So you want to start a fantasy football league with your friends? You step up and volunteer to be the league’s commissioner but don’t know where to start. The duties of a commissioner include setting up the league, establishing the rules and expectations, collecting money, and solving any issue the league may face. Being your league’s commissioner is an important job, but it’s a fairly simple responsibility when done right.
Democracy
The best leagues are run like a democracy and not a dictatorship. We all have horror stories of a commissioner who gets carried away with control of the league and will change rules and settings mid-season. That’s no fun and quite unfair. Therefore, running your league like a democracy will eliminate the power-hungry commissioners and stabilize the league.Â
At the start of your league, the commissioner should contact all the league members to discuss the layout everyone wants. If a few league members disagree on some rules, put it to a vote. This should be done with every disagreement about scoring, roster size, or league dues. At the beginning of every new season, ask league members if they would like to propose new rule changes. If members propose a change, allow the league to vote on it.
Running your league like a democracy relieves the commissioner of the pressure of finding the perfect settings and lets the members decide how they want the league to work.
Payments and Payouts
Debatably the most important task of a league commissioner is collecting league dues from all the league members. The last thing you want is not having the correct amount of money for the league’s champion at the end of the season. It can be a nightmare trying to track down who has paid and who hasn’t. To avoid this headache, you should stay ahead of the curve.
As a league, you should vote and decide on the prize for the champion. Most leagues have a league buy-in and the winner gets most, if not all, of the cash at the end of the season. As commissioner, it is your responsibility to handle the distribution of winnings. Commissioners should collect every league member’s money BEFORE the league’s draft. Collecting the league dues before the draft ensures that every member has paid in full and that there will be the correct amount of money to award the champion. This also helps avoid the inconvenience of tracking members down throughout the season and keeping receipts of who has paid and who hasn’t.
League dues can be expensive, and holding all this money for months can cause anxiety. To avoid this unwanted pressure, a helpful tip is to use LeagueSafe. LeagueSafe is a website designed to be a commissioner’s best friend. It collects and holds payments from league members for the entire season. At the end of the season, the commissioner can easily distribute the winnings on the site.
At the end of the season, it’s time to pay the champion. Whether your league used LeagueSafe or paid the commissioner, payouts should be quick and easy. Sometimes in the championship round, the two competing teams will come to a compromise before the matchup has started and decide to split the money in a different way than the league agreed upon. If this is allowed in your league rules, the commissioner must stay in the loop and confirm the splitting of the money to avoid any confusion and conflict.
Communication is KEY
Being able to communicate with your league mates is the most important trait of being a great fantasy football commissioner. Having good, constant communication with league members will help the league run smoothly. The last thing a league needs is a commissioner who ghosts on the league after a poor start to their season. A simple and effective way to have great communication within a league is to start a group chat. A league group chat can be a great forum to discuss rules, dues, or just some friendly trash talk.
Some fantasy football platforms will have an easily accessible league chat, which can be used to communicate with the league. The Sleeper app has a great league chat feature that is quick and easy to use. The chat allows members to send messages, pictures, videos, and create polls.
Add Meaning to the League
Fantasy football is a fantastic way to grow the game of football and bring people together. Beating your friend in a close matchup and having bragging rights all week is what makes the league special.
A way to add more bragging rights to your league is by crowning a champion. Yes, you have a winner at the end of the season and they receive the cash prize. But sometimes what’s better than a cash prize is a trophy to show off.
Getting a league trophy can be a small but meaningful supplement to a league. Whether your league wants a trophy like the Lombardi, or something different like championship rings or a wrestling-inspired belt, having a physical reward to show off is a great addition for any fantasy league.