What is fantasy football?

You have probably heard about it, whether on the radio, TV, or magazines.  There are shows dedicated to it, the newspapers are discussing it.  So, what exactly is fantasy football and what is the allure?

Let’s talk about the basic game, then we’ll talk about some of the variations I am aware of.

So what is the goal of fantasy football?

The premise of the game is pretty easy.  You have a bunch of football players on your team, you choose which ones to “play” for the week and then after the games you get points based on the real life statistics of the players.  If you get more points than your opponent, then you win.

The point system is varied.  Most leagues tweak the system to their own preferences but here are some of the basic categories.

• 6 points to the person that scores (and throws for quarterbacks) a touchdown.
• How many yards a player runs for (normally in intervals of 10 or 20 yards).
• How many yards a player receives (i.e. catches and runs after the catch).
• Quarterbacks get points for how many yards they throw for.
• How many return yards your team gets.
• In some leagues, you lose points for every fumble lost and interception.
• 3 points for each field goal, 1 point for extra point conversions.

How do you get players to start the league?

Leagues have some kind of a draft, whether in real life (i.e. get all league members together and run a draft like the NFL does), or via computer (where the members list their top picks and the computer runs the draft for the league).

All leagues will let you have more players than what you can start (for example, you will start 10 players and have 10 on the bench).  Your job is to decide which players to start and which to bench.

How do you drop players from your team and pick up others?

As the year goes on, you’ll want to change some of your players, either because of injury, poor performance, or because there is a breakout star that no one has on their team.

There are two ways to get players.

• Trade with another league member.
• Drop a player and pick up another one from the free agent pool.  Any player that isn’t on a member’s team is put into the free agent pool.  Players can be taken from this pool, first come first serve.

Some interesting point variations

I said leagues can modify the scoring.  Here are some of the more interesting ones I have seen.

For Kickers

• Award more than 3 points if the field goal is longer (i.e. 5 points for a 50 yard field goal)
• Subtract points for missing field goals (when I’ve seen this used, there is normally a sliding scale so really long field goals won’t lose a lot of points).

For Quarterbacks

• Subtract points for sacks

For Running Backs/Receivers

• Award bonus points for certain milestones (i.e. 100 yard game)

Why is it so popular now?

One of the biggest reasons I think is because there are so many computerized leagues now.  In the old days, someone had to keep track of all the stats and members had to check out players stats manually.  Now, with so much on the computer, the league can pretty much run itself, it will tell the league members how many points each player earned, what players are still available, etc.  It is very easy to start, and be in, a league.

The other factor is the excitement it can add to football season.  I will admit, when I’m in a league, it does make me care about certain football games and players that I normally wouldn’t care about.

How much does it cost to play?

You can join a free league.  There are also a couple of ways for the league to cost money.

• You sign up for a web league that costs money.  The pay leagues have extra features.
• Everyone puts money in as an entrance fee and prizes are rewarded at the end.
• Every trade or pickup from the waiver wire costs money to do.  That money goes into the prize pool.

What league do I recommend?

I have played Yahoo’s league for years.  I find for a free league, it has a lot of the features I need and is easy to start up.  There are other leagues out there and I’d be interested in hearing about other people’s experiences with them.

What other kinds of fantasy football games are there?

This is not an exhaustive list, just some I’m aware of.

• Survival Football – you pick one team a week to win.  If they do, you stay in the game, if not you are out.  Once you pick a team, you are not allowed to pick them again in the following weeks.
• Keeper Leagues – in these leagues, some, or all. of your players you get to keep for the following year.
• Salary Cap – in these leagues, you have a set amount of money that you use to get players.  Higher ranked players have higher salaries.
• Pick’em – you pick all of the games for the week.