Fantasy Football Draft Guide

What is a Keeper League and Why Play?

June 20, 2007 @ 19:00:00

By Kevin Fitzpatrick
Edited by Nicholas Minnix

When we begin to dip into the world of fantasy football, we quickly grow accustomed to the simple yet unalterable tenets that govern most standard, single-season formats. The snake draft, the add/drop period, the scoring system and the chance to start anew every season are reasons that fantasy football players come back. The hopes that stellar research, a bang-up draft and the right lineup adjustments will somehow lead our team to victory are all popular as well as familiar concepts to even the most casual players.

Now think back to your team last year. Coming out of the draft, did the combination of Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, Seattle Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander, Miami Dolphins wide receiver Chris Chambers and Oakland Raiders wideout Randy Moss have you daydreaming about hoisting that championship trophy?

Although it's certainly not the best lineup on paper, if your post-draft roster contained some or all of those names, chances are you felt, at the very least, fairly confident heading into the 2006-07 season. Unfortunately, a combination of injuries, startlingly poor performances and plain old bad luck left your team in dire straits. Two-thirds of the way through the season, you realized you had as much of a chance at winning the championship as Denver Broncos wide receiver Javon Walker does of hosting a pre-game tailgate party in the parking lot at Lambeau Field.

When this situation rears its ugly head, many owners are left scrambling, while others simply throw in the towel. Obviously, you don't want to be that owner who mails in their lineup for the closing games of the season, but it's admittedly more difficult being engaged, passionate and active when you know your team is trailing, several laps behind the pack, without hope of recovery.

What if the season didn't end with the final game, though? What if our strategies had to be more proactive and anticipatory? What if the roster complexities to which we were accustomed in our single-season leagues were just the tip of the iceberg? What if we had the option of joining a league that challenged our experience and our fantasy football aptitude like never before?

Welcome to the world of the rollover leagues. Sometimes it can be a dicey place, a complex arena full of rules and regulations often inhabited by veteran players as well as experienced fantasy football enthusiasts. Before joining (or starting) a rollover league, make sure you keep your wits about you, you have some solid experience under your belt and a firm grasp of just what you're in for. Players who participate in these leagues want to take their game to the next level; they welcome the complexities and the breadth of rules that almost universally accompany such formats.

Despite the words of caution, don't be intimidated. Although there are pitfalls (as there are in any format), rollover leagues can be tremendously rewarding. As closer approximations of actually managing a squad in the National Football League, the level of strategy and the options at your disposal increase dramatically. In a standard keeper league, instead of starting from scratch every year, you can now keep players from your previous roster. Instead of facing the constraints - and possibly the ill fortune - that accompany a 17-week season, you now have the ability to continuously tweak, craft and mold your team regardless of how your roster is faring against the current level of competition.

These challenges and benefits are becoming increasingly attractive alternatives for veteran fantasy players. Some players are taking their game one step further by participating in dynasty leagues, where contracts, salary caps and rookie drafts add a heightened level of intricacy to an already formidable landscape. If you are an experienced fantasy player who would welcome a challenging alternative to your single-season format, you need to make sure your league contains some essential rules and ingredients before you dive in.

Keeper Leagues

What exactly is a keeper league? Actually, there isn't much subtlety in the name. In a standard, single-season league, owners start with a blank slate every year while building their roster. In a keeper league, players on a roster are kept from one season to the next. The number of players an owner retains tends to vary from league to league, although it's usually somewhere from three to five. It's tough to design a league around teams who only carry over one or two players. Conversely, no one wants to play in a league in which the obnoxious owner who waltzed away with last year's trophy will be allowed to hold on to his entire roster for all eternity.

While participants of all skill levels can enjoy single-season leagues, keeper leagues tend to cater to more advanced players, as the strategy, planning and knowledge required are more extensive. However, as the complexities of your fantasy football league increase, so, too, must the rules governing your owners. While a standard league can subsist on a fairly basic set of regulations, a keeper league's rules need to be more comprehensive. One variance often found among different leagues is the "penalty" assigned to owners who opt to hold on to players from their rosters. In some keeper leagues, owners are allowed to retain a predetermined number of players without consequence. In other keeper leagues, in an effort to create parity between teams, the number of players you keep will adversely affect your choices in the draft.

For example, if you're involved in a league this year that allows you to keep a maximum of three players, and you decide to hold on to San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson (for obvious reasons), Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson (you like the way he dances) and New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (because you just love Purdue), you would then forfeit three picks in this year's draft. If you decide you can do without Brees this year, you would only give up two picks in the draft, and so on.

Once again, the draft spot you forfeit varies from league to league. In some leagues, the draft position given up directly correlates to the player being retained. For example, if Tomlinson, who you drafted in the first round, is the only player you choose to keep this season, the price you pay for your decision would be the forfeiture of your first-round draft choice this year.

Other leagues dish out stiffer consequences to owners, thereby ensuring that you only retain the players you feel you absolutely must have and guaranteeing a larger pool of draftable talent for owners to choose from. Some of these leagues require you to relinquish higher picks for the players you keep (i.e., giving up a second-round pick for your fourth-round player, or a third-round pick for your fifth-round selection). Others place limits on the number of players you can keep at each position. In other words, if you have a stud running back and stud wide receiver on your roster, too bad - you going to have to let one go, and it's likely the receiver. This is a fairly popular rule since it prevents owners from monopolizing the most talented players at the skill positions.

In addition, many leagues cap the number of years that owners may carry over a player from one season to the next. This is yet another measure to ensure that owners don't corner the market on prodigious talent. Keeping a stud veteran running back in his prime makes sense if you're only allowed to keep him for three years. If that same rule applies, too, you wouldn't be as likely to keep an aging wide receiver who has begun his decline, or a rookie quarterback who is still years away from fantasy stardom.

Naturally, though, the "youth movement" is a critical component of any keeper league. Remember that you're in this for the long haul, after all. Obviously, your scoring system will vary somewhat, but chances are that the aging gunslinger who still has a little juice left in his arm just isn't as valuable as the up-and-coming wideout who may be a little rough around the edges, but has the potential to develop into a potent offensive threat for the next five years.

While this is an important rule of thumb to keep in mind when drafting, it's equally crucial to remember when proposing trades or considering them from other owners. Essentially, you're looking to build a team, not suddenly pull all of the pieces out of thin air. Consider this scenario: your team is the weakest in the league, with little chance of recovery this season. You have considerable depth at running back, but little else at the other skill positions. In an effort to build for the future, you offer to send one of your marquee players (like a healthy Seattle Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander, for example) to another owner in exchange for two rookies with considerable future potential.

In a single-season (or redraft) league, offering to ship a veteran stud running back (even one who is starting to age and coming off a season of injuries) to another owner in exchange for two rookie skill players would likely have "trade veto" stamped all over it. In a keeper league, this is exactly the sort of trade an owner might need to make to build for future seasons.

Most successful keeper leagues rely on some combination of these rules to ensure balance, competitiveness and parity among its members. For owners looking to make the next leap to a more challenging fantasy football experience, understanding these rules is essential. Although the complex nature of keeper leagues may seem daunting at first, the added investment in your team, the strategy that extends beyond a single season and the chance to compete in a more challenging format ensure that the popularity of rollover leagues will continue to grow.

Dynasty Leagues

Have some time to kill? Are you driven, somewhat obsessed and willing to endure the rigors, stress and challenge of a general manager position, without any of the pay? If so, a dynasty league might be for you.

Not for the neophyte or the casual participant, dynasty leagues are the closest fantasy football approximation to actually captaining an NFL franchise. Much more complex than a standard, single-season format, dynasty leagues require even greater dedication and effort, but they can be incredibly enjoyable. Like keeper leagues, dynasty leagues allow fantasy football owners to retain players on their roster (and often the entire roster) from one season to the next.

In addition to the roster rollover, a supplemental "rookie draft" is usually held that is entirely separate from the free-agent draft. The rookie draft usually adheres to the "serpentine" format most owners are familiar with from single-season leagues, while the free-agent draft is conducted in an auction format. The order of the rookie draft is most often determined by the team's record from the previous season, or a random order if the league is starting from scratch.

While the dual-draft format often takes some getting used to, one of the biggest adjustments when making the leap to a dynasty league is the incorporation of the dreaded salary cap. While it adds an element of realism and another layer of strategy, dealing with a salary cap can be a daunting challenge for unfamiliar owners. The basic breakdown is somewhat similar to the NFL, in which each team is afforded a specific amount of cap room under which they must build their roster. Through an auction draft, players are bid on and then signed to contracts that remain in place for the duration of the season. Obviously, the cap size is uniform and predetermined for before the onset of the season.

Determining the amount of money to allocate for each player can be tricky, especially when factoring in his long-term ability to produce. For example, consider the comparison between Philadelphia Eagles running back Brian Westbrook and New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush. Last year, Westbrook proved to be the better back, churning out 1,217 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground; he added another 699 yards and four touchdowns as a receiver. Bush, in a slightly less prominent role next to counterpart Deuce McAllister, rushed for 565 yards and six touchdowns; he also caught 88 passes for 742 yards and two touchdowns. In a redraft league, Westbrook edges Bush as a better pick and would likely claim a higher spot in the draft. However, in a keeper or dynasty league, Westbrook's age and injury history are a significant factor. When bidding in an auction, owners need to weigh a player's current potential against his likely productivity for the future. In this type of league, Bush gets the nod as being the player with the most potential. Knowing how much to risk on players when weighing these factors is a necessary skill for all dynasty league owners.

Depending on the rules of the league, bidding on free agents in a dynasty league can take place in a variety of forms. Sometimes free agency becomes a free-for-all, in which all available players are assigned a specific, unalterable salary, and the first owner to proffer that salary will acquire the player. While this process can be on a first-come, first-served basis often follows In other instances, bidding occurs confidentially, and owners pursue a player without knowing of whether or not he's being sought by any of their competition. In the end, the team willing to offer the highest amount wins the player.

Although the details on trades, drafting and salaries will vary, the common thread throughout all dynasty leagues remains the same: They allow owners to build and manage their team beyond a single season while strategizing every aspect of the team's implementation. Essentially, a dynasty league permits owners to emulate the general managers of NFL franchises. While it can be a time-consuming and often detail-laden venture, the extended timeframe and additional variables (auction draft, salary cap, rookie draft, etc.) are an innovative as well as challenging way for owners looking to take their fantasy football experience to the next level.

Am I My Player's Keeper?

If keeper and dynasty leagues sound complex, that's because they are. If they sound challenging, it's also because they are. If they sound time-consuming... Well, you get the idea.

With these caveats in mind, it's crucial that all diehards looking to elevate their fantasy football experience make sure they do their homework; they need to familiarize themselves with the rules and concepts you need to thrive in this complex format. Doing a little research, pulling off a successful draft and making weekly lineup adjustments may be enough in some redraft leagues, but in rollover leagues, more effort is required.

In fact, due to the intricacies of these formats, the subtle variances that can occur from league to league and the idiosyncrasies of owners used to operating within specific constraints, players looking to explore a rollover league for the first time may be better off creating their own league rather than joining an existing one. If you're feelings adventurous enough and decide a rollover league is for you, make sure to populate your league with owners who are as committed and enthused as you are. In a more complicated format, all it takes to rain on everyone's parade is one owner who isn't versed in the league's rules, decides he or she doesn't want to commit to an entire season or can't fully grasp the more difficult concepts.

Regardless of what you decide, whether you're drawn to the expanded options of a keeper league, intrigued by the challenge of a dynasty league or simply comfortable sticking to your tried-and-true single-season format, remember that the rules you adhere to are the cornerstones of any successful fantasy football experience. A more complicated system necessitates more rules; if you are creating a rollover league of any kind, it is necessary to monitor your league along with the owners who participate in order to ensure the rules are understood and followed.

Above all, if you're an owner or commissioner in a rollover league that relies on rules outlined on the backs of bar napkins, or a constitution that spans three encyclopedic tomes, the bottom line remains the same: Make sure everyone is, at all times, having as much fun as humanly possible. Fantasy football is a lot of things to many people - a hobby, a pastime, a career - but above all, it's supposed to be enjoyable. It's imperative you never let the complications of any league detract from this most crucial principle.

KFFLians are saying....

Comment