Playoff Challenge Fantasy Football ("the Contest") is a fantasy football game where you can start a new 10-team league or join an existing public league for the NFL playoffs. League standings are based on total points scored during the playoffs. Leagues play from the Wildcard Weekend through the Superbowl. Leagues are open to all players of all skill levels, you can choose the league that fits you best. The rules for this Contest are explained below.
Contest strategy involves putting together the best possible roster before the start of the NFL playoffs. Rosters may include any players from teams appearing in the NFL playoffs but may not be changed after the playoffs begin. The league champion is the team scoring the most points during the NFL playoffs. The rules for this Contest are explained below.
If you are looking for a league where you can customize the rules, try RealTime Fantasy Sports' Playoff Commissioner Service product.
RealTime Fantasy Sports, Inc. ("RTFS") will serve as the commissioner for fantasy football leagues and will be responsible for resolving any disputes that arise, such as rules violations or any other matters that may come up in connection with the Contest. All commissioner decisions by RealTime Fantasy Sports, Inc. are final.
Sign Up
You may sign up and play the Contest up until the registration deadline at any of these listed entry levels: $20, $50, $100, $125, $250, $500 per team. As part of the Official Rules, all dollar amounts are in US Dollars (USD). You may register and play as many teams as you like. You may not have more than one team in any league. If you do register more than one team, each team must be in a different league. To be prize eligible you may not own more than one team per league per household.
Joining Deadline
You will be able to sign up and join a league no later than one hour before the kickoff of the first playoff game of the week. Leagues beginning play Wildcard Weekend and beginning play Divisional Playoff Weekend will be offered. All leagues are required to have ten (10) participants, or team "owners". No leagues shall be created or filled after the sign up deadline. Any unfilled leagues remaining after the sign up deadline shall be disbanded with its constestants receiving a full refund.
Refund PolicyAfter you sign up for the Contest, you may request a full refund of the purchase price up until your league is filled. Once the league has filled all sales are final. Honoring refund requests will be subject to the sole discretion of RealTime Fantasy Sports.
RealTime Fantasy Sports fantasy contests are open to:
Should state or province law change during the registration period for the Contest, RealTime Fantasy Sports may suspend new contest registrations from that state or province beginning after the effective or enforcement date of the law. The RealTime Fantasy Sports reserves the right to other remedies and actions as required by law.
Prohibited Participants
Deposits by Minors
Persuant to state law, deposits made by a minor will be refunded within no more than two business days of discovery of such deposits.
Rosters
Each team in the Constest will consist of a roster of up to 14 players. Team owners are free to select any player position mix for their roster. There are no restrictions on the number of players at any position that may be on the team's roster. Owners are not required to have a minimum number of players at any position on their roster.
Team owners must select their roster for the entire playoffs before kickoff of the first game of the NFL playoffs. Team owners will not be allowed to make roster moves after kickoff of the first game of the playoffs. The strategy of the game is to assemble a 14 player roster that will yield the most points throughout the playoffs without replacing players lost when their team is eliminated from the NFL playoffs. Owners are free to change their starting lineup weekly but not their roster.
Weekly Lineups
The Contest uses a single starting lineup for each team per week. Team owners may change their starting lineups any time between Monday morning at 7:00am Eastern and the start of the last playoff game of each NFL playoff week. For Wildcard Weekend or any other weekend that has a Monday game, starting lineups can be changed for the following week starting at 7:00am Eastern on Tuesday morning. Regardless of the deadline for setting a team's starting lineup, a player cannot be promoted to a starter or benched after the scheduled kickoff of that player's game.
Each Team's starting lineup will consist of a maximum of:
All scoring rules apply to all players, regardless of player's position unless otherwise stated.
Rushing:
Passing:
Receiving:
Kicking, PPR Only:
Special Teams:
Defense, PPR Only:
All players shall score points in all games played during the NFL playoffs. Players on teams with first round playoff byes will receive zero points for the Wildcard Weekend of the NFL playoffs. Once a player's team has been eliminated from the playoffs that player will receive zero additional points for the following weeks of the Contest.
Statistics Reporting
Scores and stats are updated immediately as they are received from our statistics provider (usually about every minute). Some events beyond RTFS' control can make this time longer. Thus, RealTime Fantasy Sports is not responsible for the timeliness and accuracy of the statistics.
Because the statistics are updated "live," some errors may occur. If so, statistical errors are usually corrected by our stats provider during the course of the NFL game, but may take up to 24 hours to be corrected. If an error occurs and is not corrected by our provider, RTFS will correct the stat ourselves, but only if it is overwhelmingly obvious that the stat is in error. If there is any doubt about the validity of the stat, RTFS will maintain the statistic given by its provider.
All stats for a given NFL week are deemed final at noon on Thursday of the next week. Even if the NFL changes a stat several weeks later, it will not be changed by RTFS. Nonetheless, RTFS still reserves the right to change any stat at any time for any unforeseen reason.
Should an NFL game be ended early for any reason, not limited to injury, weather, or field conditions, the statistics will be applied to all fantasy league scoring if the NFL considers the game an official game. If the NFL does not consider the game or the statistics as official, they will not be applied to any fantasy league.
RealTime Fantasy Sports is not responsible for any inaccuracies, representations, statements, graphics or content of materials that are uploaded onto its servers and website from other vendors, including but not limited to the National Football League, SportsRadar, the Associated Press, and users, members, subscribers, customers or participants.
The Season
The Playoff Challenge Fantasy Football season shall run from Wildcard Weekend through the Superbowl for leagues filled before the first game of Wildcard Weekend.
The Playoff Challenge Fantasy Football season shall run from Divisional Playoff Weekend through the Superbowl for leagues filled after the first game of Wildcard Weekend.
Should any game be rescheduled into another week, the statistics for the that game will be counted in the week the game is played. Should any team forfeit a playoff game for any reason, players for that team shall receive zero points for the week of the forfeit. Should the NFL playoffs end early for any circumstance, including but not limited to work stoppage, facilities, natural disaster, disease, or terrorism, the contest will end when the National Football League cancels the remainder of of the season. Should the NFL season end before the Superbowl the league prizes will be chopped between the two contestants with the most points scored at the end of the last completed NFL week.
Should the start of the NFL playoffs be delayed or interrupted for a period of time, the fantasy schedule will be adjusted to match the NFL schedule. RTFS reserves the right to make other adjustments to the fantasy league schedule and timelines.
League Champion
At the conclusion of the Superbowl, the team with the most points scored during the entire season will be declared the Winner of the league. The 2nd Place finisher
shall be the team scoring the second most points during the entire season.
In the event that teams are tied with the same number of points scored during the entire season, the tie shall be broken with the following criteria, in order:
Should teams remain tied for first place after all tie breakers are applied, first and second place prizes will be combined and chopped equally between the tied teams. Should teams remain tied for second place after all tie breakers are applied, the second place prize will be chopped equally between the tied teams.
Leagues with $500 per Team Entry Fee
The Winner in each "Playoff Challenge Fantasy Football" league will receive a prize of $3,000.
The 2nd Place finisher in each "Playoff Challenge Fantasy Football" league will receive a prize of $1,500.
Leagues with $250 per Team Entry Fee
The Winner in each "Playoff Challenge Fantasy Football" league will receive a prize of $1,500.
The 2nd Place finisher in each "Playoff Challenge Fantasy Football" league will receive a prize of $750.
Leagues with $125 per Team Entry Fee
The Winner in each "Playoff Challenge Fantasy Football" league will receive a prize of $750.
The 2nd Place finisher in each "Playoff Challenge Fantasy Football" league will receive a prize of $350.
Leagues with $100 per Team Entry Fee
The Winner in each "Playoff Challenge Fantasy Football" league will receive a prize of $600.
The 2nd Place finisher in each "Playoff Challenge Fantasy Football" league will receive a prize of $300.
Leagues with $50 per Team Entry Fee
The Winner in each "Playoff Challenge Fantasy Football" league will receive a prize of $300.
The 2nd Place finisher in each "Playoff Challenge Fantasy Football" league will receive a prize of $125.
Leagues with $20 per Team Entry Fee
The Winner in each "Playoff Challenge Fantasy Football" league will receive a prize of $100.
The 2nd Place finisher in each "Playoff Challenge Fantasy Football" league will receive a prize of $50.
Prizes will be awarded to one individual per team. All prizes are non-transferable.
Highly experienced fantasy players will be designated in the list of entries in each league. Players will be able to view the list of participants and their designation before joining any league. Designations will be displayed as follows:
Highly Experienced
Highly Experienced
Not Highly Experienced
State definitions of highly experienced may be found here.
RealTime Fantsy Sports Rankings
Top 100 Player
Top 1000 Player
Ranked lower than Top 1000
An explanation of the fantasy player rankings may be found here.
Fantasy players designated "highly experienced" or players inside the RealTime Fantasy Sports Top 1000 players are prohibited from participating daily fantasy (DFS) or the first year of season long fantasy contests advertised as beginner or novice-only.
All contests have published limits on the maximum number of entries that a single user may submit. These limits will be specified in the official rules of each contest. The maximum limits for any contest in any format will not exceed:
Participants must create an account with RealTime Fantasy Sports in order to participate in any fantasy contest. Accounts must be verified using the participant's full, legal name, current address, date of birth. RealTime Fantasy Sports uses a third-party verification system to authenticate this personal information. Customers may also validate their accounts by submitting an up-to-date government issued ID (such as a driver's license) with the participant's current address and date of birth clearly displayed. RealTime Fantasy Sports reserves the right to close any account under suspicion of fraud or submission of invalid personal information.
Participants may self-exclude themselves from participating in contest offer by RTFS.
Contest participants will not be eligible to receive prize cash outs until their account information has been verified. Cash out payments will only be sent to the verified name and address on the account, no other name or address will accepted. If a prize winner has moved, address information will need to be re-verified before a prize payout can be issued.
All funds in verified, registered accounts are sole possession of that participant. Except in cases involving fraud (see section titled, "Fraud" below). Withdrawals from a registered participants's account by any individual other than the registered participant is strictly prohibitied. These funds are not the property of RealTime Fantasy Sports Inc. and are not available to RealTime Fantasys Sports Inc.'s creditors.
One account per participant. Persons with more than one account may have any extra accounts closed by RealTime Fantasy Sports.
US Residents
Net prize winnings of $600 or more per calednar year must be claimed as income. Participants receiving $600 USD or more in net winnings are required to submit their social security number ("SSN") for tax purposes. This SSN will be verified using the participant's account information for validity. RealTime Fantasy Sports will provide a copy of the 1099-MISC to the IRS for their records. Participants will be notified via e-mail and online of the presence of the 1099-MISC form. It is the sole responsibility of the participant to print out the form and include it in their tax return to the Unites States Internal Revenue Service ("IRS").
Non-US residents
All prize winnings are succeptible to a 30% foreign winnings withholding. Withholdings will be deducted from prize distributions and sent to the IRS. By February 15th of the next calendar year all non-US residents will have a tax form 1042-S, detailing the amount of prize money withheld, attached to their personal account. Participants will be notified via e-mail and online (when they access their personal account) of the presence of the 1042-S form. It is the sole responsibility of the participant to print out the form and determine the amount, if any, that can be re-claimed. Per tax law, RealTime Fantasy Sports will provide a copy of the 1042-S to the IRS for their records.
Full season Prize Winners will be notified by email within 48 hours after the official final results (and associated winners) are validated at the conclusion of the Contest. Prize Winners are also posted on the Contest web site. For full season or multiple week contests, the conclusion of the Contest is defined as noon Eastern time on either the Thursday following the last day of competition in the league or 2 business days following the last day of competition, whichever is the later date. For daily contests, the conclusion the Contest is defined as noon Eastern on the day following the last event of the Contest. Within 48 hours after the conclusion of the Contest all prize awards will be placed in the winner's RealTime Fantasy Sports account. Prize Winners may use the balance in their accounts to purchase additional RealTime Fantasy Sports games or they may request a prize distribution via check or direct deposit, payable in US Dollars. Prize Winners must complete an affidavit of eligibility and a liability/publicity release (unless prohibited by law) to receive a prize distribution. Failure to comply with these requirements can result in non-payment. Prize Winners are not required to spend the balance in their account nor are they required to receive a prize distribution. Account balances do not expire and may be spent on RealTime Fantasy Sports games at any time in the future.
By accepting any prize, the winners grant permission to RealTime Fantasy Sports to use their names and/or likenesses for publicity and promotional purposes without further compensation, unless prohibited by law, and agree to execute a written consent. In the event of a dispute about the identity of any entrant, entries made online are declared made by the authorized account holder of the email address submitted at the time of entry. "Authorized account holder" is defined as the natural person who is assigned to an email address by an Internet access provider, online service provider or other organization that is responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted email address. A potential winner can be required to provide the sponsors with proof that the potential winner is the authorized account holder of the email address associated with the winning entry.
Sportsmanship
By registering, you agree to abide by the general sportsmanship rules set forth in these rules and fantasy games in general. You further agree to accept and abide by the rulings and the decisions of RealTime Fantasy Sports regarding all questions of sportsmanship. Sportsmanship broadly includes actions such as abusive postings and communication, colluding with other teams in the league, deliberately choosing to start incomplete or weak lineups, free agent moves for reasons other than improvement of the owner's fantasy team, and any other actions not conducive to decent, fair, and honest play. If an owner refuses to comply with the sportsmanship rules, or that an owner has acted in an unsportsmanlike manner, RealTime Fantasy Sports reserves the right to disqualify the owner and/or remove that owner from the league without a refund. All decisions by RealTime Fantasy Sports will be final.
Inappropriate, Offensive, or Commercial Communication
The league message boards, league news and league email are provided to facilitate communication with other league owners and enhance the enjoyment of your league. RealTime Fantasy Sports does not permit posting or sending messages or images, to include logos, avatars and team names that could be construed as offensive to other owners. Inappropriate communication can also include spamming team owners with commercial offers and/or posting commercial messages on the league message board. Team owners who violate these guidelines are subject to being restricted from posting in the league. Additionally, RealTime Fantasy Sports reserves the right to disqualify the owner and/or remove that owner from the league without a refund. All decisions by RealTime Fantasy Sports will be final.
All participants are required to abide by the RealTime Fantasy Sports, Inc. (RTFS) Official Policies. RTFS reserves the right to refuse participation for persons violating these terms.
Accidental Drops
In season long fantasy contests, should a team accidentally drop a player or drop the incorrect player during a free agent transaction, the team may appeal to have the player reinstated to their team. The appeal for reinstatement must occur immediately, without exception. If the appeal is not submitted immediately, for any reason, the appeal will be denied. Submission of an appeal does not guarantee a ruling in favor of the team submitting the appeal. If the team owner is a repeat offender, deemed to be using the appeal to gain an advantage or the appeal is not submitted immediately, the appeal will be denied. RTFS reserves the right to deny any appeal.
Trades
In leagues that permit trading, owners may request a review of commissioner-approved trades or commissioner-rejected trades. Trade appeals must be submitted immediately after the trade was approved or rejected. If any delay in submission occurs, for any reason, the appeal will be denied. Upon submission of an appeal, the trade will be reviewed by a panel of fantasy experts. Current injuries, bye weeks, season to date performance, team standings, and other factors will be considered. Trades that are overwhelmingly one-sided will be rejected. Trades that are arguably beneficial to both sides or arguably not overwhelmingly one-sided will be allowed to stand. Submission of an appeal does not guarantee a trade will be reversed. RTFS reserves the right to reverse any trade or let any trade stand.
All appeal decisions by RealTime Fantasy Sports are final.
Participants wishing to register complaints regarding whether his or her account has been misallocated, compromised, or otherwise mishandled may do so using the following methods:
Please include full name, account information, contact number (daytime and evening) and description of your complaint. RealTime Fantasy Sports will access the given information and respond either via phone or e-mail within three (3) business days. RealTime Fantasy Sports will do everything in its power to resolve the situation.
Internet/Technology Problems
If, for any reason, the Contest is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures or any other causes beyond the control of RealTime Fantasy Sports which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of the Contest, RealTime Fantasy Sports reserves the right to cancel the contest and issue full refunds to all participants.
RealTime Fantasy Sports reserves the right at their sole discretion to disqualify any individual who tampers with the registration process or operations of the Contest and to cancel, terminates, modify or suspend the Contest. RealTime Fantasy Sports assumes no responsibility for any error, omissions, interruption, deletion, defect or delay in operation with transmission, communications, line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to or allegation of entries. RealTime Fantasy Sports is not responsible for any problem or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers, equipment or software, failure of any email or user action to be received on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any website, phone lines, or any combination thereof, including any injury or damage to a participant's computer related to or resulting from participation in the Contest. ANY ATTEMPT BY A PARTICIPANT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE LEAGUES IS A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, REALTIME FANTASY SPORTS RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
Liability
RealTime Fantasy Sports is not responsible for any late, lost, garbled, misdirected, incomplete, or damaged entries; any Contest disruptions, injuries, losses or damages caused by events beyond the control of RealTime Fantasy Sports or any printing or typographical errors in any materials associated with the Contest. RealTime Fantasy Sports or any subsidiary or affiliated company of any of the foregoing, are not in any way responsible or liable for any damage, loss or injury (including death) resulting from participation in the Contest and/or acceptance and use of any prize won. RealTime Fantasy Sports is solely responsible for enacting, administering, enforcing the rules, and maintaining the integrity of the Contest. The Contest and website are not sponsored by, endorsed by, nor affiliated with, the National Football League, the National Football League Players Association, Major League Baseball, the Major League Baseball Players Association, National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League, the Professional Golfers Association, or NASCAR.
Release
By participating in the Contest, you release and agree to hold harmless RealTime Fantasy Sports, its sponsors, parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, directors, officers, employees and agencies from any liability whatsoever for any claims, costs, injuries, losses, or damages of any kind arising out of or in connection with the Contest or acceptance, possession, or use of any prize (including, without limitation, claims, costs, injuries and losses related to personal injuries, death, damage to or destruction of property, rights of publicity or privacy, defamation or portrayal in a false light, whether intentional or unintentional), whether under a theory of contract, tort (including negligence), warranty or other theory.
Official Rules
The Contest is subject to all United States laws, and to the Leagues official rules, and cannot be used in connection with any form of gambling. By entering the Contest, you agree to abide by the terms of the official rules and by the decisions of RealTime Fantasy Sports, which are final on all matters pertaining to the Contest. RealTime Fantasy Sports reserves the right to change the official rules at any time, in their sole discretion. Official rules are the rules posted on the Contest website.
Fraud
Entries into the Contest obtained via fraudulent means such as purchase with stolen credit card, fraudulent bank transaction, checks returned for insufficient funds, credit card chargebacks, etc. shall be disqualified from the Contest. Participants circumventing, attempting to circumvent or subverting the rules of the Contest shall be declared fraudulent and be disqualified from the Contest. RealTime Fantasy Sports reserves the right to seek legal remedies and restitution for all fraudulently acquired entries and for any transactions that defraud RealTime Fantasy Sports of Contest entry fees. Remedies and restitution may include administrative charges and attorney fees. Participants that obtain Contest entries by fraud or defraud RealTime Fantasy Sports shall forfeit all entries and all current and future Contest prizes without recourse or refund.
Terms for Apple iOS app
You acknowledge that these Terms are entered into between you and RTFS only, and that Apple is not a party to these Terms, and as between RTFS and Apple, it is RTFS that is responsible for the app and content.
You acknowledge that Apple has no obligation whatsoever to furnish any maintenance or any support services to you with respect to the App.
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Apple will have no other warranty obligation whatsoever with respect to the App.
Apple, and Apple's subsidiaries, are third-party beneficiaries of these Terms. Upon your acceptance of the Terms, Apple will have the right (and will be deemed to have accepted the right) to enforce the Terms against you as a third party beneficiary thereof. There are no other third-party beneficiaries of the Terms.