How to Play   

1.      Definition of the Elway Trophy contest

The object of the contest is to accumulate the most points over the course of the NFL regular season.
 

2.      Making your Picks

Click on "Enter your Choices" from the main menu.
Enter your name and email address.  Choices will not be sent without a valid email address entered.
Pick a winner for each game by clicking the circle to the left of the team name.
Assign a confidence value to each game using the dropdown box to the right of the teams.  Make sure you assign each game a different confidence value.
When done, click on "Submit Choices" button. 

3.      Scoring

The weekly score for each person is derived by summing the assigned weight values for each winning team chosen.  No points are awarded nor deducted for losing choices.  In the event a game ends in a tie, it will count as a loss for all players.  The scores are then ranked in descending order and awarded points that will count toward the season total.  Points awarded are dependent upon the number of players; currently we have 27 players vying for the coveted Elway Trophy.  With 27 players, 26 points will be awarded to the player with the highest weekly score, 25 points to the second highest, 23 points to the third highest, down to zero points for the person with the lowest weekly score.  In the event of a tie, the points are shared.  Example: two players tie for second highest weekly score - each will receive 24.5 points as the 2nd and 3rd place points are shared.  At the end of the season, the player with the highest point accumulation will be the overall winner.

 

4.       Deadline for entries

Entries need to be received by 12 midnight your local time the night prior to the first game played each weekend.  The first weekend of the year begins with a Thursday night game so entries must be received by 12 midnight on Wednesday, 8 September.  The choices of all players will be posted on the website as soon as all entries are received. 

Should a player choose not to enter for a particular weekend, that player will automatically be placed in the last position for the week and receive zero points.  Should two players choose not to enter on the same weekend, those players will be  placed in a tie for last place meaning they would each receive .5 points (share the last two positions). 

Special rule for weekends with Thursday night games.  Should a player not have his/her entry in by the Thursday night game, he/she can still submit an entry for the Sunday games as long as the entry is made prior to 12 midnight on Saturday night.  The Thursday night game will be counted as a loss with the highest weight value for the week.  Example:  the first weekend has a full 16 game schedule that includes a Thursday night game.  Should a player submit his/her entry after the Thursday game, the Thursday game will be counted as a loss with a weight value of 16. 

An entry for the Thursday only game can be made by choosing "Enter your Thursday ONLY pick" on the menu. The remaining picks are due by midnight on Saturday night. Be sure to exclude the confidence value assigned to the Thursday game on the remainder of your picks.

 

5.      Entry Fee

Entry Fees are determined by the number of players.  To provide a little flexibility for late minute changes in the number of entries, we implemented a plan to set fees in $5 increments.  Fee schedule shown below;

                        11-15 players               $20

                        15-20 players               $25

                        21-25 players               $30

                        26-30 players               $35

                        31-35 players               $40

 

Note:  Entry fee includes a $5 admin fee and a $1 entry into November Madness.  Any fees paid in that are not distributed as winnings or that go to admin fee will be returned at the end of the season.  For example:  For 27 players, only $27 of the entry fee will be distributed as winnings according to finishing order and $5 to admin fee.  $3 will be returned to each player.

Entry fee is due by the fifth game of the season and instructions for payment will be forthcoming in a separate email to contestants.  Side pools are separate and optional.  Fee is $5 per side pool played.

 

6.      Prizes

The Grand Prize is the privilege to have your name inscribed on the Elway Trophy and an Elway Champion shirt.  All bragging rights associated with the trophy are transferred to the winner until such time a new winner is crowned in subsequent annual contests.  Bragging rights are cumulative for those years a player wins two or more consecutive annual contests.

Prize distribution is determined by the simple rule that each player "owes" one dollar to each player who finishes ahead of him/her in the final standings for the season.  That means the most anyone can win or lose is $26 (assuming 27 players).  The actual amount will be determined by the final number of players.  In any event, all entry fees will be distributed at the end of the season.  Prize distribution (based on 27 players) will be:  (Note: Last place pays $0.)

1st

$52

14th

$26

2nd

$50

15th

$24

3rd

$48

16th

$22

4th

$46

17th

$20

5th

$44

18th

$18

6th

$42

19th

$16

7th

$40

20th

$14

8th

$38

21st

$12

9th

$36

22nd

$10

10th

$34

23rd

$8

11th

$32

24th

$6

12th

$30

25th

$4

13th

$28

 

26th

$2

 

 

 

 

 

 

7.      2nd Chance

The object of the 2nd Chance contest is to pick one team each week that you think will win. The caveat is that no team can be picked more than once. A player remains in the game until he/she incurs two losses during the season. Should a player choose a team he/she has already picked previously, that is counted as a loss no matter which team wins the game. The player who stays in the game the longest is the winner and collects the entire 2nd Chance pool. Should more than one player still be in the contest when the season ends, the player with the fewest losses (0) is declared the winner. In the event of a tie, the pool is divided equally.

8.      Last Chance

The object of the Last Chance contest is to pick one team each week that you think will Lose. The caveat is that no team can be picked more than once. A player remains in the game until he/she incurs two losses (misses) during the season. Should a player choose a team he/she has already picked previously, that is counted as a loss no matter which team loses the game. The player who stays in the game the longest is the winner and collects the entire Last Chance pool. Should more than one player still be in the contest when the season ends, the player with the fewest losses (0) is declared the winner. In the event of a tie, the pool is divided equally.

9.      Superbowl

Each player chooses two teams prior to the first game of the season that he/she thinks will play in the Superbowl. If a player chooses correctly, then he/she is declared the winner and is awarded the entire Superbowl pool. In the event of a tie, the pool is divided equally. Should no one win the pool, the money goes towards the end of the year party.

10.  Playoff Plus

Each player chooses five teams prior to the first game of the season that he/she predicts will make the playoffs. Once the playoffs begin, each player is awarded one point for each victory by their chosen teams. One point will be awarded for each team chosen that has a bye during the first round of the playoffs.  The player with the most accumulated points after the Superbowl wins the Playoff Plus pool. In the event of a tie, the pool is divided equally by the winning players.

11.  November Madness

This is a double elimination “tournament” for the top 16 players after the 9th week of play.  No additional entry fee required, all players will be eligible.  (Click on November Madness on the Elway Trophy menu to view the bracket.)   No additional input is required of anyone as the winners of the individual competitions are determined by the players’ scores each week.  This additional “tournament” also does not affect the regular Elway game at all nor does it affect the overall champion for the year. 

Players will be seeded 1 through 16 per the standings after 9 weeks of play and names will be added to the standard 16 team bracket at that time.  In the event of ties, the player with the highest cumulative “raw” score for the first 8 games will be the higher seed.  Beginning in the 9th week, the bracket will show the individual 2-person head-to-head competitions.  The winner of each head-to-head will be determined by the players’ scores for the week.  In the event of a tie between two competitors, the first tie-breaker will be determined by the value of the highest loss for the week.

Example:  Player A misses his/her 4 pt, 2 pt, and 1 pt game and Player B misses his/her 5 pt and 2 pt games, Player A will advance due to his/her highest loss for the week being    lower than Player B's highest loss.

Example:  Player A misses his/her 10 pt and 7 pt game and Player B misses his/her 10 pt, 5 pt, and 2 pt game.  Player B will advance due to the second loss being lower than Player A's second loss.

Should there still be a need to break a tie after considering losses for the day, i.e. all losses are the same, then the higher seed player will advance. 

The winner of November Madness will take the entire pool.

 

Good luck! But above all, have FUN!!