Running a survivor pool is one of the most fun things you can do with a group of friends, coworkers, or a fantasy football league during the NFL season. It's low-maintenance once it's set up, it keeps everyone engaged all season long, and it doesn't require anyone to know much about football beyond picking a winner each week.
This guide walks you through everything you need to know to run one well, from setting the rules before Week 1 to paying out the winner at the end of the season.
Step 1: Decide on the Basic Format
Before you invite anyone, you need to nail down the core rules. These are the decisions that shape everything else.
How many entries per player? Most pools allow one entry per person, which keeps things simple. Some commissioners allow multiple entries, which increases the pot but also means one player can dominate the leaderboard. If you allow multiple entries, decide upfront whether players can pick the same team across their own entries in the same week. Most experienced commissioners say no. It defeats the purpose of having multiple entries.
What's the buy-in? This depends entirely on your group. Office pools often run $20 to $50 per entry. Friend groups can go higher or lower depending on comfort level. The buy-in sets the stakes, so pick a number everyone can agree on without hesitation.
Who takes the pot? The most common format is winner-take-all. Some pools split the pot if multiple survivors reach the end of the season, either equally or weighted by how many weeks each person survived. Decide this before Week 1 and put it in writing.
Will you have a commissioner's fee? Some commissioners take a small percentage of the pot to cover their time and platform costs. Others run it purely for fun. Either is fine. Just be transparent about it upfront.
Step 2: Set Your Rules and Write Them Down
Vague rules cause drama. The best commissioners over-communicate before the season starts and never have to referee a dispute mid-season.
Here are the rules you need to define clearly:
Pick deadline. When do picks lock? The safest approach is locking picks at each game's kickoff time. That means Thursday night games lock Thursday, Sunday games lock Sunday, and Monday night games lock Monday. This prevents anyone from changing their pick after seeing how other games played out.
What happens if someone forgets to pick? Most pools eliminate the entry automatically. Some commissioners give a one-time grace period or mulligan. Whatever you decide, apply it consistently and announce it ahead of time.
Tiebreakers. If two or more entries survive the entire season, how do you determine a winner? Options include splitting the pot equally, going to a points-based tiebreaker, or running a sudden-death playoff week. Pick one and stick to it.
Double-pick weeks. Some commissioners add a week, often around Thanksgiving or late in the season, where every entry must submit two picks instead of one. It's a great way to thin the field and shake things up. If you plan to do this, announce it before the season starts rather than springing it on players mid-season.
Mulligans. Some pools allow each entry one free pass per season: a week where a losing pick doesn't eliminate them. Mulligans make pools run longer and reduce early-season chaos. They also add complexity. Decide whether they fit your group's style.
Step 3: Invite Your Players
Once your rules are set, it's time to fill the pool.
Start with your core group and let word of mouth do the rest. Survivor pools grow naturally. One person tells a coworker, a coworker tells their friend group, and suddenly you have 40 entries. Set a cap if you want to keep it manageable, or let it grow and enjoy the bigger pot.
When you send invites, include:
- The buy-in amount and how to pay
- A clear summary of the rules
- The pick deadline format
- How winners get paid out
- Where players will submit their picks each week
That last point matters more than people think. If your players don't know where to go to make their pick, you'll spend Week 1 answering the same question 20 times.
Step 4: Collect Buy-Ins Before the Season Starts
Don't wait until Week 3 to collect money. It gets awkward fast, especially after some players have already been eliminated.
Collect buy-ins before Week 1 picks are due. Venmo, Zelle, PayPal, or cash all work. Keep a simple record of who has paid and who hasn't, and don't let unpaid entries submit picks.
If you're using a platform that handles payment collection for you, even better. It removes the most uncomfortable part of being a commissioner.
Step 5: Manage Picks Each Week
This is where most of the commissioner's ongoing work happens, and where a good platform makes your life dramatically easier.
Each week you need to:
- Remind players to submit their pick. A Friday or Saturday reminder goes a long way. People get busy. A simple message to the group chat saves you from chasing down missing picks Sunday morning.
- Track who picked what. You need a record of every entry's pick each week, both to grade results and to enforce the no-repeat-team rule.
- Grade results after games are played. Which picks won? Which lost? Who is eliminated?
- Update standings. Players want to know who's still alive and what everyone picked. Transparency keeps engagement high.
If you're running this manually with a spreadsheet, it's doable for a small pool but becomes a real time commitment as the pool grows. Most commissioners who've done it both ways strongly prefer using a platform that handles grading and standings automatically.
Step 6: Handle Eliminations Cleanly
When someone gets eliminated, let them know promptly and professionally. A quick message acknowledging their run, especially if they made it deep into the season, goes a long way. People remember how a commissioner handles the bad news as much as the good.
Keep eliminated players informed of how the rest of the season plays out. Many eliminated players stay engaged as spectators, rooting against whoever they wanted to beat. That ongoing engagement is part of what makes survivor pools great.
Step 7: Pay Out the Winner
When the pool ends, whether in Week 4 or Week 18, pay out promptly. Don't sit on the pot for two weeks after the final survivor is crowned. It's a small thing that reflects well on you as a commissioner and makes people want to play again next year.
Send a quick recap to the whole group: who won, how many weeks they survived, maybe a fun note about their toughest pick of the season. It closes the loop and builds anticipation for next year.
A Few Things That Make a Good Commissioner Great
Be consistent. Apply the rules the same way for everyone, every week. The moment you make an exception for one player, you've created a problem for yourself.
Communicate proactively. Don't wait for players to ask questions. Push reminders, post standings, and keep the group informed. Active commissioners run better pools.
Keep it fun. Trash talk, weekly recaps, close-call alerts: the social layer around the pool is half the experience. Lean into it.
Plan for edge cases before they happen. What if a game gets postponed? What if a player claims they submitted a pick but it didn't register? Think through the unlikely scenarios ahead of time so you're not making it up on the spot under pressure.
The Easiest Way to Run Your Pool
The biggest quality-of-life upgrade any commissioner can make is switching from a spreadsheet to a purpose-built platform. Automatic pick grading, live standings, pick reminders, and no-repeat-team enforcement, all handled for you so you can focus on the fun parts of being a commissioner.
Sunday Survivor is built specifically for NFL survivor pools, with a clean interface for both commissioners and players. It's free for pools up to 10 entries and straightforward to set up.
Start your pool at sundaysurvivor.com →
Want to go deeper? Check out our guides on what a survivor pool actually is, the biggest mistakes players make, and how to hedge your picks late in the season.