Did your league switch from Draft to Auction format? (1 Viewer)

[Ignoratio Elenchi]

OK, I'm trying to convince my local ten-team league to switch from a draft to an auction. The league has its fair share of curmudgeons and I think it's going to be a struggle. Please weigh in by voting, and if you'd like to add any advice or insight please do so, particularly about any issues that may come up in the transition year.

 

[Tom M]

My 12 team league switched to auction 2 years ago. Initially there were some who where skeptical. The main complaints were that it would be too complicated and the draft would take a long time.

That just has not need the case. Last years draft (our 2nd with auction) was the fastest we've ever had.

The best thing about an auction draft is this "if there's a player you really want, you can have him" You just need to be willing to pay the price. There's no more "Darn, the guy before me picked the exact guy I wanted". You want him, you get him.

I say go for it.

Tom in VT

 

[LionsFan78]

Best thing to do IMO is to not be too pushy about it. Send the league some helpful links and articles on the pros/cons of auction leagues vs. draft leagues. I believe Fanball had a great article once named "How and Why to Auction?" ....can't find link, maybe it was part of the premium kit.

Then, propose something to the league, something which I highly doubt will get declined - that they give it ONE shot. After your main draft, whether it be that day, or another time, sit down and do an auction ON TOP of your normal league. Throw money on it even, or do it for fun. The point is that they still get their normal draft, they're not losing out on anything, only getting a chance at more FF fun. Gives them a chance to see it for themselves. I'd say there's a better than average chance that they won't go back.

 

[RCon]

In my experience, it definitely doesn't take longer. If anything, it's quicker than a standard draft. If you are worried about time, some thoughts:

1. The draft is the best part of the season. Why shorten the best part of the season?

2. If you do need to shorten the time, don't require that all teams fill out their rosters during the draft. Let them spend their money on as few players as they want, and then fill out their rosters from the free agent pool the next day. We do this, and there are always a few teams that only draft 9-10 players.

3. Buy a gavel, and get a hot girl to be the auctioneer.

 

[Lord Fantasy]

I recently joined a league that my friends had started almost two decades ago. Lots of history and reluctance to change. Proposed we do it as an auction as a "one-time trial." That was three years ago and we'll never go back.

My advice: Trojan Horse that sh**.

 

[VonRomig]

Simply ask them to try it for one year only. (as mentioned already)

or

Do your normal draft, and then ask them to do an auction draft, as a seperate league... the normal draft will be the one that 'counts'. Yet they will all be able to compare the two leagues over the course of the season.

It will give them direct proof of how different the outcome of the two types of drafts are, and the make-up of their teams. In most cases, if the players are equally good at fantasy football, the auction draft will be a much tighter race. So team who are losing bad in your normal draft might be doing a lot better in the auction one, while even those doing very well in the normal draft will still have competitive teams in the auction league.

I think players who don't want to switch to an auction is more likely because they lack the knowledge and experience of auction strategies. They think they will really blow it. Whereas they have a good handle on how to plan and run a normal draft.

Von

 

[stlrams]

We also switch after 15 years to partial auction draft style. We have an auction for the first 3 rounds then switch to serpetine the remaining rounds. This combats the agrument that auction takes too long. I believe the biggest reason to switch is the normal draft style pigeon holes people into drafting a small group of guys. For example you're drafting the #6 slot, per your ranking and all the experts you should take player A or player B. Then 2nd round same thing. Both players from round 1 and 2 bomb then you're fighting an uphill battle all season. Teams often felt they never had a chance based on draft position and who they had available. Auction style has no restrictions.

 

[hotboyz]

My 12 team league switched to auction 2 years ago. Initially there were some who where skeptical. The main complaints were that it would be too complicated and the draft would take a long time.That just has not need the case. Last years draft (our 2nd with auction) was the fastest we've ever had.The best thing about an auction draft is this "if there's a player you really want, you can have him" You just need to be willing to pay the price. There's no more "Darn, the guy before me picked the exact guy I wanted". You want him, you get him.I say go for it. Tom in VT

This is the exact reason why I dont like auction drafts I sat in on an auction draft i still dont think it compares to doing a real draft everyone should not have the chance to get every player i dont like that at all. To me nothing beats the experience of a real draft

 

[Defending Champs]

There is no comparison. Auction is the way to go!

If you have the 12th pick and had your eyes set on Jones-Drew, you simply have no shot at him. In an auction draft, everyone has a shot at any one player, you just have to budget your money accordingly. This brings a WHOLE lot more strategy and planning than simply taking the next guy off the board.

I did a traditional serpentine draft for nearly 10 years before I was introduced to the auction...I could not believe the difference. Draft day is simply one of the BEST days of the year and each and every owner in my league would attest to the same thing.

It get's heated, yelling, chearing, taunting, ooohhh's, aaahhhh's, I'm telling you, it's great.

Try it once, I don't think you'll go back.

 

[Defending Champs]

My 12 team league switched to auction 2 years ago. Initially there were some who where skeptical. The main complaints were that it would be too complicated and the draft would take a long time.That just has not need the case. Last years draft (our 2nd with auction) was the fastest we've ever had.The best thing about an auction draft is this "if there's a player you really want, you can have him" You just need to be willing to pay the price. There's no more "Darn, the guy before me picked the exact guy I wanted". You want him, you get him.I say go for it. Tom in VT

This is the exact reason why I dont like auction drafts I sat in on an auction draft i still dont think it compares to doing a real draft everyone should not have the chance to get every player i dont like that at all. To me nothing beats the experience of a real draft

Why do you not think everyone should have a chance at a player? That's odd. Do you think that NFL free agency should be based on last years record as opposed to cap space, needs, and available money?Remember, the NFL draft is slotted the way it is b/c they have the same team and divisions starting next year. As fantasy owners, for the most part, we start a new each and every year. The order of a serpentine draft is usually decided by drawing names out of a hat...I'd hate for my fate to be decided by a hat.Just a couple thoughts.

 

[Balance]

My 12 team league switched to auction 2 years ago. Initially there were some who where skeptical. The main complaints were that it would be too complicated and the draft would take a long time.That just has not need the case. Last years draft (our 2nd with auction) was the fastest we've ever had.The best thing about an auction draft is this "if there's a player you really want, you can have him" You just need to be willing to pay the price. There's no more "Darn, the guy before me picked the exact guy I wanted". You want him, you get him.I say go for it. Tom in VT

This is the exact reason why I dont like auction drafts I sat in on an auction draft i still dont think it compares to doing a real draft everyone should not have the chance to get every player i dont like that at all. To me nothing beats the experience of a real draft

So you have never actually done an auction draft... sitting in on a serpentine draft wouldn't be all that exciting either.Don't knock it before you try it. I'd pretty much guarantee you'd love auction format.

 

[thecatch]

In my experience, it definitely doesn't take longer. If anything, it's quicker than a standard draft.

I agree. One of the benefits in our league is that the auction draft was quicker and more interactive. Our league had a lot of moments where a guy would sit there and take a couple of minutes to read a magazine blurb or something before making his pick. With an auction, there's little or none of that dead time.

 

[pollardsvision]

We made the switch and would never go back.

It was also a huge pain in the butt transferring the keeper format and adjusting keeper rules. It was worth the headache.

 

[jswalker1981]

We made the switch and would never go back.It was also a huge pain in the butt transferring the keeper format and adjusting keeper rules. It was worth the headache.

What are your keeper rules?

 

[Ray_T]

OK, I'm trying to convince my local ten-team league to switch from a draft to an auction. The league has its fair share of curmudgeons and I think it's going to be a struggle. Please weigh in by voting, and if you'd like to add any advice or insight please do so, particularly about any issues that may come up in the transition year.

The auction is good if all of your teams are knowledgeable.If there are 2 or 3 teams that know a lot more than the rest, an Auction may ruin the parity in your league. But if all league members generally have good knowledge, I would think that an Auction is the way to go.

 

[roadkill1292]

My 12 team league switched to auction 2 years ago. Initially there were some who where skeptical. The main complaints were that it would be too complicated and the draft would take a long time.That just has not need the case. Last years draft (our 2nd with auction) was the fastest we've ever had.The best thing about an auction draft is this "if there's a player you really want, you can have him" You just need to be willing to pay the price. There's no more "Darn, the guy before me picked the exact guy I wanted". You want him, you get him.I say go for it. Tom in VT

This is the exact reason why I dont like auction drafts I sat in on an auction draft i still dont think it compares to doing a real draft everyone should not have the chance to get every player i dont like that at all. To me nothing beats the experience of a real draft

Why do you not think everyone should have a chance at a player? That's odd. Do you think that NFL free agency should be based on last years record as opposed to cap space, needs, and available money?Remember, the NFL draft is slotted the way it is b/c they have the same team and divisions starting next year. As fantasy owners, for the most part, we start a new each and every year. The order of a serpentine draft is usually decided by drawing names out of a hat...I'd hate for my fate to be decided by a hat.Just a couple thoughts.

Odd indeed. Having every owner involved in deciding the top player's relative worth is far more interesting than just handing him off to the luckiest (or worst) team.

 

[Ignoratio Elenchi]

We made the switch and would never go back.It was also a huge pain in the butt transferring the keeper format and adjusting keeper rules. It was worth the headache.

What are your keeper rules?

We currently use keepers and that is one of the main concerns - how to deal with keepers in general, and specifically in the transition year.Suggestions from anyone in an auction league that uses keepers? We're looking for something that is not only fair, but also fairly simple. We have some different ideas for various salary/keeper things but are afraid they might be too complicated for all of our owners to deal with (some of them are kind of... slow).

 

[VonRomig]

We currently use keepers and that is one of the main concerns - how to deal with keepers in general, and specifically in the transition year.Suggestions from anyone in an auction league that uses keepers? We're looking for something that is not only fair, but also fairly simple. We have some different ideas for various salary/keeper things but are afraid they might be too complicated for all of our owners to deal with (some of them are kind of... slow).

If you want to transfer from a Keeper League to an Auction/Keeper League then for the first year assign all keepers with an equal price tag... I would say 20 per every 100 used. So if you are bidding with a total of 100 bucks, then all keepers are priced at 20 bucks; if total bidding bucks is 200, then keepers are 40. All non-kept players are put into the bidding pool and the teams use the remaining bucks they have (minus keepers' costs) to use in the auction.Every year thereafter, the keepers are kept at their auction price + 5 bucks, while the rest gets put back into the auction pool. This allows each team the chance to keep the players they want, but at a higher price. It also prevent teams from getting to keep players who turn into real super-studs for the next ten years if they got them really cheap in an earlier auction. So eventually the cost becomes too high and they have to drop them back into the auction pool... so everyone else has a shot at him.The amount of auction bucks to use is based on the size of the rosters. The more roster spots the higher the "cap" should be. This is to insure that there is a great diversity of pricetags on players. If you have a large roster but use a small auction amount then far too many players will be set at $1.12 players per team = 10015 players per team = 20018 players per team = 30022 players per team = 400etc.This is how I would tranfer a Keeper League to an Auction/Keeper... and how I would handle to the league thereafter.If you are tranfering from a Keeper League to a straight up Auction League, but want the players to be able to start the first season with a few keepers, then just assign all first-year keepers the same price tag. Don't get bogged down in debating the minute dollar differences between the top players. Afterall, so many factors can happen during a season that the players thought to be better than another might not pan out, or an injury could take place and ruin all comparisons.Just my two centsVon

 

[benm3218]

Switched to auction 2 years ago and its the best thing we ever did. VERY fun. Plus players having salaries adds a whole new dimension to trades.

 

[jswalker1981]

In my keeper league, we give up a draft pick two rounds higher than when the player was picked or kept for the previous year. For example, I drafted Turner in the 12th round in 2007, I kept him for a 10th rd pick last year, and this year I'm going to keep him for an 8th rd pick. I thought of a way to convert this to an auction league. Take the average auction value of the player and divide it by how many rounds were drafted. For example, we draft 15 rounds, and let's assume Turner's value is $60 with a $200 cap. Divide $60 by 15 and get $4. To keep him with a 15th rd pick, it would cost $4, $8 for 14th rd, $12 for 13th rd, and all the way up till round 1 costs $60. This way the players that drafted sleepers late would still get the great value that they had in the serpentine draft. And for any players that are bid on, to keep them, add on 20% of their auction value each year. It should keep the consistent big names available each year.

 

[LTsharks]

We made the switch and would never go back.

It was also a huge pain in the butt transferring the keeper format and adjusting keeper rules. It was worth the headache.

What are your keeper rules?

We currently use keepers and that is one of the main concerns - how to deal with keepers in general, and specifically in the transition year.

Suggestions from anyone in an auction league that uses keepers? We're looking for something that is not only fair, but also fairly simple. We have some different ideas for various salary/keeper things but are afraid they might be too complicated for all of our owners to deal with (some of them are kind of... slow).

Two issues here.1) Should you transition to an auction format? My suggestion is yes. We are entering our third year of auction. I have to be honest, our first auction was a train wreck. Not it terms of actually building our teams, but the procedures weren't very good and it took forever. All of the comments were that everyone liked the auction, but we had to improve the actual process. We worked on that for year 2 and it was by far our best draft/auction ever. There isn't a single member (some of whom had to be convinced to try it to begin with) that are suggesting we go back. It is a lot of fun.

2) Ok, you are going to switch. How do you handle keepers. This is where you help make things easier convincing guys to make the change.

a) You change nothing for the 2009 season. We have always felt that big rule changes like this should be done 1 year out. It gives everyone time to adjust and plan.

b) Determine how you are going to increase keeper values from year to year. We use a percentage increase system along with minimum values for different positions. That way you get the young stud RB for a number of years, but he can only be dirt cheap for a year or two. It lets people build teams but also keeps players in the auction. Tons of ways to do this, totally up to you. Would provide more if you were interested.

c) Before your keeper deadline this year you assign "auction values" to every player. That is right, all players now have a $ value. It means NOTHING for the 2009 season. This number is only used to determine the keeper value for the 2010 season based on the formula you decide on from part b. You can just use an average auction value report found on the web or use projected values from one or more sources found. It shouldn't make too much difference because the values mean nothing for the coming season. Will this hurt some people? Yes. Will it help others? Yes. Overall it had minimum effect on our league, especially since everyone had a full season to take advantage of any situations it created.

d) It does get complicated figuring out keeper values. That is why after the current years auction the commish should make the keeper values of every player for the next year available to the league. That way people don't have to figure it out on their own, it is provided to them. In our system, since we have a minimum value, only the players above that number have to be calculated. That isn't too many players so it doesn't even take an hour to figure all that out. It helps everyone for trading purposes in the current season and for keepers going into the offseason.

Those are my thoughts. Different things work for different leagues, but you should try to make the change.

 

[Defending Champs]

We made the switch and would never go back.It was also a huge pain in the butt transferring the keeper format and adjusting keeper rules. It was worth the headache.

What are your keeper rules?

We currently use keepers and that is one of the main concerns - how to deal with keepers in general, and specifically in the transition year.Suggestions from anyone in an auction league that uses keepers? We're looking for something that is not only fair, but also fairly simple. We have some different ideas for various salary/keeper things but are afraid they might be too complicated for all of our owners to deal with (some of them are kind of... slow).

We do a keeper, but you can only keep two players which helps emphasize the draft which we all so love to do every year.12 teams, 13 players$150 cap on draft dayKeep a player, he cost $5 more than he did the previous yearRB's cost a minimum of $20You may only keep ONE RBIf you keep two players, one of them MUST be a rookie

 

[roadkill1292]

Switched to auction 2 years ago and its the best thing we ever did. VERY fun. Plus players having salaries adds a whole new dimension to trades.

I wish I'd thought to mention how salaries affects trades in a keeper league because that's a good point. Keeper potential definitely can add to a player's value.Some good suggestions in here about how to handle the transition, which is something I've never had to do. Going forward, I'd suggest keeping it simple -- $5 raise for keepers and a maximum number of years that a player can be kept. We use two years so every player is recycled back into the auction at least every 3 years. Without this rule, I'd've been keeping MoJo until his retirement and that certainly cuts down on the fun at auction.

 

[Defending Champs]

Switched to auction 2 years ago and its the best thing we ever did. VERY fun. Plus players having salaries adds a whole new dimension to trades.

I wish I'd thought to mention how salaries affects trades in a keeper league because that's a good point. Keeper potential definitely can add to a player's value.Some good suggestions in here about how to handle the transition, which is something I've never had to do. Going forward, I'd suggest keeping it simple -- $5 raise for keepers and a maximum number of years that a player can be kept. We use two years so every player is recycled back into the auction at least every 3 years. Without this rule, I'd've been keeping MoJo until his retirement and that certainly cuts down on the fun at auction.

We also cap two years for max years any one player can be kept.

 

[Ray_T]

we keep things in our auction draft simple.

we do not keep track of salaries or have a salary cap. prevents too many trades and there is too much to keep track of.

how we do it:

inititally we had a draft league with 3 keepers. so we kept our keepers as per usual and everyone got a certain amount of money to spend at the auction ($95)

you get an extra dollar depending on what position you were. so first place gets 1 extra dollar to spend at auction next year. 2nd place gets 2$ 3rd place gets 3$ (you get the picture).

so the first place team has $96 to spend. last place has $108 to spend. (about 12% more than the first place team)

once the teams are picked, salary no longer matters. you put the players on your roster, and it is just like a regular league where you can work trades etc and salary does not matter.

There is no trading of draft dollars allowed except on draft day.

in the offseason, there is no trading of players unless you first declare them as keepers. I know this makes trading in the offseason tough, but we wanted a slow offseason due to various reasons and didnt want questionable trades going through at a time when there wouldnt be many people around to scrutinize them. (although this has generally not been an issue anyhow)

This eliminates a lot of administration and you neednt worry about keeping track of salaries.

 

[Godsbrother]

I have tried to go to an auction for my league the past 3 years and only convinced about 4 of the 12 owners to give it a try.

The reasons I got for not going to an auction:

1) It will take too long

2) It is too complicated

3) I am afraid that I (or other team owners) will blow all their money on 1 or 2 guys and will have crappy teams

4) The draft is fun enough they way it is

The guys opposed are so vocal that it has no hope of passing so I am not even bringing it up at our Preseason Meeting next week.

 

[Goldbricker]

Anyone have a good site for managing an auction league? Last season I kept track of the salaries with excel, but it's a big pain in the ###. I was hoping to find a site that would do that busy work for me.

 

[CommisR]

Auction, love it.

we use a salary cap and contracts. what you bid in the auction is what you have them at for 3 years. you get one chance to extend them after the 2nd year.

Each year you get the choice to keep as many people as you can afford or cut way down and spend more in the auction. WE do not enforce the salary cap except from the time keepers are declared a few weeks before the auction until the close of the auction. This allows frequent trading which many of us love. Getting players cheap that you can keep and extend gives you a big advantage, but teams that stink are able to load up in the auction and go grab the studs that had contracts expire and the rookies and become contenders very quickly.

Teams that do a good job finding young cheap guys can be good for years.