Keeping the Fire Burning in September

As the founder and commissioner of my local league since its inception in 2003, I face a difficult task every year. Invariably, as the calendar flips to September, at least one owner who has little chance at finishing in a money spot, essentially abandons his team. This is not a free league for simple bragging rights. It’s certainly nowhere near the high stakes played for in the NFBC, but it’s enough to incentivize owners to remain active all season long. And yet, it’s clear that the entry fee alone is not enough.

What happens during this time is owners lose interest, turn their attention to football and leave injured players in their active lineups. This inactivity could have a real effect on the standings and could change the outcome of the league. An owner might end up winning solely because he passed a team in home runs who continued to start a player deemed out for the rest of the season. That kind of behavior must be prevented. But how?

I have a strict policy when it comes to inactivity in my league. If I notice one week a player on the disabled list is in a team’s active lineup, I will contact the owner and ask him about it. Usually the owner gives me some silly excuse, fixes his lineup and things are back to normal. Then it happens again, at which point I warn him that this is the last time. The third strike usually springs me to action and the owner is kicked out of the league. It’s a terrible situation, because I have to then take over the owner’s team in the middle of the season and make transactions based on rules I developed for this exact situation.

While this happens in the middle of the season, it mostly occurs the last month or so. I understand it. If you have no shot at the money, do you really care whether you finish in ninth or 10th place? Of course, it’s not too difficult to check in once a week just to ensure you have a healthy lineup active. So really, there’s no excuse. And by not remaining active, you’re potentially altering the eventual final standings. That’s not cool.

I have struggled with ways to resolve this issue. Every idea I have read about had some real problems that discouraged me from trying it out. So let’s discuss some of the possible ways to keep owners active through the final transaction period. I should note that my league uses an auction to fill rosters, so a common idea to base the draft order on final standings is not an option. It is also a single-season league, not a keeper.

First Half/Second Half Prizes – Award prize money to the best teams over the first half and then again over just the second half; or just award a second half prize since the second half is when owners lose interest

Pros: Encourages owners to remain active all season since the second half trophy could be in reach, even if the full season one isn’t.

Cons: This additional prize pool would have to be removed from the main prize pool, meaning the overall winner wins less, which I’m rarely a fan of. Also, splitting the season into halves reduces the sample size, which increases the luck factor, also a negative in my opinion. Last, your fantasy website would have to be able to calculate standings for the second half, or it would require some extra work for the commish, which I’m definitely not a fan of!

Monthly Prizes – Same as above, but award prizes for each month of the season; or, just award a prize for September.

Pros: If September is the biggest problem, then awarding some prize money for just that month should provide the motivation to continue competing.

Cons: Similar to the above, but with the arbitrariness of caring about just one single month. Who cares which team was best in a particular month? It doesn’t really mean anything.

Reduce Auction Budget/FAAB Following Year – Any owner that finishes below a certain number of points will be forced to auction with a reduce budget and/or begin the season with less FAAB than every other team.

Pros: Provides the motivation to ensure your team performs well, or at the very least, doesn’t fall below the threshold that would remove money from your auction budget or FAAB.

Cons: Yeesh. This makes the assumption that a poor fantasy season equals inactivity. That’s obviously not usually the case. An owner could remain active all season, but just suffer through terrible luck with disappointing performances and/or lots of injuries. Moreover, what owner is going to want to even join the league the following year when he already knows his budget has been reduced? He’ll say screw you and find another league.

Add a Preemptive Inactivity Fine to Entry Fee – Add a small, but meaningful additional amount to the entry fee which will be refunded at the end of the season if the team remains active all year. This fee will not be returned if an owner is inactive, with specific rules to be developed to determine “inactivity”. Inactivity fees collected go into the final prize pool.

Pros: This attacks the issue head on with additional money tied directly into an owner remaining active. If an owner knows that he won’t get his money back if he becomes inactive, he’ll be significantly more motivated to stay active.

Cons: Some owners in my league, and I’m sure yours, have sometimes expressed financial difficulties, in that they need some extra time just to pay the entry fee. If the entry fee itself has to be scraped together, then requiring owners to come up with even more could be problematic.

So that’s all I have off the top of my head. The last idea just came to me after reading on a message board thread bout a league that imposes fines. But that league imposes the fine after a violation occurs, which I dislike because how does one ensure the owner pays the fine? So I feel that collecting the money up front is a better option.

What do you think about the ideas above and what ideas do you have to ensure all owners remain active all season and always set a healthy lineup?