Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
Fearsome

This is embarrassing but explain auction and best ball leagues to me

Recommended Posts

I have done fantasy football for almost 20 years and been a member of this board for 19 years now but have never moved away from either re-draft or keeper league formats so I've never paid attention to other formats. Looking to start a second league with my longtime group of 10 doing something different and these seem like the two top alternative formats. Have heard that people that play auction love it and will never go back so to speak.

 

I understand mostly, as its obvious, what an auction league is, but I don't understand the format and rules of the draft. Seems like it would take hours upon hours to go through every eligible player. Is league scoring for an auction league PPR or non-PPR? Explain.

 

Next, I have no clue what a best ball league is. Complete explanation is appreciated.

 

Thanks from a middle aged non-millennial trying to learn some new/old fantasy stuff.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Best ball is that you draft a roster of players and you don't set a starting lineup and you get the points from the highest scorers that fulfill your starting lineup...

 

These types of leagues usually have deep benches and no free agent pickups or trades...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

No apologies needed. I'm not sure if this is a great introduction to auctions, but here is an auction piece I do every year.

 

http://www.fftoday.com/articles/orth/17_pma_art_auction.html

 

This year's should come out late next week.

 

Auction leagues come in the same scoring "packages" snake drafts do. Yes, they take longer. But I love them b/c they remove the crutch of ADP and make owners take a stand on a player instead of just letting/hoping a player falls in their lap.

 

Best ball is simple. There may be a few exceptions in whether free-agent moves are allowed, but all best-ball leagues in my experience require no other participation from the owner the moment the draft is over. Best balls are attractive to owners b/c the best lineup is chosen after each week's games are complete.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I thought the same thing about auction drafts and the time needed when we switched over many years ago, but actually as money available for each team gets lower and lower there is much less discussion and bidding starting about halfway through the draft. Then usually near the end all the bids are won with just $1 because no one has roster or cap space left. Most of the time after the stars are picked and the mid-tier players are going, it usually ends up with only 2 people bidding on a player.......if others see two teams interested and driving it up, they usually will drop out. You need to set time limits for the bids though, maybe use an auctioneer once the bids stop flowing and saying...$45 going once, going twice, sold. It has to be like a real auction, usually a team who is not bidding on the player in our league will step up and be the auctioneer to move it along.

 

I like the auction draft because you don't ever have the...."oh sh!t I forgot about that guy!" moment, everyone has an equal shot at every player....just who is willing to spend more.

 

We do PPR leagues, we have 10 teams and a cap limit of $200.....with 2 keepers from the previous year. It does take some work to get all your rules setup like salary carryover from the previous year, but when you get it going it runs smoothly.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I thought the same thing about auction drafts and the time needed when we switched over many years ago, but actually as money available for each team gets lower and lower there is much less discussion and bidding starting about halfway through the draft. Then usually near the end all the bids are won with just $1 because no one has roster or cap space left. Most of the time after the stars are picked and the mid-tier players are going, it usually ends up with only 2 people bidding on a player.......if others see two teams interested and driving it up, they usually will drop out. You need to set time limits for the bids though, maybe use an auctioneer once the bids stop flowing and saying...$45 going once, going twice, sold. It has to be like a real auction, usually a team who is not bidding on the player in our league will step up and be the auctioneer to move it along.

 

I like the auction draft because you don't ever have the...."oh sh!t I forgot about that guy!" moment, everyone has an equal shot at every player....just who is willing to spend more.

 

We do PPR leagues, we have 10 teams and a cap limit of $200.....with 2 keepers from the previous year. It does take some work to get all your rules setup like salary carryover from the previous year, but when you get it going it runs smoothly.

 

Should always have an auctioneer.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

We use MFL for our auction. 12 auction slots so every team can nominate a player. MFL has a 24 timer and allows you to set a limit, so if any player has not been bid up by a new manager within 24 hrs that player is yours. Works well.

 

Best ball is great if you really like drafting but don't want to hassle with lineups throughout the season.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

We use MFL for our auction. 12 auction slots so every team can nominate a player. MFL has a 24 timer and allows you to set a limit, so if any player has not been bid up by a new manager within 24 hrs that player is yours. Works well.

 

Best ball is great if you really like drafting but don't want to hassle with lineups throughout the season.

24 hours? That seems like one slow draft

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks for all of the assistance. An auction draft seems like an awesome time. Our current league has been going 15 years as a 10 team, non-PPR, two player keeper. This would add a second league and a fresh start with a chance to add top end players to your team that currently are owned, what seems like forever, by other owners.

 

Do most auction leagues go with a $200 cap? Does it really matter? And, how long does the draft usually take? I would think 4 hours.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Also, when doing the auction do you go position by position until the nominations stop at that position and then go on to the next or is it a free for all?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Also, when doing the auction do you go position by position until the nominations stop at that position and then go on to the next or is it a free for all?

Free for all. Position by position wouldn't make sense

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I LOVE my auction league.

 

12 teams PPR, $275 budget. We have an auctioneer and he keeps a big board of rosters players taken and teams remaining funds. With drinking and stopping for food it takes about 4-5 hours. We also keep one player per year for only one year. He has to have been won and "drafted at the auction and gets a 20% raise.

 

We go in "draft order" and each team calls out a name. So the auctioneer says ok team A name a player team B get ready your next. Auctions go pretty quick Some people start at a dollar. I am the guy who doesn't play games. Antonio Brown was the most expensive player for $92 last year. Some starts at $5 and I'll bump to $50 to keep the speed going.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

×