I've spent quite a bit of time searching this forum and the internet for good ways to actually do an auction including tools and software. Considering the seemingly greater use of auctions, I am surprised very few discussions about how to actually run one and what works well are available as most seem to focus on draft strategies instead.
Here are the assumptions in my case:
- All participants can be at one location for a few hours
- Commish/Auctioneer IS one of the teams participating(me)
- There is a required number of players for each position and you can have no more/no less after the draft.
- Preference is for a standard real time auction where all bids are overt.
- The primary online option for this format has been used 2 years in a row with very unsatisfactory results in both years and I will not chance a third try.
- I would be willing to rent/buy any device/prop needed up to about $50 if it would help substantially.
Given this, what might be a good way to actually do the auction? I am open to any option/methods (hi or low tech) but am interested in what others use. I also know that this may be more basic that needed but I think we really need to establish best in practice even if it is assumed everyone knows.
1) How to keep track of money?
Monopoly money? Excel spreadsheet? Does everyone have visibility to everyone's max? Use an overhead? Project on TV. Does everyone need a laptop? What have you used that works well? Do you use whiteboards in front of people that show their remaining money?
The Auction Staff Keeps track of the money. We use the Jumbo Draft Board at DRAFT KIT . COM. Every time a player is taken, the auction staff will tabulate the total on the player tag.....For example: We start with $120....first player goes for $12....on the players tag, the staff writes $12/$108. He gets his next player for $4....on that player's tag...the staff writes $4j/$104. ALL owners can look up at the board. The last number on the board is that teams' remaining salary cap.
2) How to keep track of time?
Stopwatch? Mini hourglass from some boardgame? Who is in charge of it? Any penalty for violation?
Time? In an auction? Why?
3) If I am a team that is involved, is it difficult/impossible to be auctioneer too? Do I have to use some poker style bidding style (e.g. raise or fold around the table) that does not allow anyone to bid at any time?
The Auctioneer must have NO AFFILIATION with ANY team. We pay our auctioneer $50 and buy his booze. The auction staff consist of wives and girlfriends taking care of the paperwork....we buy their booze.
4) How do people actually bid? Everyone has a placard and they raise it? How do you break "ties"? I keep thinking back to a boardgame from my youth that came with 4 buzzers attached to a device and the person's who pushed first lit up. Does anything like this exist in boardgames that I could use for 10+? For those of you that ever played the old school game M.U.L.E., maybe you remember the 4 player auctions that where everyone controlled their player on screen who could raise their bid and when time expired, "highest" person won. Nothing fancy but it would be great if something like that existed for 10+ people? This is the question that I think really I want help with.
5) How do you/Should you keep people from bidding when they a) do not have enough or b) filled out their maximum number of players for that position?
Using my method...ALL owners know everyone's cap....if an illegal bid comes out...the hammer comes down and just about everyone knows it!
6) Any particularly good ways to propose players to bid on?
Anyone...anytime. Owners throw out players in the order of LAST YEARS' finish. Defending Champ throws out the first player.....Superbowl loser...next....so on and so on...
7) Any other aspects I missed? Novel ideas, things to avoid, etc.
I am very interested in answer on any and all these questions, particularly #4. If you have any insights, please feel free to contribute. If there is a link to a very good discussion already, put it here. I did not find it on my search. And smart ### comments welcome too, but just be original.
LAfan68
Here are our league rules governing the auction day procedure:Rules of Conduct
(Auction day rules)
These guidelines are being laid out to ensure that the Auction Day runs as smoothly as possible. Since every possible scenario cannot be addressed, the Commissioner and two other franchise owners who are not included in the dispute will be named by the Auctioneer to settle any and all disputes at the time they occur. This group will be called the Auction Board. If the Commissioner’s team is included in the dispute he will be replaced by a franchise chosen by the Auctioneer. All franchises are bound by the decisions made by the Auction Board during the auction process. No appeal. Hopefully, these rules will make it so that there are NO disputes.
Auction Date/Time: The date and time of the auction will be spelled out in the FFLOB ARTICLES of WAR and all franchise owners WILL be punctual or stand the chance of losing their franchise. It is suggested that you show up at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the auction. I know that some of you think that 7:30 means 7:35 but be assured…it doesn’t!! Get there early and be ready to start at the designated time. There WILL be prospective franchise owners present who are just dying to jump all over you beloved franchise…. Protect it!! Be there ON TIME!!
Auctioneer: The League Commissioner will appoint the Auctioneer at least 30 days before the scheduled auction. The person chosen to fill the position of Auctioneer can, in NO WAY, be associated with ANY FFLOB franchise.
Duties: The duties of the Auctioneer are important. His (her) job is to simply maintain the pace
and sanity of the proceedings. He need not be a professional auctioneer nor does he need to know anything about football. He simply must keep the place organized and make sure that everyone knows who is currently on the table and what the current bid is. He does not need to repeat every bid he hears. He just needs to jump in when the bidding stops or slows. When this
happens he needs to repeat the HIGHEST bid on the table, the player being bid on and the
fantasy team who currently holds the highest bid. He is to give every franchise every chance to
“up” the bid if they so desire. He does this with the ever-popular “going…. going…. GONE!”.
After the Commissioner has made the choice for Auctioneer public, it takes a simple majority of franchise owner’s to override the Commissioner’s choice. This must be done in a timely manner to allow time to find a suitable replacement.
Auctioneer’s Staff: The staff to assist the Auctioneer can be anybody willing to help. The duties will include the keeping of the records of the auction so that the Commissioner can re-create it in the computer later for posterity. This will include keeping records of exactly what goes on during the auction and in what order it all happened.
Auction Slips: These are slips that will be used to ensure that the player you wanted to put up for auction is indeed, the player everyone is bidding on. The FFLOB team will fill out part of it when introducing the player and the Auctioneer upon the closing bid will fill out the rest of the slip for each NFL player. Each team will be issued a stack of these slips before the auction begins. The information needed on the slip will be: 1) Player Introduction #, 2) Player’s Name, 3) Player’s Position, 4) NFL team, 5) FFLOB Team introducing the player, 6) Opening bid, 7) FFLOB Team w/high bid and 8) Winning bid.
Who Fills Out What?? The FFLOB team will supply the following information on the Auction Slip:
1) Player’s Name, 2) Player’s Position, 3) NFL team, 4) His team’s name, 5) Opening bid. The Auctioneer will supply 1) Player Introduction #, 2) FFLOB Team w/ highest bid and 3) Winning bid.
Salary Cap: Each team starts with an imaginary salary cap of $120 (less any keeper salaries). This is the money you will use to build your franchise for the upcoming year. Each FFLOB franchise must fill their roster with 12 players. This establishes the average cost to fill a position at $10 per player. That’s simply an average. Some players will cost much more and some will cost much less. This is the FFLOB NOT the NFL. You may not play games with the salary cap by deferring payments or any stuff like that. You start with $120 and get nothing back if you don’t spend it all. There is a limit to each player you may bid for. Your remaining salary cap limits you as opposed to your remaining open positions. You MUST have a minimum of $1 for each open position remaining in your cap after bidding on the current player ends.
For example: You have $15 remaining in your cap. You are bidding on Player “A”. You currently have 6 open positions. If you win the bidding you will have 5 positions remaining to fill. You cannot bid more than $10 because you must have $5 remaining in your cap after you fill this position. Yes, this means that you can be outbid simply because your cap position forbids it. That is why the person who holds the money near the end of the auction holds the power. Please know your team’s cap position when you are bidding. A bid that would violate the cap rules is an “illegal bid”. When an illegal bid is placed any team present at the auction can point it out. When you hear it just yell out “ILLEGAL BID” and the bid is removed. This kind of interruption can really draw out the time it takes to complete the auction so please…PAY ATTENTION.
Illegal Bids: IF by chance, a bid gets though and is not caught before the Auctioneer ends the bidding but is caught during the tag process, it will be made public. The team that lost the bid (last to bid before the illegal bid) will be given the option to make good on their final bid. If that team declines then the player in question is put back into the player pool, the team that placed the illegal bid is fined $5 and the team that introduced him my introduce him again or choose to introduce a different player.
Auction Procedure: The auction will begin when the Auctioneer calls for the first franchise to throw an NFL player into the fray. The order in which players are introduced (Introduction Order) is determined by the order of finish during the previous season. The defending Superbowl Champion goes first and the last place team goes, well…goes LAST. The franchise introducing the NFL player will fill the needed information on the Auction Slip.
The FFLOB franchise will stand up and announce (in a LOUD voice) the name, position, NFL team and the opening bid he is placing on the player then give the Auction Slip to the Auctioneer. This gives the Auctioneer all the information he needs so that he doesn’t switch the information and teams end up bidding on the wrong player. During the few seconds that it takes for the FFLOB team to bring the Auction Slip up to the Auctioneer the other owners should quickly form a bidding strategy for THIS player. Once the Auctioneer has the slip in his hand he will enter the Introduction # on the slip and officially start the bidding by re-introducing the NFL player and call for bids.
Opening bids may be as high as that team’s cap allows but it must be at least $1. As soon as an NFL player is introduced to auction with legal opening bid, that player belongs to the team who introduced him, that is, until his opening bid is beat by another team. If no other team bids, the team who in introduced him now owns him for the amount of the opening bid. If another FFLOB team wants him and is willing to pay more for his services, that team will increase the bid for as much as his cap will allow but no less than $1. Bids must be increased by a minimum of $1. The bidding continues around the room until the Auctioneer notices that the bids are slowing. At this time the Auctioneer is to repeat the highest bid that HE HAS HEARD and the team that holds the highest bid. He will give everyone approximately three (3) seconds before he starts the GOING…(three more seconds)….GOING…. (Five more seconds)…GONE!! When the Auctioneer yells, “GONE”, the player is, you guessed it, GONE. Ties go to the Auctioneer. If he yells “GONE” at the same time a team tries to up the bid, the player is GONE and awarded to the previous team for their winning bid. The Auctioneer may allow the bid if he feels that the bid got in before he closed the bidding. The Auctioneer will the repeat WHO was sold, to WHAT team and for HOW much. The Auctioneer will fill out the Auction Slip with the proper information and hand it to his assistants. They will then enter it to the proper sheets for later use. The entire process continues until each FFLOB franchise has purchased 12 players for his team. When it’s time for your franchise to introduce a player you must do so…you cannot “pass” your turn.
Winning the Bid: When the Auctioneer has declared your team as the winning bid, a representative from your team will walk to the Auctioneer’s Platform and pickup the Name Strip of the player you just purchased. Members of the Auction Staff will have pulled the strip, written the amount of you winning bid and the amount remaining in your salary cap on the right side of the strip. You will then walk over to the Auction Board and place the newest member of your team under your team’s name on the board. This is a good time for heckling, jeering, cheering or whatever comes to mind for the rest of the league. Once you’ve placed you player on the board and returned to your place, the Auctioneer will call for the next introduction from the next team on the list.
Team owners are urged to enter the current auction information on their own Auction Sheets for reference. The FFLOB has gone to great expense ($50) to purchase the Ultimate Draft Board. This board is easily seen from anywhere in the Draft Floor. Every team’s financial situation is listed and current on this board but ultimately YOUR responsibility to keep track of it. If, at any time during the auction, your figures do not agree with the league’s Draft Board please wait until a break between player introductions and bring it to the attention of the Auctioneer Team. It benefits everybody to point out any discrepancies. If you keep interrupting the auction and it’s found that you simply cannot add…you will be asked to keep quiet and trust the board.
If the Auctioneer HEARD the bid, the bid is LEGIT. It does not matter if you were “kidding”, trying to be funny or that your partner bid and you didn’t want him to bid…
IF THE AUCTIONEER HEARS THE BID IT IS A LEGAL AND BINDING BID.
This is not negotiable…no re-trial…no appeal. If he points at you and repeats, “what he heard” the bid is YOURS! This is why EVERYONE must agree with the choice of Auctioneer. If he shows up with a hearing aid, feel free to protest. Of course, it is perfectly acceptable to “up the bid” by placing bids simply to make your opponent pay too much but keep in mind that if the bidding stops and YOU have the highest bid…you own that player’s services.
Ending the Auction: The auction will end at different times for every team. Some teams will fill up faster than others due to the fact that every player is available to every team. You will purchase players as you see fit for your roster. Team “A” may have purchased four players before Team “B” purchases a single one. When you have filled your 12-man roster you are finished with the auction. You will not bid on any more players and you won’t introduce any more players into the auction, you are welcome to quietly stick around but you may leave if you wish…YOU ARE DONE. Please do not disrupt the auction as it continues. Sit back, relax, and watch the fun but BE SILENT DURING BIDDING.
Points to Remember:
1. Show up early. Your franchise WILL be sold if you are late.
2. The Auctioneer’s ears are the ties that bind. If HE hears it, it’s a LEGAL BID.
3. You only have $120 to work with. Budget for your entire team. MONEY IS POWER!!
4. Be organized. YOU are responsible for keeping up with the auction.
5. Illegal bids make the auction last longer. Pay attention to your salary cap position.
6. Have your Auction Slips filled out before it’s your turn to introduce a player into auction.
7. Watch your booze intake. The more for you, the better for everyone else.
8. Once you have filled your roster please do not disrupt the continuing auction.
Remember…. Have fun.
It is absolutely the best way to acquire the players and makes the league more complex and more fun with more strategy. FA.com DOES have enough problems that I would NOT run a real league there. Just do it live with all the owners in your league. My comments interspersed with both you assumptions and questions.
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What's the entry fee, $5K?
can you discuss the problems with the online auction?
Thanks for the info. gents. Switching over to Auction format this season.Will be cutting and pasting many ideas/rules to build our auction constitution. InSeason free agents. Any tips? Blind bidding? Seperate free agent budget? Thanks for all help. Cap figures mentioned in the thread.$200$208$230$100...seems to low to me. I play in a basketball league with 10 man rosters. And $100 bucks doesn't allow much flex. How do you come to chose the cap?We are look at running 16 man rosters. 9 startersqb2rb2wrflextekdst7 bench
