What Is a Football Spread?

A spread in a football game is a number that is arrived at by oddsmakers that is intended to make a bettor see the teams as competitive with another. The spread is added or subtracted from a team's final score and is in place to promote wagering on both teams.

  1. Odds

    • Oddsmakers will study a game between two teams and come up with a point spread. They will consider such factors as injuries to key players, where the game is played and perhaps the weather forecast/ In turn, wagering establishments will then present this spread to its patrons.

    Favorite

    • One team will be the favorite, the other the underdog. The team the oddsmaker consider to be superior will be designated as the favorite and is "giving" the points in the spread, meaning the spread is subtracted from that team's final score.

    Underdog

    • Conversely, the underdog is "getting" points, so the spread will be added to that team's score. On occasion a contest will be a toss-up in the opinion of the oddsmaker and the spread will be nonexistent.

    Effects

    • If team A is favored by 6 points against Team B and wins the game by a score of 24 to 10, Team A has covered the point spread. 24 points minus the spread of 6 still equals 18, so from a wagering point of view, Team A wins the game 18-10 in the eyes of the wagerers.

    Half Points

    • Sometimes a point spread will include half points. For instance, if the spread on a contest is 7.5 points, then the favorite must win the game by at least 8 points to "cover" the spread.