Super Bowl 2017: Date, Location, Vegas Odds and Team Predictions

It is always football season, and it never takes a vacation.  

The Denver Broncos came up with the 24-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50, and they will be celebrating for many days and weeks.

The Panthers can only think about what might have been, since they were the five-point favorites in the game and most thought they would end up holding the Vince Lombardi Trophy and win their first Super Bowl title.

But once Ron Rivera and his players can put the hurt behind them, it will be time to get back to business and start preparing for a run at Super Bowl LI (yes, it's back to Roman Numerals).

The Panthers are the early, early favorites to win next year's Super Bowl. They are plus-800 to win the championship, according to Odds Shark. The Panthers have a slight edge on the New England Patriots, who are plus-825.

No other team has odds of better than plus-1,100.

Super Bowl LI will be played in Houston at NRG Stadium, the home of the Houston Texans, February 5, 2017. It will be the second time the Super Bowl will be played at the Texans' home. It was called Reliant Stadium when the Patriots and Panthers met in Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004. The Patriots outlasted the Panthers 32-29 in that game.

The Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals are next in line, rated at plus-1,100, while the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers are right behind at plus-1,200.

Team	Odds
Carolina Panthers	+800
New England Patriots	+825
Seattle Seahawks	+1,100
Arizona Cardinals	+1,100
Green Bay Packers	+1,200
Pittsburgh Steelers	+1,200
Denver Broncos	+1,400
Cincinnati Bengals	+1,600
Indianapolis Colts	+1,600
Dallas Cowboys	+2,400

The current Super Bowl champion Broncos follow as the seventh choice to win the Super Bowl at plus-1,400. Those odds are rather high for a team that just won the title in dominating fashion, but it seems quite clear the Broncos will go through significant changes in the offseason.

While their defense is stellar and is the main reason they were victorious in Super Bowl 50, the offense was nearly non-existent, and Peyton Manning is quite likely to walk off into retirement. He earned his second Super Bowl victory even though he rarely displayed the passing ability that was his signature throughout the majority of his career.

Jeff Darlington of the NFL Network reported that he spoke to Archie Manning, who issued this opinion about his son's future.

"

Archie Manning tells me he thinks Peyton's days in Denver are over; says Peyton likely knows if he'll retire but hasn't discussed with dad.

— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) February 8, 2016"

Manning will also turn 40 before the 2016 season kicks off. Brock Osweiler started seven games for the Broncos this season, but there is no guarantee that the Broncos will hand the starting quarterback job to him if Manning retires.

That's why the Broncos appear to be in a state of flux going forward.

Prediction:

It's early in the game, and there's a long offseason to go that will include the free-agent signing period and the NFL Draft. All teams will try to upgrade their strengths and rebuild their weaknesses.

But teams that have big-time strengths at the most important positions are the teams that are likely to be contending for the title next year.

The Seattle Seahawks are likely to be back in the Super Bowl picture again next year. After winning the NFC Championship two years in a row, they got off to a mediocre start in 2015 and were never able to overcome.

While they played much better football in the second half of the season and made the playoffs as the No. 2 wild-card team, they barely got by the Minnesota Vikings in first round of the postseason before getting blitzed by the Panthers in the divisional playoff game.

The Seahawks are likely to use that game as inspiration for the 2016 season. Look for Pete Carroll to take his team to Super Bowl LI.

Don Wright/Associated Press

The AFC is more wide open. While the Patriots always have to receive strong consideration and will probably win the AFC East once again, they could start to fade in the second half of the season.

That's why it seems likely the Pittsburgh Steelers are capable of making a run to the Super Bowl. This team was hurt badly by injuries this season, as running back Le'Veon Bell missed most of the season and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger played with injuries throughout the year.

The Steelers appear to have the most explosive offense in the league going forward, and the defense should improve a bit in its second year under defensive coordinator Keith Butler.

Look for an epic confrontation in Super Bowl LI between the Steelers and Seahawks that features quite a bit more offense than this year's game between the Broncos and Panthers.

The Steelers will find a way to overcome the Seahawks, and head coach Mike Tomlin will win his second Super Bowl.