01 · Championship spine
Universes
10 teams per divisionSave a roster → you're in a Universe. The moment you save your first non-empty pool, you're slotted into the lowest-numbered Universe that has an open seat. If every existing Universe is full (10 members), a new Universe with the next sequential number is created and you fill its first slot. Universes are numbered #1, #2, #3, … but compete on equal footing; there's no Universe #1 advantage.
- Assignment is organic and incremental; Universes form as users join, starting from the moment claims open. The pool isn't a season-lock formation event
- One tournament team per user. Multi-claim users keep extra teams as vanity claims, but only the team you've marked as activetakes the Universe slot. Promote a vanity claim into the tournament via “Make tournament team” on /account and the previous active team gives back its slot; your new pick takes the lowest-numbered open seat
- Swap freely until roster lock. After lock the active team is final for the season
- Live standings on the Tournament tab sorted by Power Level within each Universe, with the current-week top scorer flagged per Universe
The team with the highest cumulative half-PPR points across weeks 1-14 in each Universe is the Universe Winner, tie-broken by highest single-week peak, then earliest claim. Universe Winners qualify for the post-season Battle Royale (see next section). Winning your Universe carries no cash by itself; it's the entry ticket to the championship round.
02 · Championship spine
Battle Royale
weeks 15-17 · winner-take-allThe post-season. Every Universe Winner enters a 3-week single-elimination bracket against every other Universe Winner. Each week the cohort is ranked by that week's half-PPR Best Ball score:
- Week 15 · bottom 50% (floor) eliminated by week-15 score
- Week 16 · same on week-16 score among survivors. The remaining cohort = the BR Finalists
- Week 17 · highest single-week score wins. Tie-broken by combined wks 15-17, then wks 1-14 total, then earliest claim
Tie at the elimination cutoff: tied teams all survive (round-down keeps more competitors in the field). The week-17 championship MUST resolve to one champion. The tie-breaker chain guarantees it.
Surviving each cut earns its own achievement + cosmetic flair (BR Survivor at week 15, BR Finalist at week 16). The sole prize-winner is the team standing at the end of week 17, the Ultimate Champion.
01 · Pre-lock
Building your pool
You draft up to 18 players under a 11,000 spending cap. Each player's Power Level is the same across every league entrant; it's derived nightly from their Sleeper ranking and adjusted for publicly listed injury / suspension status. Power Level is not capped; it's just the sum of what you drafted. The 11,000 is your draft budget; the Team Carry +5% weekly score bonus is the identity reward; cap math is unaffected.
- Minimum position counts: 1 QB, 3 RB, 4 WR, 1 TE
- Starters mirror minimums exactly: 9 strict-position slots, no FLEX
- No kickers or defenses
- Edit freely until kickoff; saves are auto-persisted on every change
02 · Identity
Team Carry
+5% scoreOn the Assemble your squad page, every rostered player has a Make Team Carry checkbox. Tick the box on the guy you're building the whole season around; that player becomes your Team Carry and:
- Gets a +5% weekly score bonus, small but compounds across the season
- Wears the Team Carry crown across every grid
- Earns you the Team Carry achievement (+15 XP, 👑 flair) on first pick
One carry per team. Change it anytime before season lock, then in-season during the weekly window: Tuesday 3:01am PT through 5 minutes before the week's first NFL game(usually TNF kickoff). Outside that window the carry is frozen for the slate. Drop the carry player from your pool and the pointer clears server-side so the bonus doesn't silently apply to nobody.
03 · Identity
Team Captain
The Captain is purely visual: the highest-Power-Level player on your roster gets aC badge on the grid. Auto-derived, no points value.
If the Captain is also the Team Carry, the Carry crown wins the slot; only the most-interesting badge per cell.
04 · Mid-season
Powerup Phase + Powerup Swaps
2 per season · 100% refundThe Powerup Phaseopens after the week's last NFL game ends (typically Monday Night Football) and closes 5 minutes before the next kickoff (typically Thursday Night Football). Roughly ~2.5 days/week.
During an open window you get 2 free Powerup Swaps per season: release one rostered player for full salary refund and add another in their place, subject to the cap.
Outside the window? No swap. The header chip across the site shows a live countdown so you know exactly when the door opens.
05 · Mid-season
Phoenix Down
1 per season · 67% refund · anytimeYour “burn the card” emergency swap. Useable any time post-lock; no window restriction, no injury requirement, but you only get one and you only recover 67%of the released player's salary.
When you fire it, the released player's card visually burns on screen and is replaced by your new pick. Heroes only rise from the ashes once.
Use cases: a season-ender for a star you can't afford to wait on, or you already burned both Powerup Swaps.
06 · Player meta
Honorable Discharge
Players released through Powerup / Phoenix Down accumulate an Honorable Discharge badge that travels with them. Higher release counts = higher rarity flair on their player card across the league:
- 1+ release · elite flair
- 3+ releases · legendary flair
- 5+ releases · mythic flair (the league's favorite disappointment)
The badge is purely cosmetic but tells you something: “these managers gave up on him for a reason.”
07 · Naming
24h pre-claim polish
3 chars · one shotEvery newly generated name is held for its generator for 24 hours before anyone else can claim it. During that window the generator gets one free 3-character edit: close-but-not-quite puns can be polished without committing to a claim.
The polish edit is separate from the post-claim rename budget. Use it now or lose it when the hold expires; if you later claim the name, your full Pun Level rename budget is still intact.
08 · Naming
Post-claim renames
Once you own a name, your rename budget is 1 + ⌊Pun Level / 5⌋. Each edit is capped at 3 character changes; rearranging existing letters is always free.
- Pun Level 5 → 2 renames, Level 10 → 3, Level 25 → 6
- Renames update the leaderboard, OG previews, and the team permalink everywhere
- Previous names are kept in the edit log so the history is auditable
09 · Live
Half-PPR Best Ball scoring
Each week your best 1 QB / 3 RB / 4 WR / 1 TE from your pool auto-score; you do not set lineups. Bench depth covers byes and injuries.
- 0.5 points per reception · 1 point per 10 rush/rec yards · 1 point per 25 pass yards
- Touchdowns: 6 (rush/rec), 4 (pass)
- Half-PPR: same scoring formula and Power Level table apply to every team
- Stats pulled from Sleeper; scoring runs after MNF each week
Full formula: lib/scoring.ts in the public repo.
10 · Visuals
Heat tiers, Breakthrough, Hot Streak
Players on a tear escalate visually across the site, a Dragon Ball Z homage that lights up the grid when your stars actually deliver:
- Powering Up → Heating Up → SUPER SAIYAN → SUPER SAIYAN 2 → ULTRA INSTINCT
- Hot Streak: sustained week-over-week scoring above their Power Level
- Breakthrough: first time clearing a major percentile threshold this season
- Top Heavy: debuff on rosters that spend 4+ picks above 1,600 Power Level
These are cosmetic flairs only; they affect how the card looks, not the points.
11 · Meta-game
Pun Level XP + Achievements
Every engagement earns XP toward your Pun Level: voting on names, generating, claiming, gifting, inviting friends, climbing achievement tiers. XP unlocks:
- +1 claim slot per 3 Pun Levels (room to collect more team names)
- Bigger post-claim rename budget (see §08)
- Achievement flairs that decorate your username + cards
- Eligibility for the Pun Level Champion prize at season end
Full ladder at /achievements.
12 · Lock
Season lock
Pools lock at the start of NFL Week 1 (9/10/2026 · 4:00 AM). After lock the only ways to change your roster are Powerup Swaps (during open windows) or your Phoenix Down.
Players are scored regardless of bye weeks, injuries, suspensions, or other availability changes. Best Ball means your bench picks up the slack.
13 · Prizes
What you can win
- Ultimate Champion · Win a prize worth up to $500. PS5, Amazon gift card, or cash (winner picks). Win your Universe (wks 1-14), survive the Battle Royale (wks 15-17), get crowned Ultimate Champion. The sole cash prize-winner each season; see §7 for the full path through Universes + Battle Royale.
- Universe Winner. Top your 10-team Universe across weeks 1-14 → cosmetic name trophy, +75 Pun XP, and qualification for the Battle Royale. No cash.
- Battle Royale Survivor / Finalist. Survive the week-15 cut for a Survivor flair (+25 XP); survive week 16 to become a Finalist (+50 XP + Finalist flair). Cosmetic only.
- Pun Level Champion.Highest Pun Level / XP at the end of NFL Week 18: small distinct reward (sticker pack, low-ARV gift card, or a Pokémon card from the host's personal collection; final form announced in writing before season-end).
- Achievement micro-prizes.Top tiers of certain achievements may unlock a curated low-ARV item (typically a Pokémon card) awarded at the Sponsor's discretion, quarterly or at season-end.
Cash prizes (the Ultimate Champion line) are subject to the verification flow in §9 below. Cosmetic / on-site rewards are not.
Legal
Official sweepstakes rules
2026 NFL season. Free to enter. No purchase necessary.
1. No purchase necessary
2. Eligibility
- Open to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia, eighteen (18) years of age or older at the time of entry
- Employees, contractors, and immediate family of the Sponsor are not eligible
- Void where prohibited by law
3. How to enter
- Create a free PunDraft account using a valid email address
- Generate or claim a fantasy team name
- Draft a 18-player pool under a 11,000 Power Level cap before the roster lock at 9/10/2026, 4:00:00 AM. Required positions: at least 1 QB, 3 RB, 4 WR, and 1 TE. No kickers or defenses.
- Limit: one entry per natural person
4. Roster lock & in-season changes
5. Player valuation
lib/valuation.ts in the public source repository. Power Levels are uniform across all entrants; recomputed daily until lock; frozen at lock except for Powerup Swap / Phoenix Down accounting (see §4).6. Scoring
lib/scoring.ts.7. Winner selection
The prize-winner is determined through a two-stage skill-based competition. There is exactly one prize-winner per season.
- Stage 1: Universe assignment. Each entrant fields exactly one team in the tournament: the team they have designated as active. The first saved 18-player pool is auto-elected active and placed into a Universe of up to 10 entrants. Assignment is organic: each active roster fills the lowest-numbered Universe with an open slot, and a new Universe is created with the next sequential number when all existing Universes are full. Entrants may swap which of their claimed teams is active at any time before roster lock; the previous team gives up its Universe slot and the new active team takes the lowest open seat at swap time. The composition of each Universe is locked at roster lock (9/10/2026); all Universes compete on equal terms regardless of when they formed.
- Stage 2: Universe Winners. At the end of NFL Week 14, the entrant in each Universe with the highest cumulative half-PPR Best Ball points (weeks 1-14) is named the Universe Winner. Ties broken by (a) highest single-week score, then (b) earliest claim timestamp. Universe Winners qualify for Stage 3; winning a Universe carries no cash prize.
- Stage 3: Battle Royale. Universe Winners compete head-to-head across NFL Weeks 15, 16, and 17:
- Week 15: cohort ranked by week-15 score; bottom 50% (floor) eliminated
- Week 16: same elimination on week-16 score among remaining entrants
- Week 17: entrant with the highest week-17 score is the Ultimate Champion. Ties broken by (a) combined wks 15-17 total, (b) wks 1-14 total, (c) earliest claim
The outcome is determined predominantly by skill in pool construction and ongoing roster management (Powerup Swaps + Phoenix Down). Ultimate Champion = sole prize-winner.
8. Prize
- Win a prize worth up to $500. Awarded exclusively to the Ultimate Champion (week-17 Battle Royale winner; see §7).
- PS5, Amazon gift card, or cash (winner picks). Win your Universe (wks 1-14), survive the Battle Royale (wks 15-17), get crowned Ultimate Champion.
- Approximate retail value (ARV) determined at time of award
- One prize per person, one prize-winner per season; prize is non-transferable; no substitutions except by Sponsor
- Federal, state, and local taxes on the prize are the sole responsibility of the winner. For prizes with ARV of $600 or more, the Sponsor will issue an IRS Form 1099-MISC
Universe Winners, Battle Royale Survivors, and Battle Royale Finalists receive on-site achievement flair, cosmetic name trophies, and Pun XP bonuses; these are not cash prizes and are not subject to the verification flow in §9.
9. Winner notification & verification
The Sponsor will contact the winner via the email address on file within seven (7) days of the conclusion of NFL Week 18. The winner has fourteen (14) days from notification to confirm acceptance and complete every verification step listed below.
Required verification (before any prize is shipped or paid)
- Proof of US residency. Government-issued photo ID (driver's license, state ID, or US passport) plus a recent utility bill, bank statement, or lease showing the same name and a US street address.
- Proof of age 18+. The same photo ID must show a date of birth on or before the day of NFL Week 1 of the current season.
- Signed affidavit of eligibility & liability/publicity release. The Sponsor will email a form within 24 hours of acceptance; it must be signed, witnessed where required, and returned (scan or photo).
- Tax form (W-9).Required for any prize whose ARV is $600 or more. The IRS Form 1099-MISC is issued in the winner's name; an inaccurate or refused W-9 disqualifies the winner.
- Account integrity check. The Sponsor will confirm the winning account was created and used by a single individual, no multi-accounting was used to game the leaderboard, and the email and username on file are accurate.
If the winner fails to respond inside the 14-day window, fails any verification step, or is found ineligible under §2, they forfeit the prize. The Sponsor, at its sole discretion, may either award the prize to the next-highest-scoring eligible entrant (runner-up) or, where appropriate, withhold the prize. All Sponsor decisions on eligibility and verification are final and binding.
9a. Pun Level Champion (secondary prize)
In addition to the League Champion prize, the entrant holding the highest Pun Level / XP at the end of NFL Week 18 is recognized as the “Pun Level Champion” and receives a smaller, distinct reward (e.g. sticker pack, small gift card, or a Pokémon card from the host's personal collection; the final form is announced in writing before the season-end cutoff). The Pun Level Champion can be the same person as the League Champion or a different entrant. All verification requirements in §9 apply equally; failure to verify forfeits the Pun Champion prize at the Sponsor's discretion.
Pun XP is awarded for engagement (voting, generating, claiming, gifting, inviting, leveling achievements). The full earn rules and tier thresholds are documented at /achievements. The Sponsor reserves the right to nullify XP earned through automation, abuse, or multi-accounting, which is grounds for disqualification under §2.
9b. Achievement micro-prizes
10. Sponsor
11. Disputes and governing law
12. Modifications
Questions? Email hello@pundraft.com. Last updated: 7/28/2026.