Let's start with the basics of fantasy football and work our way to a few of the popular variations of the game. Fantasy football allows participants to draft, manage, and compete with their own team of players. These players are selected from the pool of active NFL players, and the goal is to create a team that will score more points than other teams based on the real-life statistical performance of those players.
Easy enough so far, right?
In most fantasy football leagues, each team consists of a specific number of players at different positions, such as quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end, and defense/special teams. In season-long fantasy football, participants will draft their team before the start of the NFL season and make trades and lineup adjustments throughout the season. In DFS (Daily Fantasy Sports), teams are selected throughout the season before their weekly games. Points are typically awarded for touchdowns, field goals, extra points, and other statistical achievements, and the team with the most points at the end of the season (or week) is declared the winner.
Fantasy football can be played for fun or for money, and there are many different formats and rule variations. Some leagues are small and consist of friends or coworkers, while others are large and organized through websites or other platforms. Some of these variations are exclusive of each other like DFS and season-long, while others can be combined to create a dynasty salary cap league with IDP.
Daily Fantasy Sports are huge in the fantasy industry. In fact, DFS is so big, it deserves a separate article to cover many of the options available. Link coming soon!
Redraft leagues are usually considered the "original flavor" of fantasy football. Most home and office leagues follow this traditional format. There are variations in league size but generally between 10 and 14 teams compete against each other in a head-to-head format. Other variations may include unique scoring rules like TE premium or lineup requirements such as super-flex positions.
As a result, the drafts have always been an integral part of fantasy football. Even dynasty leagues have a beginning. In fact, everyone knows that a good draft is essential for success, and even though you don't win championships at the draft, you can certainly lose them.
Drafts have lots of variations with the traditional snake draft being the most common and basic form. Third round reversal is one variation of the snake draft to "make things more fair", but there is no real way to make drafts fair. Unless you get rid of the draft entirely and have an auction.
I'm not kidding. Auctions have many advantages over traditional drafts and live auctions are a blast. And don't just take my word for it. Read this article I wrote about auctions being better and then take my word for it.
And whether by traditional draft or auction, redraft leagues get their name from starting fresh every year, while dynasty leagues usually keep entire rosters from one season to the next. Keeper leagues fall somewhere in the middle with teams keeping a small number of players.
Some leagues add a challenging layer of intrigue by including Individual Defensive Players (IDP) in place of the more traditional defense/special teams. In an IDP league, participants draft not only offensive players, but also individual defensive players. Defensive players are usually defined as: DL - defensive lineman includes tackles and ends; LB - all linebackers; DB -defensive backs including cornerbacks and safeties. Combining IDP with more aggressive scoring for defensive players can have a huge and refreshing impact on a league. Let me strongly recommend IDP.
In a Best Ball league, participants draft a team of players and the computer automatically selects the best lineup for each week based on the players' performances. This can be a good option for people who do not have the time to set their lineup each week. Best ball leagues usually do not have waivers or trades and more often a total points scored format instead of the weekly head-to-head matchups. These types of Best Ball leagues are very popular during the pre-season and serve as early season ADP.
There are many variations of fantasy football and there is no way I could ever hope to know all of them let alone list them here; but here are a few of my favorites so far:
Empire Leagues: Empire leagues are dynasty leagues with an automatic timer. Empire leagues are very similar to dynasty leagues from year to year with teams keeping their roster. But unlike a dynasty league, the league will be disbanded or reset after someone wins the Empire championship. Winning the championship in an Empire league is a multi-year achievement and usually require winning multiple years or a total number of points.
Superpower League: A super power fantasy football league is a type of league in which each participant is given a "super power" that can be used to affect the outcome of games or make other strategic moves. The specific rules and powers available in a super hero league can vary, but some examples of powers might include the ability to start any player on your team at any position, the ability to swap the scores of two players on your team, or the ability to add or subtract points from a player's score. Super hero leagues can add an element of fun and unpredictability to fantasy football, as the use of powers can change the outcome of games and create unexpected results. They can also add an extra layer of strategy, as participants must decide when and how to use their powers in order to maximize their impact.
Vampire league: In this type of league, the winning team would essentially "vampire" a player from the losing team, adding them to their own roster. This can add an element of strategy to the game, as teams may need to carefully consider which players they want to protect from being "vampired" by their opponents. It can also make for some intense head-to-head matchups, as teams may be more motivated to win in order to pick up a valuable player from their opponent.
A guillotine league is a type of fantasy football league in which the team with the lowest score at the end of each week is eliminated from the league. This continues until only one team remains, and that team is declared the winner. Guillotine leagues can be a fun and intense way to play fantasy football, as they add an element of risk and urgency to the game. However, they can also be frustrating for participants who are eliminated early on and have no chance to compete for the championship. In a guillotine league, it is especially important to pay close attention to the matchups each week and make smart lineup decisions, as one poor performance can lead to elimination. It is also important to pay attention to the waiver wire and make strategic moves to improve the team, as there is no opportunity for a "do-over" if things do not go well.
Let me know what variations you enjoy in the comments and if you are interested in joining one of my IDP Empire leagues or a guillotine league.