Fantasy Football Commissioner Tips
There is no greater responsibility in life than being the best fantasy football commissioner you can be. Being commissioner isn’t for anyone, and I encourage all leagues to find someone who is qualified and has a Ph.D. Passion, Honesty, and Dedication are the qualities every Fantasy Commissioner should possess. Being the man in charge isn’t just a resume builder, it’s an opportunity for you to be a leader of something incredible, something beyond all things, you are in charge of your fantasy football league. This may be a once in a lifetime opportunity so if it presents itself, grab it and never let go.
These are some recommended Fantasy Football Commissioner Tips:
Respect the Draft
I spend 365 days a year planning for draft day so it is important that it’s a success. It is important to have everyone present during the draft, so there are no auto picked teams that end up winning the league and then you have to listen to your buddy claim he had the best team all year (that would never happen, I’m exaggerating, his team would suck). A live draft with a quality draft board surrounded by your closest friends and family can’t be beaten.
League Format and Size
Size matters, especially in fantasy football. Finding the right league size is critical in having a well-rounded league. My favorite league sizes are 10 and 12 team leagues with 16 roster spots. Having two divisions is plenty, and it enables you to give the winner of each division a bye the first week of the playoffs. The leagues I enjoy the most are two-quarterback leagues or a flex that can be a quarterback, this is great because it adds more strategy and leads to more points and who doesn’t like more points? For the playoffs, I believe six teams ultimately should make the playoffs, and the winner of each division will then be given a bye in the first round.
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The Scoring System
Having the right scoring system that reflects not only your entire leagues wants but their needs. People want to see points; there is a satisfaction of being able to watch your team score points right in front of your eyes. That being said getting too carried away with points is also an important role to remember. My personal favorite is half point PPR (Point Per Reception), I think it is by far the fairest way to have your scoring system. Also, a massive disagreement I have is giving quarterbacks only four points for a passing TD; it’s worth six. Just because the NFL is more of a pass happy league doesn’t mean we adjust our scoring, it means we adapt just like all the teams had too in the NFL.
Fantasy Schedule
The fantasy football schedule should be from weeks 1-16. Why am I leaving out week 17? There is no more frustrating feeling having an incredible fantasy season and in the most important week of the year your best player doesn’t play because he is resting for the playoffs. Imagine if the Patriots make it to the Super Bowl this year and say, Tom Brady, isn’t allowed to play? Deflategate, we talked about that for 2 years, imagine how long we would talk about Brady not playing in the Super Bowl. The playoffs should start in week 14 and end in week 16, please no two-week playoffs because that drives me insane. Also during the regular season, each team should play everyone at least once.
So you don’t schedule your league’s playoffs this season during bye weeks click here for the NFL Schedule.
Team Names & Logos
Real NFL teams have names and logos, why shouldn’t you? This helps make each owner more loyal to their team and to the league. My normal rule is, once you win a title you can’t change your name because it’s already on the trophy, but there are always exceptions. Create a team name and logo, that if you ever do win the title you can make a t- shirt and wear it for bragging rights without the possibility of being thrown in jail. During the season in my family league, we refer to each other as our team names and it leads to so much more trash talking which is what family is all about.
Message Board and League Polls
Doing little things like updating the league message board and posting polls every week is a great way for your league to view you as Paul Tagliabue arguably the greatest NFL commissioner of all time and not Roger Goodell who gets “booed” literally every pick of the entire NFL draft. The message board can be for trash talk, the previous week run down or my personal favorite the upcoming matchups and predictions on the winners and losers. League polls can be useful for voting on important topics in the league or just simply for fun.
Weekly Reward
Why not add more of excitement to each week? If bragging rights aren’t enough, then make bets or wagers for each week. The league I am in with all my college friends the reward is the winner of each week gets a free beer from the owner he has defeated. There is nothing more satisfying than enjoying a beer of my choice and having my friend watch me drink it and bask in my glory from my victory.
Punishments
The blood, sweat, and tears that go into winning a championship followed all the bragging rights for the next season. We put all this effort in only rewarding the best team. Why not spice things up with a funny punishment to the team that finishes in last place? Do you need some ideas on how to punish your last place finisher? If so, Click Here to see Gridiron Experts Top 10 Punishments!
The Contract
Being a Commissioner isn’t just about making the league fun, sometimes you have to be the law. And unfortunately, with fantasy football comes arguments and unhappy owners regarding anything. A contract settles many of the arguments very quickly because well, they signed a document and as long as their name is on that dotted line it’s hard for them to argue.
The Trophy Celebration
It is important at the end of the year to have a trophy celebration to not only celebrate the champion but celebrate a terrific fantasy season with friends and family. Personally, the best time to have the celebration is before the Super Bowl. Have everyone from you league come a few hours before the start of the Super Bowl and have your trophy presentation then sit down and enjoy the game with your league mates.
Have Fun & Stay in Contact
Probably the most important rules are to have fun and stay connected with the people in your league. I am amazed at how difficult it is to get a family or a group of friends together but for a fantasy football draft or end of the year party, it is much easier. Even though the league may be a “fantasy” the bonds the people make through fantasy football are real.
Mitchell is working full-time as Senior Writer & On-Air Talent at Chat Sports in Dallas, TX. Mitchell is a Head Writer at Gridiron Experts and Co-Host of the Empire Fantasy Podcast. He also is a featured fantasy writer for the Fantasy Footballers and FantasyPros. Mitchell has a Ph.D. in Fantasy Football so give him a follow on Twitter @MitchellRenz365.
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Sarah
August 20, 2018 at Monday, August,20
I would like to check out the contract template, but the link seems to be broken for me! Any help please? Great article – I was voted this year’s commish for the company league and need all the help I can get!
Wanda Rupp
August 18, 2016 at Thursday, August,18
Although I am prejudice, Mitchell is my nephew, I love his articles, he knows what he is talking about, and would not lead anyone astray with his recommendations. Good reporting Mitchell.