Mark Your Calendar
Key Dates
All four dates for 2026 are confirmed - see the home page for the live countdown and the full explanation of how each date was worked out.
Read This Before September 2
What Happens to Expiring Players
The single most confusing rule in the league, explained in plain English.
There are two different situations and they have completely different deadlines. Know which one each of your guys is in.
No number next to his name (shown in red)
He is gone BEFORE this year's draft. Right now you only hold his rights. If you do nothing, he gets purged off your roster and lands in the Rookie/FA draft on September 5 for anybody to take.
To keep him you must do one of these by September 2:
- Extend him at 2:1 - two contract years spent for each additional year of control. Must come from CARRYOVER years. You may not spend your 12 new contract years on re-signings.
- Franchise tag him - see the reminder below.
- Trade him - his rights go with him.
A 0 next to his name
This season is his last one with you. He is on your roster for all of 2026, no action needed right now. He is set free after this season unless you re-sign him at 2:1 or franchise tag him.
After the deadline, Tony Loff purges every unextended, untagged, untraded player off every roster. They all land in the Rookie/FA draft on September 5. That is where a big chunk of the pool comes from every year, not just rookies.
The same deadline is when rosters must be down to the 20 man maximum.
See the Dynasty Board for the Hannah Cliff - seven of her cornerstones expire at once this year - and the Be A GM League Manual (rulebook) for the full rule text.
Round 1
Who Actually Holds Each Pick
Every manager's finish in 2025 earned them a slot in the draft order. Some of those slots have since been traded away. "Earned" means the pick still belongs to the manager whose finish created it. "Acquired" means it moved.
Gray "Earned" badge = still held by the manager whose 2025 finish created the slot. Red "Acquired" badge = the pick moved via trade. Source: sleeper/draft2026.json, cross-checked field by field.
Rounds 2, 4, and 5
Other Picks That Have Moved
Rounds 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 show no movement in the draft data - every manager holds their own natural pick in those rounds.
The Full Picture