Vegas Odds on if College Football or NFL Starts First

Normally, odds on adherence to a simple sports schedule aren't just obvious-- they're nonexistent. But welcome to the new normal, in which it's hard to really know what tomorrow brings. Or, for that matter, what'll happen next week, next month, or-- well, you get the idea.

So here we are, reacting to Vegas odds on which major sports will resume first. The most-favored leagues to reopen should come as no surprise:

1. MLB: 1/1
2. NHL: 7/2
3. NBA: 9/2
4. MLS: 19/1

But then comes college football and the NFL. The NCAA's Football Bowl Subdivision is supposed to get started with a half-dozen games scheduled for Saturday, August 29. The 2020 NFL regular season is set to begin on the evening of Thursday, September 10, when the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs are slated to host the Houston Texans in KC.

And here's how they round out those Vegas odds:

5. CFB: 32/1
6. NFL: 100/1

That may seem rather pedestrian, especially since it's just sticking to the schedule, but it's worth a deeper look. The League has shown a great deal of confidence in getting started on time, and compared to college ball, that sureness may be well warranted. The shield largely calls the shots across its 32 teams; there's no real independence for divisions or conferences-- unlike in college.

Does the NCAA have the broadest, most overarching control in collegiate sports? Of course. But college conferences still maintain a certain level of autonomy. And across those conferences, there's an inarguable difference between the P5 members and the G5 affiliates. And then there are the independent wildcards, with all of these programs making up the vast 130-team FBS.

The point is, that's a lot more moving parts than there are in the NFL, so the current reality that pro handicappers think CFB still gets going ahead of the League: well, that's encouraging for sports fans who are ready to progress from hypotheticals to on-field action. And it's particularly ticklish for supporters of college ball.