5 Tips For New Dynasty Fantasy Football Players: Committing To Winning

Let’s cut through the bullsh*t. Dynasty isn’t for everyone and every dynasty league isn’t worth joining.

So if you’re considering your first dynasty league or trying to convince someone else to try the format, you’ve come to the right place. I’m here to save you from the “big mistakes” born from long-term dynasty formats so you can have long-term fun.

The 5 Key Concepts for Dynasty Fantasy Football Leagues

Commitment
Flexibility
Patience
Balance
Autonomy

Tip 1: Think It Through Before Joining (Commitment)

Because dynasty leagues allow managers to maintain their roster forever, they are meant to last forever.

This isn’t a redraft league where last year never really matters. This isn’t some work league that goes dead silent after Week 12. And this isn’t your uncle’s friend’s son’s league that lets people get away with forgetting to set their rosters each week.

Dynasty leagues are about commitment.

If you decide to join one, you need to be prepared for what that truly means. You’ll be committed to the people, to the group chat, to the fees, and to the draft settings for years to come, come hell or high water.

Before joining, here’s a quick “commitment checklist” to get you started. Trust me. You’ll need it.

Dynasty Commitment Checklist
League style check: Are the league’s settings something that you will enjoy? Do you understand this league style? If you’re trying an IDP league for the first time, dynasty may be the wrong route. Test the waters in redraft first before committing long term.

Leaguemate check: I’ll ask it: Do you even like these people? You don’t have to, but you will need to spend time playing against them year after year. Are you OK with them potentially taking your money for years and years on end? Do you trust there won’t be collusion? Do you trust these leaguemates will be committed to the league themselves? Don’t shoot the messenger. I’m just asking.

Commissioner check: Make sure this is someone you trust. Not only to keep your money safe, but to enforce league rules when needed. For dynasty, leagues really should have some formal written rules to help navigate “hiccups” as they come along—some call them a “charter.” Commitment in a league is like commitment in a relationship: Is your commissioner capable and prepared to earn and keep your trust?

Buy-in check: Pretend you were told that you would have to pay the same league buy-in for the next 10 years. Now, pretend you are never going to win any of it back. Not even once. Are you able to stomach that loss? Make sure the buy-in is palatable for the long haul.

Bandwidth check: This is probably the toughest commitment checklist item, but it’s born from the other items combined. The simple question is: Do you have the time to commit to a dynasty league?

But the hidden message is: If you are playing in a league style you don’t enjoy, with people you don’t enjoy, with a commissioner that doesn’t enforce rules, and you’re paying a lot of money to do so… You often won’t find the available bandwidth to keep yourself engaged in that particular league. However, if all of the other pieces are checkmarked, I bet you’ll be able to make space for the league no matter what. Bandwidth is funny like that.

Tip 2: Forget Everything You Know (Flexibility)

Rigidity is your biggest weakness.

Fantasy strategies vary greatly outside of redraft leagues. ADP changes, trade negotiations change and even draft strategies change when the future is on the table.

The beauty of dynasty leagues—aside from the intimate long-term commitment—is that there are so many ways to play, trade and think about your team. You might have a leaguemate who trades away a ton of their players and draft picks for future draft picks. You might have a leaguemate who drafts all of the old guys to “win now.”

There’s no wrong way to play. Be flexible and be open to learning and trying new things.

Tip 3: "Good Moves" Are Relative (Patience)

In redraft, it’s fun to “grade” a trade immediately after it goes through. Giving your leaguemates hell is half the fun. But even during a single season, a “lopsided” trade can flip directions after a few months.

These concepts are magnified exponentially in dynasty. A move being “good” or “bad” is relative to time.

A rookie draft pick three years out could be anything, everything, and nothing all at once.

Scenario: The year is 2014. You trade away a 2017 rookie pick. Three years later, your leaguemate uses that pick to draft Patrick Mahomes. Yikes. Bad move, right? But … You took home the trophy in 2014 because of that trade. Good move, right? It’s hard to say which leaguemate won the trade. And it would depend on which year you decide to ask. What if the guy who drafted Patrick Mahomes never ended up winning? What if five years later, he did?

Patience is key. Good moves are relative to your team and time.

Tip 4: Don't Be Afraid To Draft The Old Geezers (Balance)

While everyone was drafting rookies and young bucks last year during our Fantasy Life Dynasty League’s start up, I was stacking up on Baker Mayfield, Derrick Henry, Hunter Henry and Courtland Sutton. Those old guys have a combined 36 seasons of NFL football between them! And in dynasty, when age and longevity matter, this could be frowned upon.

But … Balance is important. I made sure to draft some fresh legs, too. Don’t pass up on the older guys just because you may not have them on your rosters for another decade.

Me? I’m always trying to win. And I did. (Never let them forget ™)

Tip 5: Play the Game Your Way (Autonomy)

There are so many factors that go into a dynasty league that you can never fully take anyone's advice inside of a vacuum. While there are fantastic suggestions for FAAB and trade values, even the best dynasty players would need to look at your entire roster (and your league's) to be able to fully grasp what kinds of trades are beneficial or not for your team.

There are also multiple different strategies and ways to attack this style of fantasy football. Regardless of how you do it, play the game your way.

Playing your way is the only way you'll find a multi-year dynasty league enjoyable enough to stick with.

It's your team and it’s your time, after all. And you’re the one who has to live with it.