Build a lineup
What value means, how to shape a roster, and two full lineups walked through the salary math. Every player here is made up.
$50,000, nine spots, one sum.
Every player, price and projection on this page is made up. They come from the demo slate in our lineup builder, so you can load it and check every number. The rules are real: DraftKings NFL Classic gives you a $50,000 cap and nine spots, a quarterback (QB), two running backs (RB), three receivers (WR), a tight end (TE), a flex (RB, WR or TE) and a defense (DST). The rules cards have the source.
Value is points per $1,000
Value is what a player gives you for his price. Divide his projection by his salary in thousands.
- Faux Stan, a $7,300 QB projected for 25.49: 25.49 / 7.3 = 3.49.
- Sham Pat, a $9,400 WR projected for 19.14: 19.14 / 9.4 = 2.04.
- Mocks, a $2,400 DST projected for 8.49: 8.49 / 2.4 = 3.54.
The cap gives you 50,000 / 9 = $5,556 a spot. A roster that scores 135 needs 135 / 50 = 2.70 across the whole cap, so every player under 2.70 has to be paid for by someone over it. Sham Pat costs the most on that list and gives the least for it.
Value narrows the list. It doesn't pick the lineup. Mocks beats everyone above and still scores 8.49. A lineup wins on total points, and unused salary scores nothing.
Two roster shapes
Stars and scrubs means paying up at several spots and filling the rest with the cheapest players who have a role. Balanced means keeping every spot near that $5,556 average.
Here stars and scrubs wins on paper. The best roster under the cap projects for 134.80. Rule out every offensive player under $4,000 or over $7,000 and the best roster left projects for 125.85, a loss of 134.80 - 125.85 = 8.95 points. The stars are cheap for what they score: Fake Pete at 2.98 and Notreal Bob at 2.70 beat every RB, WR and TE priced in that range. On a slate where the middle is cheap, balanced can win.
Which shape suits which contest is our reasoning, not a measurement.
- Cash. Take the shape with the better floor. Stars and scrubs holds up when the cheap spots have real volume, such as a backup who just took a starting job. If your cheap spots are guesses, go balanced, because a $3,000 player with no role is a spot you gave away.
- Tournaments. Stars and scrubs puts more of your score in a few hands, which widens the range of outcomes, and that range is what a tournament pays for. The field leans on the same cheap plays, though, so a balanced roster can be the one that stands apart.
A cash lineup
This is what the builder's cash mode returns on the demo slate: the most projected points under the cap.
| Slot | Player | Team | Salary | Points | Per $1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB | Faux Stan | CHK | $7,300 | 25.49 | 3.49 |
| RB | Notreal Bob | FKE | $8,400 | 22.71 | 2.70 |
| RB | Pretend Pat | FKE | $6,100 | 14.22 | 2.33 |
| WR | Sham Paul | BGS | $8,500 | 21.88 | 2.57 |
| WR | Fake Ned | BGS | $3,900 | 8.39 | 2.15 |
| WR | Bogus Frank Jr. | FKE | $3,000 | 5.92 | 1.97 |
| TE | Nobody Dan | CHK | $2,600 | 4.47 | 1.72 |
| FLEX | Fake Pete | SLT | $7,800 | 23.23 | 2.98 |
| DST | Mocks | MDP | $2,400 | 8.49 | 3.54 |
| Total | $50,000 | 134.80 | 2.70 |
The four biggest salaries cost 7,300 + 8,400 + 8,500 + 7,800 = $32,000. That leaves 50,000 - 32,000 = $18,000 for five spots, or 18,000 / 5 = $3,600 each. Pretend Pat takes $6,100 of it, so the last four share 18,000 - 6,100 = $11,900.
A projection is not a floor. Before you lock a roster like this, look hard at Bogus Frank Jr. and Nobody Dan, the two worst values here. If either has no real role, pay up at that spot and give back a little at a star. Cash games explains why floor comes first.
A tournament lineup
A tournament roster starts with a game. Say you think BGS at SHM shoots out. Take BGS quarterback Mock Moe, two of his receivers, Sham Paul and Imaginary Bob, and bring back SHM's top receiver, Phony Phil. Those four are your stack, players whose scores should rise together.
They cost 7,400 + 8,500 + 5,400 + 7,800 = $29,100, which leaves 50,000 - 29,100 = $20,900 for five spots, or 20,900 / 5 = $4,180 each. Fake Pete costs $7,800, but he is the best WR value on the slate, so he takes the flex. Now 20,900 - 7,800 = $13,100 has to cover four spots, and 4,000 + 4,100 + 2,600 + 2,400 = $13,100 does it exactly.
One defense is off the list: Stand-ins play for SHM, so they face Mock Moe. The stacking guide has the number.
| Slot | Player | Team | Salary | Points | Per $1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB | Mock Moe | BGS | $7,400 | 23.04 | 3.11 |
| RB | Sham Sam | BGS | $4,000 | 7.56 | 1.89 |
| RB | Standin Bob | DMO | $4,100 | 6.66 | 1.62 |
| WR | Sham Paul | BGS | $8,500 | 21.88 | 2.57 |
| WR | Imaginary Bob | BGS | $5,400 | 12.27 | 2.27 |
| WR | Phony Phil | SHM | $7,800 | 19.95 | 2.56 |
| TE | Nobody Dan | CHK | $2,600 | 4.47 | 1.72 |
| FLEX | Fake Pete | SLT | $7,800 | 23.23 | 2.98 |
| DST | Mocks | MDP | $2,400 | 8.49 | 3.54 |
| Total | $50,000 | 127.55 | 2.55 |
This roster projects for 134.80 - 127.55 = 7.25 fewer points than the cash lineup, and you give those up on purpose. If that game shoots out, several of your players score together and your roster looks less like the field's. If it doesn't, the roster loses, and in a tournament most rosters do. Tournaments covers the math.
To check it, load the demo slate, lock those four stack players and build in cash mode. It fills the other five with these names.
Facts checked Nov 5, 2026.