Three of the Dumbest Things About Fantasy Football And How to Fix Them, Part I

(Posted June 29, 2021) 

Another NFL season is going to kick off in September, and with it, another glorious season of fantasy football.  Millions of people will be preparing for drafts over the summer - and then starting in September they will be spending their Sundays refreshing their phones every thirty seconds, and then screaming into them.  What could possibly be better than that?

Season-long fantasy football has now been around for more than three of the NFL’s ten decades, with explosive growth that has given rise to an entire industry.  In more recent years, it spawned a red-headed stepchild with a serious gambling problem named Daily Fantasy.  We won’t talk about that child today, as the focus is on season-long, but between those two formats plus some other notable spin-offs including best ball and dynasty, fantasy football is, simply put, HUGE. It is a pastime enjoyed by tens of millions of people.

  Given how massive this industry is, it is surprising how sub-optimal some of its commonly used formats and rules are.  Sadly, and with little debate or apparent forethought, a “standard” version of the season-long game has taken hold, and most leagues and participants just accept the format and its rules as a given, in the same way that they are forced to accept the rules of actual football and other sports – the rules are what they are, they can’t be changed by the public, and even if we don’t like them, we have to live with them. But in fantasy football, owners control their leagues and can change their league rules and settings to suit them. Leagues that are willing to be thoughtful and creative can find ways to improve upon the standard version, making the game more fun and rewarding for all. Many of the websites that host leagues can accommodate a wide variety of league settings. The game that we all love can be so much better – and most importantly, so much more fun - than the version that most people are playing.  In this three part series, we will explore three of the dumbest things about season-long fantasy football, and three easy fixes. 

For more than 25 years, I have played in a 14 team, non-keeper, third-of-a-point PPR league that has a unique structure and set of rules that my league mates and I believe is superior to the standard format, and which corrects some of it’s biggest flaws. Our league lives in a world that is refreshingly “outside the box,” and parts 2 and 3 of this series will get into some of the key innovations and differences.  I wish I could take credit for having devised this, but that goes to someone else.  We have committed owners who have collectively tinkered with the original blueprint over the years and improved upon it, but the basic structure has mostly been the same since the beginning.  

I know many of you are going to be resistant to change, and will just say you like the game the way it is and that you don’t want to mess with what works  – but hear me out.  You’re playing a great game with some dumb rules.  Here is the first of three of the most head-scratching things about the “standard” approach, and how to fix it.

Part I - Kill the Snake 

Season-long fantasy starts with an annual draft of players, so let’s start there. The vast majority of season-long fantasy leagues divvy up players via a “snake” draft, where a randomly selected order determines each owner’s draft slot, and each round of the draft proceeds in reverse order of the previous round. Many fantasy analysts in recent years have advocated for auction drafting as a preferable and more skill-based alternative.  In an auction, owners start with a set bankroll ($200 is typical) and take turns nominating players to be selected, with each player going to the highest bidder at auction.  Owners must draft a full roster within the entire budget, and the typical minimum price per player is $1. 

The advantages of a snake draft are largely speed and convenience. You can be done in an hour or two (depending on the clock settings) and any owner, or even every owner, can be in a remote location if need be – which was obviously more important than ever last year.  But ask yourself these questions– what is more fun than draft night, and seeing all of your league mates, and why are you trying to rush and streamline it? You get this night only once per year – enjoy it.  My league has always been an auction league, but I have played a few seasons in other leagues that use the more traditional snake draft format and I don’t understand the appeal.

The advantages of an auction draft are many, and since much has been written about that, I will be brief. Let’s just say that there is more skill involved, it is 100% egalitarian with no preset advantages or disadvantages based on draft slot, you are not blocked from getting certain players like you are in a snake draft, it is easier to try different methods of team construction (for example, you could easily take the top two players on the board based on ADP), it is more fun, it involves more strategy and discipline, and it is more gratifying and rewarding if you are able to find a lot of value and construct a strong team.  And if need be, it can also be done remotely, online. 

Eve was warned, and so are you.  Stay away from the snake. An auction is the way to go.

Coming next week:  Part II