If you haven’t yet experienced the thrill of an auction draft, you don’t know what you are missing. First and foremost, the allure of the auction draft is that it allows you to construct a team of the players you want without being a slave to the lottery of your typical draft. Ever end up with the seventh pick in your league and know you don’t have a shot at Adrian Peterson? That’s what I’m talking about – auction drafts allow you to go after the players you want, the only caveat being the amount you are willing to pay for that player.
If you are new to auction style, or even if you have played in them before, it’s a must to prepare beforehand and that’s what this article is all about. Unlike typical drafts, you can’t just show up to your auction draft with a list purchased from the magazine stand an hour beforehand and expect to do well. Preparation is the key. The better prepared you are, the better chance you have to win, it’s really that simple. In the following article I am going to review how to prepare your cheat sheet and go over some strategies to employ during your draft. If you want to dominate your opponents, keep reading.
The first thing you’ll need to do is construct a list of player rankings using the outline below. There is some math involved, but don’t let it scare you off. The simple fact is that any auction ranking you find is only as good as the context to which is was written – the salary cap, number of starters, roster size and number of teams all make a difference when figuring out the relative value of players specific to your league. If you take the time to create this list, I guarantee you’ll have a huge advantage at your draft.
For each step below, I’ve explained what you need to calculate, what it tells you and provide an example calculation. When you are done with the last step, you’ll have a complete cheat-sheet ready to go to your draft with! You’ll want to use a computer program (like Microsoft Excel) to help with the calculations.
This is a very important calculation because it tells you the total number of dollars available to be spent by league members on all available players.
Example: Our league has 12 teams and a $300 cap, therefore the total cap dollars are $3600
This number tells you exactly how many players you need to rank overall, no more and no less. At this step, we are not concerned with individual positions, just total roster size.
Example: Our 12 team league has 20 roster spots, therefore we need to rank 240 players
This step will further refine our cheat sheet by telling us how many players we need to rank at each position. It doesn’t have to be exact since we really only need to make sure we rank more players at each position than we need, including backups. When we are done, all of these totaled together should equal our total from step 2.
Example: Our league uses the following lineup: QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, TE, Flex (RB/WR/TE), K,DST, for a total of 9 starting spots out of the 20 total roster spots. Figure the remaining 11 spots will be a majority of RBs and WRs, therefore we’ll rank:
36 QBs (1 starter + 2 backups = 3 x 12 teams)
60 RBs (2 starters + 3 backups = 5 x 12 teams)
72 WRs (2 starters + 4 backups= 6 x 12 teams)
24 TEs (1 starter +1 backup = 2 x 12 teams)
24 Ks (1 starter + 1 backup = 2 x 12 teams)
24 DSTs (1 starter + 1 backup = 2 x 12 teams)
Total = 240 players (same as step 2)
This step is easy. Go ahead and create your player rankings however you normally would keeping in mind the numbers from step 3. Only rank as many players as you need at each position, no more and no less. This is important because we are going to tie the rankings together with our total cap in the steps below.
Now you need to weight the positions relative to each other within the context of your league. In other words, what percentage of the money you have should be spent on each position as a whole? Again, this does not have to be exact and you’ll fine tune this as you work and refine this cheat sheet – but you need a starting point.
Example: Our league is based on PPR scoring and 6 pt TDs for all. Considering that and the number of starters used, I will roughly weight the positions as follows:
RB (45%), WR (30%), QB (15%), TE (7%), D (2%), K (1%) = 100%
Multiplying each of the above percentages by the total cap of the league (step 1) will give you the available dollars for each position. Keep in mind these are rough estimates and will vary slightly from the final tally after our rankings are fully tweaked. This simply gives us a starting point.
This is where it all comes together. You are now armed with a cheat sheet which ranks the exact number of players needed, the total cap value of the league and the percentage of that cap which will be spent on each position. Now it’s time to get down to business and assign actual dollar values to each player on your list. If you are feeling overwhelmed, here are some tips:
– Use a computer spreadsheet application to help you do the work. You’ll be constantly tweaking numbers as you do this and it will be much easier with the help of a computer.
– Complete the minor positions first. I like to do the kickers, defenses and tight ends first because they are easiest and don’t change much when tweaks are needed.
– Work from the bottom up in the rankings. Since many of the players will be valued at $1, start with them first and work your way up the list.
– Complete one position at a time an make sure each one totals to the allotted cap dollars (step 5) and that all of the positions totaled are equal to the overall league cap (step 1).
Once you have finished a first pass and are relatively satisfied, make sure the positions relate to each other properly too. The easiest way to do this is to create a list of the overall top 50 players based on the dollar values you just assigned. If anything looks out of whack (Thomas Jones > Tom Brady), adjust accordingly until you like both the positional rankings and overall rankings.
Yes, this step will require a lot of work and countless tweaks, but when complete you’ll have a very valuable tool to bring to your draft.
Arming yourself with a customized cheat sheet is a major component of success, but using it is just as valuable. You’ve gone through the trouble of putting it together, so make it work for you draft night and stick to what it is telling you to do.
Your aim is to acquire value players – that is, pay less for players than your cheat sheet says. The more players you can get for LESS than your cheat sheet says, the better off you’ll be.
The values you have painstakingly taken the time to assign are there for a reason – to tell you when it is time to stop bidding on a particular player. These values are not assigned in a vacuum and are relative to rest of your board and the league. The minute you start paying above those values, you are hurting your chances to put together a value based team. It’s easy to get caught up in the emotions of the moment and overpay – by a lot – for a player, so allow your cheat sheet to keep you focused during the chaos of a draft. If you haven’t done an auction draft before – trust me, chaos will ensue.
If you do overpay for a player (it happens), adjust your board accordingly to figure out where those extra dollars will come from so you stay on budget. Conversely, when you save money on a player, allot those extra dollars to other positions.
Talk to anyone who has participated in auction drafts and you’ll hear any number of tips on how to take advantage of your opponents. I’ve listed some of those below and explain the reasoning behind them.
This was discussed at length in the sections above, but bears repeating. There are a lot of competing things happening in auction drafts, but my #1 rule is not to overpay for a player, stud or not. Keep your eye on the ball and try not to get caught up in the bidding wars if your value chart says not to. As the draft moves along, value will return (trust me), so don’t get anxious if you miss out on studs in the first few rounds.
Sounds simple, but I always see owners violating this cardinal rule. Always, always, always start with minimum bid. I once saw an owner open the bidding for Antonio Gates at $40 – and he won him without any other competing bids. The rest of the TEs went for less than half that, so he likely could have had Gates much cheaper. Start with minimum and let the bidding take its course, that way you don’t accidentally overpay.
When it’s your turn to put a name out there find a high priced guy you don’t want and let the rest of the guys have at him. Especially in the first few rounds, the money will go like wildfire since everyone has full pockets. The more of that money you can get spent on players you don’t want, the better.
Again, it’s all about getting the other owners to spend their wad of cash. If you have a homer in your league and know he’ll go to any length to acquire his favorite player, it is your obligation to put that player up for bid and watch your buddy give up his loot. I’ve done it and it works.
Try not to fixate on a certain player or position and get involved in the bidding as often as possible. This helps keep other owners from knowing your true intentions and at the same time drives up the cost for players you don’t necessarily want.
There will be times in a draft that a player is going for far less than your value board indicates. Jump in on the action and drive the price up, keeping in mind you might land that player. Again, it’s all about knowing your opponent. If you are fairly certain you can get that owner to outbid you a few more times, do it.
Well, duh. Being so value-conscious, you might end up with a noticeable surplus as the draft moves along. Be aware of this and keep track of your savings to gain a better understanding of when it OK to overpay a bit for a player. You don’t want to be sitting at the end of your draft with a pocket full of money you could have spent upgrading positions. You don’t get prizes for not spending all your money.
As if you didn’t have enough to keep track of. Still, it is important to know the enemy and gives you an idea of who your main competition will be when a player you want comes up for bid. If you can take a computer to your draft, this won’t be a difficult task.
Overall, auction drafts are unbelievable fun, but chaotic and stressful at the same time. There is a lot to keep track of and it is very easy to lose focus and forget all of the preparation you’ve put in. However, if you prepare a cheat sheet and employ even just a few of the rules above, you’ll have better chance of success and enjoy the experience a whole lot more. And having fun is really what it’s all about.
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Great work, X!
I entered a money aution league (keep 1-3 with salary & contracts) for the first time last year… WOW, what a difference than sepentine drafting. I actually landed 7 starting RBs, and had trade bait all year long. As it is a keep 1-3 league with salary cap/contract terms, its going to be a very different draft than last year.
X has excellently explained what possitions QB vs. RB might sell for. Having a “guided format” to follow will make it much easier this year…
Especially keepers and salaries are known going into the draft. Having all this in excell and KNOWING who needs what possitions based on keeper situations and salary remaining will help me to avoid bidding was with certain owners that have more cap room than I do going into the draft…
Info is helpful, knowing how to organize and use it properly is the key to success…
Great article in explaing how to use the info X!
X, you hit the nail on the head there!! I have been in fantasy football since 1999 and have been in an auction league for the past three years. I love the auctions they are great, and your tips are on the money. Our salary has an increase each year so $4.00 the next year is $8.00 when you get into the $20’s and higher you add $14 to $19. We even get so into it that we have a rookie draft 10 days before the NFL draft. Each team gets 3 picks a 1st, 2nd, 3rd for the upcoming draft. We can also trade those picks. I am truly in a year round league and have to say this site is by far the best I have come across. No lets get those week 1 predictions under way already guys…
Thanks for posting this, I’m new to auctions, but have one this year and am trying to figure out what I’m doing. Quick Kicker Question. I personally would only have 1 on each team in a 16 man roster league… and I wouldn’t value any of them at more than $1, so it winds up being 0.5%. Now would you recommend bidding on a kicker early like Gostkowski for reason number 6 as people will likely spend 2,3 or even more early on? Same thing with defenses.
Thanks again for the article
Thanks everyone – glad you enjoyed it. Dougied, I don’t pay more than $1 for any kicker either, but more than likely a lot of others will. Putting up kickers early is a good idea, I have seen the top rated ones go for $10 or more in bidding wars. And yes, same goes for defenses too – a dollar or two is the most I will pay, but the early ones up for bid will go as high as $15.
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My league is entering year 10 and looking to possibly go to an Auction next year (we cannot do it this year due to draft picks that were traded). The one thing that I do not want to give up is the draft pick trading. How could we still allow “draft pick” trading in an auction draft? I was thinking of allowing the trading of draft dollars, but it is difficult to figure out what a fair number would be. Is there a chart that shows what $ amount would be equal to a draft pick. I.E. based on a $100 salary cap, a 1st round pick is worth $15 2nd worth $10 , etc….
I love this guide! I’ve been in an PPR auction league for 4 years now and this is great! One word of advice is to NEVER put your “sleepers” up for auction. I always go with the “studs and sleepers” strategy as I like to call it. Try to get as many sure things (if you can call anyone that) then try to get some bargains later in the draft. But like I said never put your sleepers up for bid. 2 years ago I had limited funds at the end so I’m filling my roster with cheap-high quality prospects. So I put Wes Welker up because I had a “hunch” that he would have a good year. I bid $1, someone else bids $2 just to spite me and I couldn’t get him because I was out of money. Needless to say in a PPR league Welker was the #1 receiver that year.