A Guide For The New FFL Commish
Congratulations! You've either decided to start your own Fantasy Football League (FFL) or your buddies nominated you to run one when you weren't around.
Only problem is that you have no idea what a fantasy football commissioner does. Don't worry, this guide will explain what you need to do and provide you tips and advice for each phase of the season to be a good league commissioner.
Fantasy Football Basics
It's usually best if the league commissioner already has some experience playing Fantasy Football before starting a league. Even if you haven't played before, you can be a successful commissioner in your first season. I did it.
If you're not familiar with the game (or want a refresher), then please read the Beginners' Guide to Fantasy Football.
If you're not familiar with the game (or want a refresher), then please read the Beginners' Guide to Fantasy Football.
Role of the Commissioner
Each league has one coach (you) who also serves as the league commissioner. It is the commish's responsibility to set up the league, schedule the draft and resolve any disputes that may arise during the season. You will also handle the entry fee collection, site fee payment, awards and/or trophies if your league has any of those.
With a little preparation during the pre-season, the league should run smoothly during the regular season with few demands on you.
With a little preparation during the pre-season, the league should run smoothly during the regular season with few demands on you.
Plan Early
You want to be prepared when the provider sites open up for registration.
Some questions to start asking yourself...
Some questions to start asking yourself...
- Who will play? - Start identifying people to join your league...friends, family, co-workers, etc. Talk with them, let them know you're starting a league and get them interested.
- What type of league? - There are two main variations in fantasy football. You can have a regular league where everyone drafts a new roster each season or a keeper league where each team keeps a number of players from one year to the next.
- How many players? - 8 to 14 is the typical number of teams in a league. Make sure you have an even number of teams so that everyone plays each week.
- What type of draft? - The most common types of draft are the serpentine and auction drafts. Also decide if your draft will be online or in person at some location (your house, a bar, the beach, wherever).
- What scoring rules? - Start thinking about the scoring rules you want and talk to a few of your experienced prospective members for their input.
- How will trades and free agency be handled? - Your decision on trade rules will most greatly affect the amount of time you spend doing commish work during the season. You can require that you (or a committee) approve each trade manually; or you can allow the system to auto-approve after 1 or 2 days if no objections are raised by the league.
- What is a good draft date? - Most leagues like to draft towards the end of pre-season to minimize the chance of top picks getting injured before the season starts. Talk with your prospective members and find out what dates they are not available. Then pick a date & time that works for everyone.
How Many Teams?
In a head to head league, you'll want an even number of teams so that all teams will play every week. More teams usually result in more competitive leagues since there are fewer stud players to go around.
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Select A Site To Host Your Fantasy League
Most fantasy league sites are free and provide the basics of stats, scoring, league and team management, message posting, online drafting, etc. They usually offer a premium (pay) package as well with additional features.
As the commish, you get to decide which site your league will use so take a look and compare features. Ask your league members if they have any preferences or opinions on sites.
As the commish, you get to decide which site your league will use so take a look and compare features. Ask your league members if they have any preferences or opinions on sites.
- Yahoo! Sports
- The one I've used for all of my leagues. Good features and easy to use. They also have a 'Fantasy Profile' section that provides a history for all of your fantasy sports (football, baseball, auto racing, etc) teams over time.
- CBS Sports
- CBS Sportsline's fantasy home page. I haven't used this one myself, but have heard good things about it from friends.
- The Sporting News
- Also a great resource for news and player information.
- FOX Sports
- Fox Sports' fantasy home page.
Create The League
Most fantasy football sites open up for registration in June. Once they do, you'll want to get in and start setting up your league.
- Register - Once you have selected a provider, get in and register the league. At a minimum you'll need a good league name and password that members will use to sign up.
- Set Up Scoring - Once registered, you'll be able to specify your league's scoring rules. Most sites will have default values, so just review those and adjust as needed.
- Pick A Draft Type - This is where you specify if you're doing an online or in person draft.
- Pick A Draft Date - With in person drafts, you can select any date, time & location your league prefers. If you're doing an online draft, you'll have to pick from your site's available time slots. Good time slots in the evening go fast so don't waste time, you can reschedule later if needed.
Learn From A Master
Pete Rozelle was commissioner of the National Football League for nearly 30 years. Under his leadership, the league grew from 12 to 28 teams and became an American institution.
Commissioner: The Legacy of Pete Rozelle
From league mergers to player strikes, learn how Pete Rozelle dealt with the challenges of being an NFL commissioner.
Send Out Invites
After you have created the league, send out an invitation to your prospective players as soon as possible. The invite should include the following info:
- How to Sign Up. - Provide them a link with the league ID and password from your site.
- Draft Date & Time - Specify if it is an online or in-person draft (include location), what the draft format is and how draft position will be determined.
- Sign Up Date - Make sure to specify a date that players need to be registered in the system. This should be about a week before the draft to give you time to find a replacement if needed. Remember, you want to have an even number of teams.
- Entry Fee Info - Specify the fee amount and what it's for.
- Other Important Dates - Specify any other deadlines for things like entry fee payment and scoring change requests in the invite.
- Copy of League Rules (optional) - It can be helpful to highlight any non-standard rules in the invite but not necessary as long as you communicate them prior to the draft.
Handle Any Draft Date or Scoring Rule Change Requests
Once scheduled, be firm with the draft date and only change it if there is an overwhelming need to do so.
Set a deadline in advance of the draft for any scoring change requests to be submitted. If you decide to make a requested change, communicate it to the league before the draft since it may affect each coach's player rankings on their cheat sheet.
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Determine The Draft Order
Your league members will want to know in advance what position they're drafting so they can plan their strategy.
For in person drafts, this can be done by a neutral party usually picking names out of a hat. Select a time and place that the drawing will be held so that league members can attend if they want. Send out the official draft order to the league afterwards.
For online drafts, you can pick the order same as an in person draft (make sure that your site allows you to specify draft order) or let your site determine the order randomly.
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(In Person Draft Only)
In person drafts are usually more fun than online, but do require some extra tasks for the commish. These are handled by the site in online drafts.
Select a trusted and reliable neutral person to perform these if possible. That will free you up to focus on your own draft strategy.
Track Picks - Someone will need to track all picks made during the draft. This is important so that each player is only picked once and to keep an official results sheet that will be loaded into the league site after the draft. A draft board like the one below is a good idea and lets everyone see the official list.
Time Each Pick - There should be a time limit for each pick, typically 90 seconds or 2 minutes. Use a stop watch or kitchen timer for this and give a warning when time is running out.
Select a trusted and reliable neutral person to perform these if possible. That will free you up to focus on your own draft strategy.
Track Picks - Someone will need to track all picks made during the draft. This is important so that each player is only picked once and to keep an official results sheet that will be loaded into the league site after the draft. A draft board like the one below is a good idea and lets everyone see the official list.
Time Each Pick - There should be a time limit for each pick, typically 90 seconds or 2 minutes. Use a stop watch or kitchen timer for this and give a warning when time is running out.
Official Fantasy Football Draft Kit (Small Board Version: Clearance Price)
Includes a full color draft board and player labels.
Amazon Price: Too low to display (as of 07/26/2008)
After The Draft
(In Person Draft Only)
Your site should provide you a way to specify which players were drafted by each team. Do this as soon as possible after your draft ends so that each coach can start managing their teams.
During the Season
Tips for a good fantasy football season.
Once the season starts, the commish's job is to make sure the league runs smoothly and that any issues (questionable trades, rule clarifications, etc) are handled quickly and fairly.
- Resolve Any Issues - You are the final decision maker for the league. If issues arise, make your best decision and stick to it. Be fair, consistent and don't ever play favorites. If the issue involves your team, then you may need to have 2 or 3 experienced members of the league make the call to remove any conflict of interest.
- Encourage Competition & Smack Talk - Fantasy leagues are a lot more fun when people are active. If the message boards are getting quiet, jump in with a few posts to get people fired up.
- Be Responsive - Respond to any questions or issues as quickly as possible.
- Take Notes - Keep track of any issues that arise or rules that aren't working out. This will be valuable info when you're setting up your league next season.
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Hot NFL News
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Once the championship game is decided, there's just a few loose ends to tie up and you can rest until next season.
- End of Season Wrap-Up - It's a good idea to send out an email with the offical league standings, congratulate the winners and get coaches looking forward to next season.
- Distribute Awards - If your league has any kind of trophies or prizes now is the time to deliver them to the winners.
Fun League Extras
Every fantasy league has its own personality. Here are a few ideas for extras you can do as commissioner to make your league more fun.
If you don't have the time for some of these, try finding a player in your league who loves to do stuff like this and ask them to do it.
If you don't have the time for some of these, try finding a player in your league who loves to do stuff like this and ask them to do it.
- Weekly Recaps - After all the games have played, send out a brief recap of each match-up with some funny commentary.
- Post Draft Analysis - Review each player's draft performance and generate projected post-season standings. Highlight any great or horrible picks.
- End of Season Summary - Keep track of fun and unusual stats for your league other than the basic W/L record, then send them out after the championship. These stats can include things like trades proposed/rejected, most free agent pickups, most trash talk posts, most whiny posts, best/worst trade, biggest blowout, etc.
- Weekly Trophy - Get a goofy item that the team with the best record or most points each week can display with pride. This works well for work leagues where everyone can see it.
