Prior to the season, Leicester City was a 5,000-to-1 longshot to win the Premier League, according to English bookmaker William Hill.
To put that in perspective, the longest preseason odds for any team to win the 2016 World Series were 500-to-1 for the Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves (according to the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook). And the longest shot to win next year's Super Bowl is the Cleveland Browns at a mere 200-to-1.
Looking at past unlikely winners, the 1999 St. Louis Rams and 1991 Minnesota Twins were two of the most surprising champions in recent memory, as both finished last in their divisions the previous years. But they were both only 300-to-1 before the season.
To find similarly long odds in sports, you have to resort to similarly obscure teams and names.
As a 15-seed, Cal State Bakersfield was a 5,000-to-1 longshot to win the 2016 NCAA tournament (the Roadrunners lost to Oklahoma in the first round).
At the 2016 Masters, 16-year-old Paul Chaplet was 5,000-to-1 to win the tournament. He shot 21 over par in two rounds and finished last.
In the NBA, the Minnesota Timberwolves were 5,000-to-1 to win the NBA title at end of January, when they had a 14-35 record. They missed the playoffs by 14 games.
A William Hill spokesman recently said Leicester City's title will cost the bookmaker nearly $3 million, and it may cost bookmakers nearly $15 million across the United Kingdom. He also mentioned that in the future William Hill will no longer offer title odds higher than 1,000-1.
Beyond sports, William Hill had several seemingly ridiculous bets available at 5,000-to-1, including Elvis Presley being found alive and Barack Obama playing cricket for England.
