Super Bowl XLV Odds For NFL Bettors Steelers Backers

Lost in the onslaught of national media attention given to Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, his bevy of off-field problems – and ensuing suspension by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell – is the fact that Roethlisberger’s actions have changed the dynamics of the 2010 NFL Super Bowl Odds and just which teams are favored to win next season’s big dance.

By staying in agreement with a comprehensive behavioral evaluation, Roethlisberger will have an opportunity to reduce the suspension from six to four games much like Michael Vick reduced his four-game ban to two games just one season ago.

Of course, ‘Big Ben’ could also face a longer ban by not staying in compliance, but hey, that’s a story for another day.

Okay, now on to how Roethlisberger’s stupidity affected the NFL Super Bowl Odds, a season-long wager that typically offers fantastic odds to the pro football bettor that can correctly pick the title winner months in advance of the big game taking place.

After Goodell announced the suspension of Roethlisberger, Las Vegas Sports Consultants immediately moved the Steelers from 12-1 to 20-1 odds to win Super Bowl XLV next season.

Tony Sinisi, odds director for Las Vegas Sports Consultants, which provides sports betting odds to an assortment of casinos in Nevada, where sports gambling is legal, told reporters the change was announced shortly after NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced the suspension.

"Fortuitously for us, not all of the stuff that we're going to put up for the NFL is up yet," Sinisi told reporters. "What that really could have impacted is over-under win totals for the particular teams. We don't have that up yet."

In addition to lengthening his own team’s odds to win next season’s Super Bowl, Roethlisberger’s actions also improved the odds of Pittsburgh’s division rivals as well.

The always tough Baltimore Ravens improved from 18-1 to 15-1 while last season’s surprise division winner, the Cincinnati Bengals moved from a whopping 30-1 odds to a 25-1 pick to take home the title.

Roethlisberger, a two-time Super Bowl winner, is still facing a civil suit brought by a Nevada woman who made similar claims to his recent situation in Milledgeville, Ga., about a 2008 alleged incident involving the beleaguered quarterback.

Pittsburgh has recorded a mediocre5-5 without their starting quarterback since 2004. Arguably the most model franchise in the history of the NFL, Pittsburgh acquired veteran quarterback Byron Leftwich and was reportedly entertaining offers of trading Roethlisberger prior to this weekend’s NFL Draft.