NFL preseason betting is a distinct animal from the regular season, and bettors who fail to recognize that often pay the price. Starters may play a single series or sit out entirely, meaning the rosters on the field bear little resemblance to the depth charts that inform public perception. Scoring patterns are erratic — games can feature long stretches of sloppy play from fringe roster hopefuls punctuated by explosive plays from athletes desperate to make the 53-man roster. Totals tend to be lower than regular-season marks, but the variance around those numbers is enormous, making both sides and totals inherently less predictable. Market depth is thinner as well, with fewer prop offerings and lower betting limits at most sportsbooks.
Vig on preseason lines is typically wider than what bettors encounter during the regular season or playoffs. Books face the same uncertainty as bettors — coaching intentions around playing time are closely guarded, and injury reports carry less granularity during camp. That uncertainty gets priced into the margins. It's not uncommon to see spreads and totals carrying effective vig of 5–7% or more at less competitive shops, compared to the 3–4.5% range common for regular-season NFL. Shopping across multiple books matters even more here, as the variance in pricing between sportsbooks can be significant when oddsmakers have less reliable data to anchor their numbers.
The preseason window is short — typically three games per team across roughly three weeks in August — so the betting calendar compresses quickly. Lines for the first week of games tend to carry the widest margins because there's virtually no current-year game film to reference. By the second and third preseason games, books have at least some data on snap counts and rotational tendencies, and lines tighten modestly. Bettors should pay close attention to coaching staff comments about rest plans for starters, ongoing position battles that could extend playing time for key players, and whether a team is installing new offensive or defensive schemes that might get extended run in the final dress rehearsal. Home/away splits matter less than in the regular season since crowd intensity is minimal and coaching strategy around roster evaluation overrides game-planning to win.
Cross-Sport Vig Comparison
NFL Preseason averages 4.39% vig across 6 sportsbooks. Here's how that compares to other active sports:
| Sport | Avg Vig | vs NFL Preseason |
|---|---|---|
| NFL Preseason | 4.39% | — |
| CFL | 5.04% | 0.65% lower |
| NCAAF | 4.68% | 0.29% lower |
| NFL | 4.73% | 0.34% lower |
| UFL | 5.28% | 0.89% lower |
Vig Rankings
| # | Sportsbook | Avg Vig | Grade | ML | Spreads | Totals | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LowVig.ag | 2.91% | A | — | 2.44% | 3.38% | 1 |
| 2 | Bovada | 4.62% | B | 4.34% | 4.76% | 4.76% | 1 |
| 3 | Caesars | 4.62% | B | 4.34% | 4.76% | 4.76% | 1 |
| 4 | DraftKings | 4.66% | B | 4.46% | 4.75% | 4.75% | 1 |
| 5 | BetUS | 4.76% | B | — | 4.76% | 4.76% | 1 |
| 6 | BetOnline.ag | 4.76% | B | — | 4.76% | 4.76% | 1 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Which sportsbook has the lowest NFL Preseason vig?
LowVig.ag currently has the lowest vig at 2.91%, earning a grade of A.
What is vig (vigorish) in sports betting?
Vig — short for vigorish, also called juice or overround — is the margin a sportsbook builds into its odds. It's the difference between the true probability of an outcome and what the odds imply. Lower vig means you keep more of your winnings on every bet. For example, a standard -110/-110 line has about 4.76% vig.
How often is this data updated?
We pull fresh odds from The Odds API three times per day — at 6:00 AM, 2:00 PM, and 10:00 PM UTC. Each snapshot captures the latest lines from every sportsbook that has posted odds. The timestamp at the top of the page shows the most recent refresh.
How is the vig grade calculated?
Each sportsbook is graded on a letter scale based on average vig: A+ (under 2%) is exceptional, A (2–3%) is excellent, B+ (3–4%) is above average, B (4–5%) is the industry standard, C (5–6%) is below average, and D (above 6%) indicates high-juice markets.
Why does lower vig matter for bettors?
Lower vig directly impacts your long-term returns. A bettor placing $1,000 per week at a book with 4% vig loses roughly $40/week to the house edge. At 2% vig, that drops to $20/week — a $1,040 difference over a year. For serious bettors, shopping for lower vig is one of the most reliable ways to improve profitability.
What sportsbooks do you track?
We track both regulated US sportsbooks (DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Caesars) and offshore books (Bovada, BetOnline, MyBookie, BetUS, LowVig.ag, BetAnySports). Data comes from The Odds API, which aggregates real-time lines from licensed sources.
How We Calculate These Numbers
- Data Source
- All odds on this page come from The Odds API, which aggregates real-time lines from licensed US and offshore sportsbooks. We track moneyline, spread, and totals markets across every sport with active betting lines.
- Update Frequency
- We pull a fresh snapshot of every tracked market three times per day — at 6:00 AM, 2:00 PM, and 10:00 PM UTC. Each snapshot captures the latest lines from every sportsbook that has posted odds for a given event. The timestamp at the top of each page tells you exactly when the data was last refreshed.
- Vig Calculation
- Vig (short for vigorish, also called juice or overround) measures the margin a sportsbook builds into its odds. We calculate it by converting the odds on each side of a market to implied probabilities, summing those probabilities, and subtracting 100%. For example, a market priced at -110/-110 implies 52.38% on each side — a total of 104.76%, meaning a vig of 4.76%. Lower vig means better value for bettors because you keep more of your winnings.
- Per-Market Breakdown
- We compute vig separately for each market type: moneyline (h2h), point spreads, and totals (over/under). The "average vig" shown for each sportsbook is the mean across all market types weighted by the number of events sampled in each market.
- Grading Scale
- Every sportsbook receives a letter grade based on its average vig: A+ (under 2%) is exchange-level pricing. A (2–3%) is very competitive. B+ (3–4%) is above average. B (4–5%) is the industry standard — a -110/-110 line is 4.76%. C+ (5–6%) is slightly below average. C (6–7%) is below average. D (7–8%) is high vig. D− (8–10%) is very high vig. F (10%+) is predatory pricing. See the full Vig Index Methodology for formulas, worked examples, and known limitations.
- Trend Tracking
- We store daily snapshots for 30 days, allowing us to show 24-hour and 7-day vig trends. A downward trend (improving) means sportsbooks are tightening their lines — often in response to increased competition or higher betting volume as a season heats up.