Every pick'em pool commissioner eventually faces the same moment: two players finish the week with the exact same score. Who wins?
If you didn't document a tiebreaker rule before the season, that moment turns into a group text argument. If you did, it's a two-second resolution.
Here's how tiebreakers work, what the most common formats are, and how to set yours up before Week 1.
Why Ties Happen More Than You Think
In a flat pick'em pool (one point per correct pick), ties are common. If 20 players are all picking the same 14-16 games each week, a lot of them are going to end up with similar records. Going 10-6 in a week with eight "obvious" outcomes is very achievable for most of your league.
Confidence pools reduce ties significantly — the probability of two players assigning the exact same numbers to the exact same games is low. But it still happens, especially in smaller pools.
Season-long ties are rarer but carry higher stakes. Two players finishing Week 18 with the same total points when first place is worth $400 is not a situation you want to resolve by coin flip.
The Standard Tiebreaker: MNF Combined Score
The most widely used tiebreaker in NFL pick'em pools is the combined score of the Monday Night Football game.
Before submitting picks each week, every player predicts the total combined score of the MNF game — just one number, like "47." This prediction is submitted with their picks and sealed. If two players finish the week tied on points, whoever's MNF prediction was closest to the actual combined score wins.
Why this works well:
- It's simple to explain and understand
- It adds a small extra element of skill to every week
- It doesn't require any additional setup — just a field on the picks page
- It almost always resolves ties cleanly
Edge case: What if two players predict the same MNF total? Most pools use the next tiebreaker: the player whose prediction was over vs. under. Lowest score closest without going over is a common secondary rule, borrowed from The Price is Right logic. You should document this before the season.
What if there's no Monday Night Football game? In weeks with only Sunday games (rare), some pools use the Sunday Night Football total instead, or fall back to the secondary tiebreaker.
Other Tiebreaker Formats
Total points predicted (season-level): At the start of the season, each player predicts the total number of points that will be scored across all NFL games during the regular season. This sealed number is used only if two players finish the full season tied. It's a clean, set-it-and-forget-it format but requires collecting predictions before Week 1.
Head-to-head record: Some leagues use head-to-head records between tied players — which player had more correct picks in the specific weeks where both were tied or played each other. This is harder to calculate and easy to dispute, so it's more common in fantasy football than pick'em pools.
Straight-up record: In ATS pools, a secondary tiebreaker sometimes used is the player's straight-up record (ignoring the spread). This is reasonable but adds complexity.
Fewest misses on locks: For confidence pools, some commissioners use "number of games where the player assigned maximum confidence and was wrong" as a secondary tiebreaker. The player who was wrong less often on their top picks wins. This rewards decisive allocation over hedging.
Coin flip: Please don't. It's fine as a last resort after every other tiebreaker is exhausted, but it shouldn't be your primary method.
Weekly vs. Season Tiebreakers
These can be different rules, and often should be.
Weekly tiebreakers matter when you have weekly prizes. The MNF combined score is standard here — it's something players actively think about every week.
Season tiebreakers matter for your overall champion and any end-of-season payouts. Common choices:
- Total number of correct picks across the entire season (ignores confidence, rewards consistency)
- Best single-week score across the season (the player who had the highest-scoring week)
- The "season total points predicted" method described above
The simplest and most defensible season tiebreaker is most correct picks across the whole season. It's transparent, hard to dispute, and easy to calculate.
What to Document Before Week 1
Write this down and share it in your group chat before the first game. Disputes are always about what was said vs. what was written.
Tiebreaker Rules
Weekly: MNF combined score prediction. Closest to actual wins.
Secondary: lower prediction without going over.
Tertiary: coin flip.
Season: Total correct picks across all weeks.
Secondary: Best single-week score.
Tertiary: MNF combined score average over the season.
That's it. Post it once, pin it, and point people at it when the inevitable argument starts.
How thepickempool Handles Tiebreakers
On thepickempool, the MNF combined score tiebreaker is built into the picks page. Every week, players enter their predicted total at the bottom of the picks form before submitting. It's collected automatically, stored, and used if two players finish the week tied.
Season-level tiebreakers are handled in the standings — total correct picks is the default secondary sort after total points.
The Rule That Matters Most
All of this is secondary to one rule: document your tiebreaker before Week 1 and don't change it mid-season.
No tiebreaker format is wrong as long as everyone agreed to it before the season started. Every tiebreaker format is wrong if you're announcing it after the tie already happened.
This is the part of being a commissioner that matters more than the tech. Get it in writing. Share it with the group. Refer back to it when needed.
Need help with the rest of your setup? Read the complete commissioner guide →