Tom Brady’s DeflateGate Suspension Impacts Patriots’ Super Bowl, AFC East Odds

The announcement this week of Tom Brady’s four-game suspension for his role in last season’s DeflateGate scandal is bad news for the New England Patriots, both on the field and on the Super Bowl 50 odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.

After sitting at 6/1 on the Super Bowl 50 odds following their 28-24 victory in Super Bowl XLIX, the Patriots’ odds of successfully defending their title now have slipped to 10/1. The Indianapolis Colts have moved ahead of New England as the 7/2 favorites on the odds to win next season’s AFC Championship Game.

The Patriots are coming off a strong 12-4 season that earned them their sixth consecutive AFC East crown, as they finished three games ahead of the second-place Buffalo Bills. The Patriots’ conference-leading regular-season record was even more impressive considering the team’s slow 2-3 start that led to speculation Brady’s best days were behind him.

While the Bills, Miami Dolphins and New York Jets also are expected to show improvement in 2015, the Patriots remain the favorites to once again finish atop the AFC East standings, albeit at reduced odds.

The Patriots now are pegged as a -150 bet on the AFC East futures at the sportsbooks, after opening as -200 favorites. The Bills, who will take on the Patriots at home in Week 2, improved to +425 after opening at +500. The Dolphins also have inched up to +425, while the Jets shifted from +900 to +700 on the odds to win the AFC East.

However, Brady’s suspension has had no impact on the Super Bowl 50 odds of New England’s division rivals, each of whom already were on the rise before the announcement. The Bills are at 33/1 after opening at 50/1, while the Jets are on the rise after opening at 100/1, drawing even with the Dolphins, who have held steady at 40/1.

And at the top of the Super Bowl odds, the Seattle Seahawks remain strong 11/2 favorites to return to glory at Super Bowl 50.

The Seahawks also dominate NFC West betting as solid -250 favorites to win the division, well ahead of the Arizona Cardinals at +550, the St. Louis Rams at +650 and the San Francisco 49ers, who have tumbled to +750 following a number of key personnel departures during the offseason.

The Colts, who fell to the Patriots in last season’s AFC Championship Game, have vaulted to 8/1 on the Super Bowl 50 odds after opening at 14/1, and own the strongest divisional betting odds in the NFL at -400 to repeat as the AFC South champions.

Thumbnail photo via Bill Kostroun/Associated Press