Redshirt
Analysis

Heisman Edges: Where Model and Market Disagree

The tracked board prices national title, not Heisman directly, so the sharpest award read-through sits with Notre Dame, Texas, Oregon and Miami on Kalshi.

By Redshirt Editorial · 2026-07-12
Analysis
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Key takeaways
  • The tracked dataset quotes national title fair value and best price, not standalone Heisman contracts, so award edges are read through title-market structure.
  • Notre Dame leads the title board at 9.2% fair value, with a best price of 12c on Kalshi.
  • Texas, Oregon and Miami sit level at 8.4% fair value and 11c best price, the deepest tier of Heisman-relevant contenders.
  • Ohio State and Indiana each carry 6.8% fair value and a 9c best price, trailing the top group by a clear margin.
  • Every listed team's best price exceeds its fair value, showing the market's overround baked into the quoted cents.

The tracked board prices the national title market, not a standalone Heisman market, so the sharpest award read-through runs through the strongest title contenders. That points first to Notre Dame at 9.2% fair value, then to Texas, Oregon and Miami, all level at 8.4%, each quoted on Kalshi.

Heisman value follows title value for a reason: the award almost always lands with a headline player on a team deep in the playoff picture. With no separate Heisman contracts in the tracked figures, the title board is the cleanest available proxy for where the model and the market line up, and where they part.

Does the tracked board quote Heisman odds directly?

No. The dataset carries national title fair value and a best price in cents per team, sourced here from Kalshi. There is no separate Heisman line to cite, so no award-specific number is quoted in this analysis.

The workaround is structural. The model's title fair value ranks which programs sit deepest in the contender pool, and the Heisman field is drawn overwhelmingly from that same pool. A team priced near the top of the title board is far likelier to house the eventual award favorite than one buried below it.

That mapping is a proxy, not a one-to-one translation. It flags the teams whose depth charts matter most to the award, without assigning a probability to any individual player.

Where do the model and the market disagree most?

The clearest disagreement is the spread between the quoted price and the model's fair value. On every listed team, best price sits above fair value, which is the market's overround made visible. Notre Dame prices at 12c against a 9.2% fair value, the widest single gap on the board.

Texas, Oregon and Miami each price at 11c against 8.4% fair value, a consistent step of roughly two and a half cents of vig. Ohio State and Indiana carry 9c prices against 6.8% fair value. The pattern is uniform: the market's headline number overstates the de-vigged probability across the top tier.

For an award read-through, that means the title prices on the most Heisman-relevant teams are already carrying a premium. The model's fair value is the more conservative anchor.

Title best price vs model gap, top contenders
Notre Dame12c
Texas11c
Oregon11c
Miami11c
Ohio State9c
Indiana9c

Which contenders anchor the Heisman conversation?

By model fair value, the order is Notre Dame at 9.2%, then Texas, Oregon and Miami tied at 8.4%, then Ohio State and Indiana at 6.8%. Georgia sits at 5.2% and LSU at 4.4%, rounding out the group whose rosters realistically produce an award finalist.

The tight cluster at the top matters. Four teams inside a single point of fair value means the market sees little separation among the leading title cases, and by extension little separation among the programs most likely to field the award winner.

Below that group, the drop to 6.8% and then to the 5% range marks where title, and Heisman, relevance thins on the tracked board.

National title fair value, Heisman-relevant teams
Notre Dame9.2%
Texas8.4%
Oregon8.4%
Miami8.4%
Ohio State6.8%
Indiana6.8%
Georgia5.2%
LSU4.4%

How to read these prices

Fair value is the model's de-vigged probability after the overround is stripped. Best price is the cheapest quoted contract in cents, which maps to a pre-vig implied probability. The gap between the two is the cost the market charges to hold the position.

On this board, the listed best prices all come from Kalshi; the promo code there is FADE, with Polymarket at TGSWC and ProphetX at VAULT for traders comparing venues. Cross-venue quotes are how a cheaper price on the same team gets surfaced.

One caution: these are title figures used as a Heisman proxy, and both the model and the market can be wrong. The numbers are a research signal for where prices and fair value diverge, not financial advice or a forecast of the award itself.

TeamsNotre DameTexasOregonMiamiOhio StIndiana
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Frequently asked questions

Does the tracked board quote Heisman odds directly?

No. The current dataset prices the national title market, sourced from Kalshi, with a de-vigged fair value and a best price in cents for each team. Heisman-specific contracts are not in the tracked figures, so award edges are inferred from title-market strength rather than quoted directly.

Which teams anchor the Heisman conversation in the title market?

Notre Dame leads at 9.2% fair value, followed by Texas, Oregon and Miami at 8.4% each. Those four form the top tier whose quarterbacks and skill players typically drive the award narrative.

Where do the model and the market disagree most?

Across every listed team, the best price in cents sits above the model's fair value, reflecting the vig. Notre Dame's 12c price against a 9.2% fair value is the widest single gap on the tracked board.

What does fair value mean here?

Fair value is the model's de-vigged probability estimate after stripping the market's overround. Best price is the cheapest quoted contract, expressed in cents, which maps to an implied probability before the vig is removed.

Where is the cheapest venue to trade these teams?

On the tracked national title board, the listed best prices all come from Kalshi. Prices and the model can both be wrong, so the figures are a research signal, not financial advice.

About the author
Redshirt Editorial

Redshirt Analytics editors cover college football prediction markets: how contracts price the season, where the value sits, and how the platforms compare.