How Does Waiver Order Work in Fantasy Football? - Bleacher Nation (2024)

As you gain more experience playing fantasy football, you will need to know about the waiver wire and waiver priority. This is when multiple people claim the same player at the waiver order takes effect. How does waiver order work in fantasy football? Here’s what you need to know for your NFL league.

The Waiver Wire Explained

If you are a new fantasy player, you might not understand the NFL waiver wire in your league. Basically, it’s a list of players who are free agents and not on any fantasy team in your league. The waiver process includes claiming a player and then they can be added to your roster.

Fantasy managers will drop and add players throughout the season for many reasons including injuries, where they fall in the standings, matchups, and more. After a player clears waivers, they can be added to any team. Unclaimed players remain available in free agency throughout the year until added to a team.

Read More: The Waiver Wire in Fantasy Football

What is Waiver Order?

After a player clears waivers, which can take a couple of days, you can make a claim to add a player to your team. What happens when multiple people claim the same player? This is where the waiver order comes in. It can also be called waiver priority. It’s the order in which a player will be claimed if multiple fantasy managers try to add the player to their team.

How the Waiver Wire Order Works

The waiver wire priority or order is usually based on the draft order from the beginning of the NFL fantasy season. A common order is creating the priority list by giving the fantasy manager who drafted last, the highest claim priority.

There are other ways the wire can be determined and be sure to check with your league commissioner so you understand who has the highest priority when it comes to a waiver claim.

Waiver Wire vs FAAB

Some leagues have what’s called FAAB. It stands for free agent acquisition budget. In this type of league, the waiver wire works based on a budget given to each fantasy owner. You can then bid on players on the waiver wire with your budget during the waiver period. This type of claim system is more common in dynasty leagues but can be used in redraft leagues too.

Read More: FAAB Explained

How Does Waiver Order Work in Fantasy Football FAQs

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Sam hails from Grandville, Michigan. He has a rich sports background, including playing baseball at Central Michigan before covering high school sports and working with the Orlando Magic. He earned his broadcasting/journalism degree from Central Michigan University and was a member of the 2010 MAC Championship baseball team.Sam developed his expertise while working with Betsperts, Bleacher Nation, and 4for4 in various areas such as writing, social media, betting research, and business development. He's a big fan of the NBA, NFL, and MLB, highly interested in data and statistics.