X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Stats & Leaders
Starts and Sit
Daily Fantasy
Who To Pickup
24x7 News and Alerts

How Do The Fantasy Football Playoffs Work? When Do They Start?

Every fantasy football manager dreams of winning their league championship, but that can't happen without first making the playoffs.

In fact, missing the fantasy playoffs often comes with its fair dose of embarrassment, especially in formats where at least half of the league makes the bracket.

But how do the fantasy football playoffs work? When do they start? Here's what every fantasy football manager should know about the road to the championship.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2024:

 

How Do Fantasy Football Playoffs Work?

The exact specifics of playoffs will vary by league, but for the most part, bracket play is held in a similar fashion as the regular season: a series of head-to-head matchups.

Playoff seeding is usually determined by the standings, followed by a variety of tiebreakers determined by the league commissioner. Potential tiebreakers include head-to-head records or points scored.

In the first round of an eight-team playoff, the matchups will be set in a bookend sort of format, with the best team (No. 1 seed) playing the worst (No. 8), then the next-best versus the next-worst (No. 2 versus No. 7), and so on.

The bracket may not always work out in a way that allows each manager to play a matchup in each round. For example, in a six-team playoff, the top two seeds would earn a first-round bye while the remaining four teams battle for two spots in the next round.

Of course, the winner of each playoff matchup advances to the next round. Some leagues may rearrange the schedule after each round so that the worst remaining seed continues to play the best remaining seed. Other leagues may set a bracket at the start and simply advance teams from their matchup to the next adjacent branch on the bracket.

We should also note that some leagues will hold multi-week rounds. In theory, this reduces the chance of a team advancing to the next round because they had one good week (or eliminating a powerhouse due to one bad week). In a multi-week round, the winner of the matchup will be determined by cumulative points over the entire round (usually two weeks).

There are pros and cons to multi-week leagues. One perk is the aforementioned ability to reduce the chances of luck influencing your bracket. On the other hand, there's an argument to be made for the element of luck and unknown that comes with advancing teams to the next round after just one week.

Regardless of individual settings, managers should ensure that they understand how their playoffs work before the season begins. Similarly, commissioners should not adjust the playoff settings once teams have been drafted (unless there is a mistake that clearly needs to be fixed). Strategy plays a major role in fantasy football and some managers may set their year-long strategy based on the league settings.

 

When Do Fantasy Football Playoffs Start?

Naturally, fantasy football playoffs typically occur near the end of the NFL season when managers have completed a full schedule of matchups, the standings have taken shape, and it's time to crown a champion. However, the exact start date of the fantasy football playoffs could vary from league to league.

When the NFL expanded its season to 18 weeks, it became common for fantasy playoffs to begin in Week 15 — specifically in leagues with six to eight playoff teams where each matchup lasted just one week.

With a three-week playoff starting in Week 15, leagues can crown their champion in Week 17. This is a common practice in fantasy football, given that many NFL teams rest their starters or change their approach for Week 18, depending on whether they have clinched a certain playoff status. If the Kansas City Chiefs are guaranteed to be the AFC's No. 1 seed, they'll likely rest Patrick Mahomes (or only give him a few plays) to preserve his health.

This, however, would create a major disadvantage for fantasy managers with Mahomes on their roster. Far fewer teams rest their players in Week 17, making that a much more fitting time to hold the fantasy football championship.

Leagues with more than eight or less than six playoff teams may choose to move up or push back the start of their playoffs, respectively. Similarly, leagues with multi-week matchups may start their playoffs earlier to make sure they stay on track to crown a champion by Week 17.

We would caution commissioners against starting their playoffs too early, of course. In 2024, a whopping six teams have a Week 14 bye, meaning some managers could be without key players that week.

Having players on bye during the playoffs puts managers at a massive (and very unfair) disadvantage. After all, it would be rotten to lock up the best record thanks to Lamar Jackson's dominance, only to get eliminated in the first round of the playoffs (Week 14) because he was on a bye, and you had to start a waiver-wire quarterback instead.

The best-run leagues will do whatever they can to ensure the playoffs don't begin until Week 15, even if that means shortening each round from two weeks to one.



Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App

Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy football app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, rankings, starts/sits & more. All free!




Win More With RotoBaller

Be sure to also check out all of our other daily fantasy football articles and analysis to help you set those winning lineups, including this new RotoBaller YouTube video:

More Fantasy Football Analysis

POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Stats & Leaders
Starts and Sit
Daily Fantasy
Who To Pickup
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Jalen Smith3 hours ago

Good To Go Versus Hawks
Torrey Craig3 hours ago

Sits Out Second Consecutive Game
Zach LaVine3 hours ago

Available On Saturday
Drake London3 hours ago

Expected To Play In Week 10
Ja Morant3 hours ago

Out Week-To-Week
James van Riemsdyk3 hours ago

Sits As Healthy Scratch On Saturday
Jakob Chychrun3 hours ago

Back In Action On Saturday
Mikey Anderson4 hours ago

Good To Go Saturday
Tanner Jeannot4 hours ago

Begins Three-Game Suspension Saturday
Brock Boeser4 hours ago

Out On Saturday
Samuel Ersson4 hours ago

Returns To Flyers Crease
Matvei Michkov4 hours ago

Sits Out Second Consecutive Game
Gus Edwards4 hours ago

Activated Off Injured Reserve On Saturday
Tyreek Hill5 hours ago

Officially Questionable For Monday Night Football
Nico Collins5 hours ago

Off The Injured Reserve List
Chris Olave5 hours ago

Officially Placed On Injured Reserve
Christian McCaffrey5 hours ago

Will Return On Sunday
Dak Prescott5 hours ago

May Be Done For The Season
De'Andre Hunter6 hours ago

Still Out On Saturday
Ben Simmons6 hours ago

Out On Saturday, As Expected
Trey Murphy III7 hours ago

Might Return On Monday
Zion Williamson7 hours ago

Out Indefinitely
Tank Dell7 hours ago

Expected To Play On Sunday
Tyreek Hill7 hours ago

Uncertainty If Tyreek Hill Will Play On Monday
Christian McCaffrey8 hours ago

Feels Great, Ready To Make 2024 Debut
Tyreek Hill8 hours ago

"Doing Everything Possible" To Play In Week 10
Dak Prescott8 hours ago

Will Be Placed On Injured Reserve
10 hours ago

Nick Martinez Expected To Accept Qualifying Offer
MLB10 hours ago

Roki Sasaki Will Be Posted, Opens Door For 2025 MLB Debut
Brian Thomas Jr.12 hours ago

Questionable To Face Vikings
Chris Olave12 hours ago

Saints Placing Chris Olave On Injured Reserve
Jared McCann13 hours ago

Scores Game-Winner On Friday
Kirill Kaprizov13 hours ago

Scores Twice, Tallies Assist On Friday
Joel Blomqvist13 hours ago

Sharp On Friday, Earns Third Victory
Evgeni Malkin14 hours ago

Tallies Two Points On Friday
TOR14 hours ago

Mitch Marner Extends Point Streak To Seven Games
John Tavares14 hours ago

Nets Two Goals In Friday's Victory
Devin Vassell22 hours ago

Expected To Return On Saturday
Malaki Branham22 hours ago

On The Injury Report For Saturday
Keyonte George22 hours ago

Could Miss Saturday's Game
Immanuel Quickley22 hours ago

Has A Chance To Return On Saturday
Zach LaVine22 hours ago

Uncertain For Meeting With Atlanta
Miami Heat1 day ago

Jamie Jaquez Jr. Out Versus Nuggets
Jamal Murray1 day ago

Expected To Suit Up Against Miami On Friday
Tyreek Hill1 day ago

Misses Friday's Practice
Bradley Beal1 day ago

Will Play Against The Mavs
Devin Booker1 day ago

Available Against Dallas
Nolan Arenado1 day ago

Could Be On The Trade Block
Golden State Warriors1 day ago

Draymond Green Available Friday
Zach Neto1 day ago

Undergoes Shoulder Surgery, Could Miss Start Of 2025
Deebo Samuel Sr.1 day ago

Questionable For Week 10
Christian McCaffrey1 day ago

Questionable For Week 10, Expected To Debut
Grant Williams1 day ago

Available For Friday's Matchup With Pacers
Gary Trent Jr.1 day ago

Out Versus The Knicks
Zion Williamson1 day ago

Ruled Out Friday
Anthony Stolarz1 day ago

Set To Face Red Wings Friday
A.J. Brown1 day ago

Off The Injury Report
Dallas Goedert1 day ago

Cleared To Return In Week 10
Lukas Dostal1 day ago

Looks To End Losing Streak On Friday
Tank Dell1 day ago

Added To Injury Report, Listed As Questionable
Mason Marchment1 day ago

A Game-Time Decision Saturday
CeeDee Lamb1 day ago

Off The Injury Report
Sonny Milano1 day ago

Unavailable Friday
Jeff Petry1 day ago

Sits Out Friday's Contest
Cam Fowler1 day ago

A Game-Time Call Friday
Philipp Grubauer1 day ago

Day-To-Day, Ales Stezka Called Up
Shane Pinto1 day ago

Could Return Saturday
Mason Miller1 day ago

To Stay In The Bullpen
Shohei Ohtani1 day ago

Shoulder Surgery Could Delay His Pitching
New York Yankees1 day ago

Yankees Exercise Aaron Boone's Option
Carlos Prates1 day ago

Looks For His Fourth Win In A Row
Neil Magny1 day ago

Looks To Get Back In The Win Column
MMA1 day ago

Benardo Sopaj Looks For His First UFC Win
Ricky Turcios1 day ago

Returns At UFC Vegas 100
Dusko Todorovic1 day ago

An Underdog At UFC Vegas 100
Mansur Abdul-Malik2 days ago

A Big Favorite At UFC Vegas 100
Luana Pinheiro2 days ago

Could Be Fighting For Job At UFC Vegas 100
Gillian Robertson2 days ago

Looks To Extend Win Streak At UFC Vegas 100
Reinier De ridder2 days ago

Reinier de Ridder Makes UFC Debut At UFC Vegas 100
Gerald Meerschaert2 days ago

An Underdog At UFC Vegas 100
2 days ago

Jeff Hoffman Could Enter Starting Rotation In 2025
2 days ago

Willy Adames Receives Offers From Mets And Dodgers
T.J. McFarland2 days ago

Re-Signs With The A's
Iván Herrera2 days ago

Ivan Herrera, Pedro Pages To Split Opportunities Behind The Plate
2 days ago

Alex Bregman Could Play Second Base In 2025
2 days ago

Red Sox, Orioles Looking At Teoscar Hernandez
2 days ago

Mets To Meet With Juan Soto Soon
Garrett Crochet2 days ago

An Offseason Trade Candidate
2 days ago

Ha-Seong Kim Drawing Plenty Of Buzz At GM Meetings
2 days ago

Willy Adames Willing To Play A Different Position
Willson Contreras3 days ago

Will Transition To 1B/DH Role In 2025
Mookie Betts3 days ago

To Play Infield For The Dodgers In 2025
Royce Lewis3 days ago

Might See More Time At Second Base
3 days ago

Alex Bregman Has Bone Chip Removed From Elbow
Max Greyserman3 days ago

Earns Highest DraftKings Salary For WWT Championship
Harry Hall3 days ago

In Solid Form Heading To Cabo
PGA3 days ago

Matti Schmid On Fire Ahead Of WWT Championship
Jhonattan Vegas3 days ago

A Safe Play At WWT Championship
Taylor Moore3 days ago

Looks To Contend At WWT Championship
Patrick Fishburn3 days ago

A Volatile Option At El Cardonal
Michael Kim3 days ago

Aims For Back-To-Back Top-10 Finishes At WWT Championship
Charley Hoffman3 days ago

Tough To Trust At WWT Championship
Adam Svensson3 days ago

A Risky Play In Mexico
Daniel Berger3 days ago

Looks To Keep Cuts-Made Streak Alive In Mexico
Tom Hoge3 days ago

Hopes To Steady The Ship At World Wide Technology Championship
Chandler Phillips4 days ago

Attempts To Keep Final-Round Form This Week
Neal Shipley4 days ago

Past Five Tournaments Make Him An Interesting DFS Option
Austin Eckroat4 days ago

Wants To Shake Off Some More Rust In Mexico
Rico Hoey4 days ago

Needs The Putter To Work In Mexico
J.J. Spaun4 days ago

Tries To Keep Second Half Rolling In Mexico
Sam Stevens4 days ago

Hopes To Continue Riding A Hot Putter In Mexico
Erik Van Rooyen4 days ago

Erik van Rooyen Tries To Defend WWT Title
Lucas Glover4 days ago

Well-Rested Heading Into WWT Championship
Ben Griffin4 days ago

Hopes To Continue Good Form In Mexico
Keith Mitchell4 days ago

An Unappealing Play At World Wide Technology Championship
Ryan Blaney5 days ago

Wins At Martinsville And Has Chance To Earn Second Straight Championship
Christopher Bell5 days ago

Penalized At Martinsville, Removed From Championship Four
Tyler Reddick5 days ago

Not A Factor At Martinsville And Looks Ahead To Phoenix
Kyle Larson5 days ago

Misses Advancing Through Playoffs Despite Top-Three Finish
Brad Keselowski5 days ago

Has A Solid Top-10 Performance At Martinsville
Chase Elliott5 days ago

Loses Out On Winning At Martinsville
Rose Namajunas5 days ago

Drops Decision Matchup
Erin Blanchfield5 days ago

Gets Back In The Win Column
Dustin Stoltzfus5 days ago

Gets First-Round Knockout At UFC Edmonton
Marc-Andre Barriault6 days ago

Knocked Out At UFC Edmonton
Trevin Giles6 days ago

Losses Third Fight In A Row
Mike Malott6 days ago

Wins Decision At UFC Edmonton
NASCAR6 days ago

Speeding Penalty Foils Martin Truex Jr.'s Last Realistic Shot At Winning
Denny Hamlin6 days ago

Fails To Advance To Championship 4 But Runs Well
Shane Van Gisbergen6 days ago

Shane van Gisbergen Earns Best Oval Finish at Martinsville
William Byron6 days ago

Tentatively In Championship 4 Pending Ruling On Manufacturer Orders

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP