NFL Draft: Joe Burrow has leverage on the Bengals, but his decision shouldn't affect bettors

The NFL draft is April 23, and the Cincinnati Bengals are on the clock. It has been a foregone conclusion since January that Joe Burrow will be the No. 1 pick, but that consensus gives the LSU superstar quarterback leverage. 

The question is, will he use it? And if he does end up elsewhere, what will the ramifications be for bettors?

The 23-year old is coming off one of the best seasons in college football history, winning the Heisman Trophy on his way to a national championship for the Tigers. 

He completed 76.3 percent of his passes, set an NCAA record with 60 touchdown passes and threw just six interceptions.

That performance has made him the no-doubt top pick in the draft, according to oddsmakers. DraftKings and PointsBet both have Burrow listed at -10000 to be the first selection. 

Neither book specifies a team, so if Burrow pulls an Eli Manning or John Elway and refuses to play for the Bengals, bettors would still get their payout.

"I do have leverage," Burrow told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram while in Dallas to accept the Davey O'Brien Award as the nation's top college quarterback. "They have their process and I have my process. 

"We haven't even gotten to the (NFL Scouting) Combine yet. There's a lot of things that happen leading up to the draft and a lot of information gathered."

In 1983, Elway was the top of that year's vaunted quarterback class. He was selected by the Baltimore Colts at No. 1 but threatened to sign a minor-league baseball contract unless he was traded. 

He eventually was dealt to the Denver Broncos and went on to a Hall of Fame career and played in five Super Bowls, winning two.

In 2004, Manning also was the top overall pick when the San Diego Chargers selected him out of Mississippi. The quarterback had said publicly he would refuse to pay for the Chargers.

He was picked by San Diego but immediately traded to the New York Giants for a package that included fourth overall pick Philip Rivers. 

Manning won two Super Bowls in New York, but both quarterbacks will be in the conversation to be Hall of Fame selections.

Reports have been trickling out since the college football championship game last month that Burrow might not be too excited about joining a moribund Cincinnati franchise that has long been considered one of the worst in the league. 

Even Carson Palmer, the quarterback who was selected first overall by the team in 2003, had some words of warning for Burrow during festivities at the Super Bowl.

"That's why I wanted out: I never felt like the (Bengals) organization was really trying to win a Super Bowl, and really chasing the Super Bowl," Palmer told CBS Sports Radio during an interview on Radio Row last month.

Still, whether or not Burrow plays in Cincinnati, he should be the top pick. And bettors have been behind him, although DraftKings reported Monday that some have been placing wagers on other prospects, trying for the big payoff.        

Burrow has been drawing a large majority of the money at DraftKings with 62 percent of the handle, according to their website. 

Wagers on the LSU standout represent 20 percent of total bets, with 18 percent on Ohio State pass rusher Chase Young (+1600), 16 percent on Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (+1600) and 10 percent on Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert (+5000).

Bets on Tagovailoa make up just 11 percent of the handle, with bettors putting smaller amounts on the longer odds. 

Quarterbacks Jake Fromm and Jalen Hurts, both at +50000, are each getting 5 percent of total bets, but only 3 percent of the handle. 

The NFL Scouting Combine starts Feb. 23, with quarterbacks scheduled for on-field workouts Feb. 27. Burrow has said he will attend but is unsure how much he will participate in drills.

Check back here for news leading up to the workouts, NFL free agency updates and any changes to the NFL odds as teams retool for the 2020 season.