It’s the 2026 installment of the Pros vs Joes Best Ball Draft Challenge!!! OUR 18TH YEAR!!!

This year we will again host seven leagues. The divisions include:

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As in the past, the competition pits the high stakes players (Joes) of the FFPC (Fantasy Football Players Championship) against a slew of fantasy industry experts (the Pros). In 2026 we continue to draft using the FFPC’s 20 round Best Ball Slim league format. 20 rounds of TE premium Best Ball drafting with NO KICKERS OR DEFENSES. These drafts are a lean and mean 20 rounds of high intensity drafting against the best minds in the industry (analysts and players alike). Your weekly starting lineup will consist of 1 QB – 2 RB – 2 WR – 1 TE – 2 Flex (RB,WR,TE). The compressed format also means your live draft will be much shorter as well.

All of the live drafts are BROADCAST LIVE on the FFPC You Tube Channel. Your picks will either be scrutinized (boooo…) or celebrated (yay!!!!!! ) . There is one additional league which will be a SLOW draft, likely kicking off shortly before the first live one.

These drafts are conducted at the end of July, and will conclude just prior to the annual Hall of Fame game that kicks off the NFL preseason. Draft your skill players and go to war. With “groupthink” often seeped in to the fantasy community around certain players, you may need to reach early and get your guy.

The 2026 Draft dates:

Sunday July 26 – 8:00 PM EST
Monday July 27 – 9:00 PM EST
Tuesday July 28 – 10:00 PM EST

Sunday August 2- 8:00 PM EST
Monday August 3- 9:00 PM EST
Tuesday August 4 – 10:00 PM EST
Slow Draft starting TBD (but before the first live draft starts).

In 2026, the overall champion (top score across all 7 leagues) will AGAIN receive an Overall Winner Championship Belt!!!!

Prizes for the league winners in 2026 once again consist of FREE entries into the 2027 FFPC Main Event valued at $2,200 per entry. That’s a 1 in 12 shot at a huge prize for each participant, so this continues to be a highly coveted, limited, and exclusive contest.

So how does one get an invitation to participate?

The “Joes” – The “Joes” consist of players from the Fantasy Football Players Championship. A lottery system is used to determine who will participate, and the candidates for selection are pulled from the players who register early for the 2026 FFPC Main Event. Registration by Sunday May 31st, 2026 makes you eligible for the drawing. [REGISTER HERE]. In addition, you will receive $200 off the regular price for the first team, and $600 off the regular price for each additional team. Each team purchased counts toward one (virtual) ping pong ball in the selection lottery.

The “Pros” – The “Pros” consist of industry experts/analysts/content creators, and their participation is by invite only, given the limited amount of slots available for drafting.

Below is the list of participants from 2025, and many will return in 2026.

Howard Bender – FantasyAlarm.com
J.J. Zachariason – LateRound.com
Peter Overzet – FantasyLife.com
Jim Coventry – RotoWire.com
Jared Smola – DraftSharks.com
Sigmund Bloom – FootballGuys.com
Derek Brown – FantasyPros.com
Mauricio Gutierrez – EstadioFantasy.com
Dan Williamson / Bradley Stalder – PlayerProfiler
Bob Lung – BigGuyFantasySports.com
Theo Gremminger – PlayerProfiler.com
Dwain McFarland – FantasyLife.com
Stacy Perez – FantasyInFrames.com
Bob Harris – FootballGuys.com
Ryan Kramer / Sean Green- SportsGamblingPodcast.com
Doug Orth – FFToday.com
Colm Kelly / Conor O’Driscoll
Ben Gretch / Shawn Siegele – Rotoviz Stealing Bananas Podcast
Andrew Cooper – FantasyAlarm.com
Tom Strachan – The FFSanctuary
John Daigle – EstablishTheRun.com
Michael Nazarek – FFMastermind.com
Mike Schopp / Adam Krautwurst The Deep End Fantasy Football Podcast
Josh Hayes – RotoBaller.com
Brian Drake / Matt Donnelly – FantasyPoints.com
Darren Armani – FantasyMojo.com
Pat Kerrane – LegendaryUpside.com
Nelson Verbit – DynastyDepot.com
Scott Connor – Dynasty and Chill LLC
Tod Burros – @BestBallNFL
Jeff Mans – FantasyGuru.com
Matt Schauf – DraftSharks.com
John Paulsen- 4for4.com
Jeff Ratcliffe – FTNfantasy.com
John Hansen – FantasyPoints.com
Tyler Buecher – FantasyGuru.com
Justin Boone – Yahoo Fantasy
Michael Leone – EstablishTheRun.com
Davis Mattek
Scott Engel – RotoBaller.com
Blair Andrews – RotoViz.com
Connor Allen – 4for4.com

Interested in seeing the all-time leaderboard for this competition and check out the names that have participated in this contest over the years? GO HERE .