Show Me The Money Aug 1, 2008 | More

Playing fantasy football for fun is like playing poker for peanuts.   Unless money is on the line, it’s just not going to be taken seriously.   Sure, bragging rights can be a somewhat valuable currency, but nothing keeps you “invested” week after painful week like laying some of your cold, hard-earned cash on the line.   If this isn’t as obvious to you as “the sky is blue,” please take this time to go count your peanuts and savor those sweet bragging rights.   Serious fantasy football players, read on ...  

So, we all know that real fantasy football players ante up the cash in order to play the game, but who in your league deserves to take home those Benjamins along with the bragging rights?   Many leagues divide the purse proportionately between the fantasy Super Bowl winner and his championship opponent.   Are those two really the only ones worthy of being rewarded for their fantasy season?   If you’re lucky enough to win your fantasy football championship every year, then maybe you think so.  

If you’re like the rest of us, then, as much as you study up on FantasySharks.com and even though you draft the fantasy football dream team each season, the time will come when your team is going to screw you over at the worst possible time.   You’ll pull your hair out when your star player removes himself from the game after pulling a groin, and you’ll scream at the television when another “takes one for the team” and selflessly falls down a couple yards short of the end zone.   It’s the heart pounding roller coaster of emotions that make fantasy football so thrilling and heart-wrenching, but these unpredictable occurrences also mean that the last team standing isn’t always the best.  

Unfortunately for those of us who make the fantasy playoffs every year, but sometimes find ourselves falling short of winning the league title, there’s probably nothing we can do about the bragging rights.   “Oh yeah?   I had the better team!” just doesn’t have any zing.   So, if you can’t have the bravado, why shouldn’t you have a payout to compensate you for your efforts?   This will most likely require you to revamp your league’s payout structure.   Creativity can lead you down many paths, but here are three suggestions for structuring your league to reward strong fantasy football skills:

1.   The Playoff’s The Thing

It’s only a minor victory, but if your team makes it to the playoffs, the season should be considered successful, and a little cash goes a long way to making it feel like a success.   If owners in your league are not too keen on reducing the value of your championship pot, you could decide to reimburse playoff teams for a certain number of transactions made (see below for more on the roll of transactions in your payout structure).   The possibility of reimbursement for those transactions may even encourage some of the hoarders in your league to dig some more cash out of their mattresses and make a few trades

2.   The Case For First Place

Although league formats vary, it would seem that winning one’s division translates universally into a very successful season. Rewarding these teams with an amount close to the league entry fee might take away some of the sting of some bad luck in the fantasy football playoffs.  

3.   Point(s) Well Taken

While head to head matchups are the most fun, they aren’t always the best indicator of which fantasy football teams performed the best.   You might have broken a mirror, walked under a ladder, or otherwise pissed off Lady Luck, and your flawless team just doesn’t make the playoffs.   Maybe your team seems to play every week against the likes of Carson Palmer when he throws over 400 yards for six touchdowns (if so, I feel your pain).   In any case, if you award the top three highest point scoring teams in the regular season, you will ensure that the best teams get financially compensated.    

Assuming you’re ready to change your payout structure (and you should be), your next challenge will be convincing your tightwad leaguemates to throw in additional money.   You may have to hand them a Kleenex as they sob about tough financial times or complain how inflating costs will take the “fun” out of the league.   Hold strong, son – it will be worth it when you have something to show for it when your team gets a case of premature “championship interruptus.”  

Once you’ve knocked around enough heads and broken enough knees (figuratively, of course) to convince fantasy team owners to expand your league’s pot, one of the most logical (and often easiest to swallow) sources for additional payouts is fees paid for league transactions.   A reasonable $2 to $5 per transaction will do the trick.   As an added bonus, if you weren’t charging fees for transactions before (or you were charging less), this will force dimwit owners to do a little homework before nabbing the first free agent they read about.   Even a broken clock is right twice a day!  

More creative league payout structures have an added bonus too – rewarding good fantasy football performance (rather than just dumb luck) will keep all of your team owners engaged and encourage them to be educated.   Now, I ask you, Sharks - what could be better than that?

Do you have a unique payout structure in your league?  What is it?  Does it help improve the quality of play in your league?  How?