44 days ago on December 10th, 2016 University of Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson was named the winner of the 2016 Heisman Trophy. With eight months to go until the 2017 season kicks off, Bovada has already released its odds for the winner of the 2017 Heisman Trophy.
After finishing third in the 2016 Heisman voting, University of Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield is the favorite to win the 2017 Heisman.
https://twitter.com/BovadaLV/status/823572240163868676
Oddly enough, 2016 winner Lamar Jackson has the third best odds behind Mayfield and Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett. If Jackson overcame his third best odds to win it, he’d be the second player ever to win the Heisman twice after Buckeyes legend Archie Griffin.
18 players were listed on Bovada’s initial list of potential 2017 Heisman winners. Of the 18, 13 are quarterbacks and the final 5 are running backs. All 18 players come from Power 5 schools with six coming from the SEC, four from the Pac-12, three from the Big 12, three from the Big 10, and two from the ACC.
This may not mean much, for what it’s worth. Bovada released its first odds for the 2016 Heisman winner back on January 19th, 2016 and Jackson was nowhere to be found.
.@BovadaLV Heisman odds Watson 9-2 Fournette/McCaffrey 5-1 Barrett/Mayfield 10-1 Chubb, Cook, Freeman, Kelly, Perine, Ridley 12-1 Dobbs 16-1
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) January 19, 2016
However, Mayfield and Barrett were. With the two leading the way on the early 2017 list, that makes two straight years the Oklahoma and Ohio State find themselves in the top five of Bovada’s early Heisman favorites. Will one of them break through and win this year, or will someone from off the board make a surge like Jackson did this season?
[Bovada]
