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May 17 (UPI) -- The Washington Redskins are the betting favorite to be the next team featured on HBO's Hard Knocks. Oddsmakers at SportsBetting.AG have the Redskins at +125 to land a spot on the show. The Oakland Raiders are the next favorite to be featured at +250. The New York Giants (+300), Detroit Lions (+350) and San Francisco 49ers (+900) are also in contention, according to the oddsmakers.
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The Raiders are a very intriguing option for HBO, but might be an even better option next season when they are set to move to Las Vegas.
The four aforementioned teams are the most likely candidates as they fit they don't fit the criteria for being exempt from the show. Teams that have a first-year head coach, teams that have gone to the playoffs in either of the last two seasons and teams that have appeared on the show in the last 10 seasons are exempt from Hard Knocks.
League sources told NBC Sports earlier this month that the 49ers will not be featured on the show. That news came after coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch said they didn't want the team on the show.
"It's not something we would be really excited about," Lynch said in 2018, according to NBC Sports. "I love the show, but I think some things are best left behind closed doors. I fundamentally have a problem with cutting players and things of that nature [on camera]. It's not something we'd be thrilled about."
The NFL can force teams to participate in the show if they fit the criteria for being eligible. Hard Knocks featured the Cleveland Browns last season. The show debuted in 2001 and featured the Baltimore Ravens in its first season.
Last year, HBO announced that the Browns would be featured on May 17, 2018. HBO announced that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would be featured in the 2017 edition of the show on May 19, 2017.
Washington has mandatory minicamp from June 4 to 6 and begins OTA off-season workouts Monday.
