Powerball X's & O's crowns 39,000 winners in its first-ever drawing

Powerball X's & O's officially kicked off Sunday night. While nobody scored the jackpot, more than 39,000 players did walk away with a prize in the new NFL-themed lottery game. The first Powerball X's & O's drawing was held on September 13, with eight NFL team logos randomly selected. While there was no jackpot winner, there were quite a few winners of other prizes. That includes 19 tickets that matched seven of the eight team logos to win the second-tier prize. Check out all the details for the first Powerball X’S & O’s drawing below.

Winning team logos

For this inaugural drawing, there were eight team logos selected: the Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

There were no tickets that matched all eight teams to claim the $1 million jackpot. However, there were 19 tickets that matched seven of the eight logos. Those tickets were sold in Arizona, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Maryland, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

Of those winners, South Carolina led the way with four Match 7 winners, while Maryland, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania each had three.

More than 39,000 players win

Overall, there were over 39,000 Powerball X’s & O’s players who won during the drawing.

19 players matched seven logos, and they received $500 each, while another 810 tickets matched six team logos to win $40 each.

The biggest group of winners came from the bottom two prize levels. There were 7,117 tickets that matched five of the eight teams. Those lucky winners collected $34.

For those matching four of the eight team logos, they won a $7 prize. There were 31,423 of those winners.

In total, that all adds up to 39,369 winning tickets for the inaugural drawing.

One thing to keep in mind, Powerball X’s & O’s advertises set amounts for its lower-tier prizes. However, payouts can be calculated on a pari-mutuel basis under certain conditions. That’s what took place on Sunday night, as the payouts were determined based on ticket sales and the number of winners at each level.

How does Powerball X's & O's work?

Powerball X's & O's puts an NFL spin on the traditional lottery drawing.

Each play costs $5. Instead of choosing numbers, players will select eight NFL team logos from all 32 teams. During the drawing, which takes place every Sunday at 10 p.m. ET, eight logos are randomly drawn.

If a player matches all eight of the team logos, then they win the rolling cash jackpot, which starts at $1 million. Matching four through seven logos earns you a smaller prize.

While the drawing takes place on Sundays, and most NFL games take place on Sundays also, actual football results have nothing to do with which logos are selected. The drawing is random and isn’t based on whether a team wins or loses that day.

One thing to keep in mind: not all states that take part in Powerball are part of the X’s & O’s game yet. For now, the game is currently available in 23 lottery jurisdictions, including Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C.

Keep those losing tickets

Even if you weren’t one of the 39,369 winning tickets in last night’s drawing, don’t throw your ticket away.

Both winning and non-winning tickets can be entered through Powerball's promotional prize program. Tickets will earn points, which can then be turned into entries for additional drawings and prizes, including a chance to win a trip to Super Bowl LXI.

Enjoy playing the lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.