It’s common knowledge that the NFL point spread is one of the most efficient lines in all of sports betting. For bettors tired of being ground down by the house edge, NFL Pick’em contests present a viable, and potentially profitable, alternative.

Pick’em pools, otherwise known as handicapping contests, are contests where fans compete against one another in weekly or season-long battles, and whoever picks the most winners straight up or against the spread secures the grand prize.

Sportsbooks host NFL Pick’em contests because they drive tons of traffic and positive publicity, and players love them for their entertainment value and huge prize pools.

Pick’em pools are also popular because it’s easier to get an edge against other players than it is betting NFL spreads against the house.

However, to secure that advantage, bettors need to use proven strategies and understand how NFL Pick’em contests work.

In this guide, we cover these strategies, talk more about how handicapping contests work, and lead you to the best NFL Pick’em sites.

What Is An NFL Pick’em Contest?

NFL Pick’em contests have evolved from a few isolated contests in Las Vegas to dozens of options accessible to more than half the country, each with its own unique rules.

Some NFL Pick’em pools are leaderboard-style peer-to-peer contests where contestants submit selections from the upcoming NFL slate before the deadline.

For each win, they accumulate points, and whoever has the most points at the end of the contest’s duration is declared the winner.

Most NFL Pick’em contest rules are not as rigid as NFL Survivor Pools, teams can be selected more than once, and forgetting to submit picks doesn’t result in elimination.

However, failing to select teams causes contestants to not receive any points for the week, severely hurting their chances of winning.

The prize pools for NFL handicapping contests can be massive, with the largest guaranteed prize pools running into the millions, far more than most bettors will ever win betting spreads against the book.

Even a $5 contest can have five-figure top prizes, making them extremely appealing to casual bettors.

Some online sportsbooks and media outlets even offer NFL pick’em contests exclusively for marketing purposes that are free to enter.

For example, ESPN and CBS Sports host free NFL pick’em contests every year that award weekly cash prizes.

The Three Types Of NFL Pick’em Contests

There are three common types of NFL Pick’em Contests:

• Classic: Standard, or classic, NFL Pick’ems are contests where bettors pick teams to win outright. A win usually earns one leaderboard point.
• Spread: This is the most popular type of NFL Pick’em pool. Bettors pick teams against the spread, with the lines usually posted mid-week. Wins earn a point, and losses are counted as goose eggs.
• Confidence: This popular format adds a layer of complexity to Classic Pick’em contests. Bettors still pick teams to win outright, but they assign confidence points to each selection, giving each pick a different weight.

NFL Pick’em Contest Rules

All NFL Pick’em contests have a distinct set of rules that bettors will want to be acutely aware of.

Here are the most common variations:

• Registration period: Fans usually have a few weeks to register. However, contestants will want to note the registration deadline and allow enough time to sign up for an account, read the rules, and submit their first picks.
• Single vs. multi-entry: Some contests only permit a single entry, but most allow multiple entries.
• Guaranteed vs. non-guaranteed prize pools: A guaranteed prize pool represents the minimum amount that must be distributed to winners, regardless of the number of entries. Guaranteed fields are often much larger and often present valuable overlay opportunities.
• Administrative fees: Paid Pick’em pools may be subject to administrative fees, commonly known as rake.
• Deadlines: All Pick’em contests have deadlines, but some have a static deadline, whereas others permit users to submit and edit picks up until the kickoff time of their earliest game.
• Payout structures: NFL Pick’em pools can have a variety of payout structures. The most competitive are winner-take-all, where a single winner takes the entire prize pool. Some pools use tiebreakers to split the pot evenly among winners. Others use a staggered % of the field payout structure, with 1st place claiming the biggest prize and the top 10-20% receiving a proportional payout.
• Weekly or season-long: Most Pick’em pools run for the duration of the NFL season. However, weekly contests are growing in popularity.
• Handling ties: Each contest handles ties differently. Some offer half-point spreads to avoid draws. Others award 0.5 leaderboard points when a game ends tied, and a few count ties as losses.

These aren’t the only rules that Pick’em bettors need to be aware of, but they cover the majority. Ensure that you thoroughly understand the terms and conditions before entering a contest, whether it be a $1 Mini Pick’em or a $10,000 High Roller event.

Where To Play NFL Pick’em Contests

The best NFL pick’em contests offer the advantages of being affordable to enter, and legal in most states.

As a result, bettors on budgets and those in states without access to legal sportsbooks can put their NFL knowledge to use and potentially win money.

Several online sportsbooks and media outlets host NFL Pick’em contests every year. Most are open to fans nationwide, but some sportsbooks host Pick ’em pools only available to customers in select states.

Free NFL Pick’em Contests

Here’s a look at some of the most popular free NFL Pick’em contests:

CBSSports.com Pro Football Pick’em Contest

hosts pick’em contests every NFL season with $1,000 awarded to weekly winners and $5,000 to the contestant that accumulates the most points throughout the season.

There are also two $100,000 contingency prizes available to bettors who pick every game correctly during a weekly period and predict the exact scores of two featured games.

The Pro Football Pick’em Contest works on a tiebreaker system, with a single winner each week, and a seasonal champion.

The CBS NFL Pick’em contest is open to all legal residents of the United States 21 and over, who are registered with either CBSSports.com or SportsLine.com.

ESPN Pigskin Pick’em

ESPN’s 2024 offer $100,000 in prizes and are available in three formats:

• Standard: Select teams to win outright, with each win generating one leaderboard point.
• Spread: Choose teams to win against the spread. Wins accrue one point each.
• Confidence: Same as standard, except contestants assign weighted values ranging from 1-16 (less if fewer games are scheduled) ranked by how confident they are in their picks. Points are awarded based on the confidence scores of winning selections.

The EPN Pigskin Pick’em is available to fans from all fifty states and contestants are permitted 5 total entries across all three formats.

In total, 54 $500 weekly prizes will be awarded to contestants, and the three season-long winners will each snag a lucrative $20,000 prize. In addition, one lucky contestant will win $5k via a random drawing.

ESPN adheres to a winner-take-all format. In the event of a tie for a weekly contest, the score of that week’s Monday Night Football is used as a tiebreaker.

In the event of a season-long tie, the highest score from Week 18 is used as the first tiebreaker, followed by the highest score from Week 17, and so forth.

Fox Sports Super 6

FOX Sports hosts Super 6 contests annually for several pro sports leagues, including the NFL. FOX Super 6 is free to enter and open to fans 18+ from every state and Washington D.C.

Contestants answer six questions about the upcoming NFL slate, ranging from who will have the most receiving yards, to team scores, game outcomes, and more. They’ll also be asked to answer questions about a tiebreaker game.

Users who score the most leaderboard points can win a portion of the $10,000 weekly prize pool. In total, $250k will be distributed over the NFL season.

New users can get started by visiting to register, download the Pick 6 app, and pick predictions involving six games every week.

Paid NFL Pick’em Contests

Fans in Nevada and states where DraftKings Sportsbook operates may also participate in paid NFL pick’em contests for chances to win betting bonuses and cash.

DraftKings NFL Pick’em Pools

DraftKings Sportsbook has the biggest selection of NFL pick’em contests, offering pools across a wide variety of price points. The season-long pools are as follows:

• Micro NFL Pick’em Pool: The cheapest DraftKings’ season-long pick’em pool costs $5 per entry and guarantees a $25,000 minimum prize pool, although that number is often exceeded. Contestants are permitted up to 50 unique entries.
• Mini NFL Pick’em Pool: The Mini Pool has a $50 entry fee, a massive $100,000 prize pool, and allows up to 25 entries per customer. First place is awarded at least $15,000.
• Main Event NFL Pick’em Pool: The 2024 DraftKings NFL Pick’em Main Event features a $500 entry fee, guarantees $750,000, and awards at least $150,000 to the winner. Contestants can submit up to 100 entries.
• High Roller NFL Pick’em Pool: Bettors pay $5,000 to enter this exclusive event, guaranteed to award $100,000. Entries are limited to 5 per user.

DraftKings also offers a wide selection of weekly and primetime pick’em pools, with entry fees ranging from $5 – $100, and minimum guaranteed prize pools of $5,000 – $10,000.

DraftKings Pick’em pools function differently than most, as contestants are only required to pick five games per week against the spread. They’re also allowed to take a bye week, where they don’t have to submit any selections.

The pools only run for the first 17 weeks of the NFL season, with users submitting a total of 80 picks.

A few other details worth noting:

• In order to participate, users must have a registered DraftKings Sportsbook account and be located in a state where the operator is legal and licensed. To see if DraftKings is legal in your state, reference our state-by-state betting guides.
• Pools pay out approximately 15-20% of the field, but the payouts are extremely top-heavy. First place is generally awarded between 15-20% of the total pot, and the lowest money finishers double their buy-in.
• Users pay a 5-15% administrative fee on each entry. The fees for smaller buy-ins are usually the highest, and high-rollers contests paying the lowest rake.
• Lines are released on Wednesday morning and are fixed throughout the selection period. The spreads always end in half-points to avoid ties.
• Games that are delayed, postponed, or canceled for any reason are counted as a loss.
• Selection lock at 1 p.m. on NFL Sundays.

Although DraftKings Sportsbook offers more pick’em pools than ever before, it’s a bit disappointing that the days of $1,000,000 guaranteed first-place prizes and massive overlays seem to be a thing of the past.

Circa Sports Million Pro Football Contest

Circa Sports is home to two of the most lucrative NFL Pick’em contests fans will find anywhere.

The has quickly evolved into the season’s most prestigious event. Together with the equally esteemed , $14 million in guaranteed prizes is up for grabs, with $6 million allocated toward the pick’em pool.

Contestants can submit up to 5 entries, with each one costing $1,000. There are a few things to be aware of before participating:

• Contestants place 5 picks against the spread each week and the turnaround time is tighter than most pools, with lines posted at 10 a.m. on Thursday and submissions due by Saturday at 4 p.m. This limits contestants’ ability to bet stale lines.
• Wins earn one point and ties earn one half-point.
• There is no rake. All entry fees go into the prize pool.
• Bettors must register and submit picks in person at a Circa-affiliated casino in Las Vegas. If they’re not in Vegas, contestants use a proxy service, if willing to pay the fees.

In addition to the $1 million guaranteed first-place prize, the pool pays out places 2-100. It also pays out quarterly prizes, and last & second to last place are awarded “booby” prizes.

Circa Sports Million often has an overlay, making it a particularly appealing NFL Pick’em pool for value hunters. The 2023 iteration of the contest drew 5,274 entries, amounting to a $726,000 overlay.

Superbook Sports SuperContest

The Westgate SuperBook Sportsbook hosts its annual SuperContest, a three-pronged mega event that generates tons of publicity and awards enormous cash prizes.

The three legs of the SuperContest are as follows:

• SuperContest: The Main Event is a $1,000 Pick’em where contestants select 5 teams against the contest line for the entire 18-week regular season. Up to 7 entries per customer are permitted, and the top 20 regular season finishers get paid, along with 11 in-season contest winners.
• SuperContest Gold: The rules for SuperContest Gold are similar to SuperContest’s, but the entry fee is $5,000 and the pool is winner-take-all. The only exception is if more than one contestant finishes ties for first, the prize pool will be divided evenly. This pool is recommended for serious bettors only.
• SuperContest Reboot: The reboot is a $500 contest (5 max entries), that runs from Week 10 – 18 of the NFL Season. It gives a second chance to those who bricked their Survivor pools, performed poorly in early season Pick’em pools, or prefer shorter contests.

All SuperContests are rake-free, without minimum guaranteed prize pools. However, the SuperContest allocates an impressive $810,000 to contestants with the best showing over designated 3-, 6-, and 9-week periods, ensuring that no entry is out of the running until the bitter end.

Unfortunately, registration for any of these events must take place in person, even for fans with SuperBook Sportsbook accounts and those using a proxy.

Do Other Online Sportsbooks Offer NFL Pick’em Pools?

At this time, DraftKings Sportsbook is the only legal online sportsbook that supports NFL pick’em pools. We hope to see more of these types of contests become available.

Interestingly, FanDuel Sportsbook offers a Pick’em contest for NCAA Football, just not for the NFL (yet).

NFL Handicapping Contest Tips

Winning an NFL handicapping contest is a formidable task, and luck will need to be on your side. However, contestants can increase their odds of winning a cash prize by adopting a few strategies.

Free-To-Play Isn’t Always Worth It

Free NFL Pick’em contests sound like a great deal, but they’re actually quite costly in terms of time equity.

With massive free contest fields often drawing 10,000 contestants or more, even if half the field is dead money, your expected return in a $20,000 Pick’em pool is just $4, and most free NFL Pick’em pools only pay first place.

Factor in confidence intervals and the process can be downright exhausting when making the amount of picks a free pool requires vs a paid one.

Competing for first place will require a significant time investment per week, randomly firing selections rarely works.

Before entering a free-to-play NFL Pick’em pool, consider if it’s worth your time in terms monetary reward and entertainment value. We suggest entering at least one paid contest, and then copying your selections to free pools that only require less picks per week.

Know The Rules

It’s critical to know the rules surrounding contest participation. In particular, you’ll want to know the contest’s format, how ties and cancellations are handled, when lines are posted, and when picks must be submitted.

Understanding how Thursday, Saturday, and Monday games are handled, the payout structure, and whether there are in-season “mini” contests, will help you plan early and late-season strategies.

Many users blindly enter contests without knowledge of the rules. Sometimes they score 0 points during Week 1, not because their picks flopped, but because they thought they could submit picks up until Sunday kickoff.

Find NFL Pick’em Pool Overlays

Enter NFL Pick’em contests at the last minute to see how many entrants are in the field, and what the size of the prize pool is. For contests with guaranteed prize pools, registering late is especially valuable, as you can quickly determine if there is an overlay.

The quickest way to calculate overlays is to divide the prize pool by the buy-in amount.

For example, if a contest guarantees $500,000 and the entry fee is $500, then 500,000 / 500 = 1,000 contestants that will need to register to fulfill the guarantee.

f there are only 800 people registered 10 minutes before the deadline, then there is a good chance of a sizable overlay.

Figuring out the exact amount of an overlay requires an extra step. Divide the prize pool by the current number of entries plus your prospective entry. Using the example above, if there are 800 registrants, each ticket will be worth $500,000 / 801 = $624.22, assuming your entry.

That amounts to $124.22 in cash equity, just for signing up.

These simple overlay formulas apply regardless of administrative fees, and we suggest using them to find extra value.

Always Submit Entries

If you’re going to enter an NFL Pick’em contest, make sure you are always able to submit your entries.

Missing a week is not as devastating as it is for NFL Survivor pools, but it’s pretty close.

Assuming you select winners against the spread 70% of the time in a contest that is 17 weeks long, and you lay goose eggs just once due to negligence, your win percentage will drop to 65.9%, a big enough drop to take you out of the running.

Plot Out An Early Season Strategy

Early season NFL pick’em strategy revolves around a few strong fundamentals. The goal during the first 8-10 weeks is to accumulate as many wins as possible, and pay very little attention to the standings and betting trends.

Here are a few early season NFL Pick’em pool tips:

• Pick off stale lines: NFL Pick’em contests usually post lines around Wednesday. By Sunday morning, many of these lines will move several points due to injury, sharp action, weather forecasts, and other factors. Favor teams that offer closing line value (CLV). If the Chicago Bears are listed at +2.5 on Wednesday, but shoot up to -3.5 by Sunday morning, take the Bears.
• Know the key numbers: When betting stale lines, it’s not enough to look at how much a line moved. Give key numbers like 3, 6, 7, and 10 more weight because these are common winning differentials in the NFL. For instance, if a line moves from +5.5 to +3.5, it’s far less valuable than one moving from +7.5 to +6.5, despite only moving half as much.
• Don’t overemphasize Week 1: If this season’s Super Bowl betting favorite gets a few unlucky breaks and loses its Week 1 game to a mediocre team, don’t instantly write them off. A lot of bettors are shocked when great teams bounce back in Week 2 and beyond. Recency bias can result in dropping to the bottom of the pick’em standings.
• Bet late, extremely late: NFL point spreads are a very efficient market, with the average bettor winning just 49-50% of their picks. However, NFL pick’em winners usually hit 65-70% of their selections. This is partially because they’re fully maximizing their time, waiting until the very last minute (when lines are at their most efficient) to bet Wednesday’s “contest lines,” which are far less efficient. Submitting picks about an hour ahead is a good rule of thumb.

Keep in mind, some contests only post spreads ending in 0.5. If the public line is +7 and your opening line is +7.5, you’re already at a half-point advantage, with no other factors considered.

The Goal Is To Win, Not Cash

NFL Pick’em pool payout tables are extremely top-heavy. Circa allocates over 18% to the winner, while the SuperContest pays a staggering 42% of the remaining prize pool to 1st place.

Even on DraftKings Sportsbook, the winner usually gets 15-20% of the total prize pool, while second place receives just 3-6%.

If you find yourself in a good position after Week 10, it’s time to devise an aggressive strategy aimed at winning, not cashing.

Here is where your unique handicapping strategy will come into play, and when you’ll want to start paying attention to what other contestants at the top of the leaderboards are betting.

Safe bets are more likely to result in a cash, but since so many other contestants will be using the same strategy, it won’t position you for a win.

Blending safe picks with less obvious choices is a viable strategy. You could also try betting on the Thursday, Saturday, or Monday games, as these tend to generate less action. Or avoid Sunday afternoon games altogether, since there’s a tendency for pick’em contestants to want to watch the teams they select.

Always evaluate the standings, and determine how much maneuvering you’ll need to do to rise in the ranking because it’s better to have a small chance at a big prize.