Sportsbooks remove chances to bet on Nick Bosa for defensive MVP

If you want a sure sign that Nick Bosa has the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year award locked up, just know you can’t even bet on it anymore.

It’s always meaningful as fans to see our favorite players garner individual hardware that rewards their efforts on the field, whether they make the Pro Bowl or earn All-Pro honors or even win a coveted MVP trophy. One such award that should be a lock for a member of the San Francisco 49ers this season is the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year for defensive end Nick Bosa.

As it turns out, it’s already a done deal—or at least it is in the eyes of oddsmakers.

For those fans who might want to run to a sportsbook to get a last-minute bet in, we have some bad news. Oddsmakers seem to have officially closed the door on any more betting action when it comes to Defensive MVP. Right now, it’s easy to find the odds available for several awards, from NFL Most Valuable Player to Coach of the Year to Offensive Rookie of the Year and even Comeback Player. However, Defensive Player of the Year is off the table.

This happens around this time of year when there’s someone who is such an obvious candidate for the award. Even MVP seems to be leaning Patrick Mahomes’ way, and it’s been that way for a few weeks, but even that is still open. On the other hand, Bosa and DMVP? Done deal, per Vegas.

Let’s be clear: that’s how it should be. Bosa absolutely deserves to be honored as the best defensive player in football for the 2022 season. In the midst of serious injuries and offensive frustrations, the Niners defense is what has kept them so competitive and Bosa’s 17.5 sacks lead the league and set a new career high after hitting 15.5 just last season. Bosa is also second in tackles for loss with 18.

Coming into the final week of the regular season, Bosa has a 1.5 sack lead over Philadelphia Eagles pass rusher Haason Reddick and that’s even after missing a game due to injury.

While nothing is official until the league announcers the winners of individual awards at the NFL Honors program on February 9, it seems that we can count on Bosa to receive his due.