PROS
Sleeper is a favorite among many as their preferred platform for hosting their redraft and dynasty fantasy football leagues. While Sleeper does not offer every feature an experienced dynasty manager might want, it is very serviceable for a basic dynasty league. It has all the necessary features like year-long league management, draft pick trading, rookie drafts, auctions, roster positions, and a variety of scoring settings. The user interface is intuitive, sleek, and easy to navigate. Sleeper also has a built-in league chat, so you do not need to look elsewhere for league communication. The best thing about Sleeper though is that it is completely free. You get all of the dynasty features in your league for exactly $0. This is what has made Sleeper a go-to platform for many dynasty players, especially those not looking for extravagant leagues with unique settings.
CONS
As mentioned above, the biggest disadvantage for running a dynasty league through Sleeper is the lack of unusual or alternate settings. Sleeper does not currently support some of the more complicated or unique settings or league types MFL offers. Overall, Sleeper is often the preferred platform for dynasty managers, particularly with new dynasty league managers.
PROS
MyFantasyLeague (MFL) has been the industry standard for hosting dynasty fantasy football leagues for well over a decade. It offer the greatest degree of fully customizable league options. The number of managers, every player position, multiple player copies, scoring, salaries, contracts, best ball, snake and auction drafts – you name it, MFL can do it! Even your league’s website can be customized to fit special league themes, or even just to make your league look cool. If you have a original or unique idea for a dynasty league, or if you want a conventional league with friends, the versatility of MFL simply cannot be beaten.
CONS
For all of the advantages which MFL offers, there are some areas where this platform is falling behind. The cost to host your league on MFL is $79/year if you commit before April 7th ($6+/manager in 12-team leagues) and up to $109/year if you wait until after August 1st. That cost alone can drive away some dynasty players, especially those who may not be interested in all of MFL’s unique bells and whistles.
Additionally, MFL can be a little tricky for first-time commissioners setting up a league. MFL is not an ordinary fantasy platform when it comes to user interface. The UI is definitely dated, with lots of dropdowns at the top of the page that are not always intuitive. Once you do finally grow accustomed to the menus and structure, navigation is a breeze.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, MFL does not have its own mobile app. There is a third-party app that runs through the MFL API, but it can be glitchy and does not always communicate correctly with your league. The recommendation would be to run MFL through an internet browser on your phone or computer. Overall, MFL seems to be fading in popularity, as they haven’t updated the front end of their experience in a long time and other sites (such as Sleeper) have been improving their customization options. However, they were recently acquired by another reputable fantasy company, so there’s hope for a face lift and more frequent updates on the user experience.
PROS
FleaFlicker is very similar to Sleeper in terms of mobile app look and interface, especially when drafting, adding players, and even the in-app league chat. The biggest difference is FleaFlicker does not utilize crazy colors, animations, or mascots, which makes the app run much faster as you navigate and manage your roster. FleaFlicker does offer a bit more for dynasty leagues than Sleeper, but still not as much as MFL. They support all the necessary dynasty features, as well as taxi squads, keepers, 24-player leagues, and league importing from Yahoo or ESPN leagues. They also support unique scoring settings, including allowing points for yards after the catch, yards after contact, broken tackles, three-and-outs, and much more. Like Sleeper, FleaFlicker is 100% free, but you can pay for an ad-free experience.
CONS
Again, the biggest negative for FleaFlicker is the lack of alternate settings MFL can support. Currently, FleaFlicker does not offer auction drafts, multiple player copies, salaries, contracts, etc. Unfortunately, FleaFlicker is often the forgotten league platform, especially with the recent surge in popularity for Sleeper. Your league mates may shy away from FleaFlicker for another platform on name recognition alone or reluctance to download yet another fantasy football app.
PROS
Fantrax is the closest dynasty platform to MFL in terms of customization. They offer support for all the normal dynasty features, as well as salaries, contracts, auction drafts, doubleheaders, up to 2,000 teams per league, multiple copies, unique scoring, roto leagues, and more. The biggest draw towards Fantrax is their support for college fantasy football. This functionality has birthed a niche way to play dynasty called Campus2Canton leagues, where you have two leagues, one college and one NFL that run parallel to each other. At the end of the season, any college players that get drafted to the NFL then move to your NFL rosters. It is a very unique way to play dynasty and the only place to run those leagues effectively is Fantrax.
Fantrax also has a league import option from Yahoo and ESPN, and basic league setup is very quick and easy. They even offer a built-in league payment portal called Fantrax Treasurer that accepts entry fees and sends payouts at the end of the season. Like Sleeper and FleaFlicker, Fantrax is free for basic dynasty leagues that do not have much customization to them, but you will need a premium league for more alternative settings.
CONS
The biggest con of Fantrax is teasing you with a free dynasty league until you need something a little more complex. Most unique settings are paywalled behind their premium league fee, which is $129.95 per season, or just over $10 per manager in 12-team leagues. While Fantrax does have a mobile app, it is very painful to use and is not at all as intuitive or simple as Sleeper or FleaFlicker. The User Interface can be difficult to navigate and roster management can be a tad more laborious than other sites. Overall, if you want a free basic dynasty league, look to Sleeper or FleaFlicker. If you want more settings and customization, go to MFL at a discounted cost, provided you register early.
PROS
Reality Sports Online (RSO) is for the diehard dynasty football player. This platform caters to a niche user group specifically wanting to treat their dynasty experience like running an NFL franchise. RSO is strictly a salary and contract league platform that runs everything through auctions, with the overall salary cap changing each season to match the NFL. Each off-season has both a rookie draft, with predetermined contracts and salaries based on draft slots (just like the NFL), as well as a free agent auction where every manager has a chance to “negotiate” with each free agent through an artificial intelligence algorithm. The best part is RSO controls and handles everything for you in terms of salaries, contracts, free agency, franchise tags, and more. You manage your team under the cap, just like an NFL GM. If you want to take your dynasty game to the next level, RSO might just be the platform for you.
CONS
The biggest con against RSO is the price per season to run a league, which is $14.99 per team, per season. RSO supports up to 32-team leagues, so that yearly price can be a hefty number. Many argue the price is worth it because the system handles everything, so there is nothing you do outside of RSO for league management. Another point that is not completely clear when creating a league is that RSO does not allow startup drafts until after the NFL Draft each season, which can be a real drag for some people wanting some action in the early spring. Finally, RSO’s app leaves much to be desired. However, when you have a league with as many settings and numbers as RSO, it is going to be difficult to pack it all into one mobile app. Like MFL, RSO is best run through a computer rather than mobile.
PROS
FFPC leagues are for dynasty players looking to take their game to the next level. The FFPC is a high stakes fantasy platform specializing in best ball, redraft, and dynasty leagues. You can create your own league or join a random league in the lobby. All dynasty leagues are relatively the same, as you can choose between standard, super-flex, or best ball dynasty leagues with a 20-round startup snake draft and seven round rookie and free-agent draft. Since this is high-stakes dynasty, you can play in leagues with an entry fee anywhere from $750-$5,000, which can reward prizes up to $30,000 to championship teams. The draft rooms and league sites are very sleek and modern. These leagues are very serious and not for the faint of heart.
CONS
Since the FFPC is a very specialized dynasty platform, you have to abide by their general rules, some of which are not as common in many dynasty formats – this includes only 12-team leagues with shallow 20-man rosters and yearly cutdowns to 16 players, victory points formatting to determine playoff seeding and 1.5 PPR tight end premium scoring. Even in superflex dynasty leagues, you are capped at drafting only three quarterbacks during the startup draft. Finally, the biggest scare factor for FFPC leagues can be the entry fee. Even with a minimum of $100, that could be a higher entry fee than many dynasty players have paid before, and a big ask for beginners to the format. As mentioned before, these leagues are for serious players who want to take their game to the next level.
PROS
These are some of the other fantasy football platforms which can also be used for dynasty leagues, but they all require extra effort manage. These sites may be a good option for leagues looking to take that step from redraft to dynasty in their home or work league, but don’t want to leave the comfort of the platform they know so well. This could be the easiest transition for more casual players into dynasty since you can treat it as a buffed up redraft league more so than a true dynasty league while staying with your current platform.
CONS
None of these sites currently offer true dynasty capabilities in terms of year-round management, rookie drafts, draft pick trading, etc. Some leagues have created workarounds in the form of keeper leagues where you keep every player on your roster into the next year while keeping track of draft picks on either a Google Sheet, message board, or some other alternative. If you are willing to put in the work to track those moves, especially in the off-season, this could be a good route for you. Otherwise, it would be best to move your league to a true dynasty platform like MFL, Sleeper, or FleaFlicker.
Part of the Betsperts Media and Technology Group
