Question 1

How does the trade simulator decide who wins a trade?

Accepted Answer

Every NFL player and draft pick has an A to Z trade value on one points scale, where the No. 1 overall pick is worth 3,000. The trade meter adds up what each team sends and compares the two sides. A trade is Fair when the gap is small for the size of the deal (about 5% on a deal worth a late first-round pick, with more room on small deals and less on blockbusters). Past that it Leans one way, and a big gap is lopsided.

Question 2

How are player trade values calculated?

Accepted Answer

Each value combines how well a player has played over recent seasons, his age and position, his contract (what he costs and how many years his team controls him) and his availability. Young players also carry the value of where they were drafted, which fades as they build a track record. The values are checked against real NFL trades from 2016 on. Tap any player's name to see how his value breaks down.

Question 3

How often are the values updated?

Accepted Answer

Every week during the season, after Monday Night Football, with new stats, injuries, roster moves and draft order. The date of the latest update is at the bottom of this page.

Question 4

Why don't three or four players add up to one star?

Accepted Answer

Teams pay for quality, not quantity. On each side of a trade, a team's three most valuable players count in full, the fourth counts half, the fifth a quarter, and so on. Draft picks work the same way among themselves: the two best picks count in full, then half, then a quarter. So three good starters can land a star, but a pile of backups can't.

Question 5

What is the trade-up tax?

Accepted Answer

When both teams send 2027 picks, the team getting the best pick in the deal is moving up and pays a premium on that pick: 18% for picks 1–64, 22% for picks 65–100, 30% for picks 101–160 and 38% after that. Those rates are based on what NFL teams have actually paid to move up in the draft since 2016.

Question 6

Which draft picks can I trade?

Accepted Answer

Each team's real 2027 and 2028 picks in all seven rounds, including picks it acquired in trades (marked "via"). Each 2027 pick shows a projected draft slot based on current Super Bowl odds, the same order used in the A to Z Mock Draft Simulator, updated weekly. Compensatory picks are added once the NFL awards them.

Question 7

Does the simulator account for the salary cap?

Accepted Answer

Yes, for 2026. The cap card shows each team's cap space before and after the trade and warns when a team would go over. As in a real in-season trade, the new team takes on the rest of the player's 2026 salary, bonus money already counted stays with the old team, and his future bonus money becomes 2027 dead money for the old team. Draft picks don't affect the cap.

Question 8

How do injuries affect a player's value?

Accepted Answer

Players on injured reserve or the PUP or NFI lists take a small discount for each game they're expected to miss, using the reported timeline when there is one. Most of a player's value is in the seasons ahead, so even a season-ending injury lowers it by only a few percent.

Question 9

Is the trade simulator free?

Accepted Answer

Yes. There's no account or download. Build as many trades as you like and share any of them with a link or an image.