2024 ESPY Awards Odds and Predictions

There’s only one thing better than accomplishing something massive in sports; winning an award for it. It sounds a little silly, but the ESPYS exist to congratulate athletes who have already been praised.

Seriously, as a society, we love showering professional athletes with praise, and they get to soak up every minute of it yet again at the 2024 ESPYS.

Even better? You can bet on who will win the top awards, and the latest 2024 ESPY Awards odds also offer considerable value. Whether you are just looking for some ESPYS predictions or you actually plan on placing some bets, let’s dive in before the ceremony kicks off.

When Are the 2024 ESPY Awards?

The top names in sports will be honored on Thursday, July 11th, 2024. This marks the 32nd edition of the yearly ceremony, and fans can tune in live by switching to ABC.

The event goes down at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California, and will see numerous famous athletes gather together to celebrate the greatest performances of the past year.

2024 ESPYS Betting Odds

The odds for the main ESPYs categories can be found at a few sports betting websites, but the prices below are pulled from BetUS.

There are a lot more ESPY Awards categories than what you see above. Before long, there should be odds for almost all of them, so if there’s something you like that you don’t see here, go hunting for it.

Fortunately, you can bet on most of the top ESPYs winners in 2024, starting with Athlete of the Year for the men’s and women’s side, as well as Best Play and Best Team.

The favorites are not surprising here, but I do think there’s a considerable amount of betting value available throughout this market. You can roll with my sports betting picks in the table above, or read on as I go into detail as to why I like those bets, as well as any other odds that look appealing for each wager.

Best Male Athlete in Men’s Sports

The award for best male athlete could go to Scottie Scheffler, who has undeniably dominated professional golf over the past year. He’s been in the news more in 2024 for a number of reasons, but last year he enjoyed a stellar season that included a 10th place finish at The Masters, a whopping 14 top-5 finishes, and two wins.

His biggest victory was easily at The PLAYERS Championship, where Scheffler may have cemented his spot atop this ESPYS betting category. 

Of course, the betting favorite doesn’t always win, and I think there is a strong argument that Scheffler’s 2024 run is part of the equation when looking at his odds. It shouldn’t be.

Instead, we should be focusing on Patrick Mahomes, who willed the Kansas City Chiefs to an unlikely playoff run, topping it off with an improbable win over the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl.

Mahomes was fantastic when it mattered most, racking up 333 yards and three scores through the air, and of course providing the dagger to close out KC’s title in overtime.

It was an up and down season, but one that really never saw the Chiefs as the favorite to win it all. Mahomes’ ability to elevate KC on the biggest stages once the playoffs rolled around gives him an excellent chance at upsetting Scheffler for this ESPY award.

Connor McDavid is worth mentioning thanks to his amazing playoff run with the Edmonton Oilers. More specifically, he somehow won the Stanley Cup MVP trophy, even though his team lost in seven games.

There’s also Shohei Ohtani, who crushed 44 home runs in 2023. He was going to be a candidate for his hitting alone, but he also went 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA and 167 strikeouts before an injury relegated him to plate duty-only.

Everyone is viable for this award, but the NFL remains king and Mahomes has more name recognition than anyone. Putting up solid numbers and willing the Chiefs to their third Lombardi Trophy in five years certainly is a compelling argument if you seek a little extra value like I do.

Bet: Patrick Mahomes +200

Best Athlete in Women’s Sports

The male athlete of the year odds make for a more intense debate, but if you look at the best female athletes in sports from 2023, I think we can call it.

Caitlin Clark was once again sensational for the Iowa Hawkeyes, as she put up 31.6 points per game during another magical run to the NCAA Women’s College Basketball Championship. 

Clark was as explosive as ever from outside, as she connected on 5.2 threes per contest and still hit a solid 37% of her shots from deep. She also continued to grow as a playmaker, as she dished out a career-high 8.9 assists per outing.

Iowa wouldn’t be crowned champions in the end, but there’s no denying Clark’s impact on women’s basketball as a whole. Her dominance and star power even led her to being drafted #1 overall in the 2024 WNBA Draft.

Clark feels like the easy call, but she isn’t the only impressive female athlete from the past year. There’s also A’ja Wilson, who averaged 22.8 points per game en route to a second consecutive NBA Finals trip (and win) for her Las Vegas Aces.

Wilson wasn’t as statistically dominant like Clark was, but her +400 odds are pretty inviting, and she has some hardware that Clark backers can’t point to.

Don’t completely write off Nelly Korda (+500) or Coco Gauff (+800), either. 

The 25-year old Korda is a rising name in the golf world, as she broke out in 2021 with four wins. After dealing with a blood clot that two years ago, she was at her best in 2023, re-gaining her world #1 ranking.

Gauff was arguably more impressive, of course, as the tennis world’s newest sensation won her first grand slam by getting a victory at the 2023 US Open. Gauff also wrapped up WTA 1000 singles and double titles, and worked her way to #1 in doubles rankings.

The women’s race has some worthy competition, but Clark is a slam dunk here. The only downside is the -300 price isn’t normally one that would be promoted by expert sports handicappers. All things considered, though, I still think it’s the best bet for this award and probably worth attacking.

Bet: Caitlin Clark -300

2024 Breakthrough Sportsman

The past year saw several new faces launch their careers, and in very impressive fashion. Houston Texans star quarterback C.J. Stroud was one of them, as he produced arguably the best rookie season by a passer ever.

Stroud was tough to rattle in year one, pouring in 4,108 yards and 23 touchdowns, while only tossing five picks. His efforts made Houston one of the more dangerous offenses as 2023 rolled on, and he even pushed his Texans into the AFC playoffs.

His stellar season didn’t end with a title, but he kept on dazzling in round one, as he dropped a sparkling stat line of 449 yards and three scores on the unsuspecting Browns in an easy 45-14 victory.

While Stroud is the likely bet to back here, let’s not completely ignore Victor Wembanyama. 

The San Antonio Spurs made the easiest of calls when they selected the Frenchman with the #1 overall pick in last year’s draft. Wemby only played 23 minutes in his NBA regular season debut, but he showed flashes of his upside right away with a 15-point outing that also included five rebounds, two steals, two assists, and a block.

Wemby may not be a serious threat if we factor in team success, though. The Spurs were one of the worst teams in the NBA a season ago, after all. That said, Wemby was just as advertised – a physical marvel who was a total matchup nightmare for everyone he faced.

If you’re looking for a defining moment, feel free to stop at his insane triple-double against the Toronto Raptors; one he achieved through blocks (10).

Two other players that broke out in a big way include USC women’s college basketball phenom JuJu Watkins (+400) and Haleigh Bryant (+400). Watkins is easier to get behind from a statistical perspective (27.1 points per game as a Freshman!), but the 22-year old Bryant was a superstar for LSU’s gymnastics team.

Bryant finished third for the All-Around title in 2023, and in 2024 she won it, as well as taking the top spot with her squad for the Team award.

Of course, C.J. Stroud offered the best combination of elite production and winning when looking at these candidates. Wemby is the other option I’d seriously consider at +200, but Stroud feels like a safe bet. 

Bet: C.J. Stroud -120

Best Record-Setting Performance for 2024

This is another ESPY award that feels pretty obvious. There were several records broken over the past year, but Caitlin Clark left her mark as the all-time leading scorer in college basketball history.

Not only did she find herself atop the women’s all-time scoring leaders, but she even beat Pete Maravich to become the game’s top scorer for both the men’s and women’s sides.

As is the case with other ESPYS wagers involving Clark, you may not feel inclined to roll the dice on her -300 price. Her record was more meaningful, but Max Verstappen, Tara VanDerveer, and Christian McCaffrey all set impressive marks of their own.

McCaffrey set the record for most consecutive games with a touchdown (17), while Verstappen reeled off 10 straight F1 victories. Those were more examples of temporary dominance and/or hot streaks, of course.

VanDerveer might be the most appealing bet against Clark for this award, as she passed up Coach K for the most wins of any coach in NCAA basketball history (1,203).

Bet: Caitlin Clark -300

Best Comeback Athlete at the ESPYS

Everyone loves a comeback. It’s no different at the ESPYS, as you can bet on the best comeback athlete of the past year. Right now the favorite is Simone Biles, and you can get her at plus odds.

Biles caught a lot of heat for prioritizing her mental health over gymnastics. However, she overcame those struggles, not just to return to her sport, but to get back and dominate it. 

Want even more value? You could give NFL quarterback Joe Flacco a try. He had some of the best NFL odds for his league’s comeback player award, and ended up staving off Damar Hamlin.

Could the ESPYS bypass Flacco simply because he already has been honored with this type of award already? It’s certainly possible, but he was borderline elite down the stretch for the Cleveland Browns last year, so I wouldn’t write him off.

Zion Williamson and Paige Buecker both made successful returns following injury-laden 2022 seasons. They weren’t quite as dominant or in the spotlight as much as Biles, though, so I wouldn’t consider them as strong threats.

Bet: Simone Biles +125

2024 Play of the Year

One of the best ESPY Awards categories every year is the top play in sports. It’s always something different, but it’s also always a play that is unforgettable.

I have two clear front-runners for this betting market. The first is the favorite, as Jayda Coleman comes in with solid +175 odds after notching a clutch hit that sent Oklahoma to their fourth consecutive College World Series.

That is quite the clutch home run, to be sure. However, it was a college softball game and it wasn’t even for the CWS title. It was big, but was it big enough? And was the play itself memorable enough?

My gut instinct is that it wasn’t, and Alabama’s Jalen Milroe may have the play to take it down.

This one also didn’t come in the national championship, but it was still a massive play that the Crimson Tide needed to keep their CFP title hopes alive.

Not only was it a huge play for Alabama, but it was insanely improbable and about as must-need as it gets. Alabama was facing a 4th-and-31 with no possibility for a first down. Milroe had time to throw and made it count, finding the only open space in the corner of the endzone.

It was a truly remarkable play, and when you factor in the betting odds for this wager, it’s an easy call for me.

Bet: Jalen Milroe +300

ESPY Awards Team of the Year

You can also bet on who will win the team of the year award at the 2024 ESPYS. Right now that is looking like the Super Bowl champion Chiefs, who enter with +300 odds.

KC won this award last year, which may be the strongest argument for replacing them with a new winner. It’s also worth noting that the NFL hasn’t exactly dominated this award, as it’s nabbed just three wins in this category since 2011.

I wouldn’t rule out the Chiefs, but in my opinion, the best team over the past year was the Boston Celtics.

Boston isn’t exactly the most likable team, but they were certainly the most dominant. Jayson Tatum and co. out-classed the Dallas Mavericks 4-1 in the 2024 NBA Finals.

They were also wholly dominant en route to a 64-18 regular season record.

That includes an amazing 37-4 record at home, while the Celtics probably could have had a shot at 70+ wins if they didn’t play down to the level of their competition so frequently. As far as raw talent, no other NBA team came close, and this was very arguably the most stacked team across any sport.

The men’s UConn team (+350), the Florida Panthers (+450), and the Texas Rangers (+500) all won titles and offer strong stories. Michigan (+700) and South Carolina (+600) have a reasonable case to make, too.

That said, Boston was the most talented team in the NBA all season, they dominated as well as anyone, and they ended the year being crowned champions for the first time since 2008.

Bet: Boston Celtics +350

Best Men’s College Athlete

Jayden Daniels leads the way for this betting market, and you’re actually getting pretty good value (+175) despite the fact that this is the Heisman Trophy winner from last year. 

His Heisman odds spiked in the middle of last year, and down the stretch he was a no-brainer pick.

The question is if that will be the case for this bet. I’d say so, as Daniels was a human highlight reel, as he threw for 40 touchdowns and added 1,134 yards and 10 scores on the ground.

No other men’s college athlete was as dynamic or as explosive as Daniels, which probably makes him the easy call here.

That said, it’s not like Zach Edey was trash. The Purdue star was recently made the 9th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, and he was a stud for the Boilermakers with 25 points per game. Purdue didn’t win it all, but Edey was still dominant enough to get them to the National Championship.

Ousmane Sylla (+250) and Pat Kavanagh (+375) are worth mentioning due to their odds, but they aren’t realistic contenders. I don’t mind betting on Edey at his +200 price, but this is Daniels’ award to lose.

Bet: Jayden Daniels +175

Best Women’s College Athlete

Lastly, we come to another award that Caitlin Clark is sure to win at the 2024 ESPY Awards. This award feels like a waste of time, however, as Clark is the runaway favorite at -1000. It’s not as bad as her 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year odds, but it’s not welcoming.

To be clear, Clark is the winner for this. She broke a massive record, she put up awesome stats, and she led her Hawkeyes to a second straight national title game appearance.

But this category is about either avoiding it altogether, or taking a shot on some value. Every other option offers a terrific return, as Haleigh Bryant (+1000), Sarah Franklin (+1000), and Izzy Scane (+1200) were all great in their respective sports.

Bryant helped LSU to a team and individual title in gymnastics, so if you have to take a stab at some value for this ESPY award, she’d be the call. But realistically speaking, Clark may do a full sweep at the ESPYS.

Bet: Caitlin Clark -1000

Betting on the 2024 ESPY Awards

The 2024 ESPY Awards odds make for some interesting conversation starters. Some of these betting markets look ripe for exploitation, too. Others are difficult to call, but still offer tantalizing value.

I’d start with hitting the reasonable Caitlin Clark bets. She had the most impressive broken record, and it would be appalling if anyone else won for best sportswoman of the past year. She feels like a lock for those markets, and yet -300 is a pretty decent price, all things considered.

Mahomes at +200 to win best male athlete of the year also feels like solid value. C.J. Stroud is a good bet to win best breakthrough male athlete at -120, and Simone Biles (+120) feels like an awesome value to get the nod for best comeback athlete.

For elite betting value, aim high with Jalen Milroe (+300) to win the best play of the year, and I think the Celtics (+350) are being undersold for the team of the year category.

As you can see, there are a lot of ways to go, but the value is undeniable. Hopefully my 2024 ESPYS odds breakdown helps you sort through the madness and get to some winning bets. Good luck!