Compared on their own pages, Nov 2, 2026
StickToTheModel vs the ESPN Trade Machine
The ESPN Trade Machine is for the NBA. For an NFL trade, use our Trade Machine: free, no login, cap and dead money on both sides, and a price on every player and pick. If you need a three-team NFL deal, Fanspo takes two to five teams; the full comparison covers six tools.
| ESPN Trade Machine | StickToTheModel Trade Machine | |
|---|---|---|
| Sport | NBA | NFL |
| Teams in a deal | Two to start; three or more through a dropdown | Two |
| What it checks | Whether the deal works under the NBA's trade rules | Who wins it, player and pick value, the cap impact, and how likely each side is to say yes |
| Price on players | None shown; it is a rules check | One model prices every player and pick, from three seasons of our grades and real trades |
| Cap and dead money | NBA salary matching | Both sides' cap and dead money |
| Cost | Free | Free, no login |
What the ESPN Trade Machine does
Add a team, add a second team, click a player to send him across, and the machine tells you whether the trade works under the NBA's trade rules. Three or more teams join through a dropdown, and a trade can be shared by link. That is ESPN's own description of it. There is no NFL version; the name is what fans still type when they want one.
What our Trade Machine does
Build any trade between two NFL teams and see who wins it. You get:
- A price on every player and pick in draft picks (a 1st, a 3rd, a 7th), from one model built on three seasons of our grades and real trades; the trade value chart behind it is checked against real trades since 2017.
- Both sides' cap and dead money.
- How likely each side is to say yes.
- Free, no login.
The limit: it is a model, not a scoop. No sources, no insider news, and rookie contracts and injured stars are where the model still argues with you. Two teams per trade.
When to use something else
Three or more teams: Fanspo. The exact dead cap on one contract: Spotrac. The Rich Hill or Jimmy Johnson pick chart: Pro Football Network. All six tools, held to the same four standards, are on best NFL trade machines.
Questions people type
Does ESPN have an NFL trade machine?
No. ESPN's Trade Machine is NBA only and checks deals against the NBA's trade rules. NFL trade tools come from other sites; ours is one of them.
Is there a free NFL trade machine with no login?
Yes. Ours is free with no login. Pro Football Network's, A to Z Sports' and Spotrac's also opened without an account when we checked.
Can I build a three-team NFL trade?
Not in ours; it is two teams a deal. Fanspo's trade machine takes two to five teams and checks the cap for each.
How is a trade graded?
By the model's price for each side, and then by real trades: when one lands, we post what we had him at next to the miss on the trade deadline page.
Every line about another tool was read on that tool's own page. If one has changed, tell us: how we work.