Free NFL Playoff Bracket Pool
Run a free NFL playoff bracket pool for friends or an office pool. One invite link, a display name, and the same 2026-27 bracket used on the rest of the site. No password.
How it works
- Create a pool and give it a name (up to 60 characters). You get a private link shaped like /pool/…
- Share that link. Each person joins with a display name of up to 40 characters. A pool holds 100 members.
- Everyone fills the 14-team bracket: Wild Card, Divisional, conference championships, and the Super Bowl. The #1 seeds have a bye. Later rounds re-seed so the highest remaining seed plays the lowest.
- Submit the bracket. The same compact encoding used by share links stores the picks. You can submit again until lock.
- Picks lock at Wild Card kickoff (January 16, 2027 at 1:00 PM EST). After that the leaderboard scores final games only.
Scoring
A game scores when the two teams in your bracket are the two teams that actually played, and you picked the winner. Missing an earlier game changes the next matchup, so that later pick does not score unless the same pairing happens.
| Round | Games | Points each | Round max |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wild Card | 6 | 1 | 6 |
| Divisional | 4 | 2 | 8 |
| Conference championship | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| Super Bowl | 1 | 8 | 8 |
A perfect bracket is 30 points. Tied scores keep the entry that was submitted first.
Related tools
- NFL bracket maker for a bracket that is not part of a pool.
- NFL playoff picture for the current seeds.
- Printable bracket if the group still wants paper.
FAQ
- Is the NFL playoff bracket pool free?
- Yes. Creating a pool, joining with a display name, and submitting a bracket are free. There is no account fee and no paywall.
- Do we need passwords or accounts?
- No. The person who creates the pool gets an invite link. Each friend types a display name. The browser keeps a token so they can edit that entry. There is no password to remember or reset.
- When do picks lock?
- Picks lock at Wild Card kickoff, January 16, 2027 at 1:00 PM EST. Until then a member can submit a new bracket and replace the old one. After lock, the bracket stays visible and the leaderboard updates from final scores.
- How is the office pool scored?
- Each correct game is worth more as the playoffs go on: Wild Card 1, Divisional 2, conference championship 4, Super Bowl 8. A pick scores only when those two teams play in that round and the member picked the winner. A perfect bracket is 30 points.
- Where do the scores come from?
- Final scores come from the public ESPN scoreboard for the postseason. Games that are not final yet are left unscored. The Pro Bowl is not part of the bracket.
- Which teams are in the bracket?
- The 14 seeds are copied from the public standings when the pool is created, then frozen so every entry uses the same field. Create the pool after the field is the one you want to play. If the standings feed is down, the pool uses seed labels instead of team names and cannot match live results.
- Is this an official NFL pool?
- No. This is a fan-made office pool on The Bracket Maker. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the NFL or any team.