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On Sunday, the New England Patriots lost their premier offensive weapon when tight end Rob Gronkowski announced his retirement from the NFL. Naturally, the reigning world champions will have their hands full trying to replace the future Hall of Famer — one that played a key role in the team’s latest Super Bowl victory despite coming off a statistical down-year.
One entity that is confident in the Patriots’ abilities to do that? Bookmakers, who did not significantly change the club’s odds for the 2019 season. Westgate SuperBook, for example, released its latest Super Bowl, conference championship, and divisional odds, and they are unchanged by Gronkowski’s retirement: the Patriots remain at 6-1 to win their second straight Lombardi Trophy, 7-2 to win the AFC, and 1-6 to capture the AFC East.
The numbers make New England the favorites to win it all yet again — despite losing their top playmaker. The reason for that is simple: Tom Brady and Bill Belichick will be back and as long as there presence does not change either through retirement or injury, the Patriots will always be among the favorites to win it all. And while fan confidence might take a hit because of Gronkowski’s retirement, the odds did not.