Getting Started With GameDay Squad Gridiron
The fantasy Gridiron season is about to debut on the GameDay Squad platform, and whether you're a GDS veteran or a rookie looking to make your first start, our getting started guide has everything you need to know to make sure your season gets off to a flyer.
It follows the order you'll do things in the app: open packs, learn the cards, build your squads of 18 players, choose competitions, then manage the squad through the rounds and beyond!
What makes gridiron fantasy different here?
GameDay Squad Gridiron is a card based fantasy game. You can only field players whose cards you own. Cards come from packs, prizes, trades and the marketplace, and your collection carries across the season and into future season.
Compared with other gridiron fantasy platforms in Australia, the main differences are:
There is no bench. All 18 players in your squad are on the field and all 18 score.
There are no captains, vice captains or nominated emergencies.
The salary cap is based on card rarity, not on individual players, and it doesn't change during the season.
There is no limit on trades or squad changes, and no limit on players from one team.
You can enter several competitions at once from the same collection.
Lockout is rolling. Each player locks one minute before his own game starts.
Step 1: Open your Starter Packs
Registering a Gridiron squad gives you 306 Bronze player cards across a set of Starter Packs: 36 quarterbacks, 90 running backs, 90 wide receivers, 54 tight ends and 36 kickers. These are drawn from every active player in the Gridiron player pool and are enough to build a Starter, Contender and Classic squad on day one.
More Starter Packs are available for completing the onboarding tutorial, as weekly rewards, for referrals, and as prizes in the Starter, Contender and Classic competitions.
Step 2: Understand the cards
Every card carries a position and a rarity.
Position. Gridiron has five positions: Quarterback (QB), Running Back (RB), Wide Receiver (WR), Tight End (TE) and Kicker (K). Each card has one position, shown on the front of the card. Positions are set before the season and don't change during it, even if a player changes role for his real team.
Rarity. Rarity sets two numbers: the card's salary hit against a competition cap, and the multiplier applied to the player's score.
Card Type | Salary Hit | Score Multiplier |
|---|---|---|
Bronze | 500,000 | 1.0x |
Silver | 600,000 | 1.1x |
Gold | 700,000 | 1.2x |
Platinum | 800,000 | 1.3x |
Diamond | 900,000 | 1.4x |
Legend | 1,000,000 | 1.5x |
All Star | 700,000 | 1.35x |
Prize Card | 700,000 | 1.4x |
Salary is set by the card, not the player. A Gold Patrick Mahomes costs the same $700,000 as any other Gold card, and that cost stays fixed all season regardless of form. Your squad's total salary is the sum of the 18 salary hits on your field, and it determines which competitions you can enter.
Step 3: Build your 18
Your squad has two parts. The Field holds your 18 scoring players. Reserves hold every other card you own are unlimited and don't score.
Slot | How many | Who can fill it |
|---|---|---|
Quarterback | 1 | QB |
Running Back | 3 | RB |
Wide Receiver | 5 | WR |
Tight End | 2 | TE |
Superflex | 1 | QB, RB, WR or TE |
Flex | 5 | RB, WR or TE |
Kicker | 1 | K |
Superflex and Flex are slots, not positions. A card keeps its own position; the flexible slots only change where you can play it. Superflex accepts a second quarterback, which is usually the highest scoring option for that slot under GameDay Squad scoring, but a running back or receiver is also eligible.
A full squad of 18 is required every round. If any slot is empty at the end of the round, the squad scores zero and isn't eligible for prizes or rankings.
Step 4: Choose your competitions
Seven competitions run every round: five standard and two special. You can enter up to five per round, made up of three standard competitions plus both specials. The full Gridiron rulebook has every card limit; the table below is the summary.
Competition | Salary Cap | Rarities Allowed | Special Card Limit | Entry Restriction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Starter | 9mil | Bronze only | 0 | Not with Challenger or Champion |
Contender | 10mil | Bronze, Silver, Gold | 0 | Not with Champion |
Classic | 12mil | Bronze to Platinum | 2 (max 1 Prize Card) | None |
Challenger | 14.5mil | Gold, Platinum, Diamond | 5 (max 1 Prize Card) | Not with Starter |
Champion | No cap | Platinum, Diamond, Legend (max 6) | No limit | Not with Starter or Contender |
Rookie & Sophomore | 13mil | Bronze to Legend (max 3 Legend), All Stars | No Prize Cards | Only players in their first or second season |
Primetime | No cap | All rarities (max 9 Legend) | No limit | Does not include games that start on a Monday AEST |
Where to start. With a Bronze only collection you're eligible for Starter, Contender, Classic and Rookie & Sophomore. Eighteen Bronze cards total exactly 9mil, so a Starter squad sits right on its cap. Contender gives you 1mil of headroom above that for Silver and Gold upgrades, and Classic gives you 3mil. Each competition is a separate squad entry, so enter all of them your collection allows.
Primetime counts only the standalone games: Thursday Night Football (Friday morning AEST), Monday Night Football (Tuesday morning AEST), the Wednesday game before Thanksgiving and the Christmas games. The Sunday slate and Sunday Night Football are excluded.
How does scoring work?
A player's score comes from his in game statistics, then his card multiplier is applied. There is no defensive or special teams scoring.
Stat | Points |
|---|---|
Passing yards | 1 per 25 yards |
Passing TD | 6 |
Interception thrown | -2 |
Rushing yards | 1 per 10 yards |
Rushing TD | 6 |
Reception | 1 |
Receiving yards | 1 per 10 yards |
Receiving TD | 6 |
2 point conversion (any) | 2 |
Kicking PAT | 1 |
Field goal 0 to 49 yards | 3 |
Field goal 50+ yards | 5 |
Offensive fumble recovery TD | 6 |
Fumble lost | -2 |
Partial yardage counts, so 287 passing yards earns 11.48 points. Every stat scores the same for whoever records it.
Example: a quarterback throws for 300 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. That's 12 + 18 minus 2, a player score of 28. On a Bronze card that's 28 points. On a Gold card it's 33.6. On a Legend card it's 42.
What happened to emergencies?
Gridiron uses an automatic safeguard instead of nominated emergencies. At the end of each round, your lowest scoring player is dropped and your round score is the sum of your top 17. You don't nominate anyone and you don't choose who is dropped.
Only one score is removed per round. If two players score zero, one zero is dropped and the other counts. The same rule applies in bye rounds: a player on a bye scores zero like any other player who doesn't take the field, so squad depth in Reserves is what covers a bye, not this system.
When does the squad lock?
Gridiron runs a rolling lockout. Each player locks one minute before his own game's scheduled start, and stays locked even if the game is delayed. Players from games that haven't started can still be swapped.
Games are played in the United States, so the week lands like this in Australia:
Australian day (AEST) | Games |
|---|---|
Friday | Thursday Night Football |
Sunday | Saturday games, late in the season |
Monday | The main Sunday slate and Sunday Night Football |
Tuesday | Monday Night Football |
Teams name their inactives shortly before kick off. Player status on the card shows Available, Questionable, Out, Bye, Injury Reserve, Suspended, Ineligible or Inactive, so check it before each of your games locks.
Three rules to know before Week 1
Full squad required. An incomplete squad scores zero for the round.
Inactive players don't score, even if they play. A player becomes active when added to his team's official playing list, and there can be a short processing lag. Check the Player Pool tab if in doubt.
Don't swap locked players. Any player swapped in or out of a game that has already started scores zero for the round. This applies even if the automatic lockout isn't active at the time.
Prizes
Cash and pack prizes are paid every round in six of the seven competitions, with pack prizes reaching 100th place in Classic. Round prizes are credited to your GDS account on the Tuesday night after the round ends.
Competition | Round winner | Season winner |
|---|---|---|
Starter | 9 Player Common Pack | None |
Contender | $25 + 9 Player Common Pack | $250 |
Classic | $100 + 9 Player Common Pack | $1,000 |
Challenger | $150 + 9 Player Rare Pack | $1,500 |
Champion | $250 + 9 Player Unique Pack | $2,500 |
Rookie & Sophomore | $75 + 9 Player Unique Pack | None |
Primetime | $250 + 9 Player Unique Pack | None |
The total cash prize pool for the 2026/27 season is over $32,000.
Week 1 checklist
Starter Packs opened.
One squad entered in every competition your collection qualifies for.
All 18 slots filled in each squad, including Superflex, all five Flex slots and Kicker.
No player marked Out, Inactive or Bye in any squad.
Thursday Night Football players confirmed before Friday morning AEST. All others before their own game locks.
For anything not covered here, reach out via socials, on email of via our amazing Discord community.
Good luck Coach!
