George Russell is the Early Sports Personality of the Year Favourite

by Roy Brindley, 27 March 2026

Sports Personality of the Year favourites George Russell, Matt Weston and Luke Littler have already hit the scoreboard in 2026. Who else should the betting public consider?

Rory McIlroy justified favouritism when collecting the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award in 2025. © Getty Images

Key Facts:

• F1 star George Russell is the early frontrunner in the Sports Personality of the Year betting.
• Matt Weston and Harry Kane are also trading at single-figure prices.
• A World Cup victory is likely to give the prize to a footballer.
• Jack Draper could be a value call. His 25/1 odds will vanish if he wins Wimbledon.

Formula 1 star George Russell is the early betting favourite for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year (SPOTY) accolade. With the prize traditionally awarded days before Christmas, this is a slow-burning market. In Russell’s favour, the F1 season is not scheduled to be completed until December 6.

Russell, who leads F1’s World Drivers’ Championship courtesy of a race victory, a second-place finish and a sprint win, is currently 4/7 to land his first title. The UK’s betting sites quote the 28-year-old on 9/2 odds to be the first SPOTY recipient representing Formula 1 since Lewis Hamilton in 2020.

The second name down the SPOTY betting lists on 7/1 odds is Matt Weston. In February, the Skeleton racer became the first British male athlete to win a gold medal at a Winter Olympics since ice dancer Christopher Dean in 1984.

Also becoming the first British athlete to win more than one gold medal at the same Winter Olympics, Weston has strong credentials and is among the first athletes with notable success on his CV this year.

Recognition and Appreciation for 6/1 Kane?

Sitting third in the betting is the England football captain, Harry Kane (9/1). England is 6/1 to win the World Cup, and while a first England success in the competition in 60 years will almost certainly see a footballer collect the coveted SPOTY, there is no guarantee Kane will be the recipient.

📆 On this day, in 2023, Harry Kane became England’s all-time record goalscorer, breaking Wayne Rooney’s record. pic.twitter.com/CbckaDxIdS

— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Footballtweet) March 23, 2026

In Kane’s favour, as the Premier League’s second-highest all-time goalscorer with 112 appearances for England since 2015 (78 goals scored), he is a public favourite. The 32-year-old could therefore garner votes for career recognition and appreciation. This was the scenario in 2009, when Ryan Giggs was voted SPOTY.

Other England footballers that are quoted in the SPOTY betting lists are Declan Rice (14/1), Bukayo Saka (25/1), Jude Bellingham (25/1), Jordan Pickford (33/1) and Cole Palmer (40/1). This century, Giggs and David Beckham (2001) are the only male footballers to have won the BBC’s prestigious award.

Littler and Hodgkison Back for More

Just three days into 2026, Luke Littler landed the World Darts Championship, and the teenager has continued his winning ways with success in the World Masters and UK Open. ‘Luke the Nuke’ is 12/1 to take the SPOTY prize in 2026 following a shortlisting but unplaced appearance in 2025 and a second-placed trophy in 2024.

Among the former SPOTY winners positioned at the top half of the betting is the 2024 prize recipient, Keely Hodgkison. The athlete won 800-metre gold at the last Olympics, and this year she has already won the 800 metres at the World Indoor Championship. She has also set a new world record time for the distance.

KEELY’S WORLD RECORD RUN 🤩

The indoor 800m world record is finally hers 🙏

⏱️ 1:54.87#WorldIndoorTour pic.twitter.com/l9mIjCaFVi

— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) February 19, 2026

In 2026, the lack of a major championship – such as the Olympics or World Championships – could count against Hodgkison. Bookmakers agree with the betting arm of BetVictor Casino, quoting the 24-year-old on 16/1 odds for SPOTY glory in 2026.

A Tennis Player to Ace It?

In 2021, Emma Raducanu shocked the tennis world by winning the US Open. In doing so, Raducanu became the first ‘qualifier’ to win a major singles title, defying triple-digit pre-tournament odds. Ahead of the competition, she had not been listed in the betting for the SPOTY award but was the long odds-on betting favourite on vote night.

Bookmakers have been wary of tennis players in their SPOTY betting ever since. Nevertheless, in 2026, world-ranked number 15, Jack Draper, is trading as a SPOTY 25/1 shot. Success in Wimbledon’s Men’s Singles would see that price evaporate. It could prove enough to give the golden boy of British tennis the prize.

Draper is top priced 16/1 to win the Wimbledon Men’s Singles title in 2026 and 14/1 to win the US Open. These prices suggest that, this time, the UK’s bookmakers have taken a surprising misstep and the 24-year-old’s odds currently represent value in the SPOTY ante-post betting.