Keeper League Rules FAQ

[Dan Lambskin]

i've noticed a lot of recent Keeper Rules questions so i've tried to compile them into this FAQ. if you have some additional rules/tweaks post them here and i'll incorporate them into the FAQ

Basic Rules Options
Keep X Players for Y years regardless of round
Example: you can keep 3 players for 3 years each. so if you drafted a player last year you could keep him in 2010 and 2011 but not in 2012. If you draft a player this year you can keep him 2011 and 2012 but not 2013

Keep X Players for Y years, lose pick in Round Z (where Z=the round they were drafted in)
Example: last year you drafted Matt Stafford in Round 16 and can keep a player 3 years total. You could keep him in 2010 and 2011 and forefit your 16th round pick each year

Keep X Players for Y years, lose pick in Round Z minus # (where Z=the round they were drafted in, # = arbitrary number)Example: last year you drafted Matt Stafford in Round 16. You could keep him and forfiet your 15th round pick in 2010, 14th round pick in 2011, etc....or 14th round in 2010, 12th round in 2011, etc.

Variations:
allow only X number of keepers per position
Example: 2 RB Max or only 1 keeper per position

Redshirt
you can keep 1 additional rookie as long as he never starts a game for you the year before
example: your league allows you to keep 3 players plus a redshirt
i draft Shonn Greene last year, as long as i didnt start him i could keep him as my 4th keeper

[AHF]

The most basic keeper format I have done is simply: keep X players from your roster at the end of each season. Owners get to choose their keepers and they are the last round of the draft. There are no limits on how long someone can be kept - simply teams taking (in that league) the 3 players off their roster they want to keep.

[Shivamonster]

1 Keeper, thats why its a "keeper"

"Lifes complicated when you make it"

[LS2throwed]

I've always enjoyed the keepers where you keep 2-4 or whatever but you lose the round that player was kept. Really helps teams who drafted well be in good position every year. When you picked up Arian Foster before anyone and can keep him for a 13th round pick while keeping early rounds opens tilts the odds in your favor. Though I've since dropped all my keepers, just can't keep up with the slow drafts that are that many rounds.

[Ek]

Ours is a little more complicated, as we have an auction league with three keepers.

You can keep up to three players from the previous year's auction amount, BUT each position has a minimum amount (so, for example, you have to spend at least $10 to keep a QB or $5 for a TE). Also, each position's minimum escalates the longer you keep someone.

Another tweak we have which I like is that we've established that we have a keeper league, but we redraft every five years. That allows for long-term planning, but also gives someone a light at the end of the tunnel if they are "stuck" with a bad team.

[cmwatton]

What do you do with players who were picked up via free agency? I have yet to find a rule on where those players get slotted in the next year's draft...

[dupree]

Our rules allow for 2 keepers.
Any player can only be kept 3 consecutive years
Keeper costs you a pick 2 rounds higher than the previous seasons draft position (example I took Cam in round 12 in 2011 I gave up a 10th round pick this year, yay me).
Undrafted players cost you a round 16 pick (we have 18 rounds in the draft) (For example Demarco Murray was an Undrafted FA pick up for me last year, he costs me a 16th round pick this year, again YAY me!)

Draft status and years kept follow players through trades and drops. This works well for us.

[bjoliva]

I have a set of rules i created loosely based off of Bill Simmons' article from 2010 here's a link.. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/st ... ons/100806

i can't get my league to buy in on the keeper format in our snake draft league so i just created an auction keeper league exactly mimicking his rules. after 1 year, i can say its gone well so far.

here they are:
Recommendation No. 3: Keepers.
You get more attached to keepers. They become YOUR guys. (See the Santana sidebar above.) In fantasy football, you never get attached for more than four months. I've heard some quality round-by-round keeper ideas that I'm not passing along because, again, round-by-round drafts are for unimaginative, stubborn wimps. For auction keepers, here's what I recommend: Keep up to four players per season; keep any player for up to four years; anyone you drafted in 2010 can be kept for an extra $10 in 2011, then you have the right to sign them for TWO extra years for $15 more (Year 3) and another $5 (Year 4). But you have to decide after Year 2 whether you're giving him two more years or letting him go.

For example, let's say you drafted Miles Austin for $1 last year. You get him for $11 in 2010. That's done. After 2010, you can either let him go or sign him for two more years ($26 in Year 3, $31 in Year 4.) But here's the catch: Let's say he gets hurt in Year 3, goes in the tank, whatever. You're stuck with him in Year 4. You signed him to a two-year deal! Even if you waive him, that $31 stays on your cap. So really, you're dealing with the same cap risks as a real NFL team. I love this idea. Personally, I wouldn't keep anyone past that second year unless I struck gold with someone like Peterson … but you never know.

Here's where that keeper wrinkle goes to another level: Let's say I steal Ben Tate for $6 because everyone else runs out of money. Tate goes bonkers in Houston and passes 1,000 rushing yards by Week 8. I'm fighting for the title with two other owners and need to swing a blockbuster deal for a stud QB because my Matt Leinart/Jay Cutler combo isn't quite cutting it. My buddy Sal (1-7 and headed for last place) has Brees and Rice, so I offer him Tate and Cutler for Brees and Rice. For me, Rice matches Tate's numbers and I get the massive Brees upgrade. For Sal, he gets a fantastic keeper (Tate at $16 in 2011). Everyone wins. Any idea that promotes continuity, encourages trading and/or keeps crappy fantasy owners engaged is a good one … right?

(P.S.: You know how it's sneaky-boring to hear about any fantasy trade someone else made? Tell me you weren't riveted by that Tate/Cutler for Brees/Rice trade scenario. All that thing needed was Adam Schefter reporting it. That reminds me … )


do you guys like these rules? i feel they're pretty fair, i tend to agree with Bill on EVERYTHING.....

[CRWeaks23]

I think this topic could benefit with some added information on WHERE we can set these types of leagues up. Obviously, offline drafts and custom run leagues are "easier" from this perspective, but what does CBS vs Yahoo vs ESPN vs other sites offer? What do you have to pay for and what's free? I struggled with this a lot this year, having to setup fake leagues just to see what each site had to offer... and I still don't see a way to implement the third option in the original post. Any information on this would be extremely helpful to me!

[Fantasy Sports Genie]

Here is an article I wrote on our site on this general topic:

http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/f1/keeperintro

If you find it useful, feel free to link to it. That particular article is not Yahoo! specific; it does link to a different article at the bottom which touches on how those concepts are or are not implemented on our site.