Commissioner Tool Box - Quick Links

Here is a list of links to some files that I use to help with the job of being a Fantasy Football Commissioner.  They are mentioned on this page and on the YaaHoo_Cats! page.
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• ​Annual pre-season Engagement Letter (.pdf).     (Word file)  This letter is to be sent out before the season starts to go over the dues, draft date, etc.

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• YaaHoo_Cats! Scoring Settings (.pdf)  These are the scoring settings that we use in our league.  I think it is a good combination of various scoring systems.

 

• Final top 24 NFL rankings by category using the YaaHoo_Cats! scoring system.  (Can be used (and updated) in future years for draft strategy analysis). (Excel File) (.pdf file).  This is a tool to see the relative value of each position.  It was done with the results from 2022, and can be modified in the future to help you draft like a champion.

 

• League Scoring Recap and Winning Payouts (2022 Season).  (Excel File) (.pdf file)  A complete file to keep track of each winners, and season ending payouts.  Built for a play against everyone every week league (points only), but could probably be modified for a head to head league.​

Commissioner Tools - Your Complete

​Guide

General

Being your league's Commissioner comes with work and responsibilities if you want to do it right and run a successful and organized league.  This page is intended to help equip you with the tools and confidence needed so that you can expertly perform this most rewarding and prestigious duty.  Fantasy Football Commissioner.  Downloadable tools can be found at the end of this page.  But first, some general tips:

• ​Be committed.  You are responsible for all aspects of running the league, and your league-mates count on you to steer them from the draft to the end of season banquet.   Being Flaky, unreliable, and not following through on things  are not the traits of a  successful fantasy football commissioners.  Just sayin.

 

• Communicate.  This is one of the hardest tasks to do because your league members may be scattered across the country, and maybe aren't good communicators themselves.  Make sure to have all league members current  telephone numbers and emails.  This is important.

 

• Your League needs a trophy.  You can purchase stock ones at your local trophy shoppe/engraver, or better yet, make a customized one unique to your league.  The trophy shoppe can still do the engraving for you.

 

• If possible, have an end of the season banquet.  I like to have it the week before the Super bowl.   Football interest is at its peak then.  If your fantasy friends gather for the Super bowl, then the trophy and prize presentations would be a great way to start of that special day.   Other leagues (like ours), meet at a restaurant/bar to host the festivities.

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• During your banquet, your league will also have an opportunity to bring rule or other changes up for discussion, and for a vote.  The banquet can be funded through dues, or from trades/waiver wire transactions.  As discussed on my YaaHoo_Cats! page, our league charges $5 per trade, with half of it going towards the banquet, and the other half to the prize pool.  For the banquet, use mailing envelopes for prize monies, with the team name on it and the following information: 1st, 2nd or 3rd place, or other information (# of weekly wins, e.g.), and the prize amount won.

 

• Generally, do not change any rules (scoring & roster makeup, e.g.) without consent of the league, unless that is the agreed upon method.  If this is the case, then by no means change any rules once the season has started.  I do reserve the right to make minor changes to the rules during the off-season.  One example was adding fractional points to field goals (i.e. a 37-yard field goal is now 3.7 points instead of just 3).

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• Stay organized.  Use file folders, file cabinets & have your digital (Excel e.g.) fantasy football files stored in a logical place on your computer.  Make a backup.  Zip up bank bags are a good place to store cash.

 

• Regarding banking, instead of keeping checks & cash & IOU's in a zippered bank bag, everything can go into your personal bank account.  This way, cash, checks, and electronic transfers (VENMO, PayPal, Apple Wallet, etc., e.g.) can all go in one place.  Either put these funds in a separate savings account, or just segregate them out from a checking/savings account.  When you balance your account, the difference in the grand total and your personal funds, is your reconciled list of fantasy football payments.  You are responsible for the payouts, so under no circumstances use these monies to float any of your own personal liabilities.  Use the cash bag if you are tempted to do this.

Forming a League

• ​If starting a league, find friends, relatives, co-workers, or acquaintances of these to form your league.  Seek out players with high integrity and reliability.  Also, they should inherently be football fans.  And fun.  Generally, these are born, not made.  This advice is the same for replacing a member of an existing league.  


• With a new league, try and have a meeting before the season to get a feel as to what type of structure and format and scoring system that you want to use.  Many of the new members will probably have experience with different types of formats, so come to a conclusion on what the group wants.  Or better yet, tell them how it is going to be, but be open to their feedback. Different ways to set up your league can be found here.

 

• As commissioner, your Online Host will have a separate section for you to set up your league.  This is where you will determine what type of league that you want to play in, as well as adjusting the scoring and other settings to your league's preferences.

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• Choose a fantasy football online host.  As mentioned earlier, Yahoo! has worked well for me.  You can create your league (for free) here or other online host.  The host will need to know the email addresses of all participants.

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• Determine what your league dues will be, if any.  Remember, this is an 18 week season, so if you charge, say, $100 per year to join, this is really only $5.56 per week.  Having a prize fund, even if modest, adds an element to the season that you can't recreate in a "funzie" league.  My recommendation is to make the dues high enough to yield a nice pot, but not high enough to scare away the "shoe clerks", as my dad used to say.

 

• Let the league know your expectations regarding dues collection.  To collect dues from 8-16 league owners can be difficult to do.  I ask members to pay before the season starts, but usually only about 25%-50% do.  The rest are reeled in during the season through reminders and nudging.  Generally, I don't get too bent if I get the dues before the season is over, as these are friends and family that I am playing with.  It is also possible to "gift" dues to your kids or in-laws in lieu of a birthday or Christmas present.

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• ​Do not let league members pay from their winnings at the end of the season.  Essentially they had no skin in the game,  and they are just hoping to cover their dues with their share of the pot, but if they don't win anything, and don't pay, then you will have to BFL them.  This stands for Banned for Life.  Some leagues refer to BFL's as "the owner or team whose name(s) will remain unsaid", or some such bone-through-skull "dead to the league" status.  In the event of a BFL, as commissioner you can cover their dues out of your own pocket, or recalculate the prize pool.  I have done both, but for now on will go with the latter option. 

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• It is important that all dues and other fees (trade money, e.g.) are collected  before the season is over so you can put together the winning envelopes (or other forms of payment) to be handed out at your end of season banquet (should you have one, yes you should), or if no banquet, soon after the season ends.  All winnings should be paid out within a month or sooner.

​Before the Season

Determine your league members, and when the draft will be held.
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• As mentioned above, enter, or if existing, renew your league on your Host's online site.  I get an email from Yahoo! to renew the league.  This is an example of a reminder notice I received in April, 2022 regarding renewal:

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• As noted in the renewal email, our draft is defaulted to an "Offline" draft.  This kind of draft is done in person, then the draft results are loaded in by the commissioner.  We use an "Online" draft, so the first thing I do is go into the draft settings and change this.

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• Baked in, Yahoo! has an "Auto Renew" setting, whereat prior year league members will be automatically invited.  As commissioner, you can uncheck any of the players that have informed you that they are not going to play that year, or it could be a player that is receiving a BFL.  Wishy washy players have no place in your league.  Do your best to find "lifers" that are in it for the long haul. ​​ ​

 

• At least a month, maybe two, before your draft date, let the league know via email, Online Host, commissioner note (see above) (emailed), text, phone call, or in person when and where the draft will be held.  More than likely your draft will be done online with your host.  A week or two before the draft, your league will be antsy about the date/time of the draft, so you can't overcommunicate here.​  

 

• Generally, I set our draft to be held on the Saturday or Sunday of Labor Day weekend, as the pre-season is over, and the first NFL game is the next week.    For those who like to travel that weekend, woe to you, but you can still draft remotely on your cell phone or laptop if you have service (camping=bad), or you can  preload your player rankings on the Host site, then when the draft comes, when it is your turn, your highest ranked player will be selected by the auto-drafter, if they are still available.   This actually works pretty well, but it does take some effort to set it up if you want to manipulate your roster any.  The auto-draft feature does not need your input, and if you don't pre-load it, it will take the highest value player available during each pick.  Who knows, you may be better off for it!

 

• As commissioner, don't give advice on who to pick.  This is the owner's job, and you need to remain unbiased.  This also goes for overall draft strategy (my site notwithstanding #:^), ).

During The Season

• ​​If you have set up your league properly, there really shouldn't be that much to do, but here is some general advice:

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• Keep the league engaged.  You want a vibrant league throughout the season.  This may be the best reason of all to have prize fund dues high enough to make it interesting, as well as having weekly win prizes that may keep lesser teams engaged.  Encourage message board activity.  The more interest there is, the better your league will be.  I have found too, that a note on your online site (Commissioner Note or other chat) extolling the wonderful week that was had by the weekly winner (or winners in the case of head to head play) is much appreciated by the league.  If you miss a week or two, just catch it up in a future note.

 

• Resolve disputes regarding scoring and trading.

 

• Be on the lookout for cheating and collusion.  Some leagues have a lot of internal trades, and these can be lopsided on purpose to help one team get over.  You should be able to set a trade cut off date on your online host as well (before playoffs, e.g.).  Trades should be voted on by the league before they go through.  This goes for you too.  As commissioner, your ethics have to be the gold standard.

Season Wrap Up

• If you haven't yet, get all the dues collected.  This may take emails, phone calls, online host notes, etc. to reel them all in. (Unless of course if you have a strict policy of having payers pay before the season begins)

 

• Either during the season, or shortly thereafter, calculate the payoffs.  It could be that you have a simple payout structure (winner takes all, e.g.) that this step is unnecessary.  Otherwise, use the League Scoring and Recap files are located at the top of this page in the Commissioner Tool Box (Excel & .pdf).

 

• Have the winner's name engraved on the Trophy.  It may be necessary to mail it if it is not being handed out at the banquet.  On that note, you may have to cajole the previous year's champion to give it back.


• If possible, have a "banquet".  This could be held at someone's house, or at a sports bar (ideal).  Speeches and toasts are fun.  Hand out the prizes.  Present the trophy to the League Champion.  Have a raffle.  Hand out "bling" (football themed necklaces, e.g.).  And, as discussed, have a league meeting time to talk about any potential rule/dues/scoring changes to make for the next season.  Have a vote.  Socialize, eat, drink, be merry, and adjourn.  Well done, Commissioner!

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