Questions

Playing

What is playoff best ball?: A fantasy league that covers only the NFL playoffs. You draft your team, nine players, once, before Wild Card weekend. Every player you draft scores in every game his NFL team plays, from Wild Card weekend to the Super Bowl. No lineups, no bench: all nine count. There are no waivers and no trades. Most total points after the Super Bowl wins the league. A tie goes to the higher Super Bowl score.
When does the draft happen?: Drafts open Sun, Jan 10 and need to finish before Wild Card kickoff on Sat, Jan 16. The commissioner schedules the start time or starts the draft by hand. It's a slow draft, so nobody has to be online at the same time.
Do I have to be online for the draft?: No. Each pick gets 2, 4, 8 or 24 hours, whichever your commissioner chose, and you get an email when you're on the clock, plus a text or push alert if you turn them on. If the clock runs out, autodraft picks for you: the highest player in your queue who fits an open slot, or else the best available player who fits.
How long does a draft take?: Each team makes nine picks, one per slot, so a full 12-team league makes 108 picks. A pick can use its whole clock, and the clock stops from 1 to 8 a.m. Eastern, so it runs 17 hours a day. If every pick used the whole clock, a full league would take about 13 days on the 2-hour clock, and longer on the others. Picks made early move it along, so choose the start time and clock with your league's pace in mind.
Can the pick clock be changed after the league is created?: No. The commissioner chooses it when creating the league, and it can't be changed afterward. In every league, the clock stops from 1 to 8 a.m. Eastern.
How is the draft order set?: At random, drawn when the draft starts. Nobody sees it before then, and the commissioner can't set it. It's a snake draft, so the order reverses each round.
Who can I draft?: You draft from players on the 14 playoff NFL teams: quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, tight ends, kickers and team defenses. Each player can be drafted by only one team in your league. He can still be on teams in other leagues.
Is there a bench?: No, and no lineups either. Nine slots: QB, RB, RB, WR, WR, TE, FLEX (an RB, WR or TE), K and DST. Every pick fills one, and there's no bench.
What happens when a player's NFL team is eliminated?: When his NFL team is eliminated, a player keeps every point he scored, including in that last game. He just has no more games. Your team is never eliminated: it stays in the standings through the Super Bowl.
Does a player's last game count?: Yes. His points from the game his NFL team loses count like any other game's. After that he has no more games, so he adds nothing in later rounds.
Can I replace an eliminated player?: No. There are no waivers, so you can't pick up a replacement. The only swaps are substitutions, which only the commissioner can make (see "What if a player gets hurt?").
What about the top seeds' bye?: The top seed in each conference skips the Wild Card round, so its players score 0 that round and can play at most three games. Everyone else's players can play four. A great player on a bye team starts a round behind.
What if a player gets hurt?: He can be replaced only if your commissioner has turned on substitutions; they're off by default. Then the commissioner, and only the commissioner, can swap any player on a team for one at the same position who wasn't drafted in your league, starting from a round the commissioner chooses, even one already played. The original player's points count for the rounds before that, and the substitute's from that round on. The team page marks every substitution, so everyone can see it.
How are ties broken?: A tie on total points goes to the team with the higher Super Bowl score. If those match too, the teams share the place, so a tie for first means a shared league title.
Which emails and texts will I get?: In a league, you get an email when you're on the clock and when the draft is complete, then one before each round listing your players who play that round, and a recap with the standings after it. A commissioner also gets an email if a scheduled draft can't start. Texts are only for your turn, and only if you add a phone number and turn them on. Emails about your leagues can't be turned off.
What's the email list, and how do I leave it?: Sign up on this site and we'll email you when league signups open. Creating an account adds you to the same list. To leave, use the unsubscribe link in any list email, or turn off "Email me when league signups open" in your notification settings.
Do you handle buy-ins or prize money?: No. We don't handle buy-ins or prize money. A commissioner can record the buy-in, show a Venmo handle and mark who has paid; the money itself moves outside the app.
Can I practice drafting?: Yes. Sign in and run a mock draft against bots; nothing in a mock counts. Mock drafts open once the playoff field is set on Sun, Jan 10.
How do I reach you?: Email support@playoffbestball.com.

Pricing

How much does it cost?: Joining a league is always free, and so is running one. Leagues hold up to 12 teams. Premium is $25 per league, per season, paid once by the commissioner, and adds custom scoring, next-round projections, more than one team per person (extra teams are drafted automatically for now) and running more than one league a season.
Is Premium per league or per person?: Per league. One payment covers that league for the season, for every member.
Does it renew?: No. It's a one-time charge for the season. There's no subscription to cancel.
Can I upgrade mid-season?: Yes. Premium switches on once the payment goes through, usually within seconds. Extra teams can only be added before the draft starts; everything else applies right away. Scoring changes apply to rounds already played, since points are worked out when standings are read, so check with your league before changing the rules mid-playoffs.
If I don't upgrade, does anything change?: No. A Free league keeps running through the Super Bowl with its scoring preset.

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