• RULE BOOK
  • Welcome to Top 5 Football! Below are the comprehensive rules for all game types, including Weekly Pick’em, Side Pools (Survivor and Margin Pools), and Playoff Pools (Pick’em, Rank’em, and Super Bowl Prompts). Please read them carefully to ensure a fair and enjoyable experience for all participants.
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    WEEKLY PICK'EM
  • • Entry Fee: A one-time fee for the entire regular season is $100
  • • Objective: Each week during the regular season, participants must select a winner for every head-to-head matchup, including tiebreaker points
  • • Rules:
  • ◦ Wins are determined by the final score of each head-to-head matchup (point spreads are not used)
  • ◦ The weekly winner is the participant with the highest number of correct picks
  • ◦ In the event of a tie, the tiebreaker will be used (see Tiebreaker Rules below)
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    Making Picks
  • • Submission Requirements:
  • ◦ You are not required to pick every game upfront, however you must complete the tiebreaker points to activate your entry for the week
  • • Deadlines:
  • ◦ Picks for each game must be submitted before that game locks (see Locked Games below)
  • ◦ Once a game is locked, you cannot make or change your pick for that game
  • ◦ You can make or change picks for any unlocked games up until their scheduled lock times
  • ◦ Failure to select a pick for a locked game counts as a loss
  • • Minimum Participation:
  • ◦ You must make picks for at least 75% of the total games in a given week—this is the “Majority” threshold
  • ◦ If you fail to meet this threshold, your entry for that week will be disqualified and will not count towards weekly or overall standings
  • • Flexibility:
  • ◦ You are not required to pick every game upfront
  • ◦ However, you must fill in the tiebreaker points to activate your entry for the week
  • ◦ This allows flexibility when early games are scheduled before the standard Sunday kickoff time
  • ◦ You may submit picks for later games after early games have locked, as long as those games are still unlocked
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    Scoring
  • • Weekly Score: The sum of the number of games you pick correctly
  • • Tied Games: In the event of a game ending in a tie, it counts as a loss for all participants
  • • Tiebreaker Rules:
  • ◦ The last scheduled game of each week (typically the Monday night game) is designated as the Tiebreaker Game
  • ◦ Participants must predict the combined total points of this game (e.g., Dal 14 - Buf 21 (F) Tiebreaker = 35)
  • ◦ The participant whose tiebreaker prediction is closest to the actual combined score wins the tiebreaker
  • ◦ It does not matter if your prediction is over or under the actual total—only the difference counts
  • ◦ If tied participants have identical tiebreaker differences, the weekly prize will be divided equally among them
  • ◦ For any reason the designated tiebreaker game is not completed and not rescheduled within the week, the weekly winner(s) will be determined solely by the total wins
  • ◦ Any participants tied for the top win total will split the weekly prize equally
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    Locked Games
  • • Lock Times:
  • ◦ Games lock individually at their scheduled start times
  • ◦ Early games (before the standard Sunday 1 PM EST kickoff) lock at their respective kickoff times
  • ◦ All remaining games lock at the standard Sunday 1 PM EST start time
  • • Time Zone: All times are displayed in Eastern Standard Time (EST)
  • * The Administrator reserves the right to make exceptions for extenuating circumstances on an individual basis.
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    Prize Breakdown
  • • Weekly Payout: The weekly payout for the 2024 season is:
  • ◦ $300
  • * Payouts are based on the total number of participants and are subject to change from season to season
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    OVERALL
  • • Objective: The Overall Pool rewards the Top 5 participants with the most correct picks over the entire regular season
  • • Ties:
  • ◦ If participants are tied in total wins, the prizes for their positions will be combined and divided equally
  • ◦ For example, if two participants tie for 2nd place, the 2nd and 3rd place prizes are combined and split equally. The next participant moves to 4th place, and so on
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    Prize Breakdown
  • • Overall Payouts: The overall payouts for the 2024 season are:
  • ◦ 1st Place $1400   ◦ 2nd Place $1200   ◦ 3rd Place $1000   ◦ 4th Place $900   ◦ 5th Place $800 
  • ◦ 1st Place $1400
    ◦ 2nd Place $1200
    ◦ 3rd Place $1000
    ◦ 4th Place $900
    ◦ 5th Place $800
  • * Payouts are based on the total number of participants and are subject to change from season to season
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    Pity Prize
  • • Objective: Awarded to the participant with the fewest correct picks over the entire season
  • • Tie: If there is a tie, the Pity Prize will be split equally among those participants
  • • Eligibility:
  • ◦ Must participate in all 18 weeks of the Weekly Pick’em
  • ◦ Must meet the “Minimum Participation” threshold each week (75% of games picked)
  • • Disqualification: If a participant is suspected of intentionally losing or not making picks to win the Pity Prize, the Administrator reserves the right to disqualify them.
  • ◦ If participants are tied in total wins, the prizes for their positions will be combined and divided equally
  • ◦ For example, if two participants tie for 2nd place, the 2nd and 3rd place prizes are combined and split equally. The next participant moves to 4th place, and so on
  • ◦ If there is a tie for the Pity Prize, the prize will be split equally among those participants
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    Prize Breakdown
  • • Pity Prize Payout: The payout for the 2024 season is:
  • ◦ $50
  • * The pity prize is a standardized sum and does NOT change from season to season
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    SIDE POOLS
  • • Entry Fee: A one-time fee to access both Side Pools is $40
  • • Games Included:
  • ◦ Survivor Pool
  • ◦ Margin Pool
  • • Eligibility: Open to all league members who have paid the Side Pools entry fee
  • • Prize Distribution: The total prize money allotted to each game will be divided as such:
  • ◦ Survivor Pool = 30% ◦ Margin Pool = 70%
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    SURVIVOR POOL
  • • Objective: Outlast other participants by correctly picking one winning team each week
  • • Rules:
  • ◦ Choose one team each week that you believe will win
  • ◦ If your team wins, you advance to the next week. If they lose, you’re eliminated
  • ◦ If your selected team ties, it counts as a win, and you advance
  • ◦ If all remaining participants are eliminated in the same week, they all advance to the next week
  • ◦ You cannot pick the same team more than once during the season
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    Making Picks
  • • Team Selection:
  • ◦ Picks are made on the same entry form as the Margin Pool
  • ◦ Picks can be made or changed until the game locks (see Locked Games above)
  • ◦ You may select teams for future weeks in advance, but once a team is picked for a future week, it becomes unavailable for other weeks unless you change your future pick
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    Prize Breakdown
  • • Survivor Payout: The payout for the 2024 season is:
  • ◦ $1100
  • * Payout is based on the total number of participants and subject to change from season to season
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    MARGIN POOL
  • • Objective: Accumulate the highest total points based on the scoring margins of your selected teams each week
  • • Rules:
  • ◦ Each week, pick one team you believe will win by the largest margin
  • ◦ If your team wins, the point difference is added to your total score
  • ◦ If your team loses, the point difference is subtracted from your total score.
  • ◦ For example, if your team wins 28-14, you gain 14 points; if they lose 14-28, you lose 14 points
  • ◦ If you fail to make a pick, you automatically receive the largest negative point difference from that week’s games
  • * Note: The Margin Pool runs for the entire regular season, regardless of your status in the Survivor Pool. Don’t forget to make a pick each week.
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    Making Picks
  • • Team Selection:
  • ◦ Picks are made on the same entry form as the Survivor Pool
  • ◦ Picks can be made or changed until the game locks (see Locked Games above)
  • ◦ You may select teams for future weeks in advance, but once a team is picked for a future week, it becomes unavailable for other weeks unless you change your future pick
  • • No Elimination: Unlike the Survivor Pool, you cannot be eliminated from the Margin Pool
  • • Tiebreakers:
  • ◦ If participants are tied in total points for Top 5 positions, the number of correct picks will be used as the tiebreaker
  • ◦ If still tied, the prizes for the tied positions will be combined and split equally
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    Prize Breakdown
  • • Margin Payouts: The overall payouts for the 2024 season are:
  • ◦ 1st Place $900   ◦ 2nd Place $650   ◦ 3rd Place $500   ◦ 4th Place $350   ◦ 5th Place $200 
  • ◦ 1st Place $900
    ◦ 2nd Place $650
    ◦ 3rd Place $500
    ◦ 4th Place $350
    ◦ 5th Place $200
  • * Payouts are based on the total number of participants and subject to change from season to season
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    PLAYOFF POOLS
  • • Entry Fee: A one-time fee to access all three Playoff Pools is $20
  • • Games Included:
  • ◦ Playoff Pick'em
  • ◦ Playoff Rank'em
  • ◦ Super Bowl Props
  • • Eligibility: Open to all league members who have paid the Side Pools entry fee
  • • Prize Distribution: The total prize money allotted to each game will be divided as such:
  • ◦ Playoff Pick'em = 25% ◦ Rank'em = 50% ◦ Super Bowl = 25%
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    PLAYOFF PICK'EM
  • • Objective: Accumulate the highest number of correct picks throughout the playoffs
  • • Rounds:
  • ◦ Wild Card Games (6 games)
  • ◦ Divisional Playoffs (4 games)
  • ◦ Conference Championships (2 games)
  • ◦ Super Bowl (1 game)
  • • Rules:
  • ◦ Select the winner for each matchup in every round
  • ◦ Picks can be made or changed until the first game of each round locks
  • ◦ Tiebreaker points for the Super Bowl will be collected separately if necessary
  • • Tiebreakers:
  • ◦ If participants are tied in total wins, the Super Bowl tiebreaker points will be used
  • ◦ The participant whose tiebreaker prediction is closest to the actual combined score wins the tiebreaker–over or under doesn’t matter; only the difference counts
  • ◦ If still tied, the prize will be split equally
    • Making Picks
    Scoring
    Prize Breakdown
  • • Playoff Pick'em Payout: The payout for the 2024 season is:
  • ◦ $TBD
  • Last Season's Payouts: $300
  • * Payouts are based on the total number of participants and are subject to change from season to season
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    PLAYOFF RANK'EM
  • • Objective: Assign confidence points to playoff teams based on how far you believe they will advance
  • • Rules:
  • ◦ Assign unique confidence points from 1 to 14 to each playoff team.
  • ◦ Higher points should be assigned to teams you believe will advance further
  • ◦ Points are earned based on your team’s wins multiplied by the assigned confidence points
  • ◦ For example, if you assign 14 points to a team and they win a game, you earn 14 points
  • ◦ Once the playoffs begin, you cannot change your confidence point assignments
  • • Scoring:
  • ◦ Points are accumulated over all playoff rounds
  • • Tiebreakers:
  • ◦ If participants are tied in total points, the number of correct picks will be used
  • ◦ If still tied, the prizes for the tied positions will be combined and split equally
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    Making Picks
    Scoring
    Prize Breakdown
  • • Rank'em Payouts: The payouts for the 2024 season are:
  • ◦ 1st Place $TBD   ◦ 2nd Place $TBD   ◦ 3rd Place $TBD   ◦ 4th Place $TBD   ◦ 5th Place $TBD 
  • ◦ 1st Place $TBD
    ◦ 2nd Place $TBD
    ◦ 3rd Place $TBD
    ◦ 4th Place $TBD
    ◦ 5th Place $TBD
  • Last Season's Payouts:
      1st $300,   2nd $200,   3rd $150,   4th $100,   5th $50
  • * Payouts are based on the total number of participants and subject to change from season to season
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    SUPER BOWL POOL
  • • Objective: Answer a series of prop questions about the Super Bowl to earn the highest points
  • • Rules:
  • ◦ Participants will answer various questions such as:
  • ◦ Which team will score the first touchdown?
  • ◦ Which team will commit the first turnover?
  • ◦ Which team will have the most rushing yards?
  • ◦ Each correct answer earns you one point
  • ◦ If a category results in a tie (e.g., both teams have the same number of rushing yards), no points are awarded for that question
  • ◦ Entries must be submitted before the Super Bowl kickoff
  • • Tiebreakers:
  • ◦ If participants are tied in total points, the prize will be split equally among them.
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    Making Picks
    Scoring
    Prize Breakdown
  • • Super Bowl Payout: The payout for the 2024 season is:
  • ◦ $TBD
  • Last Season's Payouts: $300
  • * Payouts are based on the total number of participants and are subject to change from season to season
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  • If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask. -Russ (Administrator)
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