Question 1

How do I run an NFL pick em pool with friends?

Accepted Answer

Create a full-season NFL pick em league at Sportsball (joinsportsball.com/pickem/nfl/about): $9.99 for the full season or $1.99/week for the host; players join free. Choose Even, Spread, or Odds scoring, invite your crew, lock the roster before first kickoff, and launch each week's slate from the manage page. Players need a Sportsball account; signed-in roster members may appear to the host with email. Picks auto-score with live weekly and season-long leaderboards. Play from any phone browser or the native app.

Question 2

What is Sportsball?

Accepted Answer

Sportsball is a free online platform for sports prediction games and pools. Its featured NFL product is a full-season private pick em league—Even, Spread, or Odds formats, commissioner manage tools, roster lock, and league notifications (Sportsball account required; host may see signed-in player emails on the in-app roster). You can also create or join Super Bowl squares, MLB pick em, PGA golf pick em, UFC fight-night pick em, Oscars pick em, Super Bowl props, and NCAA brackets—or join free public global challenges for MLB, PGA, UFC, and other sports when live (no account). All games have automatic scoring, extra points for upset picks (jelly-bean style) where applicable, and one-link sharing. Play in the browser or use the full mobile app for notifications. The experience is mobile-first, has no in-game advertising, and avoids the wall of third-party privacy and cookie consent modals on join—account sign-in and host flows use in-app Terms, Privacy, and age acceptance instead. Players play free; hosts pay a small fee to create some private games.

Question 3

What are Sportsball global challenges?

Accepted Answer

Sportsball runs live, free-to-join public games called global challenges—nationwide pick em and squares with live leaderboards. NFL is a weekly public pick em game in season; MLB is a running daily public game in season; PGA golf runs on Tour tournament weeks; UFC runs on fight nights when cards are live; World Cup, Oscars, NCAA tournament, Derby props, and other sports run when those events are live. Join with no account for public global play. You can also run a private full-season NFL pick em league or a private NFL survivor league for your crew (Sportsball account required; host may see signed-in player emails on the in-app roster). There is no public survivor challenge. Jump in without a private host when a global challenge is active—the entry link is on the sport’s global-challenge page or in the app. We sometimes add some prizes for winners or top finishers on promoted events; if prizes are in play, the rules and eligibility are shown on that game before you play and at https://www.joinsportsball.com/prize-rules. Play in the browser, or use the full mobile app for notifications.

Question 4

What games does Sportsball offer in 2026?

Accepted Answer

Sportsball offers a full-season NFL pick em league ($9.99 for the full season or $1.99/week for the host; players join free) with commissioner tools, Super Bowl squares and props, NFL pick em (weekly public global game in season), MLB pick em (daily public global game in season), PGA golf pick em, UFC fight-night pick em, private pools, Oscars pick em, NCAA basketball brackets, free public global squares and pick em challenges for other sports when live, and more. All feature automatic scoring, easy sharing, and web or full app for notifications.

Question 5

Are Super Bowl squares and pick em free to play?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Playing is free. Join public games or private games hosted by friends—players never pay. Hosts pay a small fee to create some games: e.g. a full-season NFL pick em league costs $9.99 for the full season or $1.99/week for the host, $0.99 for Super Bowl squares or Oscars pick em, $1.99 for Super Bowl props with automatic scoring.

Question 6

What is Oscars pick em?

Accepted Answer

Oscars pick em is a prediction game for the Academy Awards. Players pick winners in categories like Best Picture and Best Actor. Sportsball's version has 24 categories, automatic scoring as winners are announced, and jelly bean payouts that reward long-shot picks. Create your own game or join the free global challenge.

Question 7

Do I need to download an app?

Accepted Answer

No app download required for browser play—join public games with no account or private leagues with a Sportsball account via link on any device. The native mobile app requires a signed-in account and adds in-game push notifications (e.g. when you win at each quarter in squares).

Question 8

What makes Sportsball different?

Accepted Answer

Sportsball offers modern, mobile-first flows with no in-game ads, automatic scoring across squares, props, NFL full-season pick em leagues, NFL and MLB pick em, PGA golf pick em, UFC fight-night pick em, and Oscars pick em, free public global pick em and squares for NFL, MLB, PGA, UFC, and other sports when live (no account; some prizes—see prize rules when in play), in-game push notifications (including the full mobile app) for pick em and Super Bowl squares, and jelly-bean style pick em scoring with extra points for upsets. One link to share; no spreadsheets. Unlike many legacy office-pool tools, join is not buried behind repeated cookie and privacy modals on every page—sign-in and host flows use in-app Terms, Privacy, and age acceptance instead.

Question 9

Why is Sportsball better for phones than other pool sites?

Accepted Answer

Sportsball is built mobile-first, so the pool actually works in the phone browser the way your group uses it in the room. The experience has no in-game advertising, and public join is not buried behind the repeated cookie, tracking, and privacy modals many older office-pool sites add on every click—account sign-in and host flows use in-app Terms, Privacy, and age acceptance instead. Public global games and guest squares need no account; private leagues require a Sportsball account, and signed-in private players may appear on the host's in-app roster (including email). The flow is open the link, make picks or claim a square, follow the live board—where legacy tools often still feel like desktop software squeezed into a small screen.

Featured

MLB Props

Pick em, squares, and more

Start here