Keeper League Trade Rule (1 Viewer)

[Bootie & the Ho-Fish]

I have a keeper league where we keep 2 players from last year's roster. We declare our keepers one week before the draft. We can make trades during the season and off-season. Our current rule states that you can trade a player for a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd round draft pick and additional draft picks can be included. At the time we passed the rule, we were talking only about an offseason trade of a keeper for a pick. The main reason the rule was set up was to prevent a team with several keepers from trading them for mid to late round picks. Example: If a team has 5 really great keepers, he can obviously only keep 2. Instead of getting nothing for the other 3, he trades them for 6th round or 8th round or whatever round picks. If a player is a keeper, he is obviously worth more than a 6th round or 8th round pick. But then again, if one of us has that many keepers, maybe we should be able to get something for them.

Since then, a couple things have come up. One is trades during the season involving a player for a pick next season. Do the same rules apply, meaning, does a 1st, 2nd or 3rd round draft pick need to be involved? Maybe the player isn’t a keeper.

The other is trading “keeper-worthy” players straight up or with lower round picks included. What if one team decides later not to keep the player?

I want to keep this simple and fair. A few thoughts on this so far: 1. We could get rid of the rule (1st, 2nd, or 3rd round pick). 2. We could say it applies only to offseason trades of a keeper for a pick. 3. If a player was a keeper at the beginning of the year or is currently in the top 20 scorers, he is worth a similar player or 3rd round or better draft pick.

Any ideas? What's your rules for trading keepers? Thanks.

 

[bonscott]

Our rules for trading draft picks are simple: It's not allowed during the season. Period. Too much headache involved and possible problems with it. In my dynasty league it's different, trades all year round. But for limited keeper leagues I think you need to have limits to prevent a guy midseason from trading away all his picks for next year for Tom Brady (who can't be kept next year) or something and then he's in real trouble next year or even worse quits and leaves a team behind with very little ability to field a competitive team.

We allow trades in the offseason starting August 1st up thru the draft. Picks for that upcoming draft can be traded. After the draft picks can no longer be traded.

We also have a rule that any player acquired in a trade must be declared a keeper by the team he is on at the declare keeper deadline. This prevents someone from trading a keeper to a friend for junk they won't keep. So while the trade may be "fair" on paper, if you don't keep any of the players you basically just gave a good player to another team for nothing.

This has worked well for us for 10 years. We keep up to 5.

Now we have had issues such as your in terms of someone trading a keepable player (thus a good one) for anything they can get, even if it's just a 12th rounder. I have yet to come up with a good way to stop that but you have given me some ideas based on your rules. Off the top of my head I'd think perhaps a rule that a player in the pre-season can't be traded for anything less then an 8th rounder. Fact is if they are keepable they are certainly worth more then some late round pick.

 

[evilempire]

I have a keeper league where we keep 2 players from last year's roster. We declare our keepers one week before the draft. We can make trades during the season and off-season. Our current rule states that you can trade a player for a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd round draft pick and additional draft picks can be included. At the time we passed the rule, we were talking only about an offseason trade of a keeper for a pick. The main reason the rule was set up was to prevent a team with several keepers from trading them for mid to late round picks. Example: If a team has 5 really great keepers, he can obviously only keep 2. Instead of getting nothing for the other 3, he trades them for 6th round or 8th round or whatever round picks. If a player is a keeper, he is obviously worth more than a 6th round or 8th round pick. But then again, if one of us has that many keepers, maybe we should be able to get something for them.Since then, a couple things have come up. One is trades during the season involving a player for a pick next season. Do the same rules apply, meaning, does a 1st, 2nd or 3rd round draft pick need to be involved? Maybe the player isn’t a keeper.The other is trading “keeper-worthy” players straight up or with lower round picks included. What if one team decides later not to keep the player?I want to keep this simple and fair. A few thoughts on this so far: 1. We could get rid of the rule (1st, 2nd, or 3rd round pick). 2. We could say it applies only to offseason trades of a keeper for a pick. 3. If a player was a keeper at the beginning of the year or is currently in the top 20 scorers, he is worth a similar player or 3rd round or better draft pick.Any ideas? What's your rules for trading keepers? Thanks.

We have a similar rule to the one above -- any inseason trades cannot involve swapping draft picks. Our "season" opens May 1, at which time owners can move players and picks, all the way until draft day. Once the draft takes place, only player-for-player trades may occur. Our keepers are not declared until three days before the draft, and if a player was traded from one team to another prior to that, he doesn't have to be delcared a keeper. I just received Dwayne Bowe for Pierre Thomas, as well as a slight bump in my fourth round draft position. I know I'm keeping Bowe, but I'm not certain the other owner is keeping Thomas. If not, that's his problem not mine. I say why not hang on to someone, especially if you gave up something for him? But we don't mandate that a player be held.Owners can only hold players for three years, which is another sticky issue sometimes when trading is involved. Our site tracks the "contract length" of a player, which helps owners in determining which players they'll be going after. We also keep a post stuck to the top of our message board detailing which players fall into our "early round" parameters (first three rounds) because only one of them can be kept from year to year. It's a little confusing, but when you're in the league it's actually pretty easy to understand.

 

[TBFL]

We do allow the trading of future picks for players, but that team has to put up the full entry fee for the year they are trading picks out of before it goes through and it is non-refundable. So if they trade away picks for players, then don't come back - the fee is already paid and if necessary I can give that team away for free the next year.

 

[Lehigh98]

We have an auction rather than a draft but allow trading of future auction dollars.

But you can only trade auction dollars for years you've prepaid in advance.

Everyone is paid up for one extra year to allow trading next years dollars but no one paid past that.

We put this in to avoid someone mortgaging their future to win and then skipping out.

 

[Lehigh98]

We do allow the trading of future picks for players, but that team has to put up the full entry fee for the year they are trading picks out of before it goes through and it is non-refundable. So if they trade away picks for players, then don't come back - the fee is already paid and if necessary I can give that team away for free the next year.

Beat me to it...

 

[ratbast]

I am in 2 keeper leagues and both are allowed to trade whatever and whenever you want well actually each have a trading deadline around week 8 trading opens again after week 17. They have both been around for 15+ years so there is really no funny business. Peer pressure replaces the need for monitoring. That is what you should strive for but in a new league its not quite possible.