Now that the Texas Rangers have taken their name off the list of franchises that never won a championship, many are wondering which team could be next in line.
In North America’s four major sports leagues — the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL — there are 35 teams still looking for that first title. The National Hockey League leads the way with 11 teams, as eight of those have been founded since 1991. Major League Baseball has the fewest at five with the Colorado Rockies, Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners and Tampa Bay Rays.
Using current odds from DraftKings Ohio, BetOhio.com developed hypothetical odds of who might be next since the state has two of the 35 still looking to raise the trophy when the season ends — the Cincinnati Bengals and the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Odds of Next First-Time Champion
Bengals Have Championship Window
Cincinnati has advanced to three Super Bowls among 16 playoff appearances in its 56-year history, but it has yet to claim that elusive championship. All three Super Bowl losses have been painfully close, falling by five, four and three points. However, the Bengals have high hopes of getting back to a fourth Super Bowl, as they are tied for second with the Buffalo Bills at +600.
Only the Phoenix Suns have better odds at +300 now that they’ve put together a Big Three of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal to chase their first NBA title. The only other NBA team to make the top 10 is the Los Angeles Clippers, who just added James Harden to Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
Don’t hold your breath on the Blue Jackets just yet. Columbus’ Ohio sports betting odds of winning the NHL championship are +20000, according to DraftKings.
The Bengals’ hopes are high because they’re currently riding a four-game win streak after Sunday’s 24-18 victory over the Buffalo Bills. Cincinnati’s 5-3 record is a quick turnaround from the 1-3 start that included two losses without scoring a touchdown.
Quarterback Joe Burrow has led the charge with 1,133 yards, 10 touchdowns and just two interceptions in the past four games, including wins over the Seahawks, 49ers and Bills in the past three. Those teams have a combined record of 15-10. That has improved the Bengals Super Bowl odds to +1200, while the odds of winning the AFC title are at +600.
The Bengals figure to be one of the best bets to be next in line for that first championship as long as Burrow stays healthy and productive. The 27-year-old is 27-13 as a starter the past three years and he’s agonizingly close to leading Cincinnati to the title. The Bengals lost, 23-20, to the Rams in the Super Bowl LVI after the 2021 season and then 23-20 to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game for the 2022 season.
Cincinnati goes for a fifth straight win with a home game against a 4-4 Houston Texans team coming off an impressive comeback victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bengals are still a 7-point favorite over Houston and the over-under on the game is 45.5 points, according to ESPN BET Ohio.
