Best Ball Fantasy Contests Keep Getting Bigger

Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

I’ve got three kids, and every single time I call the pediatrician’s office to make an appointment for one of them, the nurse on the other end of the line asks for their birthdate.

And sometimes I struggle, just a little bit. I’m not a bad father; I just stumble in keeping the dates in order. I mean, I’ve got one born on the 6th, another on the 7th. Those numbers are shockingly close together. I eventually get it, haven’t missed yet, but the ol’ recall engine just isn’t firing on all cylinders when it comes to this objectively important information.

And yet …

I can distinctly remember freshman year, 1986, being in Mark’s bedroom on Druid Hill Drive in Parsippany, and watching Matt take Dan Fouts with the first pick in the inaugural Parsippany Fantasy Football League draft. I took Tony Franklin — a kicker — with the fifth pick. I mean, kickers score a lot of points! It was touchdown-only at the time as well, but … well, no excuses. Franklin was a terrible pick.

And I remember it, clear as if it was yesterday. My oldest’s birthday? April 6. Mark Duper? Second-round pick.

This year, we will be having our 41st draft. It is a glorious day, every year. There is really nothing quite like it. You walk in empty, you walk out knowing that the team you just drafted is bound for glory.

This was all a long way of saying I enjoy drafting fantasy football teams. A lot. It brings me actual, honest-to-goodness joy.

I’m not alone, obviously. And for some hard proof, look no further than what just happened Monday.

DraftKings and Underdog dropped their respective signature Best Ball contests. Underdog kept things pretty close to what it offered last year with the Best Ball Mania VII (BBMVII) contest, namely a $25 price point and $2 million to the winner and a $1 million prize for second place. In total, a $15 million prize pool.

The best day of the year is here 🥹

Best Ball Mania VII is now LIVE!

$15,000,000 in Prizes
$2,000,000 Grand Prize
$1,000,000 to 2nd Place
$100,000 to the Regular Season Champ pic.twitter.com/VC5MW6jQND

— Underdog Drafts (@UnderdogDrafts) April 27, 2026

DraftKings went … a little crazy.

Its signature effort — simply titled NFL Best Ball Millionaire — has the same $25 price point, but instead of the 672,336 entries Underdog is offering, DraftKings has expanded its contest to 940,386 entries. Top prize? A record-setting $3 million, with $2 million going to second place and $1 million going to third. Total prize pool comes in at $20 million.

The largest prize pool in fantasy football history is now live at DraftKings! $20 MILLION.

$3,000,000 to 1st
$2,000,000 to 2nd
$1,000,000 to 3rd
And even more out there to claim.

DraftKings is the best place to play Best Ball in 2026 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/cepkorgHjy

— DraftKings (@DraftKings) April 28, 2026

Big and getting bigger

“The game is growing rapidly, and I think these contest offerings reflect that,” said Peter Overzet, creative lead at Fantasy Life and all-around best ball bro. “Underdog continues to fine-tune their offerings to give people exactly what they want and DraftKings is pushing the envelope to see just how big they can push these tournament sizes. I had 900 people watching live on Monday’s kickoff Best Ball Breakfast. That’s easily triple than what it was even two years ago at this time.”

Go back further, and best ball was barely a whisper in the fantasy world.

A decade ago, it was a super-niche product played by very few high-stakes players. Then Underdog launched Best Ball Mania in 2020, and today, the big two contests are worth $35 million.

Add in Drafters’ $1.5 million prize pool — and another $7 million in smaller DraftKings contests and $5.5 million in assorted Underdog efforts, including The Eliminator, in which half the field is culled in Week 1 and then it’s head-to-head the rest of the way — and there is nearly $50 million in best ball prize money already up for grabs in the 2026 NFL season. Reminder: It’s not yet May. (Which happens to be a month I am positive none of my children were born in.)

Seeing $35M in NFL Best Ball tournaments from the DFS leaders is truly amazing. Such a fun & engaging game and think only 10-20% of season fantasy football players have likely ever tried it. pic.twitter.com/ZQh4xFyhNG

— Dan Back (@dan_back) April 27, 2026

“A $20 million prize pool when DraftKings didn’t even offer best ball four years ago is unreal,” said Davis Mattek of Flock Fantasy, who is one of best ball’s biggest online voices. “It’s the perfect game because most of the people who play it understand it for what it actually is. Unlike prop betting or pick‘ems, I actually think very few people play with the expectation that theywill win but instead realize they are doing something they like and they could win.”

Most fun, clothes on edition

Mattek really nailed it there. For starters, obviously I don’t think I’m going to win. To beat out hundreds of thousands of other players you’ll need equal measures of luck, skill, luck, and even — spoiler alert — a little bit of luck.

OK, quick explainer time for those of you A) dazzled by my writing and are still here despite B) not knowing what best ball is:

You draft a team, 18 players at Underdog, 20 at DraftKings. Each week, your best scores at QB, RB (2), WR (3) and TE (1) count toward your score, with DraftKings adding a FLEX position to the stew. You are in 12-team pods, and if you finish first or second in cumulative points after the 14-week regular season, you go to the playoffs. You’re then placed in random pods, and then have to win out in weeks 15, 16, and then finally, week 17. Do that once, you can retire.

But again: It’s not exactly about the money, as Mattek pointed out. It’s about “doing something you like.” Namely, drafting.

A “fast” draft takes about 45 minutes. I’ve done them one at a time, sitting at my desk. I’ve done them four at a time sitting at my desk. I’ve done them on my phone, in bed. Also on my phone while walking, working out, watching TV, having conversations with my wife, on the beach, at a bar, playing fetch with the dog. I’ve done them wearing socks. I’ve done them opening a box. We all do them on the clock.

Drafting a team is worth the price of admission. Might I win money? Sure. But for those 45 minutes (or two weeks, in the case of “slow” drafts), I am, to use the parlance of our times, locked in. I am drafting a fantasy football team. I am having fun. Real talk: As far as solo activities go, drafting a fantasy football team is the alpha and the omega for me.

At least for the first 150 or so drafts. Then it gets a little tiresome, when you realize you only have 3% Matthew Golden, and you decide you need to double that exposure, and …

Well, that’s a complaint for August.

But for now?

“We’ve got nearly $50 million in prize money already on day one, including the largest best ball prize ever of $3 million to first,” said Justin Herzig, winner of the inaugural Best Ball Mania and analyst at Establish The Run. “Best ball is far from dead!”

Understatement, Herzig. It’s healthier than ever, and clearly just getting bigger.