Ready to test your handicapping skills against the big boys? NFL betting contests offer big returns, with Circa, DraftKings, and more hosting some of the best and most popular ATS NFL betting contests globally.
Free NFL betting contests
You don’t need a huge bankroll to enjoy NFL betting contests as a handful of betting sites and online books host free entry contests.
King of Covers - NFL
Try our free King of Covers NFL World Sports Betting Championship, with more than $6,500 in cash and prizes. Make against the spread or Over/Under picks while wagering between 100 to 500 units on each game. Move up the leaderboard to win cash and prizes.
2024 Circa Sports Million VI
- Entry Fee: $1,000
- Prize Pool: $6 Million in Prizes
- Grand prize: $1 Million For First Place
- Entries: 5
- Who Gets Paid: Top 50 entries get paid
- Rake: None
- Who Can Play: Anyone (must register in person in Las Vegas)
- Deadline To Enter: Sept. 7, 2024, at 2 p.m. PT
Circa Sports Million VI is the big daddy of the NFL betting contests. It costs participants $1,000 to enter (max five entries) with a grand prize of $1 million with $6 million in guaranteed prize money. All you need to do is pick five games against the spread each week and beat some of the best NFL handicappers on the planet. Last year’s $1 million winner went 58-21-1-0 ATS. Last year had more than 5,000 entrants.
The Biggest Football Contests are back!!
— Derek Stevens (@DerekJStevens) May 23, 2024
$16 Million Guaranteed!!
Sign-ups begin tomorrow at 9AM. For more info, visit https://t.co/JUwLKLLuiD#CircaSportsMillion VI#CircaSurvivor #Vegas pic.twitter.com/PXSulN0McG
This NFL betting contest is open to anyone 21 years or older, but players must sign up in person in Vegas. Players can then make their weekly ATS picks at Circa sportsbook counters or on the mobile app while betting proxies are allowed, which is the play if you live out-of-state or out-of-country.
Unlike the Circa Survivor Pool Contest which pays out the top entry, the Circa Sports Millions VI pays out the top 50 entries. On top of the big prizes, Circa also offers $300,00 in-quarter prizes, which are awarded every 4-5 weeks, and even a last-place "booby prize" of $100,000 for the contestant who finishes in last place for the season.
How to enter 2024 NFL betting contests
For the contests that aren’t online, you’ll have to sign up in person at the respected sportsbook, and if you plan on using a proxy, you’ll have to have the proxy there with you when you register. There is no way around this, unfortunately, for those who live outside of Las Vegas.
Once you’re registered, you will submit your weekly picks in person, through a proxy, or via a mobile sports app. Failing to get your picks in on time is a death sentence in these contests.
Online contests require you to register and submit your picks online, and the same registration processes can be applied to the various NFL survivor contests run by many of the same books.
What is a proxy?
A proxy — short for proximity — is a person who makes your bets/picks for you because you are out-of-state or out-of-country. You pay the proxy a fee, and they will, in turn, submit your weekly picks as Nevada residents. Proxies have been around since the inaugural Westgate SuperContest in 1989. A proxy service can cost about $250-$300 to submit your weekly picks.
NFL betting contests FAQs
Anyone 21 years or older can enter an NFL betting contest, but you must do so in-person for specific contests and in areas that have regulated markets.
There are many free NFL betting contests online available to anyone, but only residents in regulated states can register for the DraftKings Pro Football Millionaire Pick ’em.
Canadians can enter the Circa Sports Million III and the Westgate SuperContest, but they will need to register in person, be 21 years of age and use a proxy to submit weekly picks.
