Circa Survivor Down to Three Entries as NFL Week 17 Looms

Posted on: December 31, 2022, 08:15h. 

Last updated on: December 31, 2022, 09:24h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.

Week 17 of the 2022 NFL season is here and the famed Circa Survivor pool is down to a just three contestants.

Circa Survivor
Circa Sportsbook in downtown Las Vegas. The operator’s survivor pool is down to just three contestants. (Image: Twitter)

The $6.13 million winner-take-all contest started the year with 6,133 participants, and that tally was pared to 30 entering week 15, confirming that week of NFL action wasn’t hospitable to Circa Survivor contestants. With a scant three entries remaining, each has an intrinsic value of more than $2.04 million entering Sunday.

Currently in its fourth year, Circa Survivor offered a hefty $6,133,000 payout for the last entry standing. The contest has consisted of up to 20 legs throughout the year, one for every week of the football season plus two special weeks. Each week, participants choose one different team to win straight up, but the player cannot pick the same team again for the duration of the season. Thanksgiving and Christmas were considered their own contest weeks,” according to a statement issued by Las Vegas-based Circa Sports.

Circa Survivor requires participants to pick a single NFL winner each, but not against the spread. Contestants can only select a team once over the course of the season.

Circa Survivor Players Running Low on Elite Teams

In an ideal scenario, a survivor pool contestant is able to remain “on the island” over the course of the season without leaning heavily on the NFL’s elite teams. However, that wasn’t the case for Circa Survivor’s remaining trio.

“Favorites in week 17 include the Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers. However, those teams have been used by each of the remaining competitors. Instead, teams likely to be chosen could include the Los Angeles Chargers (vs Los Angeles Rams), Detroit Lions (vs Chicago Bears) and New York Giants (at Indianapolis Colts),” added Circa Sports.

One participant can select the NFC North-leading Minnesota Vikings, and there’s some availability left with playoff contenders such as the Tennessee Titans and the Washington Commanders. However, other playoff contenders such as the Green Bay Packers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are off the board.

Bottom line: Circa Survivor’s three remaining aren’t picking from the cream of the NFL crop this week or next, for that matter.

Raiders Proved Costly For One Contestant

Interestingly, it’s the Las Vegas Raiders that stand as the reason why the Circa Survivor season lasted until this week. The name of the game is to survive, meaning that once one entry is left, the contest is over, regardless of how many games are left in the NFL season.

Entering Christmas Eve, one of four remaining entries in the pool selected the Raiders, while the other three had the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Raiders led for nearly all of that contest, but the team’s inability to muster more than 10 points opened the door for the Steelers to win with a late touchdown.

That entry went from the brink of taking home all $6.13 million to being eliminated.