MIAMI GARDENS — When owner Stephen Ross said he thinks his Miami Dolphins are Super Bowl contenders if they stay healthy, it made headlines.

It should, you want to say, in part because we hadn’t heard much from Ross until he visited the TV booth to speak with the team’s preseason announcers during the Dolphins-Commanders game. Had Ross predicted a rain chance of 30% or gas prices dropping by 5 cents, that, too, would have qualified as news.

Coach Mike McDaniel and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa quickly (and predictably) gave their endorsements to Ross.

“Let’s be bold,” McDaniel said.

But is it bold, really? Let’s take a look.

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Stephen Ross didn’t pay this much to not expect results

Given the investments Ross has made in this roster ranging from extensions to Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, plus the additions of 30-somethings Calais Campbell and Jordan Poyer to fill holes on defense, if Ross didn’t set the bar at being contenders, it would have been a shock. It would have been tantamount to admitting he hadn’t spent his money wisely. And Ross handles too much money in the business world to write checks foolishly.

What exactly is a Super Bowl contender, anyway?

Think about it. Everybody has their own definition. Is it a firm belief a team is in the top four of the NFL (and therefore likely to at least reach the conference title game)? Top six?

“I think there’s 10 teams,” Tagovailoa said.

Depending on the season, he might be right or he might be generous. Certainly last season, with all the starting quarterbacks going down, it opened up the pool of “contenders.” This explains Ross hedging his bet with his injury qualifier.

Before anyone says 10 is too many, think about the 2023 Houston Texans. Fine young team, right? Last year at this time, nobody considered them a contender. Their odds of winning it all were 150-1.

Two reasons that are important now:

1. Those odds put the Texans tied for longest of the long shots in the NFL.

2. They were tied with Arizona (made sense) but also Tampa Bay, which meant that two teams that not only qualified for the playoffs but advanced past the wild-card round had the steepest odds on the board.

Do oddsmakers agree with Ross?

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Marginally.

Kansas City and San Francisco are everybody’s top two to reach the Super Bowl once again.

After them, there’s a consensus with most of the usual suspects: Ravens, Lions (we did say “most”), Eagles, Texans (see Lions qualifier), Bills, Bengals, Jets (sorry, Dolfans), Packers and Cowboys. Then the Dolphins.

That’s according to Las Vegas. Closer to home are the odds at Hard Rock, the only legalized sports betting outlet in Florida.

Which doesn’t mean a hometown discount for the Dolphins.

Hard Rock has the Dolphins tied with Green Bay and the Jets at +2000, meaning you’d win that much on a $100 bet if Miami were to win the Super Bowl. That puts the Dolphins tied for 12th in the NFL and far behind Kansas City (+575) and San Francisco (+650). The Dolphins must have done something right this summer, however, because their pre-training camp odds were higher at +2250.

The sobering part: The consensus rankings for the AFC East indicate that the Dolphins will have a fight to make the playoffs (not to mention a coveted home playoff game to end the drought). Buffalo and the Jets are favored to finish above them in the division.

Criticize oddsmakers at your own peril, because not withstanding Houston last year, sportsbooks know their stuff. Their top 11 picks entering last season were Chiefs, 49ers, Eagles, Bills, Bengals, Cowboys, Ravens, Jets, Chargers, Dolphins, Lions. What do they have in common? They all made the playoffs — except for the Bengals, Jets and Chargers, who lost their quarterbacks.

Ross was onto something about staying healthy.

How many wins should Dolfans expect?

Oddsmakers agree that Miami’s over/under is 9.5. This puts them in a class with the Jets, Cowboys, Falcons, Texans and Packers. It would be a step back from going 11-6 last season.

What about the stars such as Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill?

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Tagovailoa is No. 9 among favorites to win MVP honors. Of the top 17 options, 17 are quarterbacks. Hill is listed in the same general territory as Minnesota receiver Justin Jefferson, but neither is the top choice among non-QBs. San Fran running back Christian McCaffrey is.

At least Hill and CMC lead the list of contenders for top offensive player.

Dolphins reporter Hal Habib can be reached at hhabib@pbpost.com. Follow him on social media @gunnerhal.

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This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Stephen Ross says Miami Dolphins Super Bowl contenders. Do oddsmakers agree?