Fantasy football: The ins and outs [and how to win]

Are you getting acquainted with fantasy football for the first time? Then you are completely fine!

Fantasy football is a game in which you own, manage and even coach your own football team. You put together a team that consists of NFL players; these players may come from different teams. Then you compete with your team against the teams of your friends.

Based on the realistic performance of the NFL players, you score (or not) points. Let's take a closer look at it.

Suppose you have Odell Beckham Junior on your team and he scores a touchdown in real life, then your fantasy team will score points.

At the end of the NFL week, everyone adds up all the points, and the team with the most points is the winner.

That sounds easy, doesn't it? Still, there are a number of details that you should delve into before venturing into the game.

Fantasy football is simple in design, but endlessly complex in its applications.

But that's what makes fantasy football so fun and exciting! As the game has evolved, so has its complexity.

In this article I'll tell you everything you need to know before you start the game.

I'll talk about the ins and outs of fantasy football: what it is, how it's played, what different types of leagues there are and other game options.

Choosing your players (start and reserve)

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To put together your own team, you have to select players.

The players you choose for your American Football team, are selected through a draft that takes place between you and your friends or league mates.

Usually fantasy football leagues consist of 10 – 12 fantasy players (or teams), with 16 athletes per team.

Once you've put together your dream team, you'll need to make a lineup with your starting players every week, based on the rules of the league.

The stats your starting players collect based on their realistic performance on the field (touchdowns, yards won, etc.) add up to the points total for the week.

The player positions you need to fill are usually:

• a quarterback (QB)
• two running backs (RB)
• two wide receivers (WR)
• a tight end (TE)
• a kicker (K)
• a defense (D/ST)
• a FLEX (usually RB or WR, but some leagues allow a TE or even a QB to play in the FLEX position)

At the end of the week, if you have more points than your opponent (i.e. another player and his/her team in your league you played against that week), you won that week.

The reserve players

Besides starting players, there are of course also reserve players who sit on the bench.

Most leagues allow an average of five of these reserve players and they too can contribute points.

However, the points made by reserve players do not count towards your total score.

So it's crucial to manage your formation as best you can, and letting certain players start can make or break your week.

Reserve players are nevertheless important because they add depth to your team and can replace injured players.

The NFL football season

Every week you play a game until the end of the regular fantasy football season.

Typically, such a season runs through week 13 or 14 of the NFL regular season. The fantasy football playoffs usually take place in weeks 15 and 16.

The reason the fantasy championship doesn't continue until week 16 is because most NFL players rest (or have a 'bye' week) during that week.

Of course you want to prevent your 1st round draft pick from sitting on the couch due to an injury.

The teams with the best win-loss records will play the fantasy playoffs.

Whoever wins the games in the playoffs is usually declared champion of the league after week 16.

The different fantasy football leagues vary in playoffs settings, timelines and scoring settings.

Fantasy football league types

There are different types of fantasy football leagues. Below is an explanation of each type.

• redraft: this is the most common type, where you put together a new team every year.
• Keeper: In this league, owners continue to play each season and keep some players from the previous season.
• Dynasty: Just like in a goalkeeper league, the owners remain part of the league for years, but in this case they keep the entire team from the previous season.

In a goalkeeper league, each team owner retains a certain number of players from the previous year.

For the sake of simplicity, let's say that your league allows three goalkeepers per team. Then you start the competition as a redraft where everyone forms a team.

In your second and each successive season, each owner selects three players from his team to keep for the new season.

Players not designated as keeper (keeper) can be selected by any team.

The difference between a dynasty and a goalkeeper league is that instead of keeping just a few players for the coming season, in a dynasty league you keep the whole team.

In a dynasty league, younger players have more value, as they will most likely play for more years than veterans.

Fantastic football league formats

In addition, a distinction can be made between different competition formats. Below you can read which ones they are.

• head to head: Here teams/owners play against each other every week.
• best ball: A team is automatically drawn up for you with your best scoring players
• Rotisserie (Roto): Statistical categories such as points system are used.
• Points Only: Instead of playing against a different team every week, it's all about your team's points total.

In a Head-to-head format, the team with the highest score wins. At the end of the regular fantasy season, the teams with the best scores advance to the playoffs.

In a Best ball format, your top scoring players in each position are automatically added to the lineup.

There are usually no waivers and trades in this competition (you can read more about this later). You put your team together and wait to see how the season goes.

This league is ideal for fantasy players who like to team up, but don't like – or don't have the time to – manage a team during the NFL season.

To explain the Roto system, let's take touchdown passes as an example.

If 10 teams entered the competition, the team that made the most touchdown passes would score 10 points.

The team with the second most touchdown passes gets 9 points, and so on. Each statistical category yields a certain number of points that are added up to arrive at a total score.

The team with the most points at the end of the season is the champion. However, this point system is very rarely used in fantasy football and is used more in fantasy baseball.

In a Points only system, the team with the most points at the end of the season is the champion. However, this point system is almost never used in fantasy football.

Fantasy Football Draft Format

Then there are also two different draft formats, namely the Standard (Snake or Serpentine) or the Auction format.

• In the Standard format, there are multiple rounds in each draft.
• In the Auction format, each team starts with the same budget to bid on players.

With a Standard format, the draft order is predetermined or chosen randomly. Each team takes turns choosing players for their team.

For example, if there are 10 owners in your league, the team that picks last in the first round will have the first pick in the second round.

Auction players add an interesting aspect to a new competition that a standard draft cannot contain.

Instead of drafting in a fixed order, each team starts with the same budget to bid on players. Owners take turns announcing a player to be auctioned.

Any owner can bid at any time, as long as they have enough money to pay for the winning bid.

Scoring variations in fantasy football

How exactly can you score points in fantasy football game? This can be done in different ways, namely:

• Standard scoring
• extra point
• Field goals
• PPR
• Bonus points
• STD
• IDP

The standard scoring includes 25 passing yards, which count as 1 point.

A passing touchdown is worth 4 points, 10 rushing or receiving yards is 1 point, a rushing or receiving touchdown is 6 points, and an interception or lost fumble costs you two points (-2).

An extra point is worth 1 point and field goals are worth 3 (0-39 yards), 4 (40-49 yards), or 5 (50+ yards) points.

Point Per Reception (PPR) is the same as standard scoring, but a catch is worth 1 point.

These leagues make receivers, tight ends and pass-catching running backs much more valuable. There are also half-PPR leagues that award 0.5 point per catch.

Many leagues give a certain number of bonus points for achieved milestones. For example, if your quarterback throws more than 300 yards, he gets 3 extra points.

Bonus points can also be awarded for 'big plays'; For example, a 50-yard touchdown catch can get extra points based on your chosen scoring system.

DST points can be earned by the defense.

In some leagues you draft a team's defense, say the defense of the New York Giants for example. In this case, points are awarded based on the number of sacks, interceptions, and fumbles the defense makes.

Some leagues also award points based on points against and other statistics.

Individual Defensive Player (IDP): In some leagues you draft the IDPs of different NFL teams.

The scoring for IDPs is purely based on the statistical performance of each individual defender in your fantasy team.

There is no standard system for scoring defensive points in IDP competitions.

Each defense stat (tackles, interceptions, fumbles, passes defended, etc.) will have its own point value.

Schedule and starting position

There are also a number of rules and options for this.

• Standard
• 2 QB & Superflex
• IDP

A standard schedule assumes 1 quarterback, 2 running backs, 2 wide receivers, 1 tight end, 1 flex, 1 kicker, 1 team defense, and 7 reserve players.

A 2 QB & Superflex uses two starting quarterbacks instead of one. Superflex allows you to bet on one of the flex positions with a QB.

A flex position is typically reserved for running backs, wide receivers and tight ends.

IDP – As described above, some leagues allow owners to use individual defensive players instead of the entire defense of an NFL team.

IDPs add fantasy points to your team through tackles, sacks, turnovers, touchdowns and other statistical achievements.

This is considered a more advanced competition as it adds another layer of complexity and increases the available player pool.

Waiver Wire vs. FreeAgency

Is a player struggling, or not performing as you expected? Then you can exchange him for a player from another team.

Adding or dismissing players can be done according to two principles, namely the Waiver Wire and the Free Agency principles.

• WaiverWire – If a player underperforms or is injured, you can fire him and add a player from the free agency pool.
• free agency – Instead of waivers, adding and firing a player is based on first come, first served.

In the case of a Waiver Wire system, you choose a player who is not currently on the roster of any other team in your fantasy league.

You want to target players who have just had a good week and are showing an upward trend.

In many leagues, the player you fired cannot be added by another owner for 2-3 days.

This is to prevent the owners who saw the transaction happening first from immediately adding the player to their team.

For example, if a particular running back gets injured during a match, it shouldn't be a race to your league's site to add the reserve running back.

This period gives all owners the chance to 'buy' a newly available player without having to check transactions all day long.

Owners can then submit a claim for a player.

If multiple owners make a claim for the same player, the owner with the highest waiver priority (read more about this right away) will get it.

In the case of a Free Agency system, once a player is dropped, anyone can add him at any time.

Waiver priority

At the start of the season, the waiver priority is usually determined by the draft order.

The last owner a player selects from the draft has the highest waiver priority, the second to last owner has the second highest waiver priority, and so on.

Then, as teams begin to use their waiver priority, the ranking is determined by the division's standings or by an ongoing list in which each owner drops to the lowest priority whenever one of their waiver claims is successful.

waiver budget

Let's say a coveted reserve running back fills in for an injured running back who is now out for the rest of the season.

Any owner can then bid on that player and the one with the highest bid wins.

In some competitions, each team receives a waiver budget for the season. This is called a 'free agent acquisition budget' or 'FAAB'.

This adds a strategy layer as you have to spend the whole season with your budget, and owners have to watch their spending every week (when buying available free agents).

You have to consider the limits of your roster, so if you want to add players you will have to fire one of your current players to make room.

Sometimes a certain player makes a breakthrough and suddenly everyone wants to buy him. But it is better to first take a good look at who the player is and the situation.

It often happens that a player breaks through, but you suddenly don't hear from him anymore.

So be careful not to spend your entire FAAB on a one-hit wonder or fire a good player from your team to buy an 'overhyped' player.

Waiver claims must be made on Tuesday, and new players are usually assigned to your team on Wednesday.

From this point until the match starts, you can add or fire players whenever you want.

When the matches start, your lineup will be locked and you will not be able to make any changes.

Trades

Besides the waiver wire, 'trades' with your peers are another way to buy players during the season.

If your team isn't doing as well as you expected, or you're dealing with injuries, you may want to consider making a trade.

However, there are a few things to keep in mind when thinking about making a trade:

• Don't pay too much and don't get ripped off by other players
• Focus on your needs
• See if fair trades are taking place in your division
• Know when the trading deadline is in your division
• Focus on your needs: Don't trade a player because you happen to like his team or have a prejudice against that player. Focus on your position needs.
• Keep an eye on trade deadlines: This should be in the competition settings and is default unless changed by the competition director.

Bye Weeks

Each NFL team has a bye week in their regular season schedule.

The bye week is a week during the season when the team does not play and gives players some time to rest and recover.

This is also important for fantasy players because the players you own will all be free for 1 week per year.

Ideally, you want to make sure that players on your team don't all have the same bye week.

On the other hand, you don't have to pay too much attention to this if you have some good reserve players.

You can also always buy another player from the waiver wire. As long as the majority of your players don't have the same bye week, this shouldn't be a problem.

Week 1 has arrived: what now?

Now that you understand the basics and have your team assembled, Week 1 has finally arrived.

Fantasy football week 1 corresponds to week 1 of the NFL season. You need to set up your lineup and make sure you have the right players on the field.

Here are some basic tips and tricks to help you prepare for the first week and beyond.

• Make sure all your starting positions are filled
• Make sure the best possible player starts in every position
• Adjust your formations well in advance of the match
• View the matches
• Be sharp and also be aware of the waiver wire
• Be competitive!

Please note that some matches take place on Thursday evenings, so if your player is playing make sure you have him in your lineup.

This is your team, so make sure you're on top of everything!

Additional fantasy football tips

If you're new to fantasy football, it's important that you start with some understanding of the game and the industry.

Now that you have an idea of ​​how to play, there are a few final things to be aware of to give yourself a leg up on the competition.

• Take part in competitions with people you like
• Be confident, do your research
• Dominate your lineup
• Always stay up to date with the latest news
• Don't always believe in a player because of his name
• Look at trends in players
• Don't line up players prone to injuries
• Don't be prejudiced against a team you like

Dominating your lineup is critical to your success. Look at players' stats and don't rely on their name.

Look further at the trends of players: success leaves traces and so does failure. Don't field players prone to injuries: their history speaks for itself.

Always field the best player possible and don't be biased towards a team that appeals to you.

How popular is fantasy football anyway?

There are fantasy leagues for almost every sport, but fantasy football is most popular in the US. Last year, an estimated 30 million people played fantasy football.

While the game itself is usually free to play, in most leagues money is wagered at the beginning of the season, which is paid out to the champion at the end.

Fantasy has permeated football culture deeply, and there is even evidence that it has been a major driver of the NFL's continued rise in popularity.

Fantasy football is why football broadcasts are overloaded with statistics these days and why there is now a hugely popular channel that just bounces live from touchdown to touchdown instead of showing a full game.

For these reasons, the NFL itself actively promotes fantasy football, even if it is in fact a form of gambling.

There are even NFL players who play fantasy football themselves.

The game is usually played with players from the NFL, but can also involve other leagues such as the NCAA (college) and the Canadian Football League (CFL).

Where can I play fantasy football online?

There are many free sites that provide a platform for you and your friends to play. NFL and Yahoo are the two good examples of free sites.

They are quite advanced in terms of flexibility and features available. The statistics and information are reliable and the apps they offer are mobile-friendly and easy to use.

There is another platform that is a bit more dated, but much more versatile. It's called My Fantasy League.

This site is better to use with a desktop, but offers a lot more personalization. This site is recommended if you are considering playing in a 'keeper league/dynasty league'.

If you are in a league with other players and friends, the commissioner usually decides on the platform.

There is also the DFS, Daily Fantasy Sports, where you put together a new team every week. You can play it on Fanduel and Draftkings.

They are the leaders in DFP, but are not yet legal in all US states.

Isn't fantasy football simply gambling?

Under federal law, fantasy sports are not technically considered gambling.

The bill passed by Congress in 2006 to ban online gambling (especially poker) included an exception for fantasy sports, which was officially placed under the "games of skill" category.

But it's hard to argue that fantasy doesn't fall under the actual definition of the word 'gambling'.

Most platforms charge some kind of registration fee that must be paid at the beginning of the season.

There will be a payout to the winner at the end of the season.

The NFL is strongly against gambling. And yet it has made an exception for fantasy football.

Fantasy isn't just tolerated: it's even actively promoted in commercials featuring current players, and NFL.com offers a platform where people can play it for free.

The reason is that the NFL makes money from fantasy football.

It's circumstantial - playing in fantasy league on NFL.com is free, but the popularity of fantasy as a whole certainly boosts ratings for all games.

It's also especially effective at getting people to pay attention to otherwise "pointless" matches that take place at the end of the season.

Fantasy isn't much like conventional gambling: there are no bookmakers, no casinos and the money is only paid out after a complicated process that takes an entire season, months after the original entry fee was deposited.

Closing comments

Fantasy football can therefore be a very fun and sporty pastime. Have you already got the urge to put together your dream team?

Now that you know how fantasy football works and what to watch out for, you can get started right away!

Also read: What are the umpire positions in American football? From referee to field judge

Joost Nusselder, the founder of referees.eu is a content marketer, father and loves to write about all kinds of sports, and has also played a lot of sports himself for most of his life. Now since 2016, he and his team have been creating helpful blog articles to help loyal readers with their sports activities.