Think you could do a better job than your favorite NFL team’s GM? Ultra GM gives you the chance to prove it.

Ultra GM is the most realistic fantasy football platform, putting you in control as the General Manager of any NFL team. Manage your roster across multiple seasons by drafting college players, signing free agents, making trades, and handling waiver and practice squad pickups.

As a UGM (Ultra GM Manager), you control one team in two leagues, with all roster moves applying to both.

32-team league mirrors the real NFL, featuring identical teams and schedules. This league handles the draft, free agency, and trades.

14-team league includes 13 user-managed teams (all starting with the same NFL roster as yours) and one AI-managed team, which follows the decisions of the real-life NFL General Manager.

You have one team and set one lineup each week and your team will receive points for the performance of your active players. That point total is compared to two different teams in two different leagues.

For example, if your team is the Philadelphia Cheeseteaks and you play the Washington Monuments in the 32-team league and the Philadelphia Freedom in the 14-team league, your team score will be compared to the scores of those other teams:

Philadelphia Cheesesteaks – 135

Philadelphia Freedom – 133

Washington Monuments – 137

The Cheesesteaks win their game against the Freedom 135-133 and lose their game against the Monuments 133-137.

The 32-team league allows you to compete against friends, family and others that are UGMs of teams based on different NFL teams and that league mirrors the NFL schedule and draft order. The college draft, free agency and trades all take place in this league.

Your team will be placed in the first available 32-team and 14-team leagues that match your NFL team.

Want to play with friends? You can search for their teams and, if space is available, join their public or private leagues (private leagues require an invite).

Team prices are based on demand. Popular teams cost more to encourage balance across leagues.

Our goal is to have as many UGM-managed teams as possible. If a league lacks enough users, AI-managed teams will fill the gaps using real-life NFL rosters.

Pick any team you want!

For most UGMs it will probably be their favorite NFL team – the team they know best and have long dreamed of managing. But you are free to select any other team you want. If you are having trouble deciding, go ahead and select and manage multiple teams. Maybe even two versions of your favorite team with two different management strategies.

As in the NFL, each team will have a city name and a logo/mascot name. The city name will remain the same as that for the team acquired, e.g., teams based on the Baltimore Ravens will maintain Baltimore as the city name and that city name will be the primary identifier in the 32-team league.

You can choose your own logo/mascot name, which will be the primary identifier in the 14-team league since all teams in the 14-team league will have the same city name. Feel free to have fun with the logo/mascot name but try not to be too crude or offensive.

Racist or otherwise offensive names will be rejected and may result in termination of your Ultra GM subscription.

There will be some similarities in the first year, but less and less as time goes on. And it won’t be anything close to 90%. NFL rosters have about 25-35% turnover each season and we expect at least as much or more in Ultra GM.

In any given year 25-35% of player contracts will expire and different users will make different decisions about whether or not to re-sign them. In addition, each team will have its own unique college draft with different players selected and each team will sign different players as free agents to replace those that are departing.

Moreover, UGMs will undoubtedly have players on their rosters that are under contract with the NFL team but which they would like to release for salary cap reasons (or otherwise). And, of course, each user may make trades that will further diversify the rosters.

By years 2 and 3 the differences will be even greater – how many starters or major contributors from the 2020 or even the 2022 rosters of your team are still starters or major contributors? Probably not many. And much of the fun of this comes from being an active GM – cutting guys you don’t like, signing new ones, making trades, etc.

Ultimately, the teams that make the best moves with their teams will be the ones that are most successful in the 14-team league.

The college draft takes place in the 32-team league but the players acquired will be on the roster for the 14-team league as well. The draft will follow the same order as that year’s NFL draft with the UGM of each team picking in the draft slots for the team it is based on. For example, if you acquire the Cleveland Browns’ roster your team will pick in the same slots as the real Cleveland Browns. You have long complained about your favorite team’s draft picks – here is your chance to prove you can do better.

The draft will take place after the real NFL draft and teams in the 32-team league that do not have a UGM will select that team’s actual draft picks and those players will be unavailable to other teams. For example, if there is no UGM for the Colts, whoever the Colts draft will be added to the Colts roster, thus keeping it the same as the real Colts roster. But all other players are available to be drafted.

The draft date will depend on when the 32-team league is locked – there will be a draft on May 10 for leagues locked by May 1 and a draft on August 23 for leagues locked between May 8 and August 14. If you are late in joining Ultra GM and your league locks after August 14, you will not participate in a draft for your first season; instead, you will acquire the players drafted by the team you acquire. But you will participate in the draft the following season.

Yes, but only draft picks in the upcoming or in-progress draft. We do not permit trading of future years' draft picks.

You can also trade players for draft picks or combinations of players and draft picks. All trades are subject to approval by the commissioner. If two teams have agreed to a trade and it is pending commissioner approval while that pick is on the clock, the draft will be paused for a brief time to enable the commissioner to approve or reject it.

As in the NFL, it is something of a combination of both. It’s the “best player available” vs. needs issue that all NFL GMs wrestle with.

On one hand, you want to fill your team’s holes because if you don’t you will have to keep active players who aren’t good and may not score well.

On the other hand, you will set a limited number of players as “active” for each game and only one will be a QB. The Ultra GM draft will be after the NFL draft so you will know what real team the player will be on and have an opportunity to assess their chances of success on that team. So if you think Sanders will be a star for the Giants then you may want to draft him, but only 1 QB will be active and play.

The active roster for each game will consist of those players that generally play a substantial number of snaps (including first line backups):

1 QB
3 RBs
5 WRs
2 TEs
7 OL
12 Front 7 Defenders (DL & LB)
7 Secondary Defenders (CB & S)
1 K (place kicker)
1 P (punter)
1 KR
1 PR

As indicated above, only one QB will be active each week. If you believe Watson will return to his Texans form, you may not want to invest such a high pick on Ward. On the other hand, if you are convinced Watson will never return to that form and the team needs to move on from him, then do it. You may still be stuck with Watson's contract, but if it's time to move on it's time to move on.

The reason for requiring commissioner approval of trades is to protect against collusion or unfair practices, not to impose unnecessary restrictions on users’ roster moves. Generally, in public leagues if it looks like an arm’s length transaction with no indication of collusion, it will be approved. We might think it is a better trade for one team or the other, but if there is no indication of collusion we will not prevent two willing user-owners from making a deal.

For trades of draft picks, we will use the draft trade value chart at our salary data provider, Over The Cap, which you can find at Draft Trade Value Chart as a general guideline to determine if it is fair and non-collusive. For trades of players, we will consider the players’ performance, age, contract status and salary cap impact in determining if it seems collusive.

In private leagues, we suggest that commissioners apply criteria similar to that discussed above, but private leagues can use whatever criteria they choose.

All trades will be among teams in the 32-team league but since the roster is the same in both leagues, the results of those trades will apply in both leagues. In other words, players and draft picks can only be traded between teams in the 32-team league representing different NFL franchises. Trades cannot be made with teams that are not owned and managed by another UGM.

For the inaugural season, there will be no prizes in public leagues. For now it is just for fun. In future seasons, we expect to include a prize structure for public leagues for UGMs in states that permit it.

Private leagues can decide on a pool and prize structure as they choose, but that will be managed by the commissioner and participants in that league and not by Ultra GM. Participants in public leagues can also get together and agree on a pool and prizes and manage that themselves; Ultra GM will not be involved in managing the pool or prizes.

Ultra GM free agency will track the real NFL free agency. NFL free agents that sign new NFL contracts will become available as free agents in the next free agent bidding cycle in Ultra GM. UGMs will be able to bid on those players together with the real NFL contract they signed.

Each user will start with an annual Player Acquisition Budget (“PAB”) of $100 with which to bid on free agents and will be able to purchase additional PAB. Additional PAB can be purchased -- $15 USD for $25 of PAB and $25 for $50 of PAB.

Blind bidding works like a silent auction with blind bidding. While the bids will not be shared with other Users in the 32-Team League, Ultra GM will show you the average and highest bids across all Ultra GM leagues as a guideline for bidding. All available players are available for any team in the league to place a silent bid on. At the time waivers are processed, the highest bidder wins. In the event of a tie, the team with the worse record will be awarded the transaction. All transactions are kept private (viewable only by the submitter) until the time waivers process. At that time, all bid requests and player awarding appears in the transaction log like any waiver or free agent pickup.

After the Ultra GM college draft, all remaining rookies and unsigned players are in the available player pool and are available for blind bidding. During the off-season all players other than those just drafted that do not have an active NFL contract will become free agents, including players whose contracts expired, players who were released and undrafted free agents. When those players sign a contract with an NFL team that player, together with the contract he signed, will become available in a blind bidding process.

Free agents will be awarded to the highest bidder each Thursday at 4PM ET (as per the normal waiver schedule). During the season, players signed to NFL teams but released or waived from an Ultra GM team roster will be available for blind bidding in the waivers process with the player awarded to the highest bidder as of Thursday at 4PM ET. If nobody bids on the player by Thursday at 4PM, he will become available on a first-come-first-served basis for the next week for a nominal fee of $1 from the PAB. Players not picked up during the first-come-first-served period by Sunday at 1:00 pm ET or the time the player plays that week will again be available for blind bidding until the next Thursday cycle at 4PM ET. That cycle will continue throughout the regular season, i.e., from the first game (Sunday at 1PM ET or when the player plays) through (Thursday at 4PM ET).

Yes, the NFL salary cap can be complicated, but we will make it as easy to understand as possible.

Ultra GM will show you the player’s cap hit for each season, as well as the dead money that will accrue to your team’s salary cap in various release and trade scenarios.

In the simplest terms, a player’s cap hit is the sum of his annual salary, bonuses specific to that season (like workout bonuses or roster bonuses) and a prorated portion of his signing bonus over each year of the contract.

If you don’t renew your Ultra GM subscription by August 23, your team will be replaced.

In public leagues, a new UGM will take over the default roster (the NFL team’s latest roster).

If no new UGM joins, the CPU will manage the team the same way the real NFL is managed. When you play against that team that team's score will be based on the scores of the real players for that team that game.

In private leagues, the commissioner decides whether to keep or reset the abandoned roster.

Yes, but only in the 32-Team League, not in the 14-Team League. The 32-Team League mirrors the NFL in its structure, with the same conferences and divisions, but in Ultra GM there are no wildcards -- the 4 division winners in each conference make the playoffs.

There are no conferences or divisions in the 14-Team League – for purposes of the playoffs the top 6 teams make the playoffs, with the top 2 teams having a bye the first week of the playoffs.

The schedule works differently in the two leagues.

In the 32-Team League, the schedule is the same as in the NFL. If you acquire the Bears then your Chicago team that starts with the Bears roster will play the same teams each week as the Bears and during the Bears’ bye week your team will also have a bye. Because your team will have a bye that week, you will not receive points or scoring from other players that are not on bye that week, e.g., if you have traded for Tyreek Hill, you will not get any points for Hill's performance that week. Similarly, your team may have players that have different bye weeks in the NFL so you will want to make sure they are not active the week their real NFL team has a bye.

In the 14-Team League, the schedule is randomly generated and you will face each of the other 13 teams in the league (including the real NFL team as constructed by its real GM) one time with one bye week.

Both leagues have playoffs during weeks 15, 16, and 17 of the NFL. Week 18 is not included because NFL teams often rest important players in Week 18 to get ready for the playoffs.

Because there are no divisions or conferences in the 14-team league, the playoff weeks are named differently in the two leagues.

In the 32-Team League the playoff weeks are named:

Week 15 = Divisional

Week 16 = Conference Championship

Week 17 = Ultra GM Championship



In the 14-Team League the playoff weeks are named:

Week 15 = First Round

Week 16 = Semifinals

Week 17 = Ultra GM Championship

In the 32-Team League there is no bye week and each conference has its own seeding, as in the NFL. Each division winner in each conference makes the playoffs. In Week 15, the top-seeded division winner faces the lowest seeded division winner and the other two division winners face each other. In Week 16, the Week 15 winners in each conference face each other in the conference championship and Week 17 pits the two conference champions against each other in the Ultra GM Championship.

In the 14-Team League, the top 6 teams make the playoffs. In Week 15, the top 2 seeds get a bye, the 3rd seed plays the 6th seed and the 4th seed plays the 5th seed. In Week 16, the top seed plays the lowest remaining seed and the other two remaining teams play one another. Week 17 is the championship pitting the two teams that won Week 16.

Seeding in both the 32-Team League and the 14-team League is determined as follows:

1st -- Best overall regular season record (seeding)

2nd -- Total fantasy points scored

3rd – Total fantasy points scored against

If there is a tie in the playoffs, the tie will be broken based on the same criteria used to determine seeding, i.e., the higher seeded team gets the win and advances.

Scoring in Ultra GM is designed to reflect the relative value of the various positions and the value of the actions of such positions. The relative value of the positions has been determined based on the value NFL teams place on such positions, both in terms of salaries and compensation, as well as draft resources. Not surprisingly, QB is the most important position by those metrics and the scoring for all other positions are scaled relative to the scoring for QBs.

Position -- Scale to QB Value -- Average PPG for Position

QB -- 100% -- 5.78
RB -- 22% --1.26
FB -- 4% -- 0.22
WR -- 32% -- 1.86
TE -- 25% -- 1.46
OT -- 39% -- 2.28
OG -- 24% -- 1.36
OC -- 29% -- 1.70
DE/EDGE -- 37% -- 2.16
DT/IDL -- 31% -- 1.78
LB -- 26% -- 1.51
CB -- 35% -- 2.02
S -- 24% -- 1.36
K -- 5% -- 0.28
P -- 3% -- 0.17

Because QB is the most important position, average QB scoring is higher than any other position, followed by OT, DE/Edge, CB and WR. Unlike “regular” fantasy football in which RB is typically the most valuable position even though that bears little relation to the value of RB in the NFL, Ultra GM values RBs like NFL teams do.

The scoring formulas discussed in greater detail below are designed to approximate, as closely as possible, the value of each football action and position. While it would be good to familiarize yourself with the formulas and elements considered, it is not necessary to memorize them and it won’t be particularly beneficial to try to game the system like many do in “regular” fantasy football, i.e., select RBs that get a lot of red zone touches or players that get a lot of short receptions in a PPR league. Just pick the best players that you can at each position – if you do so it will be reflected in the scoring.

You can find a table showing the scoring applied to the 2022 and 2023 NFL seasons at 2022-2023 SCORING DOC.. The table can be sorted and filtered by team, position and Ultra GM points per game.

You can find a table showing the scoring applied to the 2022 and 2023 NFL seasons at 2022-2023 SCORING DOC. The table can be sorted and filtered by team, position and Ultra GM points per game.

Where possible, we want the scoring to be understandable and familiar, but also reflect the true value of the players’ efforts. In Ultra GM, scoring for passing is a function of passer rating and passing yards, with a scaling factor so that the average starting QB game (when combined with the average QB rushing game) scores 5.78 pts as indicated on the chart above.

The formula for passing scoring = (Passer Rating*Pass Yds/G)/4300.

While passer rating is not a perfect measure of QB performance it does generally reflect the value of the QB’s passing efficiency. What it doesn’t address, however, is the QB’s production – a QB with a passer rating of 100 with 400 passing yards has clearly had a more impactful game than a QB with a 100 passer rating and 150 passing yards. So our scoring takes the product of passer rating and passing yards and then scales it to the desired average points per game by dividing it by 4300. Only QBs receive points for passing – if a non-QB throws a random pass it is not scored.

The formula for rushing scoring is [TDx25 + Rush YPC(Rush YPG-(FUM/Gx25))]/135.

Unlike regular fantasy football, which bases scoring only on total stats, Ultra GM accounts for a ballcarrier’s efficiency (by accounting for yards per carry) and the negative impact of fumbles. As with the scoring for all positions, rushing scoring is scaled to reflect the relative value of RBs and rushing in general. Rushing scoring is for RB, QB, WR and TE.

The formula for receiving scoring is [((Receptions)(receiving yards/targets)) + (Rec TD*25) – (Fumbles*25)]/22.3

Receiving scoring applies to WR, RB and TE.

As you know, there traditionally has been a dearth of statistics and metrics to quantitatively measure blocking performance. But that is changing. Our statistics partner, Sports Info Solutions (SIS) reviews each play and determines, based on the EPA for that play, how many of such points added (or, for defense, saved) is attributable to each player on the field, including offensive lineman. SIS determines both run blocking points and pass blocking points and we use the sum of those figures for each game, with a different scaling factor for each position based on the relative values of the positions.

OT = (Run Blocking PEPG + Pass Blocking PEPG) x 1.274.
OG = (Run Blocking PEPG + Pass Blocking PEPG) x 0.72
OC = (Run Blocking PEPG + Pass Blocking PEPG) x 0.89.
TE/WRs = (Run Blocking PEPG + Pass Blocking PEPG)/1.15.

All defensive players will receive the same number of points for common game actions, like sacks, QB hits, hurries, incomplete targets, passes defensed, interceptions, solo tackles, assisted tackles, forced fumbles, fumble recoveries and touchdowns scored. The formula is:

[(INT Ret TD*50)+(Fum Ret TD*50)+(INT*30)+(Passes Defensed*6)+((Targets-Receptions Allowed)*2)+(Hurries*2)+(QB Hits*4)+(Sacks*10)+(Solo Tackles – Missed Tackles)+(Assisted Tackles/2)+(Forced Fumbles*15)+(Fumble Recoveries*15)]/11.1

For off-ball LBs and safeties, the formula above is the complete scoring formula. For other positions, including Edge/DE/OLB, DT, and CB, there are additional points based on SIS’s Points Saved Metric. As discussed above re: blocking and OL, our statistics partner, Sports Info Solutions (SIS) reviews each play and determines, based on the EPA for that play, how many of such points saved by the defense is attributable to each player on the field, and allocates those for coverage, pass rush and run defense. For Edge players, including those listed as DE and OLB, scoring is based on the formula above plus [Pass Rush Points +Run Defense Points]/1.45. Accordingly, the full formula is:

[((INT Ret TD*50)+(Fum Ret TD*50)+(INT*30)+(Passes Defensed*6)+((Targets-Receptions Allowed)*2)+(Hurries*2)+(QB Hits*4)+(Sacks*10)+(Solo Tackles – Missed Tackles)+(Assisted Tackles/2)+(Forced Fumbles*15)+(Fumble Recoveries*15))/11.1]+ [Pass Rush Points + Run Defense Points]/1.45

For Interior Defensive Linemen, including those listed as DT or DL, scoring is based on the formula above plus [Pass Rush Points +Run Defense Points]/1.41. Accordingly, the full formula is:

DT/DL -- [((INT Ret TD*50)+(Fum Ret TD*50)+(INT*30)+(Passes Defensed*6)+((Targets-Receptions Allowed)*2)+(Hurries*2)+(QB Hits*4)+(Sacks*10)+(Solo Tackles – Missed Tackles)+(Assisted Tackles/2)+(Forced Fumbles*15)+(Fumble Recoveries*15))/11.1]+ [Pass Rush Points + Run Defense Points]/1.41

For CBs, including those listed as DB, scoring is based on the formula above plus [Coverage Points + Run Defense Points]/6. Accordingly, the full formula is:

[((INT Ret TD*50)+(Fum Ret TD*50)+(INT*30)+(Passes Defensed*6)+((Targets-Receptions Allowed)*2)+(Hurries*2)+(QB Hits*4)+(Sacks*10)+(Solo Tackles – Missed Tackles)+(Assisted Tackles/2)+(Forced Fumbles*15)+(Fumble Recoveries*15))/11.1]+ [Coverage Points/6)

Scoring for kickers accounts for extra points, touchbacks and field goals, with longer field goals worth more points than shorter ones:

Kicking = [(XP x 1) + (FG under 30 yds x 1) + (FG 30-39 yds x 2) + FG 40-49 yds x 3) + FG 50+ yds x 4) + (touchbacks x 1)]/91

Scoring for punters is based on net punting yardage average, punts downed inside the 20 and touchbacks:

Punting = [(net yards per punt) + (punts downed inside 20 x 2) - (touchbacks x 2)]/260

Kickoff and punt returns will be scored based on the extent the results exceed that of the average return (23 yards for kickoff returns and 9 yards for punt returns) and also account for return TDs and fumbles:

Kick Off Returns = [TDx25 + (KO Return YPA – 23)(KO Return YPG – (KO Returns)(23) - (FUM/Gx25))]/135.

Punt Returns = [TDx25 + (Punt Return YPA – 9)(Punt Return YPG – (Punt Returns)(9) - (FUM/Gx25))]/135.

You will designate from your roster one player eligible to be scored for kickoff returns and one eligible to be scored for punt returns. With the new changes to the NFL’s kickoff rules we expect the average kickoff return to differ from previous years and will adjust it accordingly for future seasons.

Some scoring will be available in real time and some aspects of the scoring will be available early in the week after the game.

“Regular” stats like yards, touchdowns, receptions, interceptions, passer rating, etc. are available in real time and will be integrated into the scoring in real time.

Other more advanced stats, like hurries and the OL Blocking Points, are not available until early the following week so the game scores won’t be final until then. But you will be able to track much of your team’s performance in real time. And then there will be a little suspense as you wait for the advanced stat scoring to come in and await the final score.

For additional salary and salary cap details we recommend:

OverTheCap -- OvertheCap.com is our source for salary and salary cap data, including cap hits and dead money.

Spotrac -- Spotrac.com is another good source for salary and salary cap information.

In the future we expect to have our own draft content, but until then we recommend the following external sources of NFL Draft information:

NFL Draft Buzz -- NFLDraftBuzz.com has extensive prospect evaluations, including NFL Combine and athletic testing data.

NFL Mock Draft Database -- NFLMockDraftDatabase.com compiles ""big boards"" and mock drafts, including a consensus big board and a consensus mock draft, and also has a fun mock draft simulator.

And, of course, NFL, ESPN, and CBS have plenty of quality NFL draft content.