# NFL Playoff Ladder Pool — Rules, Scoring & Hosting > How an NFL playoff ladder pool works: rank all 14 playoff teams from 14 to 1, and each team earns you its rank value for every playoff game it wins, Wild Card weekend through the Super Bowl. Source: https://piksheet.com/pools/nfl_playoff_ladder Last updated: 2026-10-21 **NFL Playoff Ladder:** Rank all 14 playoff teams. Every game they win pays their rank. Rank the 14 NFL playoff teams from 14 down to 1 before Wild Card weekend. Each team earns you its rank value for every game it wins. Sport: [NFL](https://piksheet.com/nfl) ## How it works 1. Before the first Wild Card kickoff, rank all 14 playoff teams from 14 (your strongest) down to 1, using each number once. 2. Every game a team wins earns you its rank value: a team ranked 10 that wins two games is worth 20. 3. A team that plays on Wild Card weekend and wins the Super Bowl wins four games — ranked 14, that's 56 points. 4. Bye credit (off by default): when on, each conference's 1 seed counts its Wild Card bye as a game won. When off, a 1 seed can win three games at most. 5. Round multiplier (off by default): the commissioner can make any round's wins count ×2 up to ×10, such as the Super Bowl at ×2. 6. Ties go to the closest prediction of total points in the Super Bowl (on by default). Ladders stay hidden until the first Wild Card kickoff, and the standings update as each game goes final. ## 2025 playoffs example (bye credit off) 1. 14 on SEA, the NFC 1 seed, which won the Divisional round, the NFC title and the Super Bowl → 3 × 14 = 42 (56 with bye credit on) 2. 13 on DEN, the AFC 1 seed, which won its Divisional game, then lost the AFC title game → 1 × 13 = 13 (26 with bye credit on) 3. 12 on NE, the AFC 2 seed, which won three games, then lost the Super Bowl → 3 × 12 = 36 4. 2 on LAR, the NFC 5 seed, which won twice, then lost the NFC title game → 2 × 2 = 4 5. Those four teams: 95 points. Your other ten teams add their own wins. ## How to win - Your 14 is the biggest lever. Put it on the team you think goes deepest, not the one you like most. - With bye credit off, a 1 seed can win three games at most, while a team playing on Wild Card weekend can win four. A strong 2 or 3 seed can be worth more at the top of your ladder than a 1 seed. - Teams that meet early can't both go deep. Spreading your top values across both conferences keeps one upset from sinking them together. - The bottom of the ladder still counts: a 3 on a 6 seed that reaches the Super Bowl adds 9 points. Don't rank the last few teams at random. ## What the commissioner controls Every setting, including bye credit and the round multiplier, is editable until the first Wild Card kickoff, when ladders, new entries and settings all lock for the playoffs. - Bye credit: off (default) or on — each 1 seed's Wild Card bye counts as a game won - Round multiplier: ×1 to ×10 per round (default ×1, off) - Tiebreaker: total points in the Super Bowl (default) or off - Entry fee (optional — you collect, we don't touch it) - Max entries per member ## Frequently asked questions ### How is an NFL playoff ladder pool scored? You rank all 14 NFL playoff teams from 14 down to 1. Every game a team wins earns you its rank value, so a team ranked 14 that wins three games scores 42. Your total is the sum across all 14 teams, and the highest total wins. ### What is the bye credit? An optional rule, off by default. With it on, each conference's 1 seed counts its Wild Card bye as one game won, so a 1 seed can earn its value four times, like a team that plays on Wild Card weekend. With it off, only games actually played count. ### What does the round multiplier do? An optional rule, off by default (every round counts ×1). The commissioner can set any round from ×1 to ×10: with the Super Bowl at ×2, the champion's Super Bowl win pays twice its rank value. ### How is a playoff ladder different from a bracket? A bracket asks you to call each of the 13 games; a ladder asks one question — how far will each team go? — and answers it with a single ranking. There's no reseeding to work through, and any ranking is a valid ladder. ### When do NFL ladder picks lock? At the first Wild Card kickoff. Pools can be created before the field is set, and picks open once the 14 teams are final after Week 18. Until the first kickoff you can reorder your ladder as often as you like; after it, ladders, new entries and settings are locked and everyone's ladder becomes visible. ## Related - [NFL Playoff Ladder walkthrough](https://piksheet.com/help/pool-types/nfl_playoff_ladder) - [Compare every pool format](https://piksheet.com/pools/compare) - [Pricing](https://piksheet.com/pricing) --- Most pages on https://piksheet.com have a markdown version: add .md to the URL (the home page is https://piksheet.com/index.md) or request the page with `Accept: text/markdown`. https://piksheet.com/llms.txt lists every page and links each markdown version.