Fantasy Football with Real Prizes
Runtiva is salary-cap daily fantasy football with peer-to-peer prize pools — you play other fans, never the house. Fresh lineups every week, no season-long commitment, college football scored live on Saturdays, and private contests with your own crew. Free contests are live in the app today; paid contests with cash prizes open later this summer, before Week 1.
How salary-cap fantasy football works
Every week is a fresh start. Pick a slate, build a lineup under the salary cap, and score fantasy points from your players' real performances:
- Salary cap — every player has a price, stars cost more, so lineup-building is the skill: finding the value nobody else sees.
- Price-fixed at entry — the contest you join is the contest you get; nothing shifts after you enter.
- Live scoring — points update in near real time through every game window.
- Your kind of contest — head-to-heads and 50/50s where half the field wins, bigger tournaments when you want upside, and private contests with friends.
Scoring details live in the contest rules, and how to play walks through your first lineup.
Not a sportsbook, not a pick'em app
There are no odds here and no house line to beat. Entry fees make up the prize pool, the prize pool is paid back out to players, and Runtiva takes a transparent fee for running the contest — that's the whole model. It's also why salary-cap fantasy remains the format with the clearest legal footing in the US: it's the skill game the daily-fantasy statutes were written around, while prop-style pick'em products have faced regulatory pushback in several states. More on how we operate and keep player funds safe: is Runtiva legit.
Built to give players more of their money back
Runtiva's fee structure is tiered by format, with the lowest rates on the formats beginners actually play — head-to-heads and 50/50s — and contests that don't fill simply cancel and refund. No empty guaranteed pools quietly eaten by sharks, no pressure to jump into fields you can't win. Play your friends in private contests and the skill gap disappears entirely — it's your league, your crew, your trash talk.
College football, scored live
Saturday is half the fun of football season, and most fantasy apps ignore it. Runtiva scores college football live — same salary-cap format, same wallet — so your weekend runs Saturday slates into Sunday main slates. College basketball joins in the winter.
Be first when paid contests open.
Free contests are live in the app today. Join the founders' waitlist for first access to paid contests, a permanent Founding Member badge, and free entry into the launch freeroll.
Join the waitlistThe 2026 season on Runtiva
Free contests are live now — the preseason is the perfect time to learn the format. Paid contests with cash prizes open later this summer, before Week 1 (kickoff September 9), and waitlist members get in first with a free launch-freeroll entry. Meeting up with fantasy friends before the season? See the 2026 fantasy football events calendar — the Fantasy Football Expo, Draft Day in Las Vegas, and the dates that matter before kickoff.
And if cricket is your other sport — or your crew's — the same wallet plays fantasy cricket year-round.
Frequently asked questions
Is daily fantasy football legal?
Paid daily fantasy sports is legal and regulated in most US states because it's treated as a game of skill: you build a lineup against a salary cap and score against other players' choices, not against the house. A few states don't allow paid contests, and some set the minimum age at 19 or 21. Runtiva verifies your location and identity at signup, so you always see exactly what's available where you live.
How is this different from sports betting or pick'em?
There are no odds and no house. Runtiva contests are peer-to-peer, pooled, fantasy-point contests: entry fees make up the prize pool, which is paid back out to players, and every entry is price-fixed when you join. Betting and the prop-style pick'em products work differently — you play against the operator's line — and that's the category that has faced regulatory pushback in several states.
When do paid contests open?
Paid contests with cash prizes open later this summer — before Week 1 of the NFL season. Free contests are already live in the app, and waitlist members get first access plus free entry into the launch freeroll.
Do you have college football?
Yes — Runtiva scores college football live, so Saturday slates get the same salary-cap treatment as Sunday. College basketball is covered in the winter too.
Can I play for free first?
Yes. Free contests are live in the app today — build lineups, learn the scoring, and play private contests with friends without depositing anything.
How old do I have to be?
18 or older in most states — 19+ or 21+ where state law requires it. Age, identity, and location are verified at signup.
Be first when paid contests open.
Free contests are live in the app today. Join the founders' waitlist for first access to paid contests, a permanent Founding Member badge, and free entry into the launch freeroll.
Join the waitlist