DraftKings - Late Draft - Overview - DraftKings Service Portal

Late Draft is the option to draft a lineup after a contest has started and can help prevent you from getting a zero on a reserved contest. It’s available for all late-swap eligible contests.

Important Information

When selecting athletes to Late Draft, don't forget that you must stay under the salary cap and meet the minimum number of teams represented!
In both Late Swap and non-Late Swap contests, athletes on opponent lineups will remain hidden until the athlete's respective game start times.
Late Draft and Late Swap are only offered for sports where game start times are consistently accurate, without the risk of an early start.

Frequently asked questions

When can I use Late Draft?

Late Draft is available for contests that meet the following requirements:

Contests that offer a Late Swap.
Contests that have two (2) or more upcoming competitions left in the contest.
- Example: You reserved an entry into a contest from the NFL Classic main set. It contains seven (7) games at 1:00 PM EST and two (2) games at 4:25 PM EST. You forgot to draft my lineup before 1:00 PM EST. You'll have until 4:25 PM EST to Late Draft a lineup for this entry from games that have not started yet.

What updates can I make using Late Draft?

If you reserve an entry in a contest that supports Late Swap, you'll be able to build a lineup up until fewer than two games within that contest remain unlocked. Once an athlete's game starts, they’ll be locked and you won’t be able to draft them.

Check out the contest draft page to see which roster spots are already locked and which athletes can still be drafted. All other athletes whose games haven’t started are eligible for drafting.

How do I build a lineup with Late Draft?

Learn more about building a lineup with a late draft.

What updates can I make if I join a contest that doesn’t offer Late Draft?

You can build your lineup up until the scheduled start of the contest. Once the contest starts, all athletes will be locked and ineligible for swapping.

If you've reserved an entry to the contest, but haven't submitted a lineup before the lock time of the contest, you won't be able to draft your lineup.

What sports offer a Late Draft?

Late Draft is available for all sports that offer Late Swap.

For sport-specific information, please see the Lineup Edits sections of the fantasy sports contest Rules and Scoring. To simplify the contest rules we have separated them by sport and contest format for your convenience.