NFL Survivor Pool Rules
Sunday Survivor lets commissioners customize an NFL survivor pool with double-pick weeks, required game slates, loser pool mode, second chance brackets, against-the-spread picks, no-repeat-opponent rules, team reuse, mulligans, capped or disabled auto-picks, hidden picks, configurable tie handling, and custom pick deadlines. These are settings on one pool, not separate pool types, so they can be combined however a group wants to play.
The standard rules
- Each week, every entry picks one NFL team to win its game.
- If the team wins, the entry survives to the next week. If it loses, the entry is out.
- Each team can be used only once per season.
- Picks lock at the pool's deadline, Sunday at 1pm ET unless the commissioner sets another.
- A tie counts as a loss.
- Miss the deadline and the entry is eliminated, unless the pool has auto-pick turned on.
- The last entry standing wins. If the final entries all lose in the same week, they share the win.
Every one of those can be changed. These are the rules a commissioner can customize.
Every rule you can change
| Rule | What it does | Options |
|---|---|---|
| Pick deadline | When picks lock each week | A weekly deadline, or each entry locks at its own game's kickoff |
| Sunday games only | Only Sunday games can be picked, so Thursday, Saturday and Monday games are off the board | On or off, for the regular season |
| Hidden picks | Keeps picks and results from games played before the deadline secret until picks lock, so a Thursday night result can't reveal who is already out | On or off |
| Double-pick weeks | Requires two picks in the weeks you choose, both must survive | Any regular-season weeks, 1 to 18, and more can be added mid-season |
| Required game slates | Forces the first pick of a double-pick week to come from games you pick | Any set of games |
| Loser pool | Reverses the goal: pick a team to lose, and picking a winner eliminates you | On or off |
| Second chance bracket | Eliminated entries keep playing for 2nd place | On or off |
| Playoffs | Runs past Week 18 into the postseason, but only if more than one entry is still alive | On or off; after kickoff it can only be turned on, until Week 18 kicks off |
| Against the spread | Picks must cover the spread, not just win | On or off, with push handling |
| No repeat opponents | Stops entries picking against the same team week after week | Off, or a cooldown of any length |
| Team reuse | Lets entries pick a team they have already used | On or off, with an optional limit of 2 to 5 picks per team |
| Mulligans | Extra lives, so one loss doesn't end a season. Set it to 1 and you have a double-elimination pool | 1 to 4 per entry, or unlimited if chosen before the first game kicks off |
| Auto-pick | Fills in a pick for anyone who misses the deadline | Off, on, or capped at a set number per season |
| Ties count as | What happens when an NFL game ends in a tie | A win or a loss |
| Entries per person | How many entries one player may run | 1 to 100 |
| Start week | Which week the pool begins | Any week |
They combine
This is the part that is hard to find elsewhere. Most platforms sell a survivor pool, a loser pool, and a spread pool as three different contests you choose between. Here they are switches on the same pool, so a loser pool can also use against-the-spread scoring, double-pick weeks from Week 14, and hidden picks, all at once.
Five pools you could build today
Every one of these is the same product with different switches flipped.
The traditional pool
One pick a week, no team twice, one loss and you are out, everything locks Sunday at 1pm ET. This is the default, and most pools never change a thing.
The forgiving pool
Two mulligans, auto-pick on so a forgotten week doesn't end anyone's season, and team reuse allowed. Built to keep casual players alive into December rather than losing half the office in Week 2.
The double-elimination pool
One mulligan per entry, and nothing else changed. A first loss costs you a life instead of your season, a second one ends it. People ask for this by name and it is already here: double elimination is what one mulligan means.
The brutal pool
No mulligans, no auto-pick, no repeat opponents, and double picks from Week 14 on. For groups who want a winner before the season runs out.
The pool that can't be gamed
Hidden picks, so a game that has already finished doesn't reveal who it knocked out. Closes the hedge where someone holding two entries covers both sides of a late game once they know their last rival is out. Worth reading the extreme survivor pool guide alongside it.
Questions commissioners ask
Which NFL survivor pool app offers unlimited mulligans?
Sunday Survivor. A commissioner gives every entry 1 to 4 mulligans, or unlimited if it is chosen before the first game kicks off. A mulligan keeps an entry alive after a lost or missed pick, and a commissioner can also bring back an eliminated entry by hand.
Can eliminated players get back into a survivor pool?
Yes, two ways. Turn on a second chance bracket and eliminated entries keep playing for second place. A commissioner can also revive an eliminated entry by hand. How second chance brackets work
Can I run a loser pool?
Yes. Loser pool mode reverses the goal: each week every entry picks a team to lose, and an entry is knocked out when its team wins. The loser pool guide
Can a survivor pool use point spreads?
Yes. Turn on against the spread and a pick survives only if its team covers. The commissioner decides whether a push, a game landing exactly on the number, survives or counts as a loss. Against-the-spread survivor
Can I make everyone pick two teams in some weeks?
Yes. Choose any regular-season weeks as double-pick weeks, and add more mid-season if you want. Both picks have to survive, both teams count as used, and making only one counts as a missed pick. Planning double-pick weeks
Can one person play more than one entry?
Yes. The commissioner sets how many entries each person may run, from 1 to 100, and every entry makes its own picks.
What happens when someone misses a pick?
By default a missed pick is a loss, so the entry is out unless it has a mulligan left. A commissioner can turn on auto-pick, which takes the biggest available favorite (or underdog) for anyone who misses the deadline, with an optional limit per season. A commissioner can also fill in a missed pick from any game that has not kicked off, and every fill is shown to the whole pool.
Can I choose my own pick deadline?
Yes. Picks can lock at the week's first game, at Sunday's early, late or night kickoff, or with no weekly deadline at all, where each pick locks when its own game kicks off.
How much does Sunday Survivor cost?
Free up to 10 entries. A bigger pool pays one flat price for the season based on its size, starting at $19 for up to 25 entries. It is a one-time fee, not a subscription, and if more people join while signups are open you move up and pay only the difference. Players never pay Sunday Survivor. Every price
Does Sunday Survivor collect entry fees?
No. Sunday Survivor does not set, collect, hold, transfer, verify or distribute participant entry fees, buy-ins, pool funds or prizes, and never takes a percentage of them. Any arrangement among a commissioner and participants happens off-platform, must be lawful everywhere they are located, and is not sponsored or approved by Sunday Survivor. Commissioners get a private checkbox for who has settled their dues, and a filter for anyone who has not.
Do my players need an account?
Yes, a free one, made with Google or an email and password, from the private link the commissioner sends. It is what lets the pool email each player a pick reminder and tell them when they have been eliminated, and it means nobody can make picks under someone else's name.
Is there a limit on how big a pool can be?
No. There is no cap on entries, and a big pool gets every feature a small one does.
Read more on individual rules
- Double-pick weeks, and when to schedule them
- Loser pools, where picking a winner knocks you out
- Against-the-spread survivor, and why it changes strategy completely
- Second chance brackets, for keeping eliminated players engaged
- Playoff weeks, for a pool nobody has won by Week 18
- How to run a survivor pool, the full commissioner's guide
Set your rules once. It runs itself.
Free up to 10 entries. Deadlines, grading, standings and reminders all happen on their own once the pool is set up.
Create a pool