It’s always possible in fantasy football that you and your opponent will have the same score, even down to the decimal point. Here’s how to sort it out.
Yes, ties in fantasy football may be uncommon, but they still happen every year. As a responsible fantasy manager, it’s important to understand the tiebreaker rules. This article walks through everything you need to know about a perfectly even fantasy matchup, whether that’s during the regular season or playoffs.
In The Event of a Tie…
Regardless of platform, there is always a set order of steps to follow when determining whether a tie stands or if one team will be declared the winner.
In the next section, in-depth tiebreaker rules will be discussed for Sleeper, which has millions of monthly fantasy football users.
Tiebreaker rules can usually be modified before the fantasy season begins when the league is private, such as a home-league environment with friends, family or co-workers; however, when playing in public leagues against unknown opponents, the rules for ties are set in stone.
In addition to understanding how ties work in season-long fantasy football, daily fantasy sports (DFS) providers also have their own rule for ties, commonly referred to as pushes. Sites like Sleeper, Underdog Fantasy and PrizePicks have been leading the charge in the DFS space, and all three handle pushes similarly.
Generally, if you have a Pick-2 entry where one pick ties their projection or doesn’t play, the DFS entry is voided and the entry fee is returned. If it’s a Pick-3 with one push, then the entry is adjusted to a Pick-2 instead, and the payouts are reduced to the Pick-2 level. The same is true for Pick-4s and beyond. Check out the full list of rules for Sleeper Picks.
Fantasy Football Ties on Sleeper
Here’s how Sleeper’s season-long fantasy football game handles ties:
Regular Season
For regular-season fantasy matchups — most commonly Weeks 1-14 of the NFL season — there are no tiebreakers. So, if a team begins the season 3-1, then ties in Week 5, its record would become 3-1-1. This team would then appear lower in the standings than a 4-1 team, but higher than a team with a 3-2 record.
For leagues that always want to select a weekly winner, go to the Commissioner Control option (desktop only), then select Recalculate Weekly Matchups. From there, any of the weekly matchups can be manually adjusted.
Standings
If two teams have identical records in a Sleeper league, the team that has scored more total fantasy points on the season will get the higher slot in the standings. Total fantasy points scored is generally the most fair tiebreaker, since it removes some of the weekly luck from fantasy football.
A team with a 9-5 record that kept winning its weekly fantasy matchups 101-99 is not as strong as a 9-5 team that routinely won 115-99, for instance.
If two teams have identical records and identical total points scored (extremely unlikely), then the team with the higher fantasy points scored against them gets the higher seeding.
Should two teams still remain dead even, we recommend the highly scientific act of flipping a coin, or using Sleeper’s custom playoff seeding function. The custom playoff seeding is an easy way to use alternative methods like head-to-head record or highest-scoring bench roster to determine tiebreakers if the above system isn’t the right choice for your league.
See also: What Do PF and PA Mean in Fantasy Football?
Playoffs
During the fantasy playoffs, the higher-seeded team on Sleeper will advance if there’s a tiebreaker.
What Is The Tiebreaker In Fantasy Football for Multiple Teams?
Occasionally, more than two teams will have identical records in the standings.
On Sleeper, the two-team tiebreaker rules are simply expanded to three or four teams. So, total fantasy points scored on the season is the initial tiebreaker. Beyond that, total fantasy points against is the next tiebreaker. Remember, Sleeper offers custom playoff seeding for those that want complete control over the playoff brackets.
Other fantasy platforms may look to head-to-head records to determine tiebreakers; however, as noted above, total points scored is generally the most fair system in fantasy football. Head-to-head tiebreakers usually rely on a small, one-week sample, rather than the 14-week sample of the entire regular season.
Beyond head-to-head record, many other platforms have their moment of clarity and return to total points scored as a secondary tiebreaker.
The below table illustrates how Sleeper compares to other platforms for tiebreakers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can fantasy football end in a tie?
Yes, fantasy football matchups can end in a tie during the regular season. Most platforms let the higher seed advance if there’s a tie in the playoffs.
How are ties broken in fantasy?
During the regular season, head-to-head record and total fantasy points scored are the two most common tiebreakers. If no winner has been revealed after that process, fantasy managers will need to look at total points scored against each team. Occasionally, fantasy football leagues will draw inspiration from the NFL’s own tiebreaker rules.
What happens when you tie in fantasy football on Sleeper?
Sleeper defaults to ties during the fantasy football regular season, but commissioners can manually override this feature if desired with the custom playoff seeding function.
When determining playoff seeding, ties in record will be broken by total fantasy points scored, then by total fantasy points against.
What happens when you tie in a DFS game?
We’ll give a quick example this time with Sleeper Picks’ rules. Let’s say you expected Patrick Mahomes to throw more than 2.0 passing touchdowns, and he ended with exactly two on the day, also known as a push. If this were a Pick-2 with one other entry, then your entry fee would get refunded. If Mahomes were part of a Pick-3 entry, then he would be removed and it would be graded as a Pick-2, with adjusted payouts to reflect this. Pick-4s with Mahomes would become Pick-3s, Pick-5s with Mahomes would become Pick-4s and so on.
Tie Yourself to Sleeper for Fantasy Football
You’re now fully equipped to understand fantasy football ties. And if you ever have an incredibly specific question for a certain fantasy football platform, its rules will always cover ties in-depth — assuming the platform is reputable.
Because of Sleeper’s reliance on total fantasy points scored for tiebreakers, with the ability to customize any regular season or playoff matchup result, this should be your go-to fantasy football platform. Join millions of others already on Sleeper by signing up on the website or downloading the app, to start playing fantasy football and enjoy all the benefits and special features that Sleeper offers.
For the DFS enthusiasts, make sure to check out Sleeper Picks, which offers more than half a dozen sports for their More/Less games.
