Vegas Oddsmakers Are Not Confident the Dolphins Can Win Next Year's Super Bowl

Miami is pegged at +4000, or 40-to-1 odds, to win Super Bowl LII, according to Sports Insights. Those odds are smack-dab in the middle of the pack as far as AFC teams go and 16th out of the entire NFL.

By Ryan Yousefi

February 6, 2017

Photo by George Martinez

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Now that Super Bowl LI is in the books, it's time for Miami Dolphins fans to set their sights on their team's chances of landing in Super Bowl LII. Seeing the Dolphins make the playoffs for the first time since 2008 was a nice stepping stone for Adam Gase in his first season, but how likely are the Fins to make the jump from surprising-streaky-underdogs to Super Bowl champs in 2018?

According to Las Vegas oddsmakers, not that close.

Miami is pegged at +4,000, or 40-to-1 odds, to win Super Bowl LII, according to Sports Insights. Those odds are smack-dab in the middle of the pack as far as AFC teams go and 16th out of the entire NFL. So how close are the Dolphins to hoisting the Lombardi trophy for the first time since 1973? No more likely than half the NFL and no less likely than — wait for it — half the NFL.

OK, then.

What might give fans a glimmer of hope is the fact that the website the Prediction Machine and its computer simulations predict the Dolphins to have the 25th toughest schedule in 2017, which implies that the team's path to proving Vegas wrong might be easier than some observers anticipate.

Last season, the Dolphins got off to a 1-4 start in large part because of the top-heavy difficulty of their schedule. They were able to rally from that poor start, but the road was plenty tough because of the hands they were dealt early.

The Dolphins, of course, have a lot of work to do before anyone can consider them a legitimate Super Bowl contender. First and foremost: Ryan Tannehill needs to recover him his season-ending knee injury. The Fins must also address virtually their entire defense this offseason and attempt to re-sign free agent wide receiver Kenny Stills.

If all of those things come together? It might just be worth throwing down $20 on that long-odds Dolphins Super Bowl win.

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Ryan Yousefi, a sports journalist and MBA holder in business healthcare management, has been a dedicated weekly contributor to the Miami New Times since 2013. Beyond his sports journalism career, he's held leadership roles in web3 gaming companies. He enjoys southeast Asia travel, pho, and whiskey, but most of all, being Lincoln's dad.

Contact: Ryan Yousefi

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Twitter: @rizzmiggiz