Official Rulebook
How TopDog26 Works
TopDog26 is a private, skill-based NFL pick'em strategy game. All rules apply equally to every player.
1. Weekly Top Dog Prize
Independence Callout
Each week, the player who scores the most points wins that week's prize — regardless of their overall season standing. Weekly prizes are completely independent of the season championship and playoff standings. A player can win multiple weekly prizes throughout the season.
The weekly prize pool is $25 per week × 16 regular-season weeks, funded by the season entry fees. Prizes are paid out the week following the final game. In the event of a tied weekly score, the tiebreaker rules apply (see Section 5).
2. Weekly Strategy Choice
Each week, every player independently selects one of three strategies before the first game kicks off. Strategy selection is not locked in for the season — you choose fresh each week based on your read of the matchups.
Montana
5 picks · 2 pts each
Favre
10 picks · 1 pt each
LT
All games · 1 pt each
Full Board Weeks — LT Available
The LT strategy requires all games to be on the board. It is only available during Full Board weeks — weeks with no bye teams.
3. Over/Under Bonus
Each week, players may designate one game as their O/U bonus pick. Choose either Over or Under on the game's posted total.
Spread pick on that game is correct
AND your O/U pick (Over or Under) is also correct
Key conditions: The O/U bonus only applies when both picks are correct on the same game — winning just the O/U without the spread earns nothing. Only one game per week may be designated as your O/U bonus game. The O/U pick must be selected before the game locks (1 hour before kickoff, PST).
4. Official Odds
Official Odds Source: MyBookie.ag
All published lines are final for that week
The commissioner publishes the official spread and O/U total for each game the day before the week's first game using lines from MyBookie.ag.
Once published, the lines are locked — no game-day line movement is applied. The spreads shown when making picks are the final spreads used for scoring.
Each individual game locks for picks 1 hour before its kickoff time (PST). A countdown timer is displayed on the picks page for each game.
All times are in Pacific Standard Time (PST). Sunday early games: 10:00 AM PST · Sunday late: 1:25 PM PST · Sunday Night Football: 5:20 PM PST · Monday Night Football: 5:15 PM PST · Thursday Night Football: 5:15 PM PST.
5. Tiebreaker Rules
When two or more players are tied in weekly or season points, the following tiebreaker sequence applies in order:
Closest combined score prediction on that week's Monday Night Football game (total points, over and under)
Closest prediction for the winning team's final score
Closest prediction for the losing team's final score
Most total correct picks that week across all selected games
Coin flip — determined and announced by the commissioner
Important
MNF score predictions are submitted with your weekly picks and sealed until the game ends — they are not revealed until needed. Failure to submit a tiebreaker prediction counts as an automatic loss in any tiebreaker situation that week.
6. General Rules
All picks must be submitted before the first game of the week kicks off (Thursday at 5:15 PM PST, or Sunday at 10:00 AM PST if there is no Thursday game). Late submissions are not accepted under any circumstances.
Entry fee is $100 per player per season. The fee covers all 18 weeks plus the playoff round. Payment must be received before Week 1 to participate.
TopDog26 is an invitation-only league. Participation is limited to players who have been personally invited and approved by the commissioner.
Prize payouts are sent back through the same payment method used at registration. Ensure your account name matches your registration details exactly.
The top 4 players by cumulative season points after Week 16 advance to the playoff round. Weeks 17 and 18 serve as the playoff bracket.
The commissioner reserves the right to correct scoring errors up to 72 hours after results are posted. Any disputes must be raised within that window.
TopDog26 is a private, skill-based competition among invited players. This is not a public gambling platform. Entry fees fund the prize pool only.
7. Strategy Scoring
Each strategy has a different risk/reward profile. The O/U bonus (+1 pt) is available in every strategy — it is included in the maximums below.
Montana
The Surgeon · 5 picks
Favre
The Gunslinger · 10 picks
LT
The Workhorse · All games
Full Board weeks (Wk 1, Wk 5, Wk 10, Wk 15, Wk 16, Wk 17, Wk 18): LT is available when all 32 teams are playing — no bye weeks. On non-Full Board weeks, only Montana and Favre are available. Montana and Favre scoring uses a 16-game board regardless of how many teams have byes.
Questions? Reach the commissioner at commissioner@topdog26.com