Circa still faces $3.5M overlay in football contests

Five days before Saturday’s entry deadline, the odds are against Circa Sports meeting its unprecedented $14 million in guaranteed prize money for its two $1,000-entry NFL handicapping contests.

After Circa paid $3.2 million the last two years to cover overlays — the amount of money it must add to the prize pool in addition to the entry fees — the downtown sportsbook was on the hook Monday morning for another multimillion-dollar payout.

The book needs 8,000 entries in its Circa Survivor contest and 6,000 entries in its Circa Million V contest to meet its guarantee, up from $12 million last year. It has 6,696 entries in Survivor ($1.3 million) and 3,784 in Million ($2.2 million) for a combined $3.5 million overlay.

Last year, Circa drew 6,133 in Survivor — which has increased its prize money from $6 million to $8 million — and 4,691 entries in Million, which again features a $6 million prize pool.

In Survivor, contestants select a different NFL team with no point spreads each week. One loss or tie means elimination.

In the Million, contestants select five NFL games ATS each week. Registration ends at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on X.