What each of your leagues rewards once a season is over — and what CheerAssist starts rooting for when your team is out of it.
🏈NFL
No lottery — the worst record simply picks first.
Picks 1–18 are the non-playoff teams in straight reverse order of record.
Ties are broken by strength of schedule; the easier schedule picks earlier.
Playoff teams fill the remaining picks in order of how far they got, champion last.
Once NFL teams are eliminated, CheerAssist aims for:
Finish with the worst record.
🏀NBA
The 3-2-1 lottery, which penalises being worst.
The lottery covers 16 teams and is drawn from lottery balls, not flat odds.
Every team that misses the playoffs and play-in gets three balls.
Except the three worst records: they are "draft relegated" down to two balls.
A relegated team also drops from a guaranteed top-5 pick to a guaranteed top-12 one.
Play-in 9/10 seeds get two balls; the 7v8 play-in losers get one.
Once NBA teams are eliminated, CheerAssist aims for:
Finish 4th worst — the deepest spot that still holds all three balls.
In force for the 2027, 2028 and 2029 drafts; the format needs another Board vote after that.
⚾MLB
A six-pick lottery with a flat top — but a floor that still rewards last place.
All 18 non-postseason clubs enter for the first six picks.
The three worst records share identical 16.5% odds at the No. 1 pick.
Everyone not drawn then slots in by reverse record, from pick 7 down to 18.
So the worst record picks 7th at worst, where 3rd worst picks 9th at worst.
The worst record also takes the first pick of the second round outright.
Revenue-sharing rules can bar a repeat team from picking higher than 10th.
Once MLB teams are eliminated, CheerAssist aims for:
Finish with the worst record — tied for the best odds, and the best floor if the lottery misses.
Set by the 2022–26 CBA, which expires 1 December 2026. Worth rechecking for the 2027 draft.
Checked against each league's published rules in September 2026. Formats change — if one of these
looks out of date, the picks may be out of date with it.