Behold! A new side game for all of the degenerate, white collar, cubicle slaves who can’t seem to get themselves into enough NFL office pools already. Think ESPN’s Eliminator pool, only you’re not choosing a team to win each week.

I call it the No Chance Pool

Starting the Tuesday after week 1, each player has to choose one NFL team whom they believe will NOT make the playoffs at the end of the regular season.

Then, following the week 2 slate of games, each player has to choose yet another team, and every week going forward. They cannot choose the same team twice.

Therefore, by the end of week 17 (and by the time the NFL playoffs are determined), each player should have chosen 16 different teams to not qualify for the playoffs. If they were incorrect on any one of those picks, (in other words if any of those 16 chosen teams happened to make the playoffs) the player is eliminated from winning the pool.

The pot is split among those players who chose correctly every single week.

However

All players are free to withdraw from the contest at any point, and in doing so, shall receive a small portion of their initial entry fee back. If someone feels they made an early mistake and are confident they will be wrong at the end, they can opt out of the remainder of the contest. The return amount is predetermined and decreases each week, with the week 16 bail out pay being very minimal.

The twist:

If nobody makes it to the end with 16 correct picks, the total pot then goes to the player (or players) left in the game who chose an incorrect team the EARLIEST during the season.

Example: 10 players all eliminated by the end of week 17. Player A chose a team after week 1 and that team went on to make the playoffs. Nobody else chose an incorrect team after week 1, so player A will win the pot if they stayed in the game and didn’t bail early.

This extra twist could make a decision to quit the pool early much more difficult, unless they can forecast whether or not anybody else makes it to the end without an incorrect pick.

Below is an example of how the first year breakdown of payouts are set up in my league. But naturally, you can decide yours for yourself.

Entry fee per person: $50

Total entries: 15

Total initial prize pot: $750

Bail out pays after week:

1: $25

2: $25

3: $25

4: $25

5: $20

6: $17

7: $15

8: $13

9: $12

10: $11

11: $10

12: $9

13: $8

14: $7

15: $6

16: $5

This is the inaugural season so this system is still a work in progress. We will see how this plays out come January. In the meantime, feel free to try this game out for yourself!