Fantasy Football Quitters

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One of the dilemmas of being fantasy commissioner is that you also have your own stake in the league. It's possible for this to be perceived as a contradiction when the time comes to perform a commissioner duty. There are; however, certain things a commissioner must do to preserve integrity in the league, but you have to make sure these actions are consistent. In other words, don't cheat.

My #1 priority in the BFFG is to run a fair and challenging league as commissioner. My #2 priority is to win. So, it bothers me when I feel I may have to interfere with a team's roster. I promise that my intentions are to increase competition and make things fair, and not to cheat for myself.

There are only 2 reasons I would interfere with a team's line-up: 1. at a manager's request, or 2. if a manager quits. The first reason needs no explanation. The second is a more complex.

There's really nothing wrong with quitting the league. You may feel that you're mathematically eliminated from the playoffs and rather not bother. You may have a personal obligation that comes first and have to put fantasy aside. Or, ya just might not give a shit anymore. It happens.

Let me explain how I will handle the issue of quitting in the BFFG:

1. Identify a quitter. Ideally, I would like to actually speak to a manager and hear them say something like, "Ya, I've given up. I can't make the playoffs. Oh well, there's always next year. [etc.]" But it might be that your W/L record and level of participation speaks for you. In which case I will . . .

2. Override the line-up. When I assume a team has quit I will lock that team and adjust their line-up with 1 thing in mind: do as little as possible. Basically, put the best players in and don't change anything for the remainder of the season. The only exception is if that team can't start a player in every position; in which case I will pick up a needed starter and put them in. If I add a player to a dead team it will be a player that is ranked in the middle of what is available in the free agent pool. There will be no trading or dropping of players from the dead teams.

My rules on quitters are not new. I have dealt with dead teams ever since I started my fantasy football league in 2001. I have handled it pretty much the same way except that now I try to communicate more with managers and document all issues in this blog. I promise to increase fair deliberation on fantasy issues and continue to write in this blog.

I don't want to see anyone quit. I don't want to lock teams. I think that even when you are eliminated from the playoffs it's still fun to try your best and play the spoiler. But if you stay involved in the league and you try real hard against a guy one week, you should also do the same the next week. My rule on quitters is to ensure that no one has a free ride to the championship. All I ask is that managers who participate legitimately try to win. It is the best way to keep the league fair, interesting, and fun.