Baseball has long been considered “America’s Favorite Pastime.” But for more than 50 years now, football has been people’s favorite sport to watch on TV.

At the moment, almost 40% of Americans say football is their favorite sport to watch. Baseball, meanwhile, sits at just 9%—which is 2% behind basketball, America’s second favorite sport to watch.

Part of the reason why football has risen in popularity over the years is because it’s probably the best sport to bet on. With the right NFL sports betting tips, you can make a lot of money making wagers on football games.

Would you like to get in on the action and see what makes betting on football games so much fun? Here are nine NFL sports betting tips that you can put to good use.

1. Start Things Off by Coming Up With an NFL Betting Bankroll

How much can you afford to bet on NFL games? Before you even think about reading any of the other NFL sports betting tips listed here, answer that question.

You should come up with a sports betting budget and vow to stick to it. You should also use your budget to help determine how much money you’re going to wager on each NFL game that you bet on.

By doing these things, you’ll prevent yourself from going into debt while betting on NFL games. You’ll also give yourself a better chance to turn a profit throughout an NFL season.

2. Get Into the Habit of Taking a Look at NFL Betting Lines Early in the Week

The betting lines for NFL games are usually released at least a few days before games are played. In many cases, you can find lines a full week before the start of a Sunday slate of games.

Take full advantage of this by getting into the habit of looking at NFL betting lines long before games are scheduled to take place. You can check out how lines fluctuate over time and pick and choose which lines you like the most after seeing how they change.

3. Research NFL Matchups and See Which Ones Offer the Best Betting Value

You should never bet on an NFL game without doing the right amount of research on it first. You should spend the days leading up to NFL games researching them to find out everything there is to know about them.

Take a look at:

• How NFL teams have matched up with the teams they’re playing against in the past
• What impact the weather might have on games that are being played
• How injuries could affect certain teams in their games

By taking this approach to betting on NFL lines, you’ll be able to spot games that offer more value than others.

4. See How the So-Called “Sharps” Influence the NFL Betting Lines

The betting world is filled with so-called “sharps” who tend to influence the betting lines for many NFL games. Sharps are professional bettors who are known to throw a lot of money on games.

Sharps put down so much money on games that they often impact the betting lines for them. Lines will sometimes go up or down based on how the sharps are betting on games.

If you notice a betting line move in one direction or the other and there isn’t a logical reason for it, it’s safe to say the sharps are the cause of it. You might want to put your money with theirs and ride their coattails to a win.

5. Keep a Close Eye on Injuries and Watch How They Impact NFL Betting Lines

There are usually dozens of NFL players on the injury report every week. Some of them are dealing with serious injuries, while others have minor bumps and bruises.

It’s your job to monitor the injury report to see which players are likely to play and which aren’t. You might be able to earn an easy win by betting against a team with an injured quarterback or by betting on a team that’s an underdog simply because their quarterback is questionable to play.

6. Avoid Waiting Until the Last Minute to Make NFL Bets

Amateur NFL bettors will often wait until 12:55 p.m. on Sunday afternoons to start betting on 1 p.m. games. It’s why the betting lines for NFL games will often go haywire right before they’re scheduled to start.

Don’t get caught in this mad dash to bet on NFL games. You should have your NFL bets locked and loaded well before games are ready to kickoff.

7. Consider Trying Out Parlay Bets on NFL Games

Do you want to give yourself a chance to make a small fortune while betting on NFL games? You may want to give parlay betting a try.

A parlay bet is a bet that bundles up a bunch of different NFL betting lines into one single bet. You’ll have to have all of your bets win to hit a parlay bet, but it’s a risk that’s worth taking now and then.

One NFL bettor netted more than $100,000 on a single $5 parlay bet last December. Parlays have become popular thanks to the long odds that they offer.

8. Think About Placing Long-Term Future Bets on NFL Teams

In addition to trying out parlay bets, you might also want to give NFL future bets a try. Future bets call for you to correctly guess which NFL teams are going to accomplish specific goals throughout the season.

For instance, you can bet on teams to:

• Win over or under a certain number of games
• Make or miss the playoffs
• Win the AFC or NFC Championship Game
• Win the Super Bowl

Read more now about future bets to see if they’re right for you.

9. Steer Clear of Chasing Your Losses When Betting on NFL Games

At the end of the day, betting on NFL games is supposed to be fun. And it’s not going to be very much fun to lose money on them.

But it’s going to happen from time to time if you bet on NFL games a lot. You should learn to accept it rather than trying to win back money you’ve lost by chasing your losses.

If you struggle to win money on NFL games on a Sunday afternoon, there’s no reason to bet extra on Sunday night or Monday night games. You might just end up digging yourself into a bigger hole if you do this.

Go Put These NFL Sports Betting Tips to the Test

Now that you know about some of the NFL sports betting tips that you can use when placing wagers on football games, go put them to the test. You’ll love watching NFL games even more than you already do when you have money on the line.

Browse through the articles on our blog for more tips on betting on sports.