Odds to Win AFC South Post Andrew Luck Retirement: Ladbrokes Still Had Colts Favored

PaddyPower has made the Indianapolis Colts 6/1 long shots to win the AFC South following shock news that Andrew Luck will be announcing his early retirement Sunday.  BetOnline was expected to follow suit Sunday morning.

Ladbrokes appeared to drop the ball a bit by still listing Houston and Jacksonville at 9/4 and 13/4, respectively.  Those in the US are unable to place bets with Ladbrokes, fortunately for them.  But NFL betting is quite popular throughout Europe, so will be interesting to see if they take a hit during the early morning hours.

Most US-facing books had pulled odds immediately following the news, which broke during the Gators-Hurricanes college football game Saturday evening.

Luck informed the Colts that he is retiring from the NFL, a source told ESPN.

Luck, who turns 30 on Sept. 12, already has met with Colts owner Jim Irsay to tell him of the decision, the source said.

There will be a news conference Sunday to make it official, but Luck is mentally worn down, and now checking out, the source said.

His retirement means Jacoby Brissett is in line to start for the Colts in Week 1 against the Chargers. They play Sept. 8, in Los Angeles.

The Colts traded for Brissett just before the start of the 2017 regular season.  He started for 15 games while Luck recovered from shoulder surgery. 

In that season, Brissett completed 58.8% of his passes for 3,098 yards, 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions, but Brissett has a much better supporting cast coming into this season.

Prior to the news of Luck's early retirement, the AFC South picture looked like this:

Indianapolis Colts     5/7
Houston Texans     17/4
Jacksonville Jaguars     17/4
Tennessee Titans     6/1

Following the news, it looks like this:

Indianapolis Colts     6/1
Houston Texans     3/2
Jacksonville Jaguars     11/5
Tennessee Titans     11/5

The Week 1 line was now Colts at Chargers -9.5

- Don Shapiro, Gambling911.com