Splitting the pot among Super Bowl teams (1 Viewer)

[ghostguy123]

A league can't force owners to split the pot, and a league can't prevent it. 

With all due respect, a commissioner's job is to pay out the winners, keep their opinions to themselves and walk away. Your job is finished there.  

There's no collusion because it doesn't affect the league, its owners, or the outcome of any game. It doesn't affect competition because both owners are still trying to win the game. Nobody denies they both want the title, right?

All they're doing is addressing the reality that the money might be a big deal to some people, and knowing they'll get X amount could actually impact their lives in a positive way. Even if it's a few hundred, that could mean something to them.

But really, it's nobody's business but the owners. The season is over. Leave them be. 

But that's just like......your opinion man.

I say kick anyone out of the league who even THINKS about splitting.  Anyone ever see Minority Report?  Kick them out before it even happens. 

 

[Arodin]

I suppose a league could also have rules that prize money can't be spent on booze, or that winners must pay taxes on their winnings.

Unless the commissioner has the kind of personal authority over owner's bank accounts that would allow him to enforce such rules they would be pointless.

Telling winners they can't give some of their winnings to the losers falls in the same category, imo.  You are of course welcome to make such rules, but I don't see the point, or how you could enforce them...

 

[candian fantasy guy]

A league can't force owners to split the pot, and a league can't prevent it. 

With all due respect, a commissioner's job is to pay out the winners, keep their opinions to themselves and walk away. Your job is finished there.  

There's no collusion because it doesn't affect the league, its owners, or the outcome of any game. It doesn't affect competition because both owners are still trying to win the game. Nobody denies they both want the title, right?

All they're doing is addressing the reality that the money might be a big deal to some people, and knowing they'll get X amount could actually impact their lives in a positive way. Even if it's a few hundred, that could mean something to them.

But really, it's nobody's business but the owners. The season is over. Leave them be. 

Agreed the owner can do whatever they want after the fact, I'm not arguing this at all. However, I pay out as required per the rules as my league voted upon years ago. The big difference here is that my league mates feel the same way about pot splitting. 

Do you guys think pot splitting is normal? If so, why not just have a finalists pot with a declared champion as part of the rules prior to the season?

 

[ghostguy123]

Agreed the owner can do whatever they want after the fact, I'm not arguing this at all. However, I pay out as required per the rules as my league voted upon years ago. The big difference here is that my league mates feel the same way about pot splitting. 

Do you guys think pot splitting is normal? If so, why not just have a finalists pot with a declared champion as part of the rules prior to the season?

If you agree that the owners can do whatever they want after the fact, then what in Gods name are you even arguing?

And as for asking if splitting the pot is "normal", are you asking if it happens often??  If so, then the answer is no it does not happen a lot, but i have no idea why the frequency of its occurence matters at all.  

And if you want to have a finalists pot with equal shares go for it.  If the finalists want to agree to something different then they can.  

Basically, as commish, back off and dont worry about something that has nothing to do with you or the league.

 

[FUBAR]

Fair enough, I was simply stating my leagues rules and how we would handle such a situation.

I have explained why I think it is unethical, I will again .... when I go to any of my leagues rules section, the prize structure is clearly stated. X amount for 1st place, X amount for 2nd place, etc along with all other rules concerning our 16 week FF league(PPR, IDP, TD bonus' etc..) ... Those are things you/I/others agree upon when paying a league fee, going against those rules is(in my opinion) unethical and against the spirit of competition. There are no ***(not in the leagues I play in)saying prize structure is up for debate once week 16 rolls around. If you think this does not touch any ethical part, then great for you and others, I believe it does. 

Curious - is driving 5 mph over the speed limit "unethical"? 

 

[ghostguy123]

Unethical 

 

[joey]

If the finalists in a million dollar poker game can agree to split a huge pot, then our stupid $100 buy in leagues can do the same. 

Agreed that commish pays fees as indicated by league rules and then final 2 can do as they want. 

Why isn't that the start and end of this thread? Granted I skimmed over most of it

 

[Mr. Know-It-All]

Just to further fuel the fire - so our league ended last week.  Top prize was $600, second was $300.  I had suggested splitting the pot, opponent declined - I won.  So I got $600 and he got $300.

 He was not quite ready to give up on FF for the year, so he said we should play against each other again in Week 17 with no waiver wire moves and whoever we had available.  I told him I would play him again and if I won I got his $300, and if he won he got $150 from me.  He was pretty confident based on Week 17 matchups, and in fairness he DID have more players going and better matchups...so he took the very bad deal.  Well, that Jennings TD just secured another win for me.  Poor fool.

Was what we did unethical?

 

[joey]

You're not allowed to have side bets with other fantasy league owners unless the commish clearly allows for it in the rules. 

 

[FUBAR]

You're not allowed to have side bets with other fantasy league owners unless the commish clearly allows for it in the rules. 

In your league.   

I don't like these types of bets but I'd consider them outside of the league, among adults, not my issue. 

 

[joey]

In your league.   

I don't like these types of bets but I'd consider them outside of the league, among adults, not my issue. 

I was being sarcastic. We're adults playing fairy tale football, of course we can make sure bets, and split the pot however we want, etc. as per my last post above. 

 

[FUBAR]

I was being sarcastic. We're adults playing fairy tale football, of course we can make sure bets, and split the pot however we want, etc. as per my last post above. 

Sorry, confused you with the candy-man.

 

[joey]

Sorry, confused you with the candy-man.

Probably didn't help the confusion when my iPhone changed "side bets" to "sure bets".

 

[houston]

Are there really finalists out there who expect their commish to pay them out 50/50? I have no problem with the finalists making their own arrangement, but they can divide the prize themselves. 

 

[fruity pebbles]

Are there really finalists out there who expect their commish to pay them out 50/50? I have no problem with the finalists making their own arrangement, but they can divide the prize themselves. 

A lot of work, i agree

 

[FUBAR]

Are there really finalists out there who expect their commish to pay them out 50/50? I have no problem with the finalists making their own arrangement, but they can divide the prize themselves. 

Expect?  No.  But ours did.  

Then folded the league due to other issues throughout the year, our splitting the pot was the least of his hassle.

 

[belljr]

A lot of work, i agree

:Lol:. I think this is sarcasm

 

[Neil Beaufort Zod]

Agreed the owner can do whatever they want after the fact, I'm not arguing this at all. However, I pay out as required per the rules as my league voted upon years ago.

Sorry if I wasn't clear (or just ignored that part). Yes, as commish you should pay out exactly as your rules state. What they do is what they do. 

I believe there's absolutely nothing wrong with splitting the pot, but if I was commish in such a league I wouldn't pay it out that way. No matter what they said, I'd discharge my responsibilities as required and wish them a good day. Winner gets X, runner-up gets Y and whatever happens afterward is none of my business. 

 

[Neil Beaufort Zod]

Just to further fuel the fire - so our league ended last week.  Top prize was $600, second was $300.  I had suggested splitting the pot, opponent declined - I won.  So I got $600 and he got $300.

 He was not quite ready to give up on FF for the year, so he said we should play against each other again in Week 17 with no waiver wire moves and whoever we had available.  I told him I would play him again and if I won I got his $300, and if he won he got $150 from me.  He was pretty confident based on Week 17 matchups, and in fairness he DID have more players going and better matchups...so he took the very bad deal.  Well, that Jennings TD just secured another win for me.  Poor fool.

Was what we did unethical?

That sounds sad, actually. Losing is never fun, but $300 makes it easier to accept. He cost himself $150 more by not splitting, but $300 is still a nice take-away (I'm assuming $75 entry). 

But to keep going to week 17 and then lose the $300, meaning you lost money in a year you were runner-up? That's someone who can't let go. Strikes me as sad. 

To answer your question, not unethical at all. Week 17 is technically your offseason. It's not even a part of your league's calendar. 

 

[FUBAR]

That sounds sad, actually. Losing is never fun, but $300 makes it easier to accept. He cost himself $150 more by not splitting, but $300 is still a nice take-away (I'm assuming $75 entry). 

But to keep going to week 17 and then lose the $300, meaning you lost money in a year you were runner-up? That's someone who can't let go. Strikes me as sad. 

To answer your question, not unethical at all. Week 17 is technically your offseason. It's not even a part of your league's calendar. 

And giving 2:1, chasing bad money with good and he clearly doesn't get that week 17 is crazy. 

 

[Hurl Bruce]

I had a week 17 championship game and had a very questionable lineup with Zeke sitting out.  This league pays amounts for advancing each playoff round, so we got paid for making the finals but the big pot is winner take all...about $900.  I offered a split where we'd each take some away and play for the rest.  The other owner declined.  I won it all.

I've regretted in the past when I've made a deal when I've won, but to me, it's nice to take something away and play for a portion of the pot.

 

[ghostguy123]

Not a fan of the "winner take all" pots.  Maybe with a low buy in, but if the pot is near a grand then no.

 

[habsfan]

Agreed the owner can do whatever they want after the fact, I'm not arguing this at all. However, I pay out as required per the rules as my league voted upon years ago. The big difference here is that my league mates feel the same way about pot splitting. 

Do you guys think pot splitting is normal? If so, why not just have a finalists pot with a declared champion as part of the rules prior to the season?

If the league I commish had cash pay-outs, I would simply decline to be involved in any part of the chopping process. Whatever the finalists agree to, do it "off line". I would pay out based on the outcome of the finals and again, they can handle the financial piece off line as well.

 

[[icon]]

Won my 10T league and was entering into the interleague superbowl this week vs winner of another 10T league. 

$4200 in prize money between first and second. 

Original payout: 1st: $2700 / 2nd: $1500
Agreed-upon split: $2000 each... then play for last $200 + Super Bowl Ring/Title. 

Works for me when it comes to week 17 superbowl with nearly a 100% increase from 2nd to 1st prize pool.

 

Update: 

Won the overall SuperBowl handily (156-124) so this cost me about $500... that said I'd do it again. My lineup was perfect. Had he set a perfect lineup I would have lost. 

With five weekly high score bonuses of $50 each... made for a nice and profitable season. 

 

[Hot Sauce Guy]

Blast from the past.

My LCG opponent in a 16-team IDP PPR TE-P league asked me if I wanted to split the pot.

It’s probably a coin flip. Both teams stacked. I’m the 1-seed but scored ~100 fewer points.

We’re both stacked at RB, I’ve got significantly better WR, and we’re pretty evenly matched at the IDP positions.

It’s 65/35, so 15% drop off to 50-50. Maf.

The champ would still get bragging rights of course. Guaranteed 50%, or a shot at 15% more or less. Tough call.

 

[-OZ-]

Blast from the past.

My LCG opponent in a 16-team IDP PPR TE-P league asked me if I wanted to split the pot.

It’s probably a coin flip. Both teams stacked. I’m the 1-seed but scored ~100 fewer points.

We’re both stacked at RB, I’ve got significantly better WR, and we’re pretty evenly matched at the IDP positions.

It’s 65/35, so 15% drop off to 50-50. Maf.

The champ would still get bragging rights of course. Guaranteed 50%, or a shot at 15% more or less. Tough call.

I’d never ask but if the other team asked I’d probably be willing. Especially if it’s a big pot and they might need the money.

 

[BobbyLayne]

chopping the pot is not uncommon in poker tournaments

 

[Boston]

Blast from the past.

My LCG opponent in a 16-team IDP PPR TE-P league asked me if I wanted to split the pot.

It’s probably a coin flip. Both teams stacked. I’m the 1-seed but scored ~100 fewer points.

We’re both stacked at RB, I’ve got significantly better WR, and we’re pretty evenly matched at the IDP positions.

It’s 65/35, so 15% drop off to 50-50. Maf.

The champ would still get bragging rights of course. Guaranteed 50%, or a shot at 15% more or less. Tough call.

What's the pot?

 

[Lehigh98]

that said, my response was that I didn't want to anger the fantasy gods and I'd rather play it out.

I'm not superstitious, but I am a little stitious. Only in about two situations I can think of, and both related to gambling. First, are a few things at a Craps table (Saying 7, dice hitting hands, same dice when they go off the table). Second is offering / accepting deals to split at a poker tournament or FF playoffs. It seems like any time someone offers a (fair) deal, and the other person rejects, the deal offeror wins and the rejector loses. Maybe I should go offer some deals now...

 

[Lehigh98]

Just to further fuel the fire - so our league ended last week. Top prize was $600, second was $300. I had suggested splitting the pot, opponent declined - I won. So I got $600 and he got $300.

He was not quite ready to give up on FF for the year, so he said we should play against each other again in Week 17 with no waiver wire moves and whoever we had available. I told him I would play him again and if I won I got his $300, and if he won he got $150 from me. He was pretty confident based on Week 17 matchups, and in fairness he DID have more players going and better matchups...so he took the very bad deal. Well, that Jennings TD just secured another win for me. Poor fool.

Was what we did unethical?

Reminds me of the dunk bet scene in White Men Can't Jump, just let it go Billy Hoyle...

 

[Mitchie]

Blast from the past.

My LCG opponent in a 16-team IDP PPR TE-P league asked me if I wanted to split the pot.

It’s probably a coin flip. Both teams stacked. I’m the 1-seed but scored ~100 fewer points.

We’re both stacked at RB, I’ve got significantly better WR, and we’re pretty evenly matched at the IDP positions.

It’s 65/35, so 15% drop off to 50-50. Maf.

The champ would still get bragging rights of course. Guaranteed 50%, or a shot at 15% more or less. Tough call.

The amount of the pot would be useful info here, depending on the amount one option would be to knock it down to 55/45 so you're still playing for something but guarantee a higher floor.

ETA: No person has the same financial situation so whatever people want to do is fine by me.

 

[TLEF316]

Personally I'm against chopping. I mean....if I'm not involved and 2 people want to do it, that's fine by me. But I'll never initiate the conversation and dont really want to do it.

I dont play in very high stakes leagues ($100 and $200 entry) so the 2nd place money (While certainly a nice little bonus) isn't really gonna make my year. The first place money isn't either, but I'd rather swing for the fences, even if I'm the underdog.

One of the leagues I'm in (mostly my brother's good friends) is ALL about it. I made the finals 2 years in a row and both times the other owner came to me practically begging to chop. I finally relented and agreed to a partial chop (I think we split most of the pot and played for like $150)

 

[C & C]

What happens on occasion in one of my leagues is this...say the winner gets $500, loser gets $0, the teams agree to split $400 and let $100 ride on the outcome. Sometimes an offer is never made and sometimes its refused. I have no issues with teams chopping. Bragging rights means more in this league.

 

[Pickle Rody]

In my experience the team owner who's team got lucky, has a roster that does not quite match up well to his opponent and is worried about losing because they are a heavy underdog is the one who proposes a split.

As commissioner of my league for close to 20 years I would not have and never did propose a split of the 1st and 2nd place monies. I have been offered an opportunity to split the money twice out of the six times I made the championship game. I declined both times. I also won each of those times.....and one other time. I never once felt bad about declining to split. The loser got a nice chunk of change regardless. One caveat I should probably mention is that our championship game has always been played during Wk.17. Until the recent NFL schedule expansion to an 18 week regular season this always made winning a title very challenging due to NFL players sitting out that week if their NFL team had already clinched a playoff berth. This was a significant factor in my losing my first two title game opportunities. I didn't have a viable backup for my record setting QB, P. Manning (who sat.)

I never discouraged others from discussing or agreeing to a split. Our treasurer handled payouts every year, according to league rules. What those contestants chose to do with their winnings was none of my or the leagues business. There have been a number of times where a split was agreed to by other title game participants. Same deal, treasurer did his job and the owners took care of their business afterwards.

During one stretch that ran for probably ten years we had four league sanctioned side bets that we kept track of on the league hosting site. These sanctioned side bets were never mandatory. An owner chose to participate or not as it was completely up to them. The only requirement was that decisions had to be made by draft day, usually two weeks before the start of the NFL season. I never once discouraged any side bets actually done on the side, outside of league parameters. Cases of beer, weed, liquor, cash.....I've been a participant many times in side bets of this sort. No harm to the league, no foul. We still have a league sanctioned side bet that has been running for 23 consecutive years...every year of the leagues existence. (Elimination Pot; lowest scoring team first 11 weeks got eliminated. $10 buy in. Changed to a $5 buy in at some point as we got older and most of the league started families and pinched pennies to death.)

Also, like @C & C mentions above, I was always more interested in winning champion bragging rights and taking home the traveling trophy with the new plate nailed into the side of it. That trophy stood proudly in my home for a year minimum, until a new champion was crowned.

Sorry. Not sure why but, I've been making long posts the last few days.

TL, DR
As long as there is no league rule prohibiting splits/side bets it is all cool by me.

Aside: I would never join a league that had these types of rules but, that is for another thread that may or may not exist.

 

[jm192]

I think it's fine.

Collusion is two teams coming together to cheat the rest of the league in some way. The rest of the teams are OUT at this point. They're not cheating anyone. At the point your season is done, why do you care about if Frank gets all the pot vs half? You're still the same amount.

Story time!

I'm in a dynasty league that I had won back to back. I was in the Finals for a 3rd straight year during the Demar Hamlin near death experience. I had a pretty strong lead. He had Diggs and the Bills defense. I had Josh Allen. I don't remember the numbers, but it seemed unlikely he was going to come back even if the full game gets played.

ESPN didn't really offer anything solution wise. According to the ESPN website/app, I won. But obviously it left things in a bit of an unfair spot. So the other guy and the league were tossing around solutions. The winner gets 300$, 2nd place gets 150$. I decided to offer him another 100$ given the situation, but we were going to accept the ESPN results as they stood. 100$ is great, but a 3 peat is even better.

I was pretty confident I was going to win no matter what. But people wanted to use the week 18 stats. In order to lose, It was going to have to mean either Allen gets injured and/or Diggs has a crazy long rushing TD AND the Buffalo defense goes crazy. It was exceedingly unlikely. But a risk I wasn't really interested in taking.

He declined. He wanted the week 18 stats to count. Diggs had 100 and a TD. Allen had 250 and 3 TD's. The Bills DST went off. Nyheim Hines had 2 KR TD's. It wasn't enough.

 

[Gatorade]

Never seen this in any league I was in.
Not really sure how I feel about it.

 

[Hot Sauce Guy]

What's the pot?

Couple K.

 

[The General]

Nothing wrong with chopping the pot or combining 1st and 2nd monies and splitting or winner taking a tad more.

 

[Gatorade]

This will only work if both owners live in a state where "pot" is legal.

 

[-OZ-]

What happens on occasion in one of my leagues is this...say the winner gets $500, loser gets $0, the teams agree to split $400 and let $100 ride on the outcome. Sometimes an offer is never made and sometimes its refused. I have no issues with teams chopping. Bragging rights means more in this league.

I think this is the best way to go.

What's the pot?

Couple K.

Maybe split $1600 - $800 each, play for $400? Winner ends up with 60%.
Does 2nd get anything?

 

[Boston]

What's the pot?

Couple K.

That makes it very interesting...that's real $...what's the current breakdown?

 

[Hot Sauce Guy]

I think this is the best way to go.

In that circumstance yes.

In mine the pot is split 50-29-13-8, 1-2-3-4

So it’s a 21% difference between 1st & 2nd.

I’m leaning towards playing out/not splitting. But the split is tempting. Guaranteed 50-50, or risk gaining or losing 21%

I also don’t like angering the FF gods, so there’s that.

 

[Hot Sauce Guy]

That makes it very interesting...that's real $...what's the current breakdown?

50-29-13-8 (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th)

 

[Hot Sauce Guy]

Maybe split $1600 - $800 each, play for $400? Winner ends up with 60%.
Does 2nd get anything?

Yes - 50%/29% 1st -> 2nd

 

[-OZ-]

I think this is the best way to go.

In that circumstance yes.

In mine the pot is split 50-29-13-8, 1-2-3-4

So it’s a 21% difference between 1st & 2nd.

I’m leaning towards playing out/not splitting. But the split is tempting. Guaranteed 50-50, or risk gaining or losing 21%

I also don’t like angering the FF gods, so there’s that.

With that small a difference, I wouldn’t bother.

 

[Hot Sauce Guy]

With that small a difference, I wouldn’t bother.

well, that’s the difference between a split and a W or L.

The difference between the W & L is like $600

 

[Nevermore]

I am a pretty competitive player when it comes to fantasy, so I wouldn't split the championship money. When I sign up for a league and pay, I am going in to win it full out and if that doesn't happen than I take what I get( 2nd place or whatever) because I was beat out by another owner who had a better team that year. That is the way it just falls from year to year for me. Sometimes I win sometimes I don't. In the end what counts is I am having fun with it all with a bunch of good competition thrown in.

 

[joey]

Maybe split $1600 - $800 each, play for $400? Winner ends up with 60%.
Does 2nd get anything?

Yes - 50%/29% 1st -> 2nd

In this case I probably don’t accept the split.

I mean, it’s a difference between $1000 and $580. Let the chips fall where they might.

In a survivor type contest that I’m in where winner takes all and there is a couple grand in the pot, I’ve seen a 60/40 split or similar happen multiple times. The “insurance” is worth it to many people in those kind of scenarios.

 

[Hot Sauce Guy]

In this case I probably don’t accept the split.

I mean, it’s a difference between $1000 and $580. Let the chips fall where they might.

Yeah, a bit more on both sides, but that’s roughly the breakdown.

I’m a gambler, and I like my team.

Maybe it’d help if I posted the starting rosters?

SF PPT TE-P IDP

Me:
QB - Herbert
SFLX - Darnold
RB - Jacobs, Chuba, Chase Brown
WR - Lamb, Nico, AJB
TE - Jonnu, HHenry
K - Aubrey
DT - Madubuike (or Osa, leaning Madubuike)
DE - Karlaftis, Fowler
LB - Ernest Jones, Henley, Tranquil (assuming Speed is out. Unfortunately Tranquil plays on Wed. Fortunately he plays the Steelers)
CB - Murphy, Horn
S - Curl, Murray

I have 1 last IDP roster spot - it will either be Chuck Clark (S) or EJ Speed, who’s Q.

I’m also not sure if I want to start Murray, but with Jimmy Ward now out for the season he feels like a good start. HOU D should be on the field a lot.

I’m also on the fence flexing Henry. I have Rhamondre & Warren as options, but in TE-P Henry puts up 20+ often.

Opponent:
QB - Stafford
SFLX - Daniels
RB - Barkley, Achane, Dowdle, Pollard
WR - DJM, Sutton, Jennings
TE - Kelce
K - McLaughlin
DT - Kancey
DE - Greenard, AVGinkle
LB - Zaire Franklin, Baun, Sherwood
CB - Amadi, Taron Johnson
S - Byard, Metellus, D. Elliott

D players are fickle, and I like my offense a lot more than his. And I think my D is comparable (though losing Maxx & having idiot Azeez Al-Shaair suspended doesn’t help)

I dunno. Feels kinda coin-flippy.

My gut says the dude asking me to split feels like I have the better team.

 

[Dickies]

Maybe split $1600 - $800 each, play for $400? Winner ends up with 60%.
Does 2nd get anything?

Yes - 50%/29% 1st -> 2nd

That seems like a pretty generous 2nd place payout and not a big enough gap in 1st place winnings to justify splitting. Half the fun of the FF season is having something at stake once you're playing for the money at the end.