What are Matchup Challenges?
Matchup Challenges, a SleeperSafe feature, lets you challenge your weekly fantasy opponent for a set buy-in amount.
Both managers enter the same buy-in amount
The winner of the fantasy matchup receives the total payout
Who can play Matchup Challenges?
Matchup Challenges are available for select drafted season-long football leagues on the Sleeper mobile app (iOS and Android).
You must be at least 18 years old, a current U.S. resident, and have a verified Sleeper account with a linked bank account.
Additional restrictions may apply. See our General Terms of Use.
How do Matchup Challenges work?
Send a challenge
Open your weekly matchup and tap Challenge. Choose a buy-in amount from $5–$100. Your opponent will pay the same amount.Your opponent accepts
Your opponent can accept or decline. You can cancel any time before they accept.Both buy-ins are collected
Once both payments are successful, the challenge is locked and the funds are held until the matchup is final.Play your matchup
Your lineup and fantasy scoring work the same as usual.Winner gets paid
Challenges settle Tuesday morning based on the official matchup result. The payout is added to the winner’s Fantasy balance, minus the service fee.
Accepted challenges also appear in league chat and on the Track tab in-app.
How much can I challenge for?
You can set challenge buy-in amounts between $5–$100.
Both managers enter the same amount.
Sleeper charges a 10% service fee from the final payout. There is no fee for cancelled or refunded challenges.
For example:
You enter $5
Your opponent enters $5
Total payout: $10
Service fee: $1
Winner receives: $9
The buy-in amount and payout are shown before you accept.
How do I pay for a challenge?
At launch, you can add funds using a linked bank account (via Aeropay).
Cards, Apple Pay, and Venmo aren't supported for now.
Existing Sleeper Fantasy balance funds, including challenge payouts and League Dues refunds, can also be used.
If your opponent's payment fails, the challenge isn't accepted and nothing is collected from you.
If your payment fails after they accept, you'll have until the challenge deadline to resolve it. Otherwise, the challenge is cancelled and your opponent’s buy-in is refunded to the Sleeper Fantasy balance.
When can I withdraw my payout?
Challenge payouts are added to your Fantasy balance on Tuesday.
You can use available funds for another challenge, League Dues, or Sleeper Picks contests in eligible locations.
Bank deposited funds take 3 business days to clear before they can be withdrawn.
Payouts tied to uncleared deposits can be used in-app for other challenges or Picks entry fees.
The payout amount and related winnings will not be withdrawable until the original deposit clears.
When is a challenge canceled?
An active challenge is automatically canceled and both managers are refunded in full if:
The commissioner changes a scoring setting
The commissioner edits either team's roster or score
A trade involving either team processes
A buy-in payment is returned by the bank
The matchup ends in an exact tie
Normal fantasy activity, including lineup changes, waivers, and drops, does not cancel a challenge.
Canceled challenges buy-ins are refunded to your Sleeper Fantasy balance.
No service fee is charged on cancelled challenges.
Where can I find my challenges?
Matchup screen: Send or accept a challenge
Track tab → Challenges: View challenges and their status
League tab: See matchups with active challenges
League chat: See when a challenge is accepted
FAQ
Who can I challenge?
Only your opponent for the current week's fantasy matchup.
You can't challenge another manager or someone in a different league.
How many challenges can I have?
You can have one challenge per matchup within a league each week.
Currently a user can have only 5 active challenges a week across all their leagues.
When is the deadline to send or accept a challenge?
Matchup challenges can be sent up til the latest active NFL game half time across both rosters.
The challenger can set the following deadlines for acceptance:
Before the next game starts
24 hours
15 mins
Can I change or counter the challenge amount?
Not directly. Decline or cancel the existing challenge and send a new one with a different amount.
What happens if there's a stat correction?
Challenge payouts are final after Tuesday's settlement. Later stat corrections do not change the payout.
Can my commissioner cancel a challenge?
Commissioners can't manually cancel individual challenges.
However, certain commissioner changes can automatically cancel active challenges, as described above.
Why don't I see the Challenge button?
Matchup Challenges are rolling out to a limited group of users.
Why is my wallet blocked?
A returned bank deposit may temporarily block your wallet and cancel active challenges.
Email [email protected] for help.