Ultra GM is unlike any season-long fantasy football platform out there. We take the experience to the next level, largely simulating the actual GM experience.
The rules and scoring sections explain our league structure and scoring setup.
When you select a team, you will choose both a 32-team league and a 14-team league. Your one roster and all the decisions you make are utilized in both.
Our primary gameplay involves a 32-team league format, just like the real NFL.
You select what team you want to be the GM for and inherit everything about that franchise as-is as of the start of the NFL league year, which in 2025 is March 12. The roster, salary cap situation, draft spots, and so on, are all inherited as of the start of the NFL league year.
You will compete by making draft and roster decisions against other users who selected other NFL teams. If nobody selected a team(s), the default roster for the team will be used (thus, utilizing the actual NFL team’s data managed by their GM).
The secondary gameplay involves comparing your team management skills against other users who have selected that same team. For example, everyone who selected the Miami Dolphins will participate in leagues with rosters all initially based on the Miami Dolphins.
This allows you to see how your decisions as a GM compare to other users with the same franchise and starting point.
One of those spots is reserved for the actual NFL franchise (the CPU team that follows the real-world GM) so that you compete not only against other fantasy GMs but the real-world GM as well within your league.
Again, you have one roster that is utilized in parallel for both the 32-team league and 14-team league format.
Users playing in public contests are automatically enrolled in both a 32-team and 14-team league for the one NFL roster they selected. The roster they manage is just run in parallel for both leagues.
In the event the user wants to join additional leagues, either one based on the same NFL team or a different one, the user may do so.
This results in a different 32-team league from their original entry (obviously since the team is the same). For the 14-team league, it will shuffle to be in a different league so they are not competing against themselves with two entries.
Both the 32-team league and 14-team leagues will be different from any existing team they are managing. The 14-team league is unique since it wouldn’t be a team they’re already managing. Since the 14-team format is all the same initial starting team, it makes overlap impossible. For the 32-team league, our system restricts entry into the same league (whether done via a search or automatically) to prevent the user from having multiple teams in the same league which they may use for unfair practices.
The goal of Ultra GM is to maximize league participation by real-world users. Thus, we automatically fill public leagues on a first-come-first-serve basis.
For 32 team leagues, this means each time a team is purchased by a user, the user will automatically end up in the league that is most filled with the goal being to get it to be 32/32 real human users.
In the event a team is chosen that is already taken in the most filled league, the system automatically looks for the next most full league where that team is not yet taken. This same “next most full league” process also transpires if the joining user already has another public team since they cannot have 2 teams in the same league.
In the event a user selects a team not yet taken by anybody in any league and there is no conflict with them already being in the league as another team, a new league is spawned and this new team being chosen is the 1st of 32 total teams.
This same methodology continues in perpetuity to always fill leagues with the most human entries possible. Upon the start of the Ultra GM fantasy football season, the league will fill all remaining unselected teams with CPU teams which will mirror the actual NFL franchise in real life (its roster, roster changes over time, etc).
At the start of each Ultra GM season, any users that did not renew to retain their team within the allocated time will have their team removed from the league (and thus, it is a blank slot to be filled by a new user or a default CPU team).
For the 14 team leagues, the same general principle is applied. Each time a user selects a franchise, they’ll automatically go into a bucket until 13 individual teams have selected the said team. It is 13 not 14 because the 14th spot is always reserved for a CPU team which will mirror the actual NFL franchise so that you can compete against that real-world roster as well.
As noted above, if the user has elected to manage more than one instance of the same NFL franchise, then an alternate league will be required so both their teams do not end up in the same league.
The only exception to the rules noted above with leagues filling up in a first come first serve format involves manually looking for a friend and choosing to join their league instead. When joining a league, you will be able to use the friend search tool to find someone and the league(s) they are in so that you can choose to join a specific 32 team league or 14 team league they are in.
Joining both is not possible since a 14-team league is based on choosing the same franchise, thus, that would prohibit entry in the 32-team league. The reverse is also true. If a different NFL franchise is chosen, then the user could join their friend in the 32-team league but not join them in the 14-team league since they have a different franchise.
Essentially, this search and join method overrides the default league entry method noted for one of the two leagues they’ll be joining.
Rosters that are abandoned (not renewed via the annual fee by the franchise owner) by the Ultra GM August 23 draft (second draft lock time period) will result in the need for that team to be replaced.
A new user will be able to join with a fresh (default) roster. Should the league not get a replacement, it will use a default roster (CPU managed). These leagues simply re-enter the queue system to get filled up per automatic league entry as noted above. The team will inherit the roster as of that day (latest information in our database that reflect’s that real-world NFL roster).
In private leagues the commish will determine if the existing team the prior owner built should remain intact or not. They send out a private invite for someone to claim that team as-is (as previously built) or can reset the roster to use the default NFL roster and team’s situation so the new owner can start anew with the experience.
Each NFL season Ultra GM sets the pricing for each NFL team. Prices vary so that supply and demand can be managed. With users more likely to be attracted to popular winning franchises, we build in incentive to claim other teams with our pricing model.
The cost stated represents both the initial fee and annual renewal fee for the team which may vary slightly from year to year as an ongoing annual subscription.
Ultra GM public leagues may or may not have associated prizes due to regulatory compliance requirements on a state-by-state level. In the 2025-2026 season, no prizes are being issued. Users simply pay their respective buy-in to enjoy the GM experience our software provides.
For private leagues, users are able to determine whatever they want to do for their respective leagues, as typically seen within fantasy football. The commissioner may note an offline buy-in cost separate from our software fee and a prize structure as they determine each year.
There is no on-platform wallet, deposit system, or anything of that kind. The only e-commerce transaction on Ultra GM at this time is the franchise purchase which has a reoccurring subscription cost each year.
Ultra GM will follow the actual NFL schedule for the 32-team formatted league. If New England is playing Miami, then all New England franchises are playing Miami franchises on that same week, just like the real league.
The same goes for bye-weeks. When an actual NFL franchise is not playing due to the bye-week, the same thing happens on Ultra GM.
For the 14-team formatted league, all teams in the league simply have a week off when the bye-week comes up. All teams play each other 1 time. The first 14 weeks of the NFL season are used for these 13 games (since all teams have a bye-week). Week 15 is the wildcard, 16 is the semi-finals, and 17 is the championship. Week 18 is ignored; all per the playoff formatting noted below.
Players on an Ultra GM user’s team that differ from the real-world NFL team the player may be on result in the player being INACTIVE that specific week (due to them being on a bye-week). For example, if a Miami franchise owner trades for Justin Jefferson, that franchise owner will receive no benefit using Justin Jefferson on the Miami bye-week. Similarly, when Justin Jefferson has his bye-week in real life (when the Minnesota Vikings have their real bye week), the Miami franchise owner that has Jefferson will be get fantasy points from Jefferson since he isn’t playing that week. Simply put, this is like all forms of traditional fantasy football where players on bye-weeks cannot accrue points with the added caveat that the week the franchise is off is a bye-week on the platform for the user as well.
Roster Lock Period: All transactions are locked across all rosters until a league locks. After a league's first season, transactions can occur at any time.
Each team will have a full 53-man roster plus a practice squad of 16.
You cannot cut, drop, or eliminate players from your 53-man roster without electing to move someone up to your active roster from the practice squad or selecting an alternative player via the waivers and free agent system.
This is due to salary cap management and the platform’s goal to simulate the GM experience as much as possible with a full 53 man roster, not less.
Be mindful that your entire roster will not be active each week.
Users will set an active roster based on the number of players at each position likely to play a significant number of snaps. Active roster spots for scoring purposes will have (39) starters broken down by positional grouping as follows:
Users will also set a (PR) Punt Returner and a (KR) Kick Returner from their above-stated roster. For example, one WR on the team could be linked to be the athlete as a PR and a KR. Other scenarios may call for two different players to fill those roles just for scoring.
For the most part, users will largely keep the same active roster each week though they should be cognizant of injuries and bye weeks.
In general, roster management involves:
Dropping Players (Salary Impact)
Players can be dropped at any time from your roster. Since you are responsible for them salary cap wise, their salary will be dropped from your total as well, outside of any bonus or guarantee associated with that player’s salary until that player has been picked up by another team (whether by waivers or free agency) at which time they become part of that other team’s salary expenditure.
This is essentially “dead cap space”.
Furthermore, if a player is dropped, one must be added (or) promoted up from the practice squad to the 53 man roster or setting a roster will not be available. Rosters must always have 53 players during the season..
All scoring is locked on Ultra GM. Both public and private leagues use these settings.
Due to the nature of Ultra GM utilizing a full NFL roster, some of these statistics are advanced and are unseen elsewhere. The matrix below shows the Ultra GM scoring.
You can find a table showing the scoring applied to the 2022 and 2023 NFL seasons at 2022-2023 Scoring. The table can be sorted and filtered by team, position and Ultra GM points per game.
Passing is for QB only.
The formula for passing scoring = (Passer Rating*Pass YPG)/4300.
Rushing is for RB, QB, WR, TE.
The formula for rushing scoring = [TDx25 + Rush YPC(Rush YPG-(FUM/Gx25))]/135.
Receiving is for WR, RB, TE.
The formula for receiving scoring = [((Receptions)(receiving yards/targets)) + (Rec TD*25) – (Fumbles*25)]/22.3
Blocking scoring differs by position.
TEs and WRs, the formula = Blocking PEPG/1.15.
All Offensive Linemen (OL) position(s) (such as OT, OG, OC) have a more involved formula since they are primarily blockers; each varying slightly.
Total Blocking Points Earned Per Game is the scoring metric which is Run Blocking Points Earned plus Pass Blocking Points Earned. Total Blocking PEPG is then scaled based on the various OL positions and their values.
OT = Total Blocking PEPG x 1.274.
OG = Total Blocking PEPG x 0.72.
OC = Total Blocking PEPG x 0.89.
TE = Total Blocking PEPG x 1.15
As with all the “per game” metrics, it is not based on a per game average, but rather based on each game’s performance.
Defensive scoring is largely consistent for all defenders, but with a few wrinkles by position.
For off-ball LBs and safeties 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 DE/Edge, the formula builds on the formula above by including Sports Info Solutions' (SIS) Points Saved metric for pass rush and run defense and adds [Pass Rush Points Saved + Run Defense Points Saved]/1.45.
For DT/IDL, the formula builds on the formula above for LB/S by adding [Pass Rush Points Saved + Run Defense Points Saved]/1.41.
For CBs, the formula builds on the LB/S formula by adding Pass Coverage Points Saved/6.
Place kickers and kickers have unique stats.
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.
Punting = [(net yards per punt) + (punts downed inside 20 x 2) - (touchbacks x 2)]/260.
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.
Note that you will designate from your starting roster who will be able to score kick-off return points and who will score punt return points.
All statistical data and player likenesses are based on the data provided by our data company. Ultra GM does not have the ability to manually adjust any statistics. Upon the conclusion of any NFL game, finalized box-scores are published with finalized statistics.
Upon statistics being finalized, all results (fantasy points, winners, losers, standings adjustments, and other changes to the league) will transpire as determined by our programmatic schedule. While we strive to ensure all results are based on accurate information, statistical data updates provided to us significantly after the conclusion of an event may not be used. Some data may not be available right away. It may take 24-48 hours in some cases for advanced data points. All weeks will force finalization for advancement by Wednesday.
The draft on Ultra GM is different than traditional fantasy football. As noted, all new users are inheriting the actual NFL franchise they selected and its team as of the start of the NFL league year, which in 2025 is March 12. The logic works exactly the same way for both public and private leagues. In a league's second season, and beyond, the users will continue to build and shape the roster they built in their first season, thus enabling users ot build their team over season seasons.
Draft picks that are made by the user in a public league continue to run in parallel with their picks applying to both the 32-team league and 14-team league format since the roster is always managed in parallel (one roster, two independent leagues).
The Ultra GM draft is like the actual NFL draft where unsigned rookies are picked.
The draft calendar itself varies depending on when your league fills.
Rookies are the only players on Ultra GM that are able to be rostered without a known salary. Obviously, by the time the season begins all rookies will be under contract. No salary cap space is “reserved” in any way. Rookies simply take up no cap space until they have an actual contract.
Managing a roster within the salary cap is a primary feature for Ultra GM.
If you are over the salary cap, your roster will score zero points (essentially forfeiting a game) as it is ineligible. Staying within the salary cap is the User's responsibility. Management of your roster in season with trades, waivers, free agents, etc. should always involve checking to see if you have the available cap space. Rookies, as noted above, are the only players that can be rostered without a known contract, and thus, no salary yet.
Rosters will clearly indicate if they are OVER the salary cap for the current season or if they are in compliance. When setting your roster, a salary cap check will also occur. Similar to the number of players on a team or number of starters, the salary cap is verified as being equal to or lower than the cap amount.
Trades are only available in the 32-team league format.
Trades cannot be proposed between users in the 14-team league format, but trades that occur in the 32 will apply to both the 32-team and 14-team roster since the rosters are 100% linked together in all cases.
Both players and draft picks for the upcoming season can be traded. Trading is between two teams only. All trades in public leagues are reviewed for approval by an Ultra GM administrator. Private leagues require all trades to be reviewed and approved by the commissioner of the private league.
*** Note that “upcoming season” only applies to the current season if upcoming, not future years. Future year draft picks cannot be traded.
The 32-team league format has divisions that mirror the NFL. The 14-team league format has no divisions with all teams grouped together.
After the draft transpires, all remaining rookies and unsigned players are in the available player pool and would be available on the fixed-bid first-come-first-serve process (known as free agent status in fantasy) but only if they have an NFL contract with a salary. If there is no contract, they are not available to be selected from the pool of available players. Only players initially selected during the draft are the exception to the rule.
Fantasy waivers for both public and all private leagues will run from the first game (Sunday at 1PM ET or when the player plays) thru (Thursday at 4PM ET).
Fantasy free agents (first come first serve transactions after paying a $1 player acquisition fee) will be allowed after waivers are done processing, roughly from (Thursday at 4PM ET) thru (Sunday at 1PM ET or until the player plays). The only exception to the rule is Thursday and Saturday games. When an athlete’s game starts, they will automatically become a “fantasy waiver” player until the cycle fully resets.
Trades & Fantasy waivers process at 4PM ET each Thursday. Trades can be revoked, or, expedited when a commissioner approves them ahead of time. The fantasy waiver process works as follows:
Blind bidding works like a silent auction. All available players on waivers 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.
Each team has a “Player Acquisition Budget” (PAB) and once it is exhausted, no additional waiver requests can be placed. The default budget is $100.00. Additional PAB funds can be purchased.
Waiver bids may be submitted incrementally such as ($18.23).
If no one claims a player before the end of the waiver period, the player becomes a fantasy free agent and can be added by any manager in the league during the free agent time period for a fixed price of $1.00.
Ultra GM allows you to purchase up to $100 more in Player Acquisition Budget cash per each 32/14 team league roster. Our packages are $10 for $25 of waiver dollars and $25 for $50 in waiver dollars. You can use this to cover free-agent fees ($1) or any custom waiver bids.
To ensure there is no confusion between real world free agents and real-world waivers versus fantasy free agents and fantasy waivers, the player availability and bidding process can be reiterated by stating:
Real-world Free Agent -- real player's NFL contract expires and player is free to be signed by any NFL team -- Ultra GM users will be able to submit blind bids on that player/contract from their Player Acquisition Budget once that player signs with a real NFL team or acquire the player at a $1 fixed price (fantasy free agent) as per the waiver schedule noted above.
Real-world Waivers (not free agency) -- real player gets waived by real NFL team and enters real-world waivers -- Nothing has to happen in Ultra GM. The Ultra GM team that has player can just keep him as long as he stays under the same contract, (i.e., is claimed off waivers by another NFL team or still shows as having a salary and being under contract). If that happens, the player will be on a different NFL team than his Ultra GM team but that is fine. If that player clears real-world waivers he enters the waivers or free agent process (depending on timing as per the waiver processing schedule) and will be available to the highest bidder in Ultra GM once he signs a real contract with a new real NFL team, or available for a fixed cost of $1 from his PAB if nobody selected him during the waiver time period.
Ultra GM Waivers (not free agency) -- real player is not waived by real NFL team (he stays on that team in real world) but Ultra GM user releases him (thus putting him on waivers) and he can be claimed by any other Ultra GM team via the blind bidding waiver process or for the $1 flat fee as a free agent if not claimed (as noted for waiver processing timing), following the waiver priorities.
Ultra GM Free Agent -- real player is still playing for his same real NFL team, but Ultra GM user doesn't want him anymore and releases him (or he has cleared Ultra GM waivers and becomes a free agent). That player still has a real NFL contract and that player/contract is available to the highest bidder during the waiver period. If nobody bids on him during the bidding period, he remains available to every team, first come, first serve for the fixed cost of $1 from the PAB.
Both leagues have playoffs during weeks 15, 16, and 17. Since the 14 team league does not have divisions or conferences, the titles are simply different.
Playoffs differ for the 32-team and 14-team leagues.
Playoffs for both league formats begin in week 15 and run thru week 17.
32 Team League the playoff weeks are named:
Week 15 = Divisional
Week 16 = Conference Championship
Week 17 = Ultra GM Championship
14 Team League the playoff weeks are named:
Week 15 = First Round
Week 16 = Semifinals
Week 17 = Ultra GM Championship
There is no bye-week. Each conference has its own seeding.
Week 15
Week 16
Week 17
Seeding for conferences and Playoff Tiebreakers if a tie in the playoffs:
There is no bye-week.
Week 15
Week 16
Week 17
Seeding for Rankings & Playoff Tiebreakers if a tie in the playoffs: