FPL mini league prize ideas and payout structures for every league size
Updated · Gaffer
The right payout for your mini league depends on one number: how many people are in it. Up to six, winner takes all. From eight, pay three places. From fifteen, pay five or add a monthly prize, because a big league needs more than one reason to keep checking the app in March. The table below gives a split for every size, with the amounts at £10 a head.
Payout structures by league size
| Players | Split | At £10 each | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 to 6 | Winner takes all | 6 players: £60 to the winner | A second prize this small is a consolation nobody wanted |
| 8 to 10 | 60 / 40 or 50 / 30 / 20 | 10 players: £50 / £30 / £20 | Two or three prizes keep the pack chasing into spring |
| 12 to 14 | 50 / 30 / 20 | 12 players: £60 / £36 / £24 | The classic; everyone understands it |
| 15 to 20 | 40 / 25 / 15 / 12 / 8 | 20 players: £80 / £50 / £30 / £24 / £16 | Five prizes for a league where fifth is still an achievement |
| 20 or more | Top 5 plus a monthly prize | 30 players: £240 to the table, £60 across monthly winners | Monthly prizes give the bottom half a fresh start every few weeks |
Any of these, at your fee and head count: the prize split calculator gives exact amounts and the line to paste into the chat.
Prizes that are not just the split
- Manager of the month. Carve 20% of the pool into monthly prizes. Nine or ten months in a season, so a £300 pool gives about £6 to £7 a month: small, and the reason the person in 14th still sets a captain.
- A cup from January. Everyone starts at zero on a second table from gameweek 20. The leader in the main table hates it; everyone else loves it.
- The trophy. A real one, engraved every year, held by the champion until the next August. Costs less than one entry and outlasts the money.
- Last-place forfeit. Agreed in August, done in May: the loser wears a rival shirt to the pub, names the group chat for a season, or buys the first round. Keep it funny, keep it cheap.
- Winner picks. The champion chooses the venue for the end-of-season drinks, the league name, or next season's rules.
Three rules to write down in August
- Ties. Tied places share the tied prizes equally. Say so now.
- Dropouts. Someone who stops playing is still in the table; their entry stays in the pool. If someone never pays, they are in the free table only.
- Payment deadline. The first gameweek deadline. On Gaffer this takes care of itself, because the entry is paid at the moment of joining and the pool locks when the league locks.
Who holds the money until May is the other decision; the paid mini league guide compares the three ways to do it.
Questions people ask
What is the best payout structure for a 12-team fantasy league?
50 / 30 / 20 for the top three. At £10 a head that is £60, £36 and £24. It pays enough places to keep the chasing pack playing and is simple enough that nobody needs the sheet.
How do monthly prizes work in a mini league?
Set aside a share of the pool, 20% is common, and pay it in equal parts to the manager with the most points in each calendar month. Nine or ten prizes a season, each a fresh start for whoever is out of the title race.
What if we have more prizes than players by May?
The empty places share their percentages out across the remaining prizes in proportion, so the whole pool is still paid. A 50 / 30 / 20 split with two players left becomes 62.5 / 37.5. On Gaffer this happens automatically at settlement.
Should the commissioner get a share for running it?
Decide it in August and write it down. Many leagues give the commissioner nothing but the admin; some waive their entry. What breaks a league is a cut nobody agreed to.
Related
Your fee, your head count, the exact prize for every place.
Open the calculator