Best Fantasy Football Sites For Super Bowl LVIII: Kansas City vs. San Francisco

DFS pits a user’s skills and wit against the customer base of the DFS provider they choose.

In DFS, all players take on a general manager role and must draft a team of players they think will perform the best in the Super Bowl. The only catch is that there is a salary cap, with players costing different prices based on how they’re expected to perform.

All fantasy GMs try to create a lineup under the salary cap that outscores their competitors.

At least one player from both Super Bowl teams must be included in every entry.

Users can play DFS through a variety of reputable DFS apps, including Thrive Fantasy, Parlay Play, Boom Fantasy and Underdog Fantasy.

Every platform will have different rules, pricing, payouts and competitors, but the general approach is the same.

You’ll create a lineup that will have some players selected because of their position (QB, RB, etc.) along with some FLEX spots, which can be filled with players from any position.

You’ll also be prompted to pick a captain who becomes the most important player on your team (more on that later).

You can’t change your roster until the competition is over. There is no waiver wire and lineups lock once the event starts.

The best way to give yourself a leg up is to find diamonds in the rough, or players with low costs that offer the most upside. At the same time, splurging on a big-money star can provide your team with a higher floor and even a higher ceiling depending on how they perform.

The DFS scoring system often differs from the one used in traditional fantasy football.

For example, DraftKings offers a three-point bonus if a quarterback throws for 300 yards in addition to one point for every 25 yards, whereas traditional fantasy leagues do not. The same applies to 100-yard rushers, who also receive an additional three points on top of their one point per 10 yards.

DFS also offers more nuance with a wider range of scoring outcomes. A defensive two-point conversion return is worth two points, whereas traditional fantasy leagues do not award any points.

Captains earn 50% more points than other players in your lineup. For this reason, you should try to pick your highest-scoring player as your captain to boost your final score. The catch is drafting players at the captain slot costs 50% more than if they were a regular pick, so choose wisely.

There are multiple ways to play DFS during the Super Bowl. For example, customers can compete in 50-50s, which require a user’s lineup to finish with a final score in the top half of a (limited) pool of players.

Another popular type of DFS contest is a tournament. These tend to attract the most players because they offer the largest payouts, but they’re also the most competitive and the most difficult to win money in.

A third type of DFS competition is head-to-head where one user takes on another from the same sports betting platform, just like a traditional fantasy football matchup. Whichever GM finishes with the higher score wins the match and prize money.

Double-ups work exactly how the name implies they do: users who finish in a winning position earn double their wager.

Certain DFS sites offer separate competitions for beginners and experienced bettors. They may also run contests that allow competitors to earn entry into tournaments or other competitions if they can beat the challenge.

DFS payouts are not uniform across different contests. For example, a tournament with hundreds of thousands of players will usually pay more money than a one-on-one matchup against another player since more players are paying an entry fee and the tournament is harder to win.

Companies will provide information on pricing and payouts on their website or app. Anyone looking to analyze the risk-reward ratio should simply click the terms and conditions to get a better understanding.

DFS offers a way for users to become more involved in the game than they would be just by watching or betting on an outright winner.

Instead, users have to take on the role of a front-office executive by analyzing their budget, figuring out which players are poised for big days and drafting a roster that offers the highest upside.

DFS can also be lucrative to those who are successful. Winning can be much harder when entering tournaments, but the payouts are also much larger.

Playing DFS during the Super Bowl does not come with any long-term commitment, and users can draft a totally new roster at the start of the next season.

Conversely, players do not need to have an existing roster or have played DFS previously to draft a lineup before the Big Game kicks off.

Don’t feel obligated to use all of your allotted salary. Two plus two will always equal four, even if you’re given an upper threshold of five.

Finishing your roster while still having money left over will likely ensure that you have a combination of players that most of your competitors do not. This could work in or against your favor, which is where the gambling aspect of DFS comes into play.

You should always enter a DFS draft with a few sleeper targets in mind. For example, if a backup performed well while a starter was injured, there’s still a decent chance the backup will get snaps when the starter returns since they left an impression on their coaches.

Players also need to be as unique as possible. Going after MVP candidates and stars will likely ensure that you finish somewhere in the middle of the competition and are unable to break into the top.

Add uniqueness to your lineup by heavily focusing on one team over the other, captaining a slept-on star, or drafting players based on how you think the game will play out (i.e., taking running backs on a rainy day).

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