The base value
Every player and pick on the board carries a base value on a single scale where the most valuable asset in the format sits near 20,000 and a deep bench stash sits near 500. The creators maintain those numbers as they re-rank through the season, and the value set is versioned daily so trades logged on the site can be graded against the values that existed the day they were made.
Base values are relative, not points. A 15,000 player is worth about three 5,000 players on paper — and in a real trade the side receiving the single best asset usually deserves a premium, which is what the consolidation logic below is for.
Format multipliers: superflex, 1QB and TE premium
Quarterback value depends almost entirely on how many you start. The calculator applies a multiplier by quarterback rank tier — the QB1–QB6 tier, the QB7–QB12 tier, and so on — that differs between superflex and 1QB. In superflex the elite young passers become first-round startup assets; in 1QB only the top rushing quarterbacks keep that value and the rest slide several rounds. Non-quarterbacks do not change between the two formats.
Tight end premium adds a bonus by tight-end rank tier for leagues that award extra points per reception to tight ends, at three levels (+0.5, +0.75, +1.0). The top tier gains roughly a tier of value; startable mid-tier tight ends gain a smaller, still meaningful bump.
Scoring and league size
Full PPR, half PPR and standard scoring shift value by position: pass-catching running backs and volume receivers lose a little in standard, rushing quarterbacks and touchdown-dependent players gain. Passing-touchdown value (4 or 6 points) and points per carry apply a further small adjustment at the positions they affect.
League size matters most for rookie picks. An exact-slot pick such as 1.12 is valued by its overall draft position for the number of teams in the league, so a 1.12 in a 12-team league and a 1.14 in a 14-team league price correctly. Player multipliers carry separate columns for 8, 10, 12 and 14-team leagues.
Consolidation: why 2-for-1s are graded as units
A trade with several pieces is not graded as one lump sum. The engine pairs the most valuable asset on one side with the smallest package on the other that comes within a few percent, locks that pair as a unit, and repeats. Each unit is then graded by its shape: a 1-for-2 or 1-for-3 earns the side consolidating into the single best player a structural bonus, because you can only start so many players and depth is worth less than its face value.
Below a depth threshold, extra pieces on a side are discounted on a ladder — the second depth piece counts half, the third a quarter — so stacking bench players can never sum its way past a star. Elite assets carry a value floor for the same reason. The result is a verdict — fair, accept, or decline — with the difference in value, and a list of pieces that would even the deal.