Odd fellows: Sam Bradford's chances for NFL MVP

For cheapskates like myself, betting on NFL games is frightening enough. All those numbers hooked together with slashes and fractions, oh, the fractions. Betting on MVP and Rookie of the Year, forget it. Still, the odds do always make for some interesting discussion fodder, and it shows you just how far things have come to see players from the St. Louis Rams even finding their way onto such lists. 

St. Louis Rams QB Sam Bradford has 25/1 odds to be the NFL MVP this year. That's a better chance than the two most prominent players from tonight's preseason opponent, the Kansas City Chiefs, who have Matt Cassel and Jamaal Charles at 28/1 and 30/1, respectively. Bradford's odds are exactly the same as those for Eli Manning, Joe Flacco and Mark Sanchez. From the overly simplistic perspective of oddsmaking, that's significant for a second-year QB to be on the same level as those more established players leading teams with high expectations. Aaron Rodgers leads the way with 11/2 odds to win the MVP, followed by Mr. MVP himself, Tom Brady, at 13/2.

Steven Jackson is the only other player from the Rams on the list, with 35/1 odds for winning the prize. Those are the same odds as MJD and Ray Rice. The last time a running back won the MVP award was 2006, when Ladainian Tomlinson rushed for an astonishing 1,815 yards and 28 touchdowns. 

None of the Rams rookies were listed among the odds for the Offensive Rookie of the Year. However, TE Kyle Rudolph has 25/1 odds of winning the award, so I would think Lance Kendricks' odds are equal to or better than that based on his prominence in the offensive game plan. Julio Jones has the best odds for following Bradford as the ROY. 

First-round pick Robert Quinn has 16/1 odds for winning the Defensive Rookie of the Year award. Von Miller leads the way. 

Odds are courtesy of Bodog.