If I Could Only Choose One…

Justin Huestis

dlf

Imagine, (for a short time so you don’t start hyperventilating) you could only keep one of your dynasty leagues. You literally had to quit the rest and pick just one to keep. Which would you choose? I asked that very question to the crew here at DLF and had some interesting responses.

Justin Huestis

This is so difficult!

My favorite league structure is undoubtedly Ryan McDowell’s Kitchen Sink Leagues. The Kitchen Sink Leagues have it all – superflex, devy, contract, auction, you name it! I’m in one of those leagues but I took over the team when it was orphaned this past off-season. But it is hard to call that league my favorite because it’s not my own. My actual answer would have to be my home league, “Brady’s Bunch.” Brady’s Bunch is a three year old 16-team dynasty league I am commissioner of. The league started with just 12 owners and then we had a four team expansion draft. Five of my co-workers are in the league which has enabled a few handshake trades (always the most fun). Since not everyone is from my hometown, we have each other’s cell number and talk out trades via text or phone calls. As if it couldn’t get any better I’m also coming off my first championship (of many). My team is pretty well stocked and is poised for another playoff run. Here’s a link to the Brady’s Bunch league.

Here are the responses from some DLF members:

Nathan Miller
The league I would keep is one of the unique leagues I am the commissioner for. The Deucesleague was a start-up league I created. My sole intent was to stress the lineups (and owners) by developing a league that required all owners to start two QB/RB/WR/TE/K/D as well as two Flex.

A simple look would identify this as a 2QB league, but the additional requirements of two tight ends, two kickers and two team defenses, makes this a unique experience. I took extra care to adjust scoring so all positions are nearly identical in importance. This league started in 2014 as a challenge to the most skilled managers and has continued to develop. I’m excited to see how things continue to develop as the years go on.

Mo Brewington – PA Dynasty Football League

[inlinead]By far, my favorite Dynasty League is one I initially turned down “an in” for. It’s called the PA Dynasty Football League, created by my brother-in-law, Chris Hibsman. The simplicity and clarity of both the League by-laws and the player salary structure are perhaps its two biggest strengths – the league started in 2012 with six teams; I joined as an expansion team in 2013. I lost a coin flip for the first pick in a two team expansion draft, and watched as my buddy took Andrew Luck, leaving me with RG3, (which ironically didn’t seem like nearly as bad of a consolation prize then as it does now.) Later in that draft I selected a young wide receiver named…Anthony Braun? Or Al- something or other…OH! Antonio Brown, that’s his name. Yeah. He’s worked out pretty well.

Now in year four, the league has grown to a full 12 teams. My squad, The Superfluous Ninjas, went from scoring the third most points, but still finishing 6-7 in year one to being the second highest scorer, posting a 13-2 mark last season and narrowly losing the championship for refusing to start Eli Manning in the title game (Fly Eagles Fly??? Pride is an expensive mistress.) The league’s by-laws provide for almost every situation imaginable – there are no disputes or grey areas which cause dissension. The salary structure is simple. We divide the NFL’s $143 Million cap by $1 Million, making our league cap $143. This number fluctuates as the NFL’s cap does from year to year. We do the same with player salaries, using the average yearly value of their total contract, (per Spotrac.com) as a benchmark in our free agent and weekly blind bidding auctions, as well as for newly drafted players. Auctions are won by the bidder who makes the largest total commitment to a player (example – owner #1 bids 4 years/$6 {$24 total} for a player, owner#2 bids 5yrs/$5{$25 Total}, owner#2 wins by $1.) Contracts run from one to five years in length, with all draft picks automatically given a three year deal at their average salary.

Releasing a player requires an owner to pay a penalty of 25% of that player’s yearly salary- each season for the remainder of his contract, or until he is signed by another team in our league. At season’s end, owners may choose to either amnesty one bad contract, or re-sign one player from their roster who’s in the final year of his deal, a “franchise” clause of sorts. Any player in the final year of their contract who finishes amongst the top 15 scorers at his position is deemed a RFA, giving his owner the power to match any offer for that player at our free agency meeting, held during NFL Draft Weekend. We hold an email draft for all rookies and unsigned free agents in August. The penalties are stiff enough to enhance the strategic side of managing a roster, but not so strict that they stifle player movement and roster turnover. If I had to choose just one league to play, this would be it.

Bruce Matson

Bruce’s team: Parts Unknown Warriors.

I’m in a dynasty league where I play with about five or six really good friends. It’s a 16-team league and I have been in the league since the original startup draft that took place a couple years ago. We have 32-man rosters with a five player taxi squad used only for rookies. It’s an IDP league where we start eight offensive players and eight defensive players. It’s not an expert league, a lot of the owners are still learning how to play dynasty. This league is my favorite because I’m competing with my friends and it’s the center of most of our conversations. The social aspect of being in a dynasty league with people you know is what makes it entertaining. You’re never going to hear the end of it if you make a bad trade or send out a horrible trade offer. I love my team in this league. I punted the first season and built my roster around younger players who are physically talented. I consider this team my baby since the stakes are high when it comes to bragging rights.

Jeff Haverlack

The answer as to which team I would keep is an easy one for me – my longest-running dynasty league (13 years) at ESPN that I’m in with both Ken Kelly and Ken Moody, my fellow Sr. Partners here at DLF. But the reason for this is different than most would expect.

I play in approximately 10-14 leagues per year, at least ten of those being dynasty leagues. Long gone is the ability to root on a particular player as, in all likelihood, his good performance in one league is beating me in another. My long-running ESPN league was not only my first dynasty league, pre-dating DLF by a few years, but also has a long history of rivalries, competition and records that make it impossible to replace.

But those reasons aren’t what makes it my favorite league.

It’s the fact that not only is it the lowest cost league, but it’s the league in which I use a completely different approach toward managing my roster, with winning being a distant second. This league is filled with my favorite players and those who I like to watch on Sundays.

When I almost backed out of this league two years ago, I quickly realized that gone with it would be the ability to watch and root for my favorite players. This is the team I root for every Sunday. This is the league where I acquire draft picks even when they don’t add up to championships. These are the players who, whether they are beating me in another league, I’m still off the couch cheering for with each snap. Without this league, what would remain are simply many other leagues filled with conflicting players and very little Sunday enjoyment.

My ESPN league allows me to stay a fan on Sundays and not allow this passion to devolve into a collection of Ws and Ls each week without attachment. And to think I almost gave that up.

Jeff Miller

Because of the layers of depth and intricacies of the rules, my choice comes down to one of my three salary cap leagues. While Gold Label and Top Dollar Dynasty are both fantastic, I had to pick just one, it would be the Dead Presidents Salary Cap League, run by DLF Senior Writer Dan Meylor.

It is a young league, with the startup auction occurring only a month or so before kickoff of week one. So how can I declare something so new as my league to keep? It starts with a list of owners chock full of fellow writers, giving it a very competitive environment. Using the superflex format is another feather in Dead Presidents’ cap. On top that, there are a handful of rules that make things awesomely interesting. At the top of the list are the 100% guaranteed contracts (rookie deals are exempt). If you get all froggy and issue some bad deals, life is going to be very difficult. We also have salary reallocation, roster exemptions, franchise and transition tags, and a huge set re-signing and holdout rules. All told the league by-laws approach 6,000 words in length. It is not for the feint of heart.

Dan is a great commish, our owners are premium guys, and the format is top notch. I’m not sure what more I could ask for?

Nick Whalen

Easy — One of my devy leagues I have built it into a juggernaught. I love how the league does not have devy limits (only can roster one, etc) Devy adds a whole other component to building a team. The devy angle allows my scouting of college prospects to take make my team’s perennial contenders.

What about you? Which league would you choose if you had to pick one? Why would you pick it? 

Please email your responses to [email protected] to be added to part 2 of “If You Had to Choose One.” Make to sure include what sets the league apart from the rest of the pack; league settings, members or anything else that makes the league more interesting than most.

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