ultimately short-lived retirement—a decision that many employees for the operations that cumulatively fielded thousands of dollars in bets with the potential to become a huge liability are convinced leaked days before it was announced.
Of course, there’s nothing illegal about beating the books at their own game, and while Tampa Bay is now hovering at around 9-1 to win the Super Bowl, it’s hard to imagine the places that fielded the bets are feeling too nervous—but I guess we’ll have to check back and see if that’s changed by the time the Super Bowl rolls around next year.