Do you remember when you first started your fantasy football league? The level of excitement, and engagement from all league members was a sight to be seen. Managers would send out trade requests on a weekly basis, the league chat was HOT, and shade was being thrown at people left and right.
With the vast majority of fantasy football managers participating in multiple season-long leagues, dynasty leagues, and DFS leagues (like Draftkings and Fanduel), it's getting more difficult to keep your managers engaged. If the league chatter and engagement has started to cool off in recent years, here are 17 epic tips to bring it back to greatness.
Tip #1: Host an Epic Draft Party
The journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step, and the journey of an epic fantasy season begins with the draft. Don't drop the ball on the most exciting part of your fantasy season! Take the time to plan out an epic draft party, and get your entire league together. It doesn't matter if your league is spread out across the country, make it happen!
There are three rules to an epic draft party. The first rule is to use a live fantasy draft board with player labels. Ruxin, Kevin, Andre, and even Taco would be proud of you. There's simply nothing like using a physical draft board. The energy and excitement around a physical draft board is on a whole new level compared to drafting on a computer. When you're on a computer, half of the time when a player is drafted, you don't even know who drafted him! Get in the game, and pick up an epic 2021 fantasy football draft board with player labels from 360 Fantasy Football Draft Boards, Amazon Marketplace, or anywhere else online.
The second rule is to plan out food and drinks in advance. Have you ever been to a draft party and thought to yourself, "man, there's way too much food and drinks here". Hard No. Make sure you and your league mates are coordinating who's bringing the burgers, the ketchup, chips, the cold beverages, and everything else. Leave nothing to chance!
The third rule for hosting an epic draft party is the golden rule of Real Estate. Location. Location. Location. In our experience, hosting a draft in a bar or restaurant is overrated. The exception to this rule would be if your local bar / restaurant is planning for, and has a nice set up, for fantasy draft parties (most places will just try to cram you in). For a more open and casual draft day experience though, kick it up a notch and rent an Airbnb or VRBO condo. For a budget conscious option, simply go to a league members house, preferably one with a big backyard, a grill, and lawn games.
Tip #2: Change the Settings for Starting Rosters
The most common fantasy football lineups include 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 FLEX, 1 K, and 1 D/ST. And while there's nothing wrong with this setup, a league that uses a more unique starting roster will demand more attention, more engagement, and excitement. Here are a few ideas to change the starting rosters. Side note, always consult with your league before making a change!
- Add a second QB position.
- Remove the Kicker
- Add a third RB
- Add a second Flex
- Remove all RB and WR, and go with 6 FLEX
Tip #3: Overhaul the Scoring System
Similar to changing the starting lineups, consider making a change to the actual scoring system. Everybody likes high scoring contests, so tweak the settings a bit to allow teams to score more points.
- Add a bonus for 100, 150, 200 yards rushing / receiving
- Add a bonus for 300, 400 yards passing
- Add a bonus for 40+ yard TD's
- Award 10 points for KR / PR TD's
- Award .1 extra point for First Downs
- Add a Defensive bonus for a shutout
- Change QB's to earn 5 pts for each TD
Tip #4: Allow Future Draft Picks to be Traded
There's no easier way for your league to lose interest than starting the season 1-8 and having their top 3 picks on the IR for the season. Allowing future draft picks to be traded can keep people engaged, and allow them to focus on the future.
Tip #5: Institute (more) Keepers
Keepers are a great way to blend a season-long league with some fun of a Dynasty league. When you keep a few players, it helps build rivalries, dynasties, and league engagement. You will find that rookie RB's tend to be drafted sooner, as managers are looking for that stud keeper in the 5th or 6th round. Start with one keeper, and then slowly expand from there if needed.
Tip #6: Adopt a FAAB Budget, with a 50% Carry Over
FAAB budgets are quickly becoming the top choice for leagues to handle free agent pickups. But what about implementing a 50% Carry Over to the next season? Similar to trading future draft picks, this allows some teams to begin planning for next year when their season is officially over. You hate it when your wireless carrier doesn't carry over your data allowance, so why punish your league for not using their entire FAAB?!
Tip #7: Launch a Bi-Weekly Power Rankings Update
You'll need someone with a creative mind and/or a strong writing background for this one. Similar to how ESPN creates their Power Rankings each week, each team contains a brief description around why they moved up / down. You can have someone, or multiple people take turns, with sharing your own league power rankings. This gives you an opportunity to talk smack while bringing the league together. Once you get the hang of it, you'll find yourself anxiously awaiting the power ranking updates!
Tip #8: The Winner of the Loser Bracket gets a Extra First Round Pick
In order to keep all of the "losers" engaged during the playoffs, offer up a little extra incentive. The winner of the loser bracket will get an extra pick in the first round, after all teams have made their initial pick.
Tip #9: Remove Draft Picks for Managers Who Start Players on Bye
This is without question, the most SAVAGE (but effective) way to ensure that your league mates do not start someone on a BYE. The first infraction should be something small, like a 14th round pick removed. But if it happens again, take away their 10th round pick, then their 8th, 6th, etc. Typically this only happens once.
Tip #10: Offer Compensatory Picks in Next Years Draft
Host mini-games and/or side bets throughout the NFL season and offseason to give managers a chance to win compensatory picks in the following years draft. For example, on a golf trip, offer up an extra 9th round pick to anybody who can birdie the most challenging hole. Offer an extra 5th round pick for the manager who can help raise the most money for a local charity or good cause. Keeping your league engaged can also mean doing something good for the community.
Tip #11: Grab a Championship Belt or Ring
With the recent surge of leagues going with a fantasy football championship belt, prices have dropped over the years. The belts and/or rings can be used in addition to, or as a replacement for your league trophy. Believe it or not, leagues that offer up a trophy, belt, or ring tend to demand more attention than those where a small payout is given to the winner.
Tip #12: Expand to 12 Teams (or 14, or 16)
Expansion must be done with precision and care. You can't allow just anybody in your league! That being said, adding more teams can be a great way to make your league more fun. Playing in a 16 team league requires more strategy, more attention to detail and deeper rosters.
Tip #13: Create Divisions Based on Rivalries
Some online platforms may not allow this, but consider adding 2 different "divisions". This setup will work if you're in an 8 team, 10 team, and 12 team league. You can also create some NFL-Like playoff scenarios, where the top teams in each division get a bye, and the next 2 teams make the playoffs automatically. Keep in mind, just like the NFL, this may result in a team getting screwed out of the playoffs, even though they have a better record and far better team (i.e. Washington Football Team, 2020).
Tip #14: Most Impactful Injury Earns a 4th Rounder Next Year
Each year, the league votes on which injury was the most devastating to the fantasy season. In 2020, that could be very well could be Saquan Barkley. Barkley was a top 2 or 3 pick who went on the IR in Week 2. The team who drafted him (or whoever your league votes for) will get a compensatory pick in the 4th round.
Tip #15: Introduce Multi-Team Trades
Keep in mind, not every platform will support this concept. Opening up trades to multiple teams will add a level of strategy that you've never seen in a fantasy football league. A three way trade could send Alvin Kamara to one team, Julio Jones and Denzel Mims to another team, and Lamar Jackson and the LA Rams Defense to a third team.
Tip #16: Add "Wins" to the Teams with the Most Points
At the end of the "Regular Season", before your fantasy playoffs start, there are a few extra "Wins" that will be given out. Keep in mind, this may actually change the playoff landscape, which will undoubtedly make some people happy, while others irate. Rank each team in your league based on the total amount of points they scored during the season. The team that had the most points will earn 3 extra "wins". The team with the second most points scored will earn 2 extra "wins", and the third highest scoring team will earn 1 additional "win".
Tip #17: Week 17 is a Fantasy Pro Bowl Week, with Draft Picks on the Line
If you play in a league with divisions, this is the best way to bring some fun to Week 17. It's essentially AFC vs the NFC, before the Pro Bowl went to the current format. Each division will pool all of their players together, and work together to pick the best lineup for Week 17. You may pick the QB and RB from one team, and the WR core of another team. It doesn't matter how you slice and dice it, just work together and come up with the best possible combination. Whichever division wins the game will get a compensatory pick in the 8th round. How you determine the order in which compensatory picks are awarded, are based on which team contributed the most points to their victory!
