After two weeks of the NFL season, the Circa Survivor pool has been significantly reduced. It’s to the extent that the gaming company is providing an empathy package for losers, featuring complimentary rooms at Circa Resort & Casino in downtown Las Vegas. 

After a series of surprises affecting the most popular teams in the initial fortnight of the season, a pool that commenced with a historic peak of 14,266 entries has dwindled to 3,877 participants — a record level of dropouts in the first two weeks, as reported by Circa Sports. In the survivor pool, participants select one NFL team every week to win outright — not considering the spread — but they can only use that team once throughout the season. 

Although those currently “off the island” can't qualify for the $14.26 million prize fund, Circa is making efforts to alleviate the discomfort of those competitors. 

According to a statement released by the gaming company, contestants who have one or two entries can claim a two-night midweek stay at Circa Resort & Casino and a $0 minimum daybed at Circa’s year-round pool amphitheater, Stadium Swim. "Participants with three or more submissions eliminated in the initial two rounds can claim a three-night midweek accommodation at Circa and a $0 minimum daybed at Stadium Swim." 

Those deals can only be used from November 3 until December 26. Every survivor participant is limited to five entries priced at $1,000 each. 

How the Circa Survivor Pool Decreased in Size So Quickly 

This isn’t the first occasion that Circa Sports has utilized the empathy package to soften the blow experienced by rejected survivor contestants. In 2022, the gaming company used the same strategy with a measure of success. 

Identifying the teams responsible for the pool's rapid decline is straightforward. During the first week, it was the Cincinnati Bengals' defeat against the New England Patriots that eliminated a large number of survivor players. The Bengals' defeat alone represented 34.3% of the entries that were lost in Week 1. 

The situation did not improve in Week 2. An additional 26.5% of Circa Survivor participants were eliminated when the Baltimore Ravens fell at home to the Las Vegas Raiders. Almost 10% of participants were eliminated after the Detroit Lions lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. An additional 8.1% of entries were lost because of selecting either the Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, or Indianapolis Colts. 

The last blow to Week 2 came from “Monday Night Football.” Before the game began, 785 participants in Circa Survivor had picked the Philadelphia Eagles, but the Atlanta Falcons won decisively against the Eagles. 

Circa’s Survivor Attrition Rate Significantly Exceeds Previous High 

Only two weeks into the 2024 NFL season, a mere 27.2% of the Circa Survivor entries are still active, marking a significantly lower rate than the previous record low at this point. This occurred in 2022 when only 32.8% of participants remained for the third week. 

The pool is structured for 20 weeks — consisting of 18 weeks plus the NFL matches on Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve — but the survivor concludes when only a single entry is left. If things continue like this, it might happen sooner rather than later.