DFS Salary Allocation Planner — Split the Cap Across Your Roster
Who this is for: For players who build by structure first — decide what each seat should cost before falling in love with any player.
Split the $50,000 DraftKings or $60,000 FanDuel cap across roster slots with normalized weights — see each slot's budget and implied points.
Quick answer: Allocation planning = deciding each roster seat's salary budget before picking players. Set per-position weights and this planner normalizes them to the exact platform cap ($50,000 DK / $60,000 FD), showing each slot's dollars, share, and implied points at 2x. Defaults come from sample-slate median salaries.
| Slot | Salary budget | % of cap | Implied pts @2x |
|---|---|---|---|
| QB | $6,600 | 13.2% | 13.2 |
| RB ×2 | $11,800 | 23.6% | 23.6 |
| WR ×3 | $18,000 | 36.0% | 36.0 |
| TE | $4,500 | 9.0% | 9.0 |
| DST | $3,600 | 7.2% | 7.2 |
| FLEX | $5,500 | 11.0% | 11.0 |
| Total | $50,000 | 100% |
| Output | Per-slot salary (sums to cap exactly), % of cap, implied points at 2x |
|---|---|
| Defaults | Sample-slate medians: $6,300 QB · $5,600 RB · $5,700 WR · $4,300 TE · $3,400 DST (DK) |
| Platforms | DK $50,000 with DST slot · FD $60,000 with 2 FLEX, no DST |
| Rounding | Last slot absorbs the remainder — the split always sums to the cap |
| Best paired with | The optimizer as a reality check on your planned lanes |
| Nature | Budgeting arithmetic, exact and instant — strategy stays yours |
How salary allocation works
Allocation planning inverts the optimizer: instead of asking 'who's optimal?', you decide 'what should each seat cost?' and shop players into those lanes. Set a weight per position (any scale you like) and the planner normalizes it to the platform cap exactly — the last slot absorbs rounding so the parts always sum to $50,000 on DraftKings or $60,000 on FanDuel. Default weights come from the sample slate's per-position median salaries ($6,300 QB · $5,600 RB · $5,700 WR · $4,300 TE · $3,400 DST on DK), i.e. a balanced build.
The classic use is planning a stars-and-scrubs build: push QB/WR weights up, watch the RB lane thin out, and read the implied-points column (at a 2x multiplier) to see what each budget demands. It's budgeting arithmetic — exact and instant — and it pairs with the optimizer as a sanity check: if your optimal lineups keep spending 25% on WR, your allocation should probably agree.
Common uses
- Planning a stars-and-scrubs build before browsing any player list
- Checking whether your roster skeleton physically fits a QB-WR stack you want
- Comparing DK vs FD budget shapes — the FD 2-FLEX, no-DST format moves the lanes
- Teaching beginners why you can't have three $8,000 players and still field a legal roster
Frequently Asked Questions
How are the default weights chosen?
Do the allocations always add up to exactly the cap?
What's the implied-points column?
Is there one best allocation?
How does this relate to the optimizer?
More guides
The complete workflow: bring projections, lock your stack, read the alternatives, and avoid the four mistakes that make optimizer output worthless.
The actual algorithm inside every DFS optimizer: knapsack constraints, why greedy fails, how FLEX enumeration works, and what 'optimal' legally promises.
Every term this site uses, defined once: cash/GPP, ceiling/floor, chalk, punt, stack, bring-back, ownership, value multiplier, and the rest.
More Research tools
Turn any salary + projection into points per $1,000, the points needed at your target multiplier, and a surplus/deficit verdict.
Pick a team and get its QB + pass-catcher combos ranked — combined salary, projection and value per $1k, plus the bring-back play.
Monte-Carlo simulate any 9-man lineup: floor (P5), median, ceiling (P95) and the odds of clearing your target score — deterministic and instant.