🏈 How the Jim Olah Survivor Pool works
Sign up & pay
Each NFL season opens with a signup window. After you sign up, pay the buy-in to Lou — Venmo @Lou-Hirsch or cash in person. Lou marks you as paid once he has it. You can make your picks right away; you don't have to wait to be marked paid.
Pick one team every week
Each week, pick one team you think will win. After lock, everyone's picks are revealed.
The deadline: first kickoff
Picks are due at the kickoff of the first game of the week — usually Thursday night, but it moves for Thanksgiving, Christmas and other special weeks, so always check the pick page. The site locks entries automatically at that moment. Once it locks, nothing can be changed or submitted, and a missing pick counts as a loss.
You'll be reminded automatically
You don't have to remember on your own. If you haven't picked, the site emails you Thursday morning and again about an hour before kickoff as a last call. Both are sent only to players who still haven't entered a pick — once yours is in, the reminders stop.
The two-time rule
During the regular season you may use any team at most twice — for the whole season. That cap follows you everywhere: picks you burned in the winners pool still count against you in the losers bracket. Choose wisely.
Win or you drop
Pick the winner and you survive. Pick a loser — or a tie, or forget to pick — and it counts as a loss. A loss in the main (winners) pool drops you into the losers bracket. Lose there and you're out for good.
No fresh slate in the losers bracket
Dropping into the losers bracket does not reset your team usage. If you already used a team twice, it stays off the board for the rest of the regular season.
Playoffs
If players are still alive when the playoffs start, everyone keeps picking weekly — but the two-time limit is lifted. Pick any team, any number of times, until a champion remains.
Super Bowl tiebreaker
Entering the Super Bowl, each remaining player guesses the total combined score. If more than one player is still tied for the win, the closest guess decides it.
Payouts
80% of the pot goes to the last player standing in the winners pool, 20% to the last standing in the losers bracket. If the winners pool empties in a week with no survivor, the entire pot goes to the losers bracket champion. Players may negotiate splits among themselves off-site.
2026 season
Signups are open now and close at the kickoff of the first game of the season — Wednesday, September 9 at 8:00pm ET. Join any time before then; once that game kicks off, the season is locked and no new entries are accepted. Week 1 picks are open as soon as you sign up, so you can enter yours right away.
Questions or trouble?
Email harry.schlechter391@gmail.com for help with signups, payment, picks, or anything that looks broken.