Payout History
The historical winnings ledger now exists at finance/historical_winnings_ledger.csv.
The ledger is the working source for team and owner payout leaderboards. It is not yet fully validated, so all-time leaderboards should still stay unpublished until the open rows are resolved.
Current Status
| Question | Current answer |
|---|
| Can we publish all-time winnings leaders? | Not yet |
| What exists now? | finance/historical_winnings_ledger.csv |
| What is validated? | 2002-2010 archive-backed payout recipient rows and 2024-2025 payout rows |
| What is provisional? | 2011-2023 rows generated from public season award tables |
| What is missing? | No 2002-2010 payout recipient rows remain missing in the ledger |
| What is still blocked? | 2011-2023 validation, co-owner payout split policy, and actual payment execution evidence |
Ledger Status
| Validation status | Rows | Meaning |
|---|
validated | 111 | 2002-2010 and 2024-2025 payout rows can be used for validated team totals |
provisional_generated | 161 | 2011-2023 rows need review before all-time leaderboard use |
leaderboard_eligible=yes only for validated team payout rows. Owner payout totals still need the co-owner split policy before co-owned winnings can be allocated to individual owners.
Payout Model Timeline
| Years | Payout model | Notes |
|---|
| 2002-2004 | $1,200 | payout categories exceed entry total by $200 in the source |
| 2005-2006 | $1,500 | payout categories exceed entry total by $250 in the source |
| 2007-2012 | $1,800 | no KORM fee |
| 2013-2014 | $2,100 | no KORM fee |
| 2015 | $2,400 | no KORM fee |
| 2016-2017 | $3,000 | no KORM fee |
| 2018 | $4,080 | KORM pilot fee included |
| 2019-2020 | $6,000 | full KORM prize pool |
| 2021 | $6,600 | 14-week regular season begins |
| 2022-2025 | $7,200 | current payout model |
Ledger Requirements
The ledger has one row per payout category recipient, with team and owner metadata attached:
| Field | Purpose |
|---|
season_year | Which RFFL season the payout belongs to |
payout_category | The specific prize category, such as Alpha Bowl champion or KORM 1st |
team_code | Canonical team code for that season when the recipient is known |
owner_code_1, owner_code_2 | Owner metadata from the team registry |
owner_split_rule | Whether the payout is solo-owned, co-owned pending policy, or missing a recipient |
payout_usd | Category payout amount from the finance CSV |
amount_source | Source for the dollar amount |
recipient_source | Source for the recipient claim |
validation_status | Validated, provisional, or needs validation |
leaderboard_eligible | Whether the row can be used in public leaderboards |
team_code. Owner payout totals need the same validated rows plus a final rule for how to split co-owned team payouts.
Validation Workflow
- Validate 2011-2023 recipient rows against season recaps or Commissioner confirmation.
- Reconcile any source conflicts between legacy archive totals and the current finance amount CSV.
- Decide owner leaderboard policy for co-owned teams.
- Mark approved rows
validated and set leaderboard_eligible=yes.
Do Not Infer
Do not publish all-time winnings leaders from payout amounts alone. A payout amount is not a recipient record, and a provisional row is not enough for all-time finance leaderboard use.
The 2002-2010 recipients are now backed by Pre-ESPN Archive Sources. Those rows validate award recipients under the current finance amount source; they do not prove actual payment execution.
| Page | Use it for |
|---|
| Finance | Finance hub and source boundaries |
| Dues | Entry fee and KORM fee history |
| Prize Categories | Category definitions |
| KORM Finance | KORM fee and payout treatment |
| Finance Source Authority | Which money claims each source can support |
Last modified on May 16, 2026