Fantasy Football is an online hosted game where you the football fan can play General Manager (GM) to a football team. You draft the roster, sign free agents, make waiver wire additions and trade players to formulate your team. Points are awarded to players based on their statistical production during the week. Your team is matched up against another team each week and if your roster scores more points you win. Most leagues are played amongst friends and coworkers for fun or bragging rights, but some leagues are played for money and cash prizes. Money leagues generally have a buy in or entry fee. Friendly leagues are typically free to play.
Following your team generally leads to exciting weeks of watching football and rooting for your players to do well improving the overall experience of Football fandom.
There are many different types of leagues:
- Standard league has a typical roster of around 14 with 1 Q/b, 2 RB, 2WR, 1 FLX, 1 TE, 1 DST, 1 PK and 5 BN. The scoring is basic and a good way to learn and get your feet wet.
- A half PPR league has the same roster limits but the scoring is changed to give ½ point per catch to RB, WR and TE players. It generates slightly higher scoring and adds a little more excitement.
- Full PPR league is same as half PPR but a full point is given per catch. You really need to watch player rankings as a third down scat back who catches a lot of passes can outscore top runners.
- Modified PPR or Hybrid League designed to provide PPR scoring but balanced so that the top players at each position score relatively equally. This ensures no one position dominates a league and whomever drafts the best player wins. It generates very high scoring exciting games.
- IDP leagues utilize individual defensive players along the line, linebackers and defensive backs as apposed to a DST unit. It makes your roster nearly double in size and more positions to manage, but it is more realistic as well. It makes defense interesting instead of a fantasy afterthought. In most leagues, DST units are drafted near the end of the draft and have little impact on any outcome scoring relatively low points each week. In an IDP league with typical scoring, an 11-man defense can score as much or more than the offense. This makes for higher scores and more excitement.
- Salary cap leagues assign cash values to players based on their rankings and you have a set salary to work with in building your team. You can spend $25 on Patrick Mahomes but may have to sacrifice elsewhere. You cannot exceed your cap. This type of league prevents players from hoarding talent on their bench as they cannot afford it but is typically for more advanced players. Most of the new weekly fantasy games operate this way.
- Dynasty leagues allow you as GM to keep a portion of your team for the following season. You designate your dynasty players and they remain on your roster for next year and you draft to fill out the rest. A fun league typically for more advanced players.
