GENERAL OVERVIEW
In the Guillotine Playoff Chopionship you will select a 14-player team (comprised of 8 starters and 6 reserves) from the remaining NFL players in the playoff pool. The goal is to survive each week/round of the playoffs (detailed below), by staying out of the bottom 25% of the lowest-scoring teams. Teams that advance to the next week/round can make changes to their starting lineup utilizing their bench players, but players may not be added/dropped after the first round of competition, meaning THERE IS NO FREE AGENCY.
Contest Duration
The Guillotine Playoff Chopionship lasts for 4 weeks/rounds:
- Round 1 - Wild Card Round
- Round 2- Divisional Round
- Round 3 - Conference Championships
- Round 4 - Super Bowl
At the conclusion of Round 1, the lowest-scoring 25% of teams are chopped, and the remaining teams advance to Round 2. In Round 2, the process repeats, with the lowest-scoring 25% of teams again being eliminated.
This cycle continues in the Conference Championships (Round 3), where the top 25% of the league will advance to the finals in the Super Bowl (Round 4)
The table below depicts how many teams are remaining (in each round) from each contest size:
| Start of Round 1 (contest begins) | Start of Round 2 | Start of Round 3 | Start of Round 4 |
| 25 teams | 19 teams remain | 13 teams remain | 7 teams remain |
| 50 teams | 38 teams remain | 25 teams remain | 13 teams remain |
| 100 teams | 75 teams remain | 50 teams remain | 25 teams remain |
| 250 teams | 188 teams remain | 125 teams remain | 63 teams remain |
| 500 teams | 375 teams remain | 250 teams remain | 125 teams remain |
Roster Requirements
All rosters will consist of 14 players, 8 starters and 6 reserves.
There is a maximum of 3 players permitted from each NFL team. Starting lineups must consist of the following:
- 1 Quarterback
- 2 Running Backs
- 2 Wide Receivers
- 1 Tight End
- 2 FLEX (RB/WR/TE)
* NOTE: Players in your starting lineup can be moved from a mandatory positional spot (RB, WR, or TE) to a FLEX spot (and back) after their game(s) have kicked off, but they cannot be moved to your bench in favor of another player (whose game has not started yet).
Roster Construction
Upon contest entry, users will select a team of 14 players (using the guidelines above), and they will have the ability to edit their roster (and starting lineup), up until the contest is locked. No roster will be allowed to contain more than 3 players from any NFL team.
The deadline for contest entry will be prior to the first scheduled playoff game on Sunday, January 12, 2025, currently set for 4:30pm ET. All rosters will be locked at the start of the final Wild Card game on Monday, January 13, 2025 at 8:15pm ET. There will be no player changes allowed after roster selection has locked throughout the rest of the playoffs, which means THERE IS NO FREE AGENCY.
The NFL playoffs are currently scheduled to begin on Saturday, January 11 at 1:00 PM ET. Players on rosters will be locked at the start of each scheduled NFL playoff game and any roster selections will be made public as players are locked. All rosters will become public after the start of the final game of the Wild Card round, currently scheduled for Monday, January 13, 2025 at 8:15pm ET.
All dates and times are subject to change.
Weekly Starting Lineup
You can make adjustments to your starting lineup (in the current round) if a player’s game has not yet started. Once a player’s game has started for that round, the player is either locked as a starter or on the bench for the rest of the round.
Teams that advance to the next week/round can make changes to their starting lineup utilizing their bench players, but players may not be added/dropped after the first round, meaning THERE IS NO FREE AGENCY throughout the duration of the contest.
INJURED RESERVE
There are no designated roster spots for injured or suspended players.
TRADES
Trading players is not permitted.
Scoring
Below is the scoring format for all Guillotine Playoff Chopionship contests.
| Stat | Points |
| Passing Yards | .04 for each (1 for every 25 yards) |
| Passing Touchdowns | 4 for each |
| Passing 2-Point Conversions | 2 for each |
| Rushing Yards | .1 for each (1 for every 10 yards) |
| Rushing Touchdowns | 6 for each |
| Rushing 2-Point Conversions | 2 for each |
| Receptions | 1 for each |
| Receiving Yards | .1 for each (1 for every 10 yards) |
| Receiving Touchdowns | 6 for each |
| Receiving 2-Point Conversions | 2 for each |
| Kickoff or Punt Return Touchdowns | 6 for each |
| Fumble Recovery Touchdowns | 6 for each |
| Lost Fumbles or Interceptions | -2 for each |
Stat Corrections
We do not allow for the NFL's stat corrections (that occur on following Thursdays) for the previous round’s games. All stats are considered final at the conclusion of the last game of the current playoff round.
Tie Breakers
In the event of a scoring tie at any point in the playoffs (including the Wild Card round), the follow tie-breaking criteria will be used:
- The team with fewest year-to-date points is eliminated (except ties during Wild Card).
- If Step 1 does not break the tie, the team with the starting player who scored the fewest points is eliminated. In the event of a continuing tie, this methodology continues by comparing the second-lowest-scoring player, the third-lowest-scoring player, and so forth until ties are resolved.
- In the unlikely possibility that a tie still exists, we apply the above system to backup players, starting with a comparison of the lowest-scoring backup.
- If in the unlikely case there are still tied teams, the team that scored the fewest amount of points in the previous round (ex: Round 3) will be eliminated. In the event of a continuing tie, then the team with the lowest amount of points scored in the round before that (ex: Round 2) will be eliminated, and so on until the ties are resolved.
- In the unlikely scenario where two or more teams are still tied after all other tiebreakers have been applied, all remaining tied teams will move on to the next round of the contest.
Entry Fees and Prizing
The Guillotine Playoff Chopionship is offered in five league sizes at five different price points. Details are depicted in the tables below:
25 Team Contests
| Entry Fee | 1st Place | 2nd Place | 3rd Place |
| $15 | $175 | $50 | $25 |
| $30 | $350 | $100 | $50 |
| $50 | $500 | $200 | $100 |
| $100 | $1000 | $400 | $200 |
| $200 | $2000 | $800 | $400 |
50 Team Contests
| Entry Fee | 1st Place | 2nd Place | 3rd Place |
| $15 | $350 | $100 | $50 |
| $30 | $700 | $200 | $100 |
| $50 | $1,000 | $400 | $200 |
| $100 | $2,000 | $800 | $400 |
| $200 | $4,000 | $1,600 | $800 |
100 Team Contests
| Entry Fee | 1st Place | 2nd Place | 3rd Place |
| $15 | $700 | $200 | $100 |
| $30 | $1,400 | $400 | $200 |
| $50 | $2,000 | $800 | $400 |
| $100 | $4,000 | $1,600 | $800 |
| $200 | $8,000 | $3,200 | $1,600 |
250 Team Contests
| Entry Fee | 1st Place | 2nd Place | 3rd Place |
| $15 | $1,750 | $500 | $250 |
| $30 | $3,500 | $1,000 | $500 |
| $50 | $5,000 | $2,000 | $1,000 |
| $100 | $10,000 | $4,000 | $2,000 |
| $200 | $20,000 | $8,000 | $4,000 |
500 Team Contests
| Entry Fee | 1st Place | 2nd Place | 3rd Place |
| $15 | $3,500 | $1,000 | $500 |
| $30 | $7,000 | $2,000 | $1,000 |
| $50 | $10,000 | $4,000 | $2,000 |
| $100 | $20,000 | $8,000 | $4,000 |
| $200 | $40,000 | $16,000 | $8,000 |
No prizes will be provided for FREE entry contests. See each individual contest's details for that league's prize structure.
Tie Breakers
In the case of a tie between two (2) or more teams for one or more league prize(s), and the league tie breakers are unable to break the tie, then the prize(s) in question will be split evenly amongst the tied teams.
Entry Limits
There is a maximum limit of ten (10) entries per person per league, or 3% of the total number of teams allowed in a league, whichever is smaller. For example, a person may not have more than 1 team in a single 25-team league, but can field up to 10 teams in a 500-team league.
Entry Deadline
Entries for the Guillotine Playoff Chopionship must be completed before the start of the first NFL Wild Card game on Sunday, January 12, 2025, currently scheduled for 4:30pm ET. This is the fourth of six games scheduled for Wild Card Weekend.
Any NFL players in Saturday playoff games (January 11, 2025) started before the time of registration will be locked and unavailable for selection for the rest of the contest at the start of their respective games. Once rosters lock with the final game of the Wild Card round, scheduled for Monday, January 13, 2025 at 8:15pm ET, no players may be added to or dropped from any team’s roster for the remainder of the NFL playoffs.
All dates and times are subject to change.
Restricted States
Residents of the following states are unable to participate in public Guillotine Playoff Chopionship contests at this time:
- Alabama
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Missouri
- Mississippi
- Montana
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New York
- Ohio
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Tennessee
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington