The NFFC returned for its 18th straight season of live events in 2021 and had a record season despite the continuation of Covid-19 restrictions. The NFFC finished the year with record participation as over 27,000 players competed in over 1,900 leagues for a record $5.6 million in prize money. And that was during a pandemic season!

The NFFC returned to New York City after a one-year hiatus in 2020 due to Covid-19 and it hosted two weekends of live events again at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. While participation was solid in both cities, it was still down from 2019 levels. However, it was a record year Online and that drove the overall numbers to record numbers once again.

The NFFC Primetime, for example, increased from 636 teams in 2020 to 816 teams in 2021. Thomas Libretti of Malverne, New York drafted in New York City and took home the $200,000 grand prize. Thomas's MooseOnaHill team had a dominating performance in the Championship Round as it scored 733.46 points, the second-highest total in NFFC Primetime history. He finished 49.42 points ahead of Jordan Epping to become our 13th different Primetime champion in 14 years.

Thomas Libretti also won the 2021 NFFC Silver Bullet and that $35,000 grand prize as he became only the second person to win multiple national titles in the same season. Scott Kelly and Jeff Dawson won the NFFC Classic and the Rotowire Online Championship in 2017. Thomas became our third champion in the industry's only single-entry, season-long national championship, joining Mike Santos and Lane McVey, defeating a record field of 228 teams. Thomas won the Sept. 5th Silver Bullet Online league for $4,000 and then defeated 57 teams in the Championship Round for the $35,000 grand prize.

We also had a $200,000 grand prize in the Rotowire Online Championship as we finished with a record 4,176 teams, well up from the 3,336 teams we had in 2020. Billy Wasosky of Richmond, Virginia won the $200,000 grand prize in historic fashion as his team jumped up 26 spots in Week 17 by scoring 252.60 points. Billy and Danny Mueller were locked into a tight battle for the top spot before the Monday Night Game as Billy had Najee Harris and Pittsburgh's Team Kicker, while Danny had a 20.95 point lead. But Billy got 17.80 points from Pittsburgh's kicker and 29.60 points from Najee Harris to win the title in dramatic -- and unprecedented -- fashion. Billy became the 13th different champion in the 13-year history of the Rotowire Online Championship.

Steven Merrifield of Morgantown, West Virginia last played in the NFFC in 2018, but he returned in 2021 with two NFFC Cutline Championship teams and he turned one of them into the $100,000 grand prize. Steven won his league title and $350 and was ranked 97th out of 460 teams entering the Championship Round, but his team got hot in the playoffs and that allowed him to reach the \"final table\" of 12 teams in Week 17. His team didn't disappoint, scoring 190.00 points to win the title and the $100,000 grand prize. Not bad for $350 in entry fees. Kacy Kliment of Westerville, Ohio became our 18th different champion in the 18 years that we've hosted the NFFC Classic Championship as his team captured the $50,000 grand prize by the narrowest of margins. Kacy edged Brian Owens by less than one point for the title as he won our 14-Team national championship against a field of 182 teams.

Aaron Jones of Lumberton, New Jersey won the 2021 NFFC Best Ball Draft Champions National Championship and the $30,000 grand prize. Aaron drafted this DC Express team on August 16th and rode it all the way to the top spot among a record field of 2,964 teams. This was a best ball contest through 17 weeks with no free agent pickups.

After a one-year hiatus, the NFFC Platinum League returned in 2021 and Brian Owens of South Lebanon, Ohio won the title and the entire $165,000 league prize. Brian swept the regular season prizes as he finished with the league's best record and most points, and he dominated the Championship Round as well to win the league title and the remaining $125,000 top prize. The last time we held the Platinum League was in 2019 and Brian won that title and $145,000. Brian became the third owner to win the Platinum League title twice in our 7-year history, joining the teams of David Hubbard & Nelson Sousa, and Mike Santos & Kurt Kuekes.

We held two NFFC Diamond Leagues in 2021 and crowned two different champions. Chad Schroeder of Omaha, Nebraska made it a complete sweep in the NFFC Diamond League that was held on Friday, Sept. 10th at 10 am PT. Chad finished the regular season with the most points and best h2h record (12-2) to win $20,000 there and his team rallied back in Week 17 to take the title and the remaining $62,000 prize in the Championship Round. This was the sixth time that Chad has won the NFFC Diamond League title.

Richard Townsley of Argyle, Texas had a super run in the Championship Round to win the NFFC Diamond League title from Friday, Sept. 11th, 8 pm PT and the $62,000 league prize. Richard had finished second during the regular season, but he jumped into the lead after Week 15 and never looked back. He finished 27.27 points ahead of Steve Lucinski to win his first Diamond League title.

Ronald Householder of Huntington Beach, California joined the NFFC 14-Team Ultimate League for the first time in 2021 and dominated the league to win $44,000. Larry Schechter of Boca Raton, Florida won this year's Las Vegas 12-Team Ultimate League and the top prize of $28,500, the second time he has won the NFFC 12-Team Ultimate League title. We had another NFFC 12-Team Ultimate Online League on September 7th and Michael Leone of Buffalo dominated that league to sweep the $38,500 in prizes. His team had the best h2h record (10-4) and most points during the regular season to win $10,000 and it led from start to finish in the Championship Round to win the remaining $28,500. This was Michael's first time in the Ultimate League and his first Ultimate league title.

Winning Super League titles were Glenn Schroter of Whitestone, New York (New York Super, $14,000); Ken Magner of Freehold, New Jersey (14-Team Las Vegas Super Auction, $21,500); Chris Eibl of Chicago, Illinois (12-Team Super Online, $19,000); Brian Owens (12-Team Super Online, $14,000); Michael Edelman of Elmwood Park, New Jersey (12-Team Super Online, $19,000); Glenn Schroter (Las Vegas 12-Team Super, $14,000); and Stephen Ciepiela of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (12-Team Super Online, $14,000). Ramon Valentin of Lutz, Florida and KJ Duke of San Diego, California won the 2021 NFFC 14-Team and 12-Team Kickoff Gridiron League titles, respectively. Both contests were held live in Las Vegas this yea as Ramon won $6,500 and KJ won $5,600. Joshua Dombrowski of Shawnee, Kansas won the 2022 NFFC Post-Season Contest and the $125,000 grand prize as he defeated a record field of 1,725 teams behind Cooper Kupp and Joe Mixon at 4x. We also hosted a $40 entry fee Post-Season Contest for the second time and Colin Jones of Medina, Ohio won that $20,000 grand prize against a record field of 2,000 teams.