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Why does being the NFL's top Super Bowl favourite so rarely work out?

Rams open at +550, an unprecedented Super Bowl favourite the NFL rarely rewards

The Rams are the only NFL team priced under +1000 to win Super Bowl LXI, the fifth such case since the league expanded to 32 teams in 2002.

The Rams open at +550 to win Super Bowl LXI, the only NFL team priced under +1000. It is only the fifth time since the NFL expanded to 32 teams in 2002 that a single club has been such an overwhelming favourite, and only the second for an NFC team.

History warns of the burden: the defending-champion Buccaneers were installed as the sole heavy favourite the following season and collapsed after a 2-1 start, blowing a historic lead to Peyton Manning's Colts in Week 5.

Why it mattersOverwhelming preseason favouritism has repeatedly crushed NFL teams under expectation, and the Rams are now carrying that same weight.

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Rams open at +550, an unprecedented Super Bowl favourite the NFL rarely rewards

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