The Value of the Veto

Last year, I read an impassioned article by Tim Stafford about why vetoing trades should be disallowed, found here. The point of the article is that owners should be responsible enough to decide the fate of their team. After all, the NFL allows every trade and fantasy football is based on what a professional team would do (wink, wink). Remember this isn’t the NFL where every team is worth hundreds of millions of dollars. A dynasty league usually only requires a yearly fee or perhaps a two-year investment. Let’s explore a recently vetoed trade in one of the leagues I am in as I show why vetoes should be allowed.

Less than a week ago, the trade of Matt Forte for Daryl Richardson, Jacquizz Rogers, Jarius Wright and 2013 rookie draft pick 4.23 got challenged. In this league, the protocol is to have both owners explain why they made the trade as it should give insight into their decision process before people decide to veto it. One of the owners (we will call him “Mike” to protect the innocent, received Forte) and posted Tim’s “Veto the Veto” article as his defense. The other owner (we will call him “John” to protect him as well) responded on the message board with, “I talked and traded offers with a number of teams and felt this was the best offer. Others seem to disagree and have the right to.” Their trade was reversed by a 23-8 vote.

There were some great points brought up in the previous article. No owner knows any other owners long-term plans. Yes, this is true, but as with anything you need to look at the trade from both sides of the aisle. Forte is a top ten dynasty running back according to our site and without a doubt many other sites and with other experts outside our doors. Richardson is one of three running backs who may start for the Rams this year (rookie Zac Stacy and Isaiah Peed could as well). Rogers, who looked to get more playing time this season, was replaced by the aging Steven Jackson. Wright, who only played after Percy Harvin was injured last season, is now the WR4 at best in Minnesota after they traded for Greg Jennings and drafted Cordarrelle Patterson. The rookie 4.23 drafts the 72nd best rookie player in this league.

John blew up his roster without soliciting offers from multiple teams. If he wanted to get younger and didn’t like Forte anymore, so be it, but let everyone know you are looking to move Forte. As I am the other Forte owner in this league (it’s a 32 team league with doubles of every player), there is zero chance I would have considered this offer nor would I have proposed it. Multiple teams became outraged not only about the unfairness of the trade, but also that they did not even know Forte was available. The better course of action was to post on the message board that Forte was available and give it some time to see what offers came in.

Every owner should be empowered to run their team as they like when it does not impact the competitive balance of the league. Mike’s team got stronger without paying much of anything and John’s team got much weaker. This trade put the league in jeopardy in another way if John leaves, it will be hard to find another owner willing to take over the team.

I understand people value players differently and they should. Dynasty fantasy sports are more subjective and difficult because of the time and analysis needed to come up with a working game plan. Unlike most trades, there was a clear winner and a clear loser from the start. In this instance, the league strongly believed one owner gave up too much. It is important to protect leagues from super teams that destroy morale. While it might be fun to be the super team, it will not be fun playing them, especially in a cash league. This will force commissioners to spend much of their time recruiting new owners on almost a yearly basis and I will tell you there is no fun in that. No one wants to play in a league they can never win!

Vetoes can also be used as weapons. This is why you limit an owner’s ability to call for a veto and/or second one to once a year. If the league does this, each team will have to consider the ramifications of their actions. One of the teams that was up in arms about the Forte trade, then made an offer to John when the trade was reversed. Needless to say, John was not going to deal with someone who questioned his judgment.  Unfortunately, politics come into play in many dynasty leagues. If someone is using the veto as a filibuster, then alter your rules around the use, but consider not stopping it. Strong commissioners can curtail its use by having real conversations with owners as most times an email is not enough.

The threat of collusion is alive and well, despite most well-intentioned fantasy players. I would like to believe most people are smart enough not to make it obvious, but it still happens or even worse, can be accused with ease. In leagues I had family members or close friends and was the commissioner, I created a steering committee that would decide if a trade of mine was fair or not. No commissioner wants to be in the middle of a controversy that could destroy their league. Unless someone is silly enough to put their thoughts in an email, collusion remains too tough to prove. I’d rather go above and beyond preparing for the worst thing to happen versus ignoring the possibility.

The internet has great people and it has less than honorable people as well, so don’t expect that everyone will trade fairly. I have seen a few owners browbeat owners into trades that don’t help their team at all, leaving their team without meaningful assets, but making the stronger owner’s team almost unbeatable. Yes, leagues can try to get experienced owners who know what they are doing in dynasty, but let’s face it, we were all new to dynasty once.

I believe in the veto as a way to protect the entire league, not what a certain trade will do to my team’s chances. If you find a commish that just worries about their own team, you are in the wrong league, my friend. Good luck!

What do you think of the differing views on the veto?  Should they be allowed? Post your comments below.

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