Final yr, greater than 13 million folks performed fantasy soccer on the ESPN platform, organized into roughly 2 million leagues. These are unimaginable numbers. Personally, I had 10 leagues on ESPN final season, starting from redraft to dynasty setups and for essentially the most half, every league supplied one thing somewhat completely different.
Yearly, round this time, we attempt to give somewhat further like to leagues which can be pondering of creating adjustments to maintain issues recent and thrilling. If you happen to and your leaguemates really feel like issues have gotten stale, listed here are a handful of concepts to think about implementing this yr.
Be aware: The entire adjustments advised beneath may be made by the commissioner of the league and/or anybody else who has league supervisor (LM) powers.
League measurement and draft choices
Enhance the variety of groups in your league
You would not imagine how a lot a league adjustments simply by including two groups. If you happen to’re in an 8-team league, that is the yr so that you can invite two new buddies into the league. Ten-team leagues power you to make some powerful flex choices, whereas most 8-teamers are star-studded.
If you happen to improve your league measurement from 10 groups to 12, you may discover the distinction within the draft, as expertise thins out fairly a bit faster. Being in a 12-team league actually stretches your data of NFL depth charts. I take into account 12 to be the candy spot for league measurement.
Make the swap to a wage cap draft
I attempted to persuade readers to present this a attempt a pair years in the past and since I am so captivated with it, I am again at it.
The most important promoting level is you may draft any participant you need, so long as you’ve got the cash to spend. The ESPN normal wage cap setup offers every supervisor $200 of pretend cash to safe gamers to fill out their roster. You may spend up for a few superstars and fill your bench with sleepers, or go for a extra balanced method. It is actually as much as you. There isn’t any “proper” method to do it. It is essentially the most enjoyable you may have in a draft. Interval.
Roster and scoring settings
Ditch kickers and defenses
I need to say this proper off the bat: I am not in opposition to kickers and defenses, slightly I am for including extra well-known gamers to your group. It is simply extra enjoyable to have gamers which can be on the market on the sector gaining yards and scoring factors. Contemplate eliminating the kicker and protection/particular groups (D/ST) slots and including a 3rd beginning broad receiver spot and a further flex, or higher but …
Add a superflex place
A traditional flex place permits you to make use of a further operating again, broad receiver or tight finish, however a superflex (OP, which stands for offensive participant in ESPN leagues) additionally permits you to place a quarterback in that slot. This implies your league basically turns into a two-QB league, which lets you have a barely higher-scoring league with out altering the scoring system.
Let’s face it. We fantasy managers know extra about QBs than we do kickers anyway. My buddy Tristan H. Cockcroft has an article popping out quickly that delves deeper into why it’s best to play in a superflex league. Ensure you test it out!
Change to include ‘TE premium’ scoring
With just a few notable exceptions, tight ends simply do not rating as a lot as broad receivers, operating backs or quarterbacks. One method to make issues somewhat extra fascinating is to make your league a TE premium league by including a further half-point per reception to your tight finish scoring setting. So in case your league awards one level per reception, your tight finish would earn 1.5 It is a enjoyable method to make the TE place have somewhat extra oomph.
Enhance the variety of IR slots
Accidents are inevitable within the NFL, and that actually impacts our fantasy sport. No person needs to drop a top quality participant as a result of he’s going to overlook just a few weeks. The default league setting is one injured reserve (IR) spot, however by including at the least another it permits managers to keep away from taking part in with a depleted roster. That is very true when bye weeks roll round.
Roster administration and play type
Change from waivers to FAAB to find out pickups
FAAB stands free of charge agent acquisition price range. In a FAAB league, everybody will begin the season with a set sum of money to make use of on free brokers (normally $100). As a substitute of placing in waiver claims, you resolve how a lot of your free agent price range you need to spend. This enables for extra technique when working the waiver wire, since you’ve got a finite price range, and permits for ALL groups to be lively on waivers, not simply those on the backside of the standings. One of many first adjustments a league ought to make when going from an off-the-cuff league to a extra aggressive one is to change over to a FAAB system.
Strive including a keeper component
Whereas the preferred method to play includes drafting a wholly new group every year, keeper leagues permit you keep a sure variety of gamers from final yr and roll them over the next season.
Most keeper leagues will let you shield one to 4 gamers for a restricted variety of seasons. This lets managers purchase and preserve their favourite gamers on their roster whereas nonetheless protecting the draft recent by having to throw your star gamers again each few years. It is a actually enjoyable method to impression the league, as a result of even groups out of playoff competition could make strikes to assist bolster their squad for subsequent season.
That mentioned, the format does deemphasize the draft a bit as a result of a number of the highest expertise will likely be stored. If you happen to swap to a keeper league, bear in mind that the extra gamers you retain, the shorter and fewer star-studded draft day will likely be.
Wish to flex your GM muscle tissue? Make it a dynasty league
A dynasty league is a keeper league however supercharged. As a substitute of protecting a handful of gamers, you retain your whole roster. This implies drafting (largely rookies) and buying and selling turns into extraordinarily essential, because it’s the primary method so that you can add expertise to your group. Dynasty leagues are as intense as they get and are not for the faint of coronary heart, however if you wish to set up your dominance as the very best common supervisor amongst your folks, there is not any higher method to do it than by showcasing your dynasty superiority.
Awards
Finish of yr ‘award’ for final place
Many leagues have traditions like championship trophies that the winner will get to maintain till another person dethrones them, however let’s speak about one thing much less optimistic.
Provide you with a repercussion for the largest loser (to be agreed upon by the entire league) to make the “Rest room Bowl” a sport that carries weight. One thing like, the loser has to hold out a punishment, and the winner will get the No. 1 total decide subsequent season. Including in somewhat bit of pleasure for the comfort bracket may be an effective way to maintain the sport alive during Week 17. You do not have to have a life-changing punishment like a tattoo, just a bit motivation to place your greatest group ahead on the finish of your fantasy season.
