Fair way to divide league payouts... (1 Viewer)

[C Diesel]

Hey guys, just wanted to introduce myself real quick. I've been browsing these forums for some time now and decided to register. I am the commissioner of a 16 owner league since 1995 (our league has grown from 8 guys to the max 16 now). It is a re-draft, PPR league, $100 entry fee.

There is a lot of arguments going on right now about how to evenly and fairly distribute money at the end of the season. Our entry fee increased from 80 bucks to 100 this year by league vote (15 to 1).

Here is how I thought I planned on dividing payouts:

$500 to Overall Champion (plus an $80 jersey of his choice, must be player who finished on his fantasy team)

$200 to Runner-up

$180 to each division champion (Four here)

$100 to Most overall pts. at end of regular season

Some owners are saying runner-ups should NOT receive that much cash...I thought division winners should get a bit more money. Is the total for the overall Champion sufficient? Just looking for some input and maybe how your league pays out. Thanks!

 

[Kai's Hero]

IMO the points champion should always get the biggest payout. Afterall, isn't that the true measure of the best team?

 

[BigSteelThrill]

IMO the points champion should always get the biggest payout. Afterall, isn't that the true measure of the best team?

Not to me. Its the team that can overcome all the obstacles. High points is good for a payout, but it isnt the champion.

 

[obxlegends]

IMO the points champion should always get the biggest payout. Afterall, isn't that the true measure of the best team?

Wins?

 

[Kai's Hero]

IMO the points champion should always get the biggest payout. Afterall, isn't that the true measure of the best team?

Not to me. Its the team that can overcome all the obstacles. High points is good for a payout, but it isnt the champion.

What obstacles? Having his best players sit during week #17 and taking a tough loss? The Champion, and biggest dollar wnner, should be the team that does it ALL year not just the last 3 weeks. Irealize that the point champion can also be the winner of the three week tourney at the end of the season but I've seen it happen many times where the Super Bowl winner is NOT the best team in the league.

 

[BigSteelThrill]

One answer is:

Getting players that are set up for the first 12 weeks as opposed to the guy bites the bullet and takes the risk of having players set up for the playoff run.

I see lots and lots of owners who are not good enough to tackle this very obstacle.

 

[Kai's Hero]

IMO the points champion should always get the biggest payout. Afterall, isn't that the true measure of the best team?

Wins?

In a 3-week tournament Generally speaking it's easy to make the playoffs. You can play two playoff games and play two teams that have terrible weeks and get to the final game and squeak by another opponent and you're the "best' in the league. The Champion SHOULD BE the team that outscores the other teams ALL YEAR

 

[C Diesel]

So would it still be fair to say, give the Playoff Champion a good chunk of the change? Is 500 bucks too much???

IMO the points champion should always get the biggest payout. Afterall, isn't that the true measure of the best team?

Wins?

In a 3-week tournament Generally speaking it's easy to make the playoffs. You can play two playoff games and play two teams that have terrible weeks and get to the final game and squeak by another opponent and you're the "best' in the league. The Champion SHOULD BE the team that outscores the other teams ALL YEAR

 

[Kai's Hero]

So would it still be fair to say, give the Playoff Champion a good chunk of the change? Is 500 bucks too much???

IMO the points champion should always get the biggest payout. Afterall, isn't that the true measure of the best team?

Wins?

In a 3-week tournament Generally speaking it's easy to make the playoffs. You can play two playoff games and play two teams that have terrible weeks and get to the final game and squeak by another opponent and you're the "best' in the league. The Champion SHOULD BE the team that outscores the other teams ALL YEAR

You can certainly do your payouts the way you see fit. This is how are payouts breakoutayouts* $50.00 = Weekly High Score ($850.00) (Paid from Free Agency and Trade Monies) Estimate based on free agency transaction and trade estimate of $50.00 per week.$5.00 = Teams that win their head-to-head match-up during regular season ($325.00)$100.00 = Division Champions ($200.00)$10.00 = Playoff Game wins - 6 Games ($60.00)$150.00 = Super Bowl Champion ($150.00)$40.00 = Super Bowl Runner-Up ($40.00)$25.00 = Highest Weekly Score for the Season. ($25.00)$1,650.00$800.00 = Professor’s Shootout Champion$500.00 = 2nd Place$225.00 = 3rd Place$125.00 = 4th Place$ 50.00 = 5th Place$1,700.00$3,350.00 = Total League Payouts

 

[Squinting Cyclops]

We have all seen the seoncd highest scoring team in a week get a loss and te seocnd lowest scoring team in a week squeak out a win.

Often these things even out over time, but not always. One solution I have seen is doubleheaders, where you play 2 teams per week, it takes a bite out of the luck of the draw scheduling bias.

Back to the question though.....in my league we only have 2 divisions and I pay out the super bowl winner and the highest total points equally. I also pay out the super bowl loser and the second highest total points. I usually pay the top spots about three times the amount the runner-ups get.

 

[hellz_fireflies]

If the owners in your league diagree with you on so many idea's..your the boss..tell them the hell with it...#1 team gets it all!!!

 

[The Jerk]

There is no right way to handle prizes.

I am Commissioner of two leagues. One is a local league that has been in place for 20 years and emphasizes weekly winnings much more than most leagues because that is how the league started in the late 1980s. Another is a league of college buddies that started with only a few huge prizes paid to the top head-to-head teams.

From these experiences, my preference is for leagues that reward prizes three ways:

1. Head-to-head champion, i.e., what most leagues do in crowning a Fantasy Bowl champion

2. Season total points -- most overall points scored during the course of either the fantasy regular season (13-14 weeks) or 16-17 weeks (which I prefer).

3. Weekly best scores -- 1, 2 or even 3 teams are rewarded for high scores in each week

Format 1 and 2 typically need no explanation. The combination tends to reward the most consistent and strongest teams as well as leaving a little bit of good fortune in terms of the impact of scheduling, etc. in terms of head-to-head competition.

Format 3 has often been occasionally derided on these forums, but I strongly recommend it for three reasons:

1. With decent prizes, it can keep teams who are essentially out of the running halfway through the season motivated to keep trying, as they still have something to play for down the stretch.

2. It helps to ameliorate the complaints from that one team every year who ends up playing a brutal schedule, always up against the team that scored the most points that week (and most of us of course have been there). Yeah, they still lose the game, but at least they got a 2nd or 3rd place prize for their trouble.

3. It makes the Sunday night and Monday night games more interesting even if all of the matchups have been decided. Usually at least one of the top 3 positions will be still in play on Monday night.

There are almost endless ways in which you can weigh these three different formats. If you strongly prefer head-to-head, then the emphasis can be placed on that. Yet you could still have smaller rewards in the other categories. I'm sure you get the idea. But good luck getting owners to change. For whatever reason they tend not to give different approaches a chance.

Edited to add:

I also advocate prizes to division champions. Basically, as BigRed put it after me, we "spread it around a little more" because the fun is in the competition, not just winning the prizes. More distribution tends to equal more interest unless it gets to the point where having the best team is trivial with respect to prizes.

 

[BigRed]

$500 to Overall Champion (plus an $80 jersey of his choice, must be player who finished on his fantasy team)

Sorry but IMO that's a dumb "payout" idea. If I win, give me cash and I'll decide how to spend it. I sure as hell don't want a $80 (!) jersey, possibly of some doofus I don't even like on a team I don't even like.We spread it around more - WC teams should certainly get a chunk.

 

[chris1969]

Total pot is used to buy beer, chicken wings and strippers for the next years draft.

 

[Keith R]

$500 to Overall Champion (plus an $80 jersey of his choice, must be player who finished on his fantasy team)

Sorry but IMO that's a dumb "payout" idea. If I win, give me cash and I'll decide how to spend it. I sure as hell don't want a $80 (!) jersey, possibly of some doofus I don't even like on a team I don't even like.

Agree about the jersey, sounds fun in theory but not practical in execution. I could just see me being awarded with a Steven Jackson jersey last year. Sure he was the best player on my team last year and a big reason I won it all, but as a Seahawks fan, I'd get no use out of it. Frank Gore or TO jerseys hold a similar level of appeal - none.

Regarding payouts, each league has a different perspective, so vote on it. My primary league awards the Regular Season Champ double his/her money back. Everything else (minus expenses such as web site) goes to the Fantasy Bowl winner. If the Regular Season Champ wins the Fantasy Bowl, that person gets all the prize money. We like it that way, others probably wouldn't.

Something I do feel strongly about is that the Fantasy Bowl winner / overall champion should receive at least 51% of the prize money. That team finished with the title, and that is more important than everything else put together.

 

[The Jerk]

Total pot is used to buy beer, chicken wings and strippers for the next years draft.

I think many leagues could live with that, as the trash talk factor usually lasts a lot longer than the prize. I don't recall seeing many posters talk about specific amounts of money they won when they brag. It's more like "I've finished as the head-to-head champ and/or scored the most points 7 times out of 12 seasons in my top league" -- now there's no interest if there's no prizes, but the point is that interest is not purely created by the size of the prize.To the OP:Why not go with something like:300 head-to-head champ and season total points champ (each)100 runner-up in each category100 to each division champ (x 4)25 to each weekly high score (x 16)As I already posted, I'd probably go even further giving in lessening the two top prizes from 300 to 200, then spend the other 200 you save there with additional weekly winners. You could give out 10 to each second-place weekly finisher and still have 40 left over...

 

[The Jerk]

$500 to Overall Champion (plus an $80 jersey of his choice, must be player who finished on his fantasy team)

Sorry but IMO that's a dumb "payout" idea. If I win, give me cash and I'll decide how to spend it. I sure as hell don't want a $80 (!) jersey, possibly of some doofus I don't even like on a team I don't even like.

Agree about the jersey, sounds fun in theory but not practical in execution. I could just see me being awarded with a Steven Jackson jersey last year. Sure he was the best player on my team last year and a big reason I won it all, but as a Seahawks fan, I'd get no use out of it. Frank Gore or TO jerseys hold a similar level of appeal - none.

Regarding payouts, each league has a different perspective, so vote on it. My primary league awards the Regular Season Champ double his/her money back. Everything else (minus expenses such as web site) goes to the Fantasy Bowl winner. If the Regular Season Champ wins the Fantasy Bowl, that person gets all the prize money. We like it that way, others probably wouldn't.

Something I do feel strongly about is that the Fantasy Bowl winner / overall champion should receive at least 51% of the prize money. That team finished with the title, and that is more important than everything else put together.

Totally agree that each league has a different perspective. If you have read my posts you know I feel differently concerning the emphasis on head-to-head champ. The only point I would argue is that the prestige of being the champ is not diminished by having a payout lower than 51%. Again, your league, your perspective is all that matters. But to others, I would say that I've not felt shortchanged when I've won the title.The question each league might ask is are we more interested in attempting to reward post-season excellence or season-long excellence or striking a balance? In one of my leagues last year, a 6-7 team got hot and won the head-to-head, while a team that finished with the top score 8 out of 17 weeks didn't even win a playoff game. Who was the better team? And no, that team didn't lay an egg in the playoffs. They scored the second highest points in the league during their playoff loss.

 

[Varmint]

We use percentages...

Overall Champion........60%

Runner Up...................20%

Overall Pts Champ.......10%

Division Champs............5% ea.

It USUALLY breaks down like this by the time the season is over......

Overall Champion........$1200

Runner Up...................$ 400

Overall Pts Champ.......$ 200

Division Champs..........$ 100 ea.

....or thereabouts.....

 

[fsufan]

here is what I do for two 10 team dynasty leagues I run, $150 league fee

Super bowl winner-$635

2nd place -$250

3rd & 4th place-$50 each

Division winners- $200 each

Best regular season record- $50

$65 for web site (CBS)

i also run a 12 team redraft,$60, and it is winner take all.

 

[Colin Dowling]

Semi-finalists get their entry fee back.

1st place (Champ) gets 2x the Champ game loser.

Points winner gets the rest.

$1600 pot would break like this...

Champ: 700

2nd place: 350

3rd and 4th place: 100 each (200 total

Points winner gets 350