How it works
Five steps, and the money one is deliberately separate from the joining one. You can do the first step right now for free and decide about the second afterwards.
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You join the league on Sleeper
Free, and it costs you nothing to look. Sleeper is the app the league actually runs in — drafting, lineups, waivers, trades and chat all live there. Joining the league on Sleeper does not charge you anything and does not commit you to anything; the money is a separate step, on a different site, and it is the next one.
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You pay the buy-in into LeagueSafe
Not to me. Every pot is held by LeagueSafe on majority-approval payout, which means the commissioner cannot move the money alone — the league votes to release it. I submit the exact printed figures to LeagueSafe within 48 hours of the final game — the only payout I will ever submit — and it goes out as soon as the majority approves, normally inside a week. That is the part worth slowing down on: the money never sits in my account, and I cannot release it on my own. When the season ends the league votes to approve the payout, and only an approved payout moves money. If you have ever been in a league where one guy holds the pot in his Venmo, this is the opposite of that arrangement, and it is why I use it.
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We draft live, on a scheduled date
A snake draft, on a date that is published before you pay, with me on the call running it. The order is randomised live where everyone can watch — three times, no less than an hour before we start. You get 90 seconds per pick. There are no instant drafts here and no best ball: if nobody has to set a lineup, there is nothing for a commissioner to do, and then there is nothing to charge for.
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I run the season
FAAB $100, clearing Wednesday overnight. Trades process immediately and are only reviewed if someone contests one. Trade deadline is end of NFL Week 11. Weeks 15–17, top 6, top-2 byes. I never edit a roster except to reverse a verified platform error or to start a legal lineup for an abandoned team under the bylaws' section 5, and when I do, I say so in chat with what changed and why. Disputes get a decision in chat with the reasoning written out, and any dispute involving my own team is decided by the other eleven — published either way, including when it goes against me.
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The league votes to release the pot
The top 3 finishers get paid the exact figures published on this site before anyone joined — not a recalculated version of them, and that is the only payout I will ever submit. I submit it to LeagueSafe within 48 hours of the final game, LeagueSafe puts it to a majority vote, and the money goes out as soon as the league approves — normally inside a week. My fee is one line in that same approved payout, which means you can see it, and it is released by the same vote that releases your prize. I get paid last, and only if the league says so.
What it costs you, on a $200 league
| 12 managers pay $200 each | $2,400 |
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| 1st place | − $1,550 |
| 2nd place — 3× buy-in | − $600 |
| 3rd place — your buy-in back | − $200 |
| What I keep for running it | $50 |
2.1% of the money in the league, capped at $50 at any buy-in. There is no separate signup fee, no card fee, and no charge to leave before the draft.
Before you join
Can I get a refund?
Full refund any time before the draft begins, no reason needed. After the draft the buy-in is committed, because a mid-season refund takes money out of a pot the other 11 are still playing for. That cut-off is in the bylaws and it is the same for everyone.
What if the league doesn't fill?
Then it does not draft. If a league has not filled by its draft date I either move the date or cancel and refund in full — I will not quietly run a 12-team league with nine managers and three autodrafting ghosts, because that is a worse season for everyone including me. You are never stuck in a half-empty league.
I've never used LeagueSafe or Sleeper. Is this complicated?
No, and they do different jobs. Sleeper is the free app the league runs in — draft, lineups, waivers, trades, chat. LeagueSafe is where the money sits, and it is a separate site with a separate account, which is the point: joining on Sleeper costs nothing and commits you to nothing, and paying is a deliberate second step. Both are free to join.