Best 2023 NFL Survivor Pools Among Nationwide Sportsbooks

Written By Mo Nuwwarah | Published at August 17, 2023

NFL survivor pools have become one of the most popular ways to gamble on pro football (or not, as in the case of some free games). A complex and strategic yet fundamentally simple game, NFL survivor can provide a highly enjoyable sweat if things break right. For those new to NFL survivor, contestants typically make one selection each week, and the team must simply win their game. If that sounds easy, the twist comes from the fact you may only select each team once.

Some of the best sports betting sites have gotten in on the action by offering survivor games as well. Let's take a look at some of the best NFL survivor pools for 2023.

Top Real Money NFL Survivor Pools

Circa Sports

The biggest and best, at least if you're looking to maximize possible dollar winnings in NFL survivor. Circa will award a staggering $8 million guaranteed in this year's contest.

$1,000 entry with no rake
Up to 10 entries
Ties are the same as losses
Pick a winner every week plus extra picks on Thanksgiving and Christmas

While nothing can top the Circa offering for sheer size, it does have a major downside. Entrants must register in person in Las Vegas. Picks can then be submitted through the app, but again, that can only be accessed in Nevada. One can sign up and then subsequently submit picks via proxy services, but these involve significant extra cost.

Sign Up For Circa Contest

DraftKings Sportsbook

DraftKings Sportsbook has arguably offered the premier online survivor contest the past few years. The format and buy-in have gotten tweaks here and there as DK tries to find the right balance. This year, they'll offer four separate contests to cater to customers at different price points.

Buy-in	Guarantee	Entry Limit
$1	$25,000	50
$10	$100,000	25
$100	$1,000,000	25
$1,000	$100,000	10

Ties are the same as wins
Available stats: AZ, CO, IA, KS, LA, MA, MI, MD, NH, NJ, NY, PA, TN, VA, WV, WY
Make one pick per week, each week of NFL season

Obviously, the high-stakes prize pool pales compared to the Circa offering. But, DraftKings has a much more robust offering at lower stakes and also has a strong convenience and accessibility factor, being available to players with the app in multiple states.

Sign Up For DraftKings Contests

Top Free NFL Survivor Pools

ESPN

Eliminator Challenge is a long-running game from the worldwide leader that mimics a typical survivor setup.

Make one pick per week, each week of NFL season
Up to 25 entries
Ties are the same as wins
Tiebreaker via total margin of victory from all winning picks

ESPN Eliminator offers a $25,000 prize, but keep in mind that the margin of victory may come into play due to the tiebreaker rules. That makes for a slightly altered incentive as simply winning each week may no longer be enough.

Sign Up For ESPN Contest

Yahoo

Yahoo's fantasy division offers a free Survival Football Contest. Sponsored by MGM, the contest has a grand prize worth $6,000 -- a Las Vegas vacation valued at $5,000 plus $1,000 spending money.

Make one pick per week, first 12 weeks of NFL season
Make two picks per week, final six weeks of NFL season
Ties are the same as losses
Tiebreaker comes from winning percentage of unselected teams (higher number wins)

Making multiple picks per week later in the season raises the difficulty bar here considerably.

Sign Up For Yahoo Contest

FanDuel Sportsbook

In recent years, FanDuel Sportsbook has sponsored a $100,000 free contest as a promotional vehicle. However, it's unknown at this time whether the contest will happen for the 2023-24 season. Keep an eye out for the possibility, as a $100,000 free contest is nothing to sneeze at and blows Yahoo's offering out of the water for those looking to play NFL survivor without monetary risk.