What does the betting line in football mean?

Answer 1

The line means the spread. The teams that is favored will have a minus (-) spread and the underdog will have a plus (+) spread.

Example: Kanasas(Favorite) -7 Utah(Underdog) +7 Meaning that Kansas will have to beat Utah by more than 7 to win or Utah must not lose by by more than 7 to win.

Check out http://thebethead.blogspot.com/ for more information

Answer 2

The most common football bet is on the spread.

If the Broncos played the Redskins you know the Redskins are going to lose. The question is, by how much. Bookies will analyze the game and decide the margin of victory that will cause half the betters to gamble on one team and half on the other. Then they will publish a line...Broncos by 14. If you believe the Broncos will win by more than that, you bet on them. If you think they'll lose by less, bet on the Redskins.