The commissioner creates the contest, invites players, sets the rules, and can step in to manage it while it runs. Everything a commissioner can do is tied to owning that contest — there's no separate admin role players need to worry about.
Setting up the contest
At creation, a commissioner chooses:
The league(s)
The schedule window (which weeks or days the contest covers)
The starting bank everyone gets
Which pick types are allowed
A set of rules like maximum units per pick and how many entries each person may have
What can be changed later — and what can't
Some settings can be changed anytime; some lock once the contest starts (meaning once anyone has made a pick); and one is fixed for the life of the contest. The reasons are about fairness:
When | Examples | Why |
Anytime | Max units per pick, vig, which pick types are allowed, parlay/teaser limits, privacy settings, late-entry policy | These shape future picks and can be tuned as the contest runs. Changes only affect picks made after the change. |
Locks once the contest starts | Which sports are enabled, the starting bank | Changing these after people have started playing would move the goalposts — e.g., changing everyone's starting bank after some have already spent units. |
Fixed for the whole contest | Share price (the contest's underlying unit economics) | It's set once at creation and defines the contest; changing it later would rewrite the basis everyone joined under. |