Season rules

Entry requests

Have a friend interested? Let the commissioner know by Saturday, September 12, 2026 at 10 PM Central. This is the deadline to request entry; the commissioner can finish adding those players before Sunday’s first counted kickoff.

Membership and competition

Big Dawgs is free and for fun. There is no entry fee or cash prize. You can belong to the league without competing. The commissioner tracks competition enrollment separately.

Enrolled members compete over the full season for bragging rights. Unenrolled members can still enjoy the league without entering the competition.

Scoring

Pick the straight-up winner of each game. Point spreads do not count. A correct pick earns 1 point. Incorrect picks, missing picks, and games ending in a tie earn 0 points.

This is a season-long competition: points accumulate through the end of the regular season. Counted games begin Sunday, September 13, 2026, including Sunday night and Monday night. Opening Wednesday and Thursday results do not count toward the competition leaderboard.

Deadlines and privacy

Each pick locks at that game’s kickoff. Submit or change it before then; you do not need to finish the entire week before the first game. Times shown on the site are Central.

Other players’ individual choices stay hidden until kickoff, including from the commissioner. You can see your own saved picks. The commissioner can see who still needs to pick and combined team-pick totals, but not individual selections before kickoff.

Season ties and playoffs

Only players tied for first place at the end of the regular season continue into the playoff tiebreaker. Those players pick the playoff games, still earning one point per correct winner. After each round, anyone behind the remaining leaders is eliminated. Repeat until one winner remains.

If multiple players remain tied going into the Super Bowl, each submits their winner pick and predicted score for each team before kickoff. A correct winner pick beats an incorrect one. Among players with the same winner-pick result, the lowest combined absolute score error wins: add how far each team’s predicted score was from its actual score. If both the winner-pick result and combined error are tied, those players share the championship.

Canceled and postponed games

Canceled games and games declared no contest earn zero points. Postponed games count when an official result is available. Picks stay locked once their original deadline passes.

Site outages and reminders

If the site is unavailable, text your picks to the commissioner before the affected games kick off. The message timestamp determines whether they were on time. No retroactive picks. The commissioner will see picks submitted by text.

Check that your picks show as saved. Reminders are a courtesy; you are responsible for submitting your picks on time.