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How-to guide · Playbook

Run an NFL pick’em pool

Pick winners every week, straight-up or against the spread, and climb a season-long leaderboard. It is the classic office football pool, now mobile, automatic, and effortless to run.

Start free →About Pick’Em pools

Free plan · you keep 100% · Offices, booster clubs & commissioners · 6 min read

The pick’em pool is the classic season-long football contest: every week, players pick a winner in every game, and the most correct picks climbs the standings. You decide the flavor. Straight-up keeps it simple and casual, against the spread makes it tighter and more skillful, and an optional confidence layer lets players rank their picks for extra strategy. Charge an entry fee, keep a cut for your program, and the rest becomes the pot for your weekly and season winners.

Why it works

The easiest season-long sell

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The pool everyone already plays

Pick winners each week, most wins takes the prize. There is nothing to teach, which makes the entry an easy sell to a whole office or booster group.

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Season-long engagement

One entry keeps a supporter picking every week for the whole season. That steady, low-effort attention is exactly what a fundraiser wants.

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Clean, simple money

One flat entry fee, one pot, weekly and season prizes. Set a house cut for your program and the rest pays out. Easy to explain to any board or parent group.

Choose your flavor

Three ways to score it

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Straight-up

Just pick the winner of each game. The simplest format, and the easiest for a casual crowd to jump into.

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Against the spread

Pick the team that beats the point spread. A tighter, more skillful contest that keeps the standings closer all season.

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Confidence twist

Turn on confidence scoring and players rank their picks 1 to N each week, banking more for their surest calls. See the confidence pool guide for the details.

How scoring works

Pick, win, climb

Pick every game

Each week, players pick a winner in every game before the weekly lock. You choose whether picks are straight-up (just pick the winner) or against the spread (beat the point spread).

Score the winners

Every correct pick is worth one point. If you use confidence scoring instead, players rank their picks and bank more for the games they are surest about. Results post automatically from live scores.

Climb weekly and season standings

Points roll into a weekly leaderboard and a running season total, so there is a winner each week and an overall season winner. A featured game breaks ties when totals are level.

Set it up

Four steps to kickoff

Create the pool

Pick the Pick’Em format, choose straight-up or against the spread (or confidence), set your entry fee, and choose weekly prizes, a season prize, or both. The season’s weeks are generated for you.

Load the schedule

Import each week’s NFL games from the games library by date, or add them by hand. On Pro Commissioner the schedule and scores sync automatically.

Open and share one link

Share a single link. Players sign in, pay your program directly, and submit their picks before the weekly lock.

Score and pay out

Results post automatically from live scores, or you enter them yourself. The pool tallies points, updates weekly and season standings, and pays out per your prize rules.

FAQ

Pick’em pools, answered

How does an NFL pick’em pool work?

Every week, each player picks a winner in every game before the games lock. Each correct pick is worth a point (or its confidence value, if you use confidence scoring). Points add up into weekly and season standings, and the highest totals win the prizes.

Does ChooseASquare host a full season-long NFL pick’em?

Yes. ChooseASquare has a dedicated Pick’Em format built for the whole NFL season, with straight-up or against-the-spread scoring, weekly and season-long standings, a featured-game tiebreaker, and automatic scoring from live scores. It runs the full regular season from one shareable link.

Straight-up or against the spread, which should I pick?

Straight-up is the simplest and best for a casual crowd. Against the spread is tighter and more skillful, so the standings stay closer deep into the season. You set which one your pool uses, and you can also switch on confidence scoring for a strategy layer.

What prizes and tiebreakers can I set?

You can award a prize each week, an overall season prize, or both, and split the pot however you like. A featured game serves as the tiebreaker when players finish level. Basic play is free; advanced prize options are on Pro Commissioner.

How do you turn it into a fundraiser?

Charge an entry fee and set a house cut, the percentage your program keeps. The rest becomes the prize pot. Supporters pay your program directly through Venmo, PayPal, CashApp, check, or cash. ChooseASquare never holds the money and never takes a cut, so the full cut is yours.

Do players pay a platform fee?

No. Players only pay the entry price you set, directly to your organization. You can run the entire pool on the free plan and keep 100% of what you collect.

Related and comparisons

Want the strategy version? Read the NFL confidence pool guide, or run an NFL Survivor pool instead. Weighing platforms? See how ChooseASquare stacks up: vs OfficeFootballPool and vs Sleeper.

Launch your pick’em pool free

Set your entry fee, scoring, prizes, and tiebreaker, share one link, and let the standings run themselves all season.

Start free →