FAB league people please chime in (1 Viewer)

[Galileo]

I have never played in a league with a free agent budget. We use a priority system that sends you to the bottom of the list after making a move. We also charge a fee for every transaction which builds our prize pool. I want to consider changing to a FAB bidding system and have a couple questions for those with the experience.

1. Does every move require a set minimum cost out of your FAB or are there $0 dollar moves that can be made after the bidding process plays out each week?
2. If an owner spends all their FAB, are they just SOL the rest of the way? I suppose this depends on the answer to #1. If $0 moves are permitted then I guess they have an avenue to still get players. But if there is a minimum cost are those owners just shut down from any waiver activity the rest of the way?
3. Does anyone attach real money to the FAB budget? As I said we currently pay for waiver moves. If we were to change that, we could obviously raise entry fees to replace the lost waiver move revenue. But I'm thinking it might also be fun to attach real dollars to the FAB. Those making poor or frivolous moves would contribute more to the prize pool.

Any thoughts, tips, or insights regarding the use of FAB are welcome.

 

[rockaction]

Hey Galileo,

1) I can tell you that leagues do the minimum differently. I've played in leagues where it costs at least a FAAB dollar to make a transaction, and I've played in others where they're free if nobody bids when waivers run and you bid nothing but add the player when nobody else has bid upon him. In those leagues, after waivers run it is free to add guys who are still in the player pool.

2) If an owner spends their FAAB, they're usually SOL the rest of the way, unless the answer to #1 is that there is no minimum to add a player.

3) I have no experience with real money being attached to the budget. I'm sure you could work it that way, but that would seem to decrease competitive balance. If a team is out of it, why shell out real cash to add guys?

 

[Dacomish]

This is how we do our league:

16 team IDP league with rosters of 28
Start with $100
$0 minimum bid, and after Tues FAAB waivers run its First Come First Serve until player game kickoff
No real money attached.

Its simple, it works and every year we have a few players that get huge bids early on and then those teams are stuck with less FAAB for the remainder of the season. Been going for 6 years and everyone seems to like how it runs in terms of waivers and FAAB.

 

[Galileo]

Hey Galileo,

1) I can tell you that leagues do the minimum differently. I've played in leagues where it costs at least a FAAB dollar to make a transaction, and I've played in others where they're free if nobody bids when waivers run and you bid nothing but add the player when nobody else has bid upon him. In those leagues, after waivers run it is free to add guys who are still in the player pool.

2) If an owner spends their FAAB, they're usually SOL the rest of the way, unless the answer to #1 is that there is no minimum to add a player.

3) I have no experience with real money being attached to the budget. I'm sure you could work it that way, but that would seem to decrease competitive balance. If a team is out of it, why shell out real cash to add guys?

Which is your preference? Why?

 

[rockaction]

My preference is that there's no minimum. Simply based on experience, not being able to pick up a needed body if other guys get hurt (and I assume rosters are limited by size considerations) is anathema to fielding the most competitive team one can. It also hurts teams that go deep into the playoffs, as they'll need to pick up more guys just to offset the attrition that is the NFL.

In my IDP dynasty league this year, I found myself in the finals with zero dollars and zero ways to add guys because we do the one-dollar minimum. It almost really bit me when my secondary wound up with a bunch of guys that were hurt and unavailable to play. I almost had to take a zero at one of the positions, and that doesn't seem right to me.

 

[rockaction]

But there are good arguments for the minimum, I'm sure. I just can't really identify them right now. Something about frugality and budgeting, I'm sure, but I don't think it beats the argument for the addition of guys at no cost.

 

[Hankmoody]

I have never played in a league with a free agent budget. We use a priority system that sends you to the bottom of the list after making a move. We also charge a fee for every transaction which builds our prize pool. I want to consider changing to a FAB bidding system and have a couple questions for those with the experience.

1. Does every move require a set minimum cost out of your FAB or are there $0 dollar moves that can be made after the bidding process plays out each week?
2. If an owner spends all their FAB, are they just SOL the rest of the way? I suppose this depends on the answer to #1. If $0 moves are permitted then I guess they have an avenue to still get players. But if there is a minimum cost are those owners just shut down from any waiver activity the rest of the way?
3. Does anyone attach real money to the FAB budget? As I said we currently pay for waiver moves. If we were to change that, we could obviously raise entry fees to replace the lost waiver move revenue. But I'm thinking it might also be fun to attach real dollars to the FAB. Those making poor or frivolous moves would contribute more to the prize pool.

Any thoughts, tips, or insights regarding the use of FAB are welcome.

All about personal preference and redraft/keeper/dynasty plays a huge role in case those FAAB roll over from year to year. Pro/con of each:

1. I personally like a $1 minimum on waiver run, but $0 option on free-for-all after the run(s). I play only in dynasty leagues so maybe that's a big impact, but I don't want to spend $1 on a bye week PK or crappy CB for 1 week. I'll risk the roster spot generally but not the cash. MFL supports this as well as just blanket $1 minimum. If the FAA$ don't roll over it's probably fine to keep the minimum, but make sure you start out with at least $100 on the year because that $1 is 1% of the total budget - which goes fast.

2. SOL in all cases. Owners will be fully informed going into this that if they are irresponsible bidders there's an awful price to pay.

3. You can just keep your same structure here - you're not fundamentally changing the waiver acquisition schedule, just the mechanism.

 

[Hankmoody]

My preference is that there's no minimum. Simply based on experience, not being able to pick up a needed body if other guys get hurt (and I assume rosters are limited by size considerations) is anathema to fielding the most competitive team one can. It also hurts teams that go deep into the playoffs, as they'll need to pick up more guys just to offset the attrition that is the NFL.

In my IDP dynasty league this year, I found myself in the finals with zero dollars and zero ways to add guys because we do the one-dollar minimum. It almost really bit me when my secondary wound up with a bunch of guys that were hurt and unavailable to play. I almost had to take a zero at one of the positions, and that doesn't seem right to me.

But you knew this going in and bid out anyway. I find that if owners are taken off the hook for being reckless they will be reckless. FAAB should be all about strategy - do I bid 50% of my budget on Jeff Wilson now? Or do I let all the donkeys bid out and pick up 10 shots at Latavius Murray/Zonovan Knight?

 

[rockaction]

But you knew this going in and bid out anyway.

Had to. I had three guys get hurt before the semis, and then had no dollars left when two of those guys got hurt for the finals.

It should be all about strategy, but I don't see how no minimum affects that. Perhaps I want to make fantasy fun and not punitive, but that's my personal preference. Plus, a minimum only encourages people to have to eat their dollars by saving them for an end that may never come. It's really a negative way to approach it, IMO.

eta* In addition, it penalizes teams that are likely to go further in the playoffs by virtue of extra weeks and budgeting alone. Your sixth-place team can blow its budget knowing it has to shoot the moon, while the top teams are stuck in a holding pattern considering the additional week or weeks' expenditure requirements.

Don't like it.

 

[Boston]

This is how we do our league:

16 team IDP league with rosters of 28
Start with $100
$0 minimum bid, and after Tues FAAB waivers run its First Come First Serve until player game kickoff
No real money attached.

Its simple, it works and every year we have a few players that get huge bids early on and then those teams are stuck with less FAAB for the remainder of the season. Been going for 6 years and everyone seems to like how it runs in terms of waivers and FAAB.

We are the same with exception we do not do first come first serve (logistically everyone is different so we don't want to give someone an advantage because they work at a desk versus being on the road), we continue with a waiver process all week with the exception of Sunday where we allow first come first serve until 12:55....as you said it is simple...also, it adds strategy which is so important and the fact there is not real $ attached means there is no reason not to have a ton of activity which we have (and we collect all dues before the season starts so there is no BS with regard to that).

 

[Boston]

But you knew this going in and bid out anyway.

Had to. I had three guys get hurt before the semis, and then had no dollars left when two of those guys got hurt for the finals.

It should be all about strategy, but I don't see how no minimum affects that. Perhaps I want to make fantasy fun and not punitive, but that's my personal preference. Plus, a minimum only encourages people to have to eat their dollars by saving them for an end that may never come. It's really a negative way to approach it, IMO.

I see no reason not to have zero bids...one, if you have $ left and make a zero bid it is strategy as you are willing to risk losing a player while saving your $...two, if you don't have any $ you have to live with the consequences of not being able to outbid anyone but you should not be penalized by not making any further moves...that is punitive and not fun.

 

[rockaction]

you should not be penlized by not making any further moves...that is punitive and not fun.

It's also going to swing competitive balance because the teams that are struggling will spend all the $ they have and if they still struggle, they potentially won't be able to field a lineup with all active players down the line. You want to make this as competitively balanced and fun as possible.

I get what Hankmoody is saying. Believe me, in my example, I went in with eyes open knowing what I was potentially doing, but the situation called for the expenditures down to zero. It would have been frustrating to lose the final because of that. I suppose that's prime for a "your fault" rejoinder, but I don't know, there are unforeseen things that happen in football.

 

[Boston]

you should not be penlized by not making any further moves...that is punitive and not fun.

It's also going to swing competitive balance because the teams that are struggling will spend all the $ they have and if they still struggle, they potentially won't be able to field a lineup with all active players down the line. You want to make this as competitively balanced and fun as possible.

I get what Hankmoody is saying. Believe me, in my example, I went in with eyes open knowing what I was potentially doing, but the situation called for the expenditures down to zero. It would have been frustrating to lose the final because of that. I suppose that's prime for a "your fault" rejoinder, but I don't know, there are unforeseen things that happen in football.

We are on the same page...strategy and fun...two big components of the FF experience.

 

[zamboni]

My preference is that there's no minimum. Simply based on experience, not being able to pick up a needed body if other guys get hurt (and I assume rosters are limited by size considerations) is anathema to fielding the most competitive team one can.

Bingo.

We moved to FAAB this past year and in discussing whether to have a minimum bid, we landed on zero (after regular waivers run with a $1 minimum). As commissioner, I was insistent that no one field an incomplete lineup, so if you find out, say your TE is inactive on Sunday morning, you have the ability - and obligation - to pick someone up for free.