While typically not a trendy Super Bowl pick, the New York Jets are getting plenty of Super Bowl buzz amid the rumors and reports regarding Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers, the longtime Packer and four-time league MVP, has reportedly spoken to and met with members of the Jets’ brass in recent days.
The Jets had 30/1 Super Bowl odds on Caesars Sportsbook prior to the Rodgers’ news. Those odds have jumped to 20/1 since the news broke. New York went from having the 10th best Super Bowl odds to the sixth; they now trail only the Chiefs (+600), 49ers (+675), Bills (+800), Eagles (+800), Bengals (+1000) and Cowboys (+1800) after leapfrogging the Chargers, Jaguars and Ravens.
A slew of bettors have placed Super Bowl bets on the Jets amid the Rodgers news. Representing 6.4 percent of the tickets and 7.7 percent of the handle prior to the Rodgers news, those numbers have climbed to 7.7 and 9.2 percent, respectively.
On Tuesday, after news broke of Rodgers-Jets meetup, 52 percent of the tickets and 60.9 percent of the handle were on the Jets among Super Bowl bets placed on Caesars over a 24-hour period.
“We knew the Jets were going to try and make a splash at quarterback, so their odds were already lower to begin with,” said Caesars Sportsbook assistant director of trading Adam Pullen. “I don’t blame people for being excited about how the Jets improved last year, but the AFC is just loaded. We thought 30/1 was OK even if there were lower prices elsewhere, but the money is going to tell us what we need to know and we have to respond to the liability.”
The Jets are synonymous with betting odds. New York, after all, is the owner of the greatest upset win in the history of professional football. Pitted as 18-point underdogs, the Jets upset the Colts in Super Bowl III while becoming the first American Football League team to defeat an NFL team. The Jets were led that day by quarterback Joe Namath, who famously guaranteed victory in the lead-up to the game.
While a Jets Super Bowl win would not be as big of an upset in 2023, it would nonetheless come as a welcomed surprise for Jets fans who have grown cynical in the decades since Super Bowl III. The hard-luck Jets have not been back to the big game since and have gotten to within a game of the Super Bowl on just three occurrences.
If he comes to the Big Apple, Rodgers would join a Jets team that boasted the league’s fourth-best scoring defense in 2022. The Jets also have a promising group of skill players that includes reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year Garrett Wilson.
Rodgers ending up in New York is far but a sure thing, however. First, Rodgers has to commit to playing next season, something that he has yet to do publicly. The Jets and Packers would also have to work out a trade that will likely require the Jets to give up several future first-round picks. While it would come at a cost, it appears that the Jets are willing to do whatever it takes to acquire Rodgers, a former Super Bowl MVP and future Hall of Famer.
If he joins the Jets, Rodgers would join former teammate Brett Favre as former Packers legendary quarterbacks who continued their career with Gang Green. Ironically, the Jets made back-to-back AFC title game appearances after parting ways with Favre, who spent just one year in New York before finishing his career with the Vikings.