🏈 NFL Season Starts With a Bombshell

Forget pumpkin spice season, it’s sports overload season. We’ve already got college football chaos, MLB playoff races, the EPL is rolling into Week 3, and the NFL just dropped a bombshell with the Micah Parsons trade.

Thursday Night Football is less than 7 days away, and the NHL and NBA are lurking right around the corner. If you’re a sports fan, this is the stretch you circle on the calendar. No dead nights, no excuses. 

Saturday mornings that roll straight into Sunday afternoons, and before you know it, you’re deep in a late-night West Coast game calculating the number of hours until you have to wake up for work the next day. It’s the one stretch of the calendar where you don’t just watch sports—you live them.

The dog days of summer are behind us now, and the sports calendar is finally giving us what we want. It’s go time.

🏈 Props Battle is Coming…

Think you know football better than the crowd? Prove it.

We’re launching the Pine Props Battle Challenge in Discord this season—a free weekly contest where all you have to do is vote on a player prop (like “Which RB will run wild this week?”).

✅ Get it right → you’re in the running for $50 cash that week.
✅ Stack up wins all season → top spot takes home a full year of Jaxon Premium ($999 value).

It’s simple, it’s free, and it’s a good excuse to talk smack in the Pine Discord server. First poll drops before Week 1, so jump in now and get ready.

📊 NFL Futures Markets to Consider

Based on the available markets, here are some of the best NFL Futures to consider, offering a blend of high-profile markets and potential value:

Super Bowl Winner: Baltimore Ravens (+700)
Jaxon’s Take: The Ravens consistently field one of the league's most dominant teams and have a MVP-caliber quarterback in Lamar Jackson. While they've faced playoff struggles, their regular-season consistency and strong roster make them a perennial contender. 

At +700, you're getting solid value for a team that could easily make a deep run.

My Take: Hard to argue. It feels like Baltimore’s year. The roster is loaded, the scheme is proven, and the balance on both sides of the ball is unmatched. 

Offensive Rookie of the Year: Ashton Jeanty (+300)
Jaxon’s Take: Ashton Jeanty checks every OROY box: clear path to RB1 volume in Chip Kelly’s run-heavy offense, NFL-ready tools, and elite college production. 

History backs the profile—RBs often win when given a workload this big. If he clears 1,000 yards, he’ll be in the thick of the race.

My Take: This is the chalk pick, but it makes sense. Rookies who touch the ball a lot get the spotlight. I like Jeanty’s chances, though I’ll keep an eye on a WR like Egbuka in Tampa Bay in case the market overcorrects.

MVP: Joe Burrow (+600)
Jaxon’s Take: Burrow’s numbers already scream MVP—nearly 5,000 yards, 43 TDs, and elite efficiency. He’s favored to lead the league in passing yards and touchdowns, both proven MVP indicators.

If Cincinnati wins enough games, his case writes itself.

My Take: The stats are there. The only thing missing is wins. If the Bengals bounce back into playoff contention, Burrow has the narrative and production to finally grab the MVP.

🌲 The Pine Line

🚨 Highest-paid non-QB in NFL history. Parsons inks $188M with $120M guaranteed as part of shocking Packers trade.

⚡ Chiefs lose Rashee Rice for 6 games. Rashee Rice goes from WR1 to watching from the couch.

🚨 College hockey raid on the CHL begins. Rising stars like Cole Reschny and Keaton Verhoeff are choosing NCAA over CHL.

🥶 NHL on TNT just got bigger. 72 games on deck, including Ovi’s potential last opener and the 2026 Winter Classic in Miami.

🏟️ ‘The Game’ heads back to Fenway Park. Harvard-Yale is taking over Fenway park in 2026

😳 Jordan: ‘I’ve lost that in a casino. Let’s do it.’ Wild texts emerge as NASCAR antitrust fight heats up.

⚽️ English Premier League Action

Chelsea FC Over 1.5 Team Goals (-185 on DraftKings)

Jaxon’s Take: Chelsea come into this derby with momentum, unbeaten in their last five across all competitions (4W, 1D) and fresh off a 5–1 thrashing of West Ham. 

Fulham are steady but uninspiring so far—two 1–1 draws against Brighton and Man Utd, scoring but not finishing games.

Head-to-head history leans heavy towards Chelsea: they’ve lost just 3 of 36 league meetings, and Fulham have never won back-to-back trips to Stamford Bridge.

My Take: Chelsea look like the sharper side right now, and Stamford Bridge should be buzzing after that big win over West Ham. Fulham’s defense can frustrate, but their attack doesn’t scare me enough here, especially against a Chelsea team averaging almost 3 goals a game over their last five. 

The injuries make it less of a slam dunk, but I still lean Chelsea. I prefer the better price of Over 1.5 Team Goals instead of Chelsea ML. 

Arsenal/Liverpool Both Teams to Score & Over 2.5 Goals (+100 on DraftKings)

Jaxon’s Take: Both sides come in perfect (2W each). Arsenal top the table with a +6 GD, built on defensive strength (2 clean sheets, xGA 1.76) and new striker Viktor Gyökeres already scoring.

Liverpool have shown the opposite profile with 7 goals scored, 4 conceded, and a clear attack-first system producing chaos.

Arsenal will be without Saka and Havertz, though Odegaard should return. Liverpool miss Frimpong but could regain Mac Allister. Historically, Anfield has been a nightmare for Arsenal, with both league meetings last season finishing 2–2.

My Take: This is a true early title test. Arsenal look like the more balanced side, but losing Saka is huge. Liverpool at Anfield are always dangerous, and Slot’s attack-heavy style should make this end-to-end.

The flip side?

Their defense gives opponents chances, and Arsenal are clinical enough to punish.

For me, this feels less like a cagey top-4 clash and more like a game with goals. I don’t trust either back line to fully hold up. The ‘safe’ bet is definitely Total Goals Over 2.5 (-140).

NFL bombshells don’t stop at your inbox. The best bets, the hot takes, and the bragging rights are happening live in Discord, on X @PineSports_AI, and on TikTok @pine_sports. Come hang out — or you’ll just hear about it after the fact.