NFL Pick'em Commissioner Checklist for 2026

Choose Even, Spread or Odds and explain the point system with one worked example. State whether your group is competing weekly, across the season or both. Decide whether the roster remains open or locks; a roster lock blocks new members, while pick deadlines control editing.

Set first-kickoff, per-game or Sunday 1pm Eastern locking. Explain that the Sunday option locks early games at their own kickoff and closes remaining picks at the Sunday cutoff. Check the weekly tiebreaker setting and agree how equal tiebreaker distances are recognized.

Tell players they need Sportsball accounts for private leagues and that playing is free. Host fees are software fees. Publish the rules in one place before anyone submits picks, and keep workplace participation voluntary.

Review the eligible regular-season slate on the manage page. Confirm the format, roster choice, deadline and tiebreaker. Complete the required week entitlement or season unlock shown by the app before launching. A future sheet may not be ready yet; do not promise an open sheet until it exists.

Check early international games, Thursday games and holiday kickoff times. A generic “Sunday morning” reminder can arrive too late. Once the sheet is available, send the same link and deadline to all players rather than collecting conflicting copies in multiple channels.

Confirm players can reach the sheet and understand its deadline. Use the app's supported reminder and notification preferences; do not assume every player receives push alerts. Roster settings do not reopen questions that have locked.

Do not change scoring conventions after seeing the standings. Explain any legitimate settings change before the next sheet, since next-week settings should not be confused with an already-generated game's rules.

Check whether all results are graded, then inspect weekly and cumulative standings. A pending result is not a confirmed loss. Use the sheet's actual tie/push treatment and numerical tiebreaker rather than substituting a paper-pool rule.

Record the confirmed winner, retain the weekly archive and investigate discrepancies using the game details. If your office also tracks a spreadsheet, reconcile it deliberately; the app does not automatically import external historical totals.

Confirm the league's regular-season boundary and final standings. Do not promise a continuation into playoff slates unless the product explicitly supports it. A Super Bowl squares or NFL props watch-party game is a separate invitation and scoreboard.

Keep the 2026 archive labeled as 2026. For the next season, review the actual new schedule and product rules before updating invitations or printable links. A date change alone is not a meaningful content or rules update.