Fantasy football has seen a hockey stick growth in recent years. And if there’s one format that’s growing in extreme popularity among the football fans, it’s the dynasty fantasy football leagues.
Fans can make their own teams, draft players and compete with other teams in the league. This competition is exciting and has a thrill of its own.
Fantasy football doesn’t just stick to one format. There are various types such as the redraft, keeper and dynasty.
If you’re someone who loves to win quickly, redraft is for you. You pick a new team every season and take your shot at the title.
But if you’re someone who enjoys and thrives on competition, who loves game planning and strategizing, who’s more fascinated by building a team and dominating over a long period of time, then fantasy football dynasty league is for you.
Also Read: How To Play Fantasy Footbal in 2024?- A Complete Beginner’s Guide
What are Fantasy Football Dynasty Leagues?
To explain in simple words, in dynasty leagues, you draft a player once and keep them until they retire. Or until you trade them or cut them from your roster.
Dynasty leagues allow the fantasy football managers to retain most or all players from the current roster year-to-year. Managers get to pick the players during the initial startup draft. And then the player stays on your team.
If you observe closely, this is similar to operating a real NFL team. You get to pick the players and manage them. It is your team and you have to assemble a roster that not just develops but also is capable of winning. And this is why the fans love it.
The goal in dynasty league is not to just one championship and be done. But to win multiple championships. And if you’re winning consistently, that’s how you build a dynasty, which is the essence of this league.
Decision making is really important during the initial drafts in dynasty leagues because it will determine the future of your fantasy football team.
Do you play fantasy football? Are you confused about your starting lineup for week one? Check out Sportskeeda’s Start/Sit Optimizer tool to optimize your roster and start dominating right from the word go.
How Does a Dynasty League Work?
Dynasty leagues are fun to play. But if you’re new to fantasy football and especially new to dynasty leagues, do not worry. This page will try to explain everything about dynasty leagues to get you started.
Choose a platform
Choosing a platform to play fantasy football is as important as playing fantasy football itself. Where the league is being hosted matters. From rules, to customization to user-friendliness, there are a lot of things to take into consideration.
Dynasty leagues are played on platforms like Yahoo, ESPN, CBS Sports, MyFantasyLeague and Sleeper, which has a very good reputation among the fans
Roster size in Dynasty League
The dynasty leagues usually comprise 12 teams and occasionally 14. The roster size in dynasty leagues is completely different from the other leagues such as the redraft.
This is your one shot at building a strong team. Hence managers will try to build deeper rosters in dynasty leagues. Most of the dynasty leagues have a roster size of 20-30 players, depending on the league rules.
Drafts - Initial Startup Draft and Rookie Draft
You can only draft once in dynasty leagues. That is called the initial startup draft. This is the cushion on which you build your roster every single year. These players will remain on your roster indefinitely until you trade them or cut them.
This initial draft is extremely crucial. It’s your only chance to assemble a great squad. This is why the initial draft matters since it will set the tone for your team in the upcoming years.
The drafts usually happen through a snake draft format or an auction.
Rookie draft is something that happens every single year just like the NFL. But the date of your initial draft matters because it will decide whether the manager will have a rookie draft along with the initial draft. However, once the first season is done, the fantasy football managers will get to pick only from the rookie draft.
In-season trading
Trading is one of the most important aspects of playing dynasty fantasy football. It helps managers to solidify their rosters.
Most fantasy managers use trading to focus on their strategy of “win now” or “build now and win later.” If the strategy is to “win now,” managers trade away their draft picks to build a winning rosters.
However if it's a long term strategy, managers will trade their assets to gain draft picks from others and build for the future.
If you’re clueless on what kind of factors to consider before making a trade, check out Sportskeeda’s Fantasy Football Trade Analyzer. This easy to use calculator is your one stop place for all your trading needs. Check it out.
FAQs
A. In Dynasty leagues, fantasy managers will carry the same roster from the current season to the next season.
A. Dynasty leagues go on indefinitely until the fantasy football managers want to continue playing.
A. Dynasty leagues give the football fans an opportunity to experience the taste of managing a real NFL team by planning, strategizing, trading and doing everything in between to build a winning team.
A. Keeper leagues are where the fantasy manager retains a few players but not everyone from year-to-year.
A. Redraft leagues are where the fantasy manager totally reshuffles the roster and drafts an entirely new team, every year.
