Odds to Win the 2022 USFL Championship

The new look USFL has the potential to be very high scoring. Numerous rule tweaks have the potential to make this league more high scoring than the NFL or even college football. Teams will be able to attempt a three-point conversion from the 10-yard line after a touchdown, and instead of attempting an onside kick, teams can opt to try and pick up 12 yards from their own 33-yard line. Additionally, teams can attempt two forward passes on the same play, and the clock will stop for fourth downs after the two-minute warning of both halves. That has the potential to make overs very popular USFL betting picks early in the season.

That also means that quarterbacks might be even more important than they are in the NFL. The last two iterations of lower-level pro football we’ve seen in the United States were dominated by the teams with the best quarterbacks in the league. In 2019, the Orlando Apollos were named the champions of the AAF although the season was never completed, as they had the best record with Garrett Gilbert running Steve Spurrier’s offense. The Houston Roughnecks were clearly the best team in the XFL through five games in 2020, as P.J. Walker threw for 1,338 yards with 15 touchdowns against four interceptions to lead the team to a 5-0 record. That’s something to keep in mind when considering the best USFL futures bets.

Odds to Win the 2022 USFL Championship at DraftKings Sportsbook

Michigan Panthers +400
New Orleans Breakers +500
Tampa Bay Bandits +550
Pittsburgh Maulers +600
Philadelphia Stars +600
New Jersey Generals +700
Houston Gamblers +700
Birmingham Stallions +700

Michigan is the overall favorite to win the USFL in its first season. The Panthers had the first pick in the inaugural USFL draft, and they took local college product Shea Patterson from Michigan. Patterson posted solid numbers during his two years with the Wolverines, but he was only a summer quarterback in the NFL and failed to latch on in the CFL either. He should be one of the better quarterbacks in the USFL, but he isn’t good enough for this team to be the favorite according to the USFL futures odds at DraftKings.

The New Orleans Breakers are the next favorite to win the USFL. There has been some action on the Breakers, as they were originally +600 when the first odds were released earlier this month. Larry Fedora is the head coach and was one of the best offensive minds at the collegiate level, but there are plenty of questions surrounding Kyle Sloter. The Northern Colorado product was undrafted coming out of college in 2017, and he has spent the last five years bouncing around NFL practice squads. He threw one pass in his first three collegiate seasons before starting as a senior, so he is still very raw.

Tampa Bay is the best value on the board at +550 to win the USFL title. Jordan Ta’amu has all the makings to be the next Gilbert or Walker, and to put the icing on the cake, he was the reason that Patterson transferred from Ole Miss to Michigan. Ta’amu was great during his time in Oxford, and he already has experience at this level. He was the second-best quarterback in the XFL two years ago while with the St. Louis BattleHawks.

It’s tough to like any of the other five teams in the USFL. If you are looking for the teams to fade early in the year, Philadelphia and New Jersey are where you want to put your money. The Philadelphia Stars have the biggest question mark at coach as Bart Andrus hasn’t coached at the collegiate level since 1995, and he only spent five years as an assistant in the NFL. Andrus hasn’t coached at a high level since 2013, so the learning curve figures to be steep.

As for New Jersey, their decision to take Ben Holmes in the first round as their quarterback was a head scratcher. Holmes was a good quarterback for Division II Tarleton State in 2018, but he failed to catch on anywhere and was a backup for the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League.