Rules

Playoff structure and prize money are set each season based on the number of teams. Prize figures below are the last published dollar amounts; the playoff field size (115 qualifiers, top 40 byes) is this season's cutoff. League finances are confirmed and emailed once the season begins.

A brief introduction, especially for anyone new to our game. Basically, each week of the NFL season you pick a dream team of NFL players. If they do well, so do you.

If you feel your knowledge of the NFL isn't all it might be, no need to worry — the game is 50% skill, 50% luck. If you have a good week, of course it's skill. If you don't, then it's bad luck!

The regular season runs for the first 14 weeks of the NFL season, and prizes are awarded for the top scorers each week. The playoffs run from week 15 of the NFL season through the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs, with roughly half of the teams making the playoffs.

There isn't a better game than this during the football season.

An "account" is the entity you compete as — most are played by one person, but several people can share one, and everyone on an account has the same control over its entries. The commissioner sets up accounts and decides who plays on which; ask them to add or move you. Accounts persist across seasons, and you can follow any account.

The entry fee is $200. Each year about 60% of the teams win some of their stake back. The commissioner can adjust the fee for a given season.

Each week you pick a team and submit it on this website. Your team consists of the following players and positions:

• 1 Quarterback (team slot — the team's QBs combined)
• 2 Running Backs (player slots)
• 3 Receivers — wide receivers or tight ends (player slots)
• 1 Place Kicker (team slot)
• 1 Return Team (team slot)
• 1 Team to score the Most points — "the Plus team"
• 1 Team to concede the Fewest points — "the Minus team"

There is no draft, so you can freely change whatever players you like from week to week — and in fact you'll have to, because each NFL team has one bye week during the regular season.

Besides picking an all-star team, what makes it so interesting is that each of your 10 picks must come from a different NFL team.

• Each of your 10 picks must come from 10 different NFL teams.
• Your Plus and Minus teams cannot be two teams playing each other — you would just end up with a net score of zero.
• Picks against teams on bye are allowed but score zero.
• Players you pick that don't play (or play but don't touch the ball) score 0.0 for that pick.

Once again: the Minus team is NOT the team you think will score the fewest points. It is the team you think will give up the fewest points.

Each game in your slate has its own lock time, computed from kickoff:

• Sunday games at or after 1pm ET — locked at 1:00pm ET Sunday, regardless of when the actual first kickoff is.
• Sunday games kicking off before 1pm ET (London / Europe games) — locked at their own kickoff. Other Sunday picks are not locked by the morning game.
• Monday games — locked at their own kickoff.
• Thursday games — locked at the earliest game of that day's kickoff.
• Saturday games — locked at their own kickoff.
• Grand Final week (NFL Wild Card weekend) — every game in the week locks at the first kickoff.

So all picks for Thursday, Saturday, and Monday games must be in before the start of the first relevant game on that day. And all picks for all Sunday afternoon and evening games must be entered before 1:00pm ET Sunday. Once that lock hits, you cannot make changes to your 4pm or 8pm selections.

Once a slot is locked you cannot change it. The weekly NFL schedule is posted on the entry page. Individual picks are revealed to everyone after their lock.

A touchdown thrown, caught, or run in is 6 points. Yardage generally counts as 0.1 point per yard (so 100 yards = 10 points). There are exceptions for the QB and Return Team, so please read the detailed scoring rules carefully.

For example, if one of your running backs runs for 112 yards, catches for 23 yards, and scores 1 touchdown, his score would be (112 × 0.1) + (23 × 0.1) + (1 × 6) = 19.5 points.

Player slots use the underlying player's stat line. Team slots use the team's contribution to that role (K scores the team's kicking; RT scores defensive and return plays; PLUS adds half the team's points scored; MINUS subtracts half the team's points conceded).

Each week, teams select a dream team of NFL players scored as follows.

• Quarterback (one) — this is a team position, so the passing yards, interceptions, and so on of the QB and his backup(s) (should they play) are added together, then scored.

  • 6 points for a TD thrown, run, or caught
  • 2 points deducted for an interception
  • 2 points deducted for a fumble lost
  • 0.1 point per passing yard multiplied by the completion percentage (so 250 yards passing at a 60% completion percentage = 15 points). Completion percentage is computed at the team level after combining attempts and completions — not as an average of individual percentages.
  • 0.1 points for any rushing or receiving yardage
  • 2 points for a 2-point conversion thrown, run, or caught
  • Passing TDs from non-QB players (for example, if a running back throws a TD pass) do not count toward the QB score.
  • A Team QB (or selected position player) can only score TD points once on a single play — if a QB throws a TD to another QB, it counts as 1 QB TD. If a QB (or another position player) throws a pass that is deflected, then catches it and scores, that is a manual override and the player is credited with 2 TDs.

• Running Backs (two)

  • 6 points for a TD run, caught, or thrown
  • 0.1 points for each yard rushing or receiving
  • 0.1 point per passing yard multiplied by that player's completion percentage
  • 2 points deducted for a fumble lost
  • 2 points for a 2-point conversion run, caught, or thrown

• Wide Receivers / Tight Ends (three)

  • 6 points for a TD run, caught, or thrown
  • 0.1 points for each yard rushing or receiving
  • 0.1 point per passing yard multiplied by that player's completion percentage
  • 2 points deducted for a fumble lost
  • 2 points for a 2-point conversion run, caught, or thrown

• Kicker (one) — you are picking the team kicker.

  • 0.1 points for each yard of a successful field goal
  • 1 point for each point after touchdown
  • 6 points for a TD run, caught, or thrown
  • Standard rules for passing (0.1 per yard times completion percentage), rushing (0.1 per yard), and receiving (0.1 per yard)

• Return Team (one)

  • 0.1 points per every 2 yards on kickoffs and punts (0.05 per yard). Return yardage from interceptions, fumble recoveries, blocked kicks, and missed field goals does not count.
  • 2 points for each interception or recovered fumble
  • 6 points for a TD scored on a kickoff, punt, or interception return
  • 6 points for TDs scored by defense or special teams from fumble recoveries, blocked or missed field goals, or blocked punts (no points for the yardage)
  • 2 points for forcing a safety
  • If your receiver or running back also plays on special teams (returns punts or kickoffs), those points are scored only for the Return Team and not the individual player.
  • If a single play involves multiple fumbles or interceptions, points are awarded for each turnover, not just the net outcome of the play.

• Team to score Most, a.k.a. "the Plus team" (one): the team you pick gets half the number of points they score in the game. If the team scores 27 points, 13.5 points are added to your score.

• Team to concede the Fewest, a.k.a. "the Minus team" (one): the team you pick loses half the points they concede in the game. If the team concedes 14 points, then 7 points are deducted from your score. This is not the team you think will score the fewest points — it is the team you think will give up the fewest points.

Bye-week players score zero. Empty slots on a submitted entry also score nothing for the week.

If you do not submit picks for the week at all, the week scores zero unless the commissioner has turned on missed-entry scoring. When that rule is on, missed entries receive a score at a configured percentile of that week's field — historically around the 10th percentile, a below-average week — so nobody limps into the playoffs on a free ride.

Your picks are private until each slot's lock time. After lock, every entry's picks for that slot become visible to all members. This keeps the meta honest: you cannot copy your rivals after they have committed.

Each week during the regular season (14 weeks), the top 10 teams receive prizes:

• 1st = $350 (plus automatic entry into the playoffs)
• 2nd = $250
• 3rd = $225
• 4th = $200
• 5th = $175
• 6th = $150
• 7th = $125
• 8th = $100
• 9th = $75
• 10th = $50

At the end of the regular season, the following prizes are awarded:

• 1st place points: $1,250 + bye in Week 1 of the playoffs
• 2nd place points: $800 + bye in Week 1 of the playoffs
• 3rd place points: $600 + bye in Week 1 of the playoffs
• 4th place points: $400 + bye in Week 1 of the playoffs
• 5th place points: $200 + bye in Week 1 of the playoffs
• 6th–10th: $100 + bye in Week 1 of the playoffs
• 11th–20th: $50 + bye in Week 1 of the playoffs
• 21st–40th: bye in Week 1 of the playoffs

Cumulative season-long points determine playoff seeding at the close of Week 14.

The playoff format changes each year depending on the number of participating teams. At the conclusion of the regular season, the top 115 teams qualify for the playoffs. Additionally, any team winning a week in the regular season (regardless of their season-long standing) automatically qualifies.

The top 40 receive a bye in Round 1. Each round is based on total points scored that week, and about 40% of teams move on:

• 1st round of the playoffs (Week 15 of the NFL season): top 33 teams (of the ~83 participating) move on
• 2nd round of the playoffs (Week 16 of the NFL season): top 29 teams (of the ~73 participating) move on
• 3rd round of the playoffs (Week 17 of the NFL season): 12 teams move on
• 4th round of the playoffs (Week 18 of the NFL season): 5 teams move on
• Grand Final (Wild Card weekend)

Increasing prize money is awarded for each round of the playoffs. While final amounts depend on the number of teams participating, teams making the later rounds win sufficient prize money to cover their entry fee:

• 1st round losers receive $50
• 2nd round losers receive $100
• 3rd round losers receive $300
• 4th round losers receive $500
• Grand Finalists receive $500 (5th), $1,000 (4th), $2,000 (3rd), $3,500 (2nd), and $7,500 (1st)

Playoff weeks 15–18 use the normal per-day lock rules.

The NFL's Wild Card weekend is the Grand Final. Every game in the week locks simultaneously at the first kickoff.

In the late stages of the playoffs, participants make additional picks to act as tiebreakers if two teams finish on the same score. Those extra slots appear on the Grand Final entry form (extra kickers and return teams). When primary scores tie, the tiebreaker slots are compared in order.

The winner takes the cup; the top five split the championship pool.

• Stats from the official feeds (historically espn.com) are used as gospel in our scoring. Experience tells us that even they are not infallible. In the unlikely event of a misprint, common sense always prevails.
• The website pulls (nearly) real-time game stats. Live scoring is unofficial and subject to change. Official scoring is posted approximately 18–24 hours after the NFL games have concluded.
• The commissioner's word on disputes is final.

Be a good sport. The message board has trash talk; it does not have abuse. Cheating — including pick-sharing across accounts before lock — gets you removed.