The Compound: Rules, Mechanics & FAQ
Everything you need to know about uniform price batch auctions, sport-specific scoring, secondary trading lock times, and weekly capital compounding.
Core Mechanics & Scoring
NFL Scrimmage Yards vs MLB Bases & Strikeouts. SECTION 02Batch Auctions & Bidding
Uniform clearing price, max price limits, 25% cap. SECTION 03Secondary Trade Desk
Player-by-player 10-minute kickoff lock times.1. The Core Mechanics (NFL vs. MLB)
Every player starts with two independent 100.00 credit bankrolls (100.00 cr NFL and 100.00 cr MLB). Profits compound week after week. Unspent cash is never wasted — it stays safely in your bankroll and earns a baseline 1.0 unit return at settlement.
🪙 Starting Capital & Compounding
Traders manage a dedicated 100.00 NFL credits bankroll across weekly game slates. Profits compound week to week.
🛡️ 1.0 yd / Credit Cash Hurdle
Unspent cash is never wasted. Every uninvested credit yields 1.0 scrimmage yard (rushing + receiving) at settlement.
🏈 1 Share = 10% Production
10.0 total shares per player. Owning 1.0 share pays 10% of total scrimmage yards ($0.10/yd dividend).
🏈 NFL Market Mechanics
Skill Positions Only- Asset Unit: Scrimmage Yards (Rushing Yards + Receiving Yards).
- No Quarterbacks: Excludes QBs to avoid passing yard distortions.
- Positions: RBs, WRs, TEs, Sector ETFs (
$ROOKIE-RB,$ROOKIE-WR), and FG Distance Wildcard ($PRE-KICK). - Payout Math: 1 share = 10% of total yards ($0.10/yd dividend).
- Lock Times: Rolling window locks at individual game kickoffs (THU, SUN_EARLY, SUN_LATE, SNF).
⚾ MLB Market Mechanics
Hitters & Pitchers- Hitters Unit: Total Production Bases (Hits, Walks, HRs, SBs).
- Pitchers Unit: Total Strikeouts (Ks) recorded across series starts.
- Positions: Hitters, Ace Pitchers, Position ETFs (
$SP-ETF,$OF-ETF,$INF-ETF,$C-ETF). - Payout Math: 1 share = 10% of bases/Ks ($0.10/unit dividend).
- Lock Times: Series slates lock at First Pitch of Monday/Series openers.
You buy 2.0 shares of Bijan Robinson at a uniform clearing price of 10.00 cr/sh (Total Cost: 20.00 cr).
On Sunday, Bijan produces 130 scrimmage yards.
Your 2.0 shares (20% of stats) pay out: 130 × 20% = 26.00 credits.
Net Return: 26.00 - 20.00 = +6.00 credits profit (+30.0% ROI on the trade!).
2. Uniform Price Batch Auctions & Bidding
The Compound does not use continuous order books where bots front-run you. Instead, all bids are collected in a Batch Auction that clears simultaneously at game time.
1. Set Your Max Price Limit (Uniform Price Rule)
When you submit a bid, you specify your maximum price limit (the max price you are willing to pay per share). However, all winning bidders pay the exact same fair clearing price — the lowest winning bid necessary to clear the 10 shares. If you bid $12.50 and the market clears at $10.50, you only pay $10.50!
2. Pro-Rata Tiebreaks (Zero Speed Penalty)
If multiple traders bid the exact same clearing price and demand exceeds available supply, the remaining shares are distributed proportionally (pro-rata) based on each trader's requested shares. Nobody is penalized for placing bids later in the week.
🏷️ Reserve Floor Price & How to Capture +200% ROI Bargains
Reserve Floor Price: Every player asset has a minimum baseline Reserve Floor Price set by their statistical projection (e.g., 30.0 yards = $3.00/sh floor). All submitted bids must meet or exceed this floor reserve.
How to Score Huge Bargains: In The Compound, you don't get bargains by bidding below the minimum floor tag. Instead, you score massive bargains by identifying sleep-hitters or returning players whose Reserve Floor Price is LOW, but whose REAL-WORLD POTENTIAL is HUGE!
Example: A player coming off injury has a low baseline floor projection of 30.0 yards ($3.00/sh floor). You bid at his $3.00 floor. On game day, he gets extra touches and explodes for 90.0 scrimmage yards ($9.00 dividend). Your payout is $9.00 on a $3.00 purchase — earning you a massive +200% ROI (3x your money!).
3. Strict 25% Single-Player Position Cap
No participant can purchase more than 2.5 shares (25.0% of a player) or allocate more than 25% of their active bankroll to any single asset. This protects traders from single-player injury risks.
3. Live Player Trade Desk & Exact Secondary Lock Times
Once primary auctions clear and shares are deposited into your portfolio, you don't have to hold them into the game. You can trade shares with other participants on the ⚡ Live Player Trade Desk.
⏰ How Does NFL Secondary Lock Timing Work?
Secondary trading locks on a player-by-player basis exactly 10 minutes before THAT specific player's game kickoff!
- Thursday Night Games (e.g.
$WORTHY@ 8:15 PM ET): Secondary trading locks at 8:05 PM ET on Thursday. - Sunday Afternoon Games (e.g.
$CEEDEE@ 4:25 PM ET): Secondary trading for CeeDee remains OPEN all weekend until 4:15 PM ET on Sunday (10 minutes before Dallas kicks off).
⚡ Instant P2P Execution
Any participant with available bankroll can click `⚡ Instant Buy` to purchase your listed shares at your asking price in real time.
💰 Immediate Real-Time Cash Lock
When another player buys your listing, the proceeds are credited to your bankroll immediately, allowing you to lock in profit before the game or series starts!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Is The Compound real-money gambling or wagering?
No. The Compound is a 100% free-to-play fantasy sports game operating strictly on closed-loop fantasy credits. Every participant starts with 100 free fantasy credits in NFL and 100 free fantasy credits in MLB. There are no real-money deposits, entry fees, or cash payouts.
When does secondary market trading close?
Secondary trading locks on a per-player basis 10 minutes before that specific player's game kickoff. Players in later games (e.g. 4:25 PM ET Sunday) can still be traded on the Secondary Trade Desk all through Sunday morning!
Why are Quarterbacks excluded from NFL markets?
In NFL markets, asset prices track Scrimmage Yards (Rushing + Receiving) at $0.10/yard. Because Quarterbacks throw for 200–400 yards per game, including them would break uniform unit pricing. Excluding QBs keeps all NFL assets (RBs, WRs, TEs, ETFs) on the exact same valuation scale.
What happens if a player gets injured during the game?
Just like real equity markets, contracts settle strictly on actual recorded on-field production. If a player leaves with an injury after gaining 20 yards, each 1.0 share settles for 2.0 credits. If injury news breaks before kickoff, you can hedge or exit your position by listing it on the Secondary Trade Desk before the 10-minute lock window!
How are Two-Way Players (like Shohei Ohtani) handled?
Under The Ohtani Rule, two-way athletes are securitized as two distinct assets:
Shohei Ohtani (DH / Hitter) trading on Total Production Bases (Hits, Walks, HRs, SBs), and
Shohei Ohtani (SP / Pitcher) trading on Pitcher Strikeouts (Ks). Buying Ohtani the hitter is completely independent from buying Ohtani the pitcher, protecting valuation purity.
How do Series Slate Length Projections work (2, 3, or 4 Game Series)?
All House Projections automatically scale based on the exact number of games scheduled in that team's series slate ($\text{Per Game Production} \times \text{Scheduled Games}$). A 4-game series slate naturally carries a higher projection than a 2-game Subway Series slate.
How do Rainouts, Postponements & Doubleheaders affect MLB settlement?
Doubleheaders / Makeup Games: If a rained-out game is made up as a doubleheader within the active series slate window, all production in both games counts towards settlement.
Postponements: If a game is postponed and NOT played before the series slate closes, contracts settle strictly on the stats recorded in the completed games of that series slate (unplayed games count as 0 stats for that slate).
Suspended Games: Stats recorded prior to suspension count towards the active slate.
How do Sector ETFs work?
Sector ETFs (e.g. $ROOKIE-RB, $ROOKIE-WR in NFL; $SP-ETF, $OF-ETF in MLB) are diversified index baskets. Settlement is calculated as the exact mathematical average of all active starting players in that position group for the week. They provide lower volatility and steady index returns.
What happens if my bankroll drops below 10.0 credits?
If your net bankroll falls below the 10.00 credit insolvency threshold on Tuesday morning, your account enters Restructuring. Under league rules, you receive an automated restructuring grant (+25 credits) up to 1 time per season so you are never permanently out of the game.
How does the +10 Credit Referral Bonus work?
Every participant has a personal referral invite link on their Dashboard. When a friend signs up using your link, they receive their 100.00 starting credits and you instantly receive a +10.00 credit grant (up to 3 referrals maximum per season)!
Competition Terms & Platform Disclaimers
1. Free-to-Play Structure: The Compound (operated by Compound Fantasy, LLC) is a promotional fantasy sports simulation. Participation is completely free. No purchase or real-money consideration is required or accepted to play.
2. Closed-Loop Virtual Credits: All references to "credits", "bankrolls", "shares", "dividends", "prices", "returns", or "costs" denote fictional game-score points within The Compound. Credits have no monetary cash value and cannot be redeemed, transferred, withdrawn, or exchanged for real-world currency.
3. Statistics & Scoring: All game-day payouts are settled using official NFL and MLB box score data from verified public statistical feeds. The Commissioner reserves the right to correct data anomalies or stat corrections as issued by official league scorekeepers.