- Draft Styles
- Lineup edits
- Position Eligibility
- Traded Player Policy
- Contest Entry
- Scoring and Payouts
- Player Salaries
Draft Styles
Salary cap
In salary cap contests, participants will create a lineup by selecting players listed in the player pool. Each player listed in the player pool has an assigned salary and a valid lineup must not exceed the salary cap.
Tiers
In tiers contests, participants will create a lineup by selecting players listed in the player pool. Each player listed has an assigned tier, and a valid lineup must include a player from each tier. The number of tiers may vary based on the game set.
Lineup edits
Late swap
For late-swap contests, lineups may be edited at any time leading up to games. Each individual player will become locked at the scheduled start time of their team’s game. A locked player cannot be added or removed from a roster spot. Locked roster spots for all entries are displayed in contest game centers.
In the rare case that a game starts before the scheduled start time, all players within that game will become locked as soon as our feed reflects that the game has begun. Additionally, any swaps that were made after the real-life start time of the game will result in those lineups being disqualified and refunded.
Non-Late Swap
For non-late swap contests, lineups may be edited at any time leading up to the start of a contest. Each player will become locked at the scheduled start time of the contest. A locked player cannot be added or removed from a roster spot.
In the rare case that a game starts before the scheduled contest start time, all players within that game will become locked as soon as our feed reflects that the game has begun. Additionally, any lineup swaps including players from the game that were made after the real-life start time of the game will result in those lineups being disqualified and refunded.
For both late swap and non-late swap contests, players on opponent lineups will remain hidden until the players’ respective game start times.
Position Eligibility
Player positions are determined at the sole discretion of DraftKings.
Traded Player Policy
For all DraftKings’ team sports, when a player is traded or changes teams after contests for a given game set have become available but before contests start, that player will be eligible to accrue fantasy points for their new team when BOTH teams (the player’s old and new teams) are in the game set. Any lineup entries that break roster requirement rules because of a trade or change of team will be canceled and refunded. Where possible, DraftKings will notify these customers via email and/or other notification features on site.
When there is a trade or change of team involving a player in which the team the player has been traded to (their new team) is NOT in a game set, the player will remain on his original team (the prior team) and will be ineligible to accrue fantasy points.
When a player is traded to a team in a game set of which their prior team was not included, the player will NOT be added to the player pool.
Where possible, DraftKings will add warnings to draft screens once it is known that a player has been traded and therefore eligible or ineligible to register points based on the positioning of their new and prior teams in various game sets. Where possible, customers that have traded players that are ineligible to accrue fantasy points in their lineup(s) may be notified via email and/or other notification features on the site.
Contest Entry
The entry-fee and prize pool for a contest will not change once the contest is created. Therefore, each contest has a maximum amount of total entries accepted. Contests that have not reached capacity will be available for entry up until the contest start time.
Guaranteed contests will run (with prizes unchanged) even if they do not reach capacity before the contest start time. Non-guaranteed contests that don't reach capacity by contest start time may be merged with other similar unfilled contests or may be canceled and refunded at DraftKings' sole discretion.
Scoring and Payouts
Live scoring updates are strictly for the enjoyment of DraftKings customers. DraftKings’ official scoring validation process begins once all games within the contest are final. This process ensures that DraftKings scoring matches official stat providers when contest results are finalized and paid out.
Once contests are finalized, a contest status will update to Completed, and that contest will move from the Live Games section to the Completed Games section on the My Contests page.
DraftKings uses statistics from third-party providers for the purposes of providing game and contest results, and real-time entertainment value to its customers. These third-party providers include, but aren't limited to, STATS Inc., Sportradar, FightMetric, Lolesports, Perform, Champion Data, and in some cases, data provided directly by relevant sports leagues. DraftKings may change third-party providers from time to time without notice. For more information, please contact DraftKings customer service at support@draftkings.com.
On occasion, official scorers may issue a stat correction after games have ended and the official scoring validation process has completed. These corrections are rare, but can occur days after a game is played. Therefore, any changes to official scoring that occur after contests have been finalized will not impact those finalized contests. Conversely, if a correction needs to be made after contests are finalized due to a bug with the data feed or the finalization process, while extremely rare, the finalization process (including payment) may be reversed and redone correctly.
Note: The official scoring validation process is solely to ensure that DraftKings contest results are determined based on official scoring. Delays during this process may occur as a result of data collection or other technical difficulties. DraftKings will not attempt to make judgments on scoring rulings.
Player Salaries
DraftKings' player salaries are intended to provide an interesting, challenging, skill-based game resulting in a top-quality experience for DraftKings customers. Player salaries are determined based on historical statistics and aspects of a player’s upcoming matchup may be factored into their salary.
Please note that player salaries listed are a function of the salary cap fantasy sports contest format and aren't intended, and shouldn't be relied upon, as any indication of real-life salary valuations of the individual players.