Last year, more than 13 million people played fantasy football on the ESPN platform, organized into approximately 2 million leagues. Those are incredible numbers. Personally, I had 10 leagues on ESPN last season, ranging from redraft to dynasty setups and for the most part, each league offered something a little different.
Every year, around this time, we try to give a little extra love to leagues that are thinking of making changes to keep things fresh and exciting. If you and your leaguemates feel like things have gotten stale, here are a handful of ideas to consider implementing this year.
Note: All of the changes suggested below can be made by the commissioner of the league and/or anyone else who has league manager (LM) powers.
League size and draft options
Increase the number of teams in your league
You wouldn't believe how much a league changes just by adding two teams. If you're in an 8-team league, this is the year for you to invite two new friends into the league. Ten-team leagues force you to make some tough flex decisions, whereas most 8-teamers are star-studded.
If you increase your league size from 10 teams to 12, you'll notice the difference in the draft, as talent thins out quite a bit quicker. Being in a 12-team league really stretches your knowledge of NFL depth charts. I consider 12 to be the sweet spot for league size.
Make the switch to a salary cap draft
I tried to convince readers to give this a try a couple years ago and since I'm so passionate about it, I'm back at it.
The biggest selling point is you can draft any player you want, as long as you have the money to spend. The ESPN standard salary cap setup gives each manager $200 of fake money to secure players to fill out their roster. You can spend up for a couple of superstars and fill your bench with sleepers, or opt for a more balanced approach. It's really up to you. There is no "right" way to do it. It's the most fun you can have in a draft. Period.
Roster and scoring settings
Ditch kickers and defenses
I want to say this right off the bat: I'm not against kickers and defenses, rather I'm for adding more well-known players to your team. It's just more fun to have players that are out there on the field gaining yards and scoring points. Consider getting rid of the kicker and defense/special teams (D/ST) slots and adding a third starting wide receiver spot and an additional flex, or better yet ...
Add a superflex position
A normal flex position allows you to employ an additional running back, wide receiver or tight end, but a superflex (OP, which stands for offensive player in ESPN leagues) also allows you to place a quarterback in that slot. This means your league essentially becomes a two-QB league, which allows you to have a slightly higher-scoring league without changing the scoring system.
Let's face it. We fantasy managers know more about QBs than we do kickers anyway. My buddy Tristan H. Cockcroft has an column that delves deeper into why you should play in a superflex league. Make sure you check it out!
Change to incorporate 'TE premium' scoring
With a few notable exceptions, tight ends just don't score as much as wide receivers, running backs or quarterbacks. One way to make things a little more interesting is to make your league a TE premium league by adding an additional half-point per reception to your tight end scoring setting. So if your league awards one point per reception, your tight end would earn 1.5 It's a fun way to make the TE position have a little more oomph.
Increase the number of IR slots
Injuries are inevitable in the NFL, and that certainly impacts our fantasy game. Nobody wants to drop a quality player because he is going to miss a few weeks. The default league setting is one injured reserve (IR) spot, but by adding at least one more it allows managers to avoid playing with a depleted roster. This is especially true when bye weeks roll around.
Roster management and play style
Change from waivers to FAAB to determine pickups
FAAB stands for free agent acquisition budget. In a FAAB league, everyone will start the season with a set amount of money to use on free agents (usually $100). Instead of putting in waiver claims, you decide how much of your free agent budget you want to spend. This allows for more strategy when working the waiver wire, since you have a finite budget, and allows for ALL teams to be active on waivers, not just the ones at the bottom of the standings. One of the first changes a league should make when going from a casual league to a more competitive one is to switch over to a FAAB system.
Try adding a keeper element
While the most popular way to play involves drafting an entirely new team each year, keeper leagues allow you retain a certain number of players from last year and roll them over the following season.
Most keeper leagues allow you to protect one to four players for a limited number of seasons. This lets managers acquire and keep their favorite players on their roster while still keeping the draft fresh by having to throw your star players back every few years. It's a really fun way to impact the league, because even teams out of playoff contention can make moves to help bolster their squad for next season.
That said, the format does deemphasize the draft a bit because a lot of the top talent will be kept. If you switch to a keeper league, be aware that the more players you keep, the shorter and less star-studded draft day will be.
Want to flex your GM muscles? Make it a dynasty league
A dynasty league is a keeper league but supercharged. Instead of keeping a handful of players, you keep your entire roster. This means drafting (mostly rookies) and trading becomes extremely important, as it's the main way for you to add talent to your team. Dynasty leagues are as intense as they get and aren't for the faint of heart, but if you want to establish your dominance as the best general manager among your friends, there's no better way to do it than by showcasing your dynasty superiority.
Awards
End of year 'award' for last place
Many leagues have traditions like championship trophies that the winner gets to keep until someone else dethrones them, but let's talk about something less positive.
Come up with a repercussion for the biggest loser (to be agreed upon by the whole league) to make the "Toilet Bowl" a game that carries weight. Something like, the loser has to carry out a punishment, and the winner gets the No. 1 overall pick next season. Adding in a little bit of excitement for the consolation bracket can be a great way to keep the game alive all the way through Week 17. You don't have to have a life-changing punishment like a tattoo, just a little motivation to put your best team forward at the end of your fantasy season.