Fantasy Auctions

It's officially football season. Yes, I know the season hasn't started. Heck, training camp hasn't even started yet. Nevertheless, fantasy football is already kicking into gear, and if you aren't getting prepared, you're already falling behind.

That's a depressing thought, isn't it?

I'm going to talk here about fantasy sports auctions. Many regular fantasy sports participants have never actually done a fantasy auction, instead only participating in fantasy drafts. This might be a little surprising, given that auctions are actually the older method of distributing players, since when Rotisserie baseball started in the '80s, it used auctions. Drafts came into vogue later, particularly in football, and particularly online, given the greater ease of coding applications to handle drafts rather than auctions.

Many fantasy enthusiasts greatly prefer auctions, and some now eschew leagues with drafts entirely. Why? Well, two major reasons. First, it gives everyone an equal shot at every player, eliminating the vagaries of draft order from the equation. This year, if you draft third or lower in your league, you have no chance at Adrian Peterson or Chris Johnson. You might value either of those players more than any other GM in your league, but your only option for obtaining them would be to attempt to trade with the GMs lucky enough to own one of the first two picks. In an auction, all you need to do is outbid the others. If you truly value Chris Johnson more than the rest of the league, he's yours. Further, there aren't any drop offs in an auction, where people might say that the GM drafting third is getting a raw deal, missing out on Peterson and Johnson and getting a player no better than the guy drafting 6th, yet having his second round pick come later as a result of having the earlier first rounder. Again, with an auction all GMs are on an equal footing in terms of getting any individual player, and in terms of the price they'd have to pay to get him.

The second reason is a bit more subtle. In a fantasy auction, there is more emphasis on preparedness. Not that being prepared isn't important in a draft, but an auction takes this requirement to a new level. You can't get away with simple lists by position, grabbing the most attractive player at the top of a list where you still need a player, you have to know your team, your needs, and the relative value of every player at all times. Further, there is no down time, no period while the other teams make their picks while you plan which players you'd most like to select next. Instead, you're involved on every single player. This is more taxing, but it's also, to many, much more exciting.

Next up: Advice for handling your fantasy auction.