Fantasy football is a fun game where you can build a team based on real NFL (National Football League) players and their actual performance in American football games. If you want to build a winning team, you’ll need to know all the fantasy football abbreviations you’ll see listed. Use this comprehensive fantasy football glossary to help you understand everything from player positions to scoring in leagues like those run by ESPN, CBS, and Yahoo.
Abbreviations for Players in Fantasy Football
Most fantasy football terms and abbreviations focus on the actual players. To give you the most information possible in a small amount of space, abbreviations and acronyms are used.
Abbreviations and Acronyms for Player Positions
Player position abbreviations in fantasy football are the same as they are in the real game, but in fantasy leagues, you’ll see many of the abbreviations grouped together. This is because you have the option of choosing a player who plays any one of the listed positions for your fantasy team.
- B, BN, or BE: Bench
- CB: Cornerback
- D: Defensive player
- DB: Defensive Back
- DE: Defensive End
- DEF: Defense
- DL: Defensive lineman
- D/ST or DST: Defense and Special Teams
- DT: Defensive Tackle
- FA: Free Agent
- FLEX: Running Backs, Wide Receivers and Tight Ends can be used in this position
- K: Kicker
- LB: Linebacker
- QB: Quarterback
- Q/W/R/T: Quarterback/Wide Receiver/Running Back/Tight End
- RB: Running Back
- R/FA: Rookie Free Agent
- S: Safety
- TE: Tight End
- WR: Wide Receiver
- W/R: Wide Receiver/Running Back
- W/R/T: Wide Receiver/Running Back/Tight End
- W/T: Wide Receiver/Tight End
If you see a number before or after one of these abbreviations, it may indicate the ranking of that player in the league. In some cases, it is the player’s ranking amongst all players from any position. For example, QB1 could mean he’s the top player in the league and is a quarterback. In other cases, it represents the players rank amongst only other players with the same position.
Abbreviations for Player Status
These abbreviations and acronyms help you understand whether your chosen players will actually play in the next game. Circumstances like injuries and breaking rules can keep a player from hitting the field.
- D: Doubtful; Low probability he will play
- IR: Injured Reserve; Not likely to play for rest of season
- IR-R: Injured Reserve, designated for return; Might come back after 8 weeks
- GTD: Game Time Decision; Will be decided at game time
- NA: Inactive
- O: Out; Definitely not playing the next game
- P: Probable; Most likely playing the next time
- PUP: Physically Unable to Perform; Won’t play for at least 6 weeks
- Q: Questionable; Medium probability he will play
- SSPD/SUSP: Suspended
Abbreviations for Fantasy Football Management and Scoring
Since you’re putting together your own fantasy football team, you’ll need to understand how to build your team and gauge its success.
Game Play Abbreviations
Game time abbreviations are used to shorten the football terms used for certain types of plays, stats and games.
- FF: Forced Fumble
- FG: Field Goal
- INT: Interception
- KO: Kickoff
- KR: Kickoff Return
- MNF: Monday Night Football
- PT: Playing Time
- RZ: Red Zone; Your team is within 20 yards of the end zone
- SB: Super Bowl
- TD: Touchdown
- XP: Extra Point
Fantasy Team Scoring Abbreviations
Each fantasy football league has its own scoring system. However, the following scoring abbreviations or slight variations are typical.
- AVG: Average points per game
- FP: Fantasy Point
- LAST: Last game points
- OPRK: Opponent Rank
- PPR: Points Per Reception
- PRK: Position Rank
- PROJ: Projected points for the week
- PTS: Total Season Points
- TFP: Total Fantasy Points
Fantasy Team Creation and Management Abbreviations
From your fantasy draft to analyzing your team at the end of the season, these are all the things any good manager knows by heart.
- ADP: Average Draft Position
- DFS: Daily Fantasy Sports
- EDP: Estimated Draft Position
- FAAB: Free Agent Acquisition Budget
- GM: General Manager
- IDP: Individual Defensive Player League
- MB: Message Board
- MER: Management Efficiency Rating
- PA: Points Against or Points Allowed
- PF: Points For
- RD: Round
- STD: Standard Scoring League
- %ST: Percent Started
- %OWN: Percent Owned
Fantasy Football Jargon Abbreviations and Acronyms
Fantasy football acronyms and slang words can be logical abbreviations or funny acronyms. If you’re chatting online with other players, you’ll want to know some basic jargon.
- FCFS: First come, first served
- GPP: Guaranteed Prize Pool
- ROT: Rule of Thumb
- SOS: Strength of Schedule
- TMTS: Too Many Teams Syndrome
- WSID: Who Should I Draft?
- WSIS: Who Should I Start?
- WSIT: Who Should I Trade?
NFL Team Name Abbreviations
Each of the 32 NFL teams has a standard abbreviation based on the team’s city.
- ARI: Arizona Cardinals
- ATL: Atlanta Falcons
- BAL: Baltimore Ravens
- BUF: Buffalo Bills
- CAR: Carolina Panthers
- CHI: Chicago Bears
- CIN: Cincinnati Bengals
- CLE: Cleveland Browns
- DAL: Dallas Cowboys
- DEN: Denver Broncos
- DET: Detroit Lions
- GB: Green Bay Packers
- HOU: Houston Texans
- IND: Indianapolis Colts
- JAX: Jacksonville Jaguars
- KC: Kansas City Chiefs
- MIA: Miami Dolphins
- MIN: Minnesota Vikings
- NE: New England Patriots
- NO: New Orleans Saints
- NYG: New York Giants
- NYJ: New York Jets
- OAK: Oakland Raiders
- PHI: Philadelphia Eagles
- PIT: Pittsburgh Steelers
- SD: San Diego Chargers
- SEA: Seattle Seahawks
- SF: San Francisco 49ers
- STL: Saint Louis Rams
- TB: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- TEN Tennessee Titans
- WAS: Washington Redskins
Build Your Fantasy Team
Commonly used abbreviations in fantasy football help players gain a lot of information in very little text. You can use a glossary like this to get started or to remind you of less common abbreviations as you play.