How Russell Wilson Joining Steelers Impacted Super Bowl Odds
Pittsburgh's odds didn't change
The Pittsburgh Steelers have been flirting with contention throughout the past few seasons, always in the mix for a Super Bowl run that hasn’t come to life in over a decade.
The Steelers went 10-7 under Kenny Pickett last season but after Russell Wilson agreed to a one-year deal with the team, Pittsburgh’s starting quarterback presumably changed on Sunday. That move begged the obvious question regarding the Steelers as a whole moving forward: How will Pittsburgh fare among the Super Bowl favorites next season?
Wilson, 35, already has Super Bowl experience having delivered the Seattle Seahawks their franchise’s only title in 2014. The nine-time Pro Bowler has the experience advantage over Pickett, yet even with Wilson’s 12-year NFL career and all of its accolades, the oddsmakers don’t envision much changing at all with the Steelers moving forward.
Pittsburgh’s odds of winning Super Bowl LIX stood at +7500 before Wilson signed with the organization and afterward, those odds remained the exact same, according to DraftKings Sportsbook.
Wilson is coming fresh off a disastrous two-year run with the Denver Broncos, creating an understandable recency bias after Wilson ended up being benched for backup Jarrett Stidham toward the tail-end of 2023.
Granted, pinning all the blame for Denver’s 11-19 run the past two seasons entirely on Wilson would be disingenuous. Wilson’s supporting offense was subpar and the defense was even worse, surrendering 46 total touchdowns.
In 15 starts this past season, Wilson went 7-8 with the Broncos while throwing 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions with a 66.4% completion percentage. That wasn’t enough to push an incapable supporting cast, but that’s no reason to count Wilson out until he officially suits up with the Steelers in Week 1.
