The Kansas City Chiefs, betting underdogs in the past two Super Bowls, opened as the favorites for next month's Super Bowl LIX.
The Chiefs were installed as a 1.5-point favorite over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday at ESPN BET and sportsbooks around the nation. The over/under total opened at 49.5 at ESPN BET.
Kansas City beat the San Francisco 49ers in overtime as underdogs in last year's Super Bowl. The Chiefs also were underdogs when they rallied to beat the Eagles in their 2023 Super Bowl meeting. A rematch with Philadelphia stands in the Chiefs' way of becoming the first team to win three consecutive Super Bowls.
The Eagles began the season with 11-1 odds to win the Super Bowl at ESPN BET. They cruised past the Washington Commanders in the NFC Championship to reach their second Super Bowl in the past three seasons. Philadelphia has been an underdog in three games this season, winning each time.
Joey Feazel of Caesars Sportsbook said he expects the betting public to be divided between Kansas City and Philadelphia, "with more leaning towards the Chiefs with the chance at a three-peat."
The favored team has won 36 of 58 Super Bowls outright, but underdogs have been on a recent run, winning 10 of the past 17 Super Bowls. Underdogs are 29-27-2 against the spread in the Super Bowl.
"We usually get a big flurry of bets for at least the first couple of hours," Johnny Avello, DraftKings' sportsbook director, said. "Sometimes the line moves, sometimes it doesn't."
The line ticked up to a consensus Chiefs -2 approximately 30 minutes after opening Sunday night.
Super Bowl LIX is on Feb. 9 in New Orleans.
ESPN's Doug Greenberg contributed to this report.
