Making the Case

Don’t be fooled into thinking that being commissioner of your fantasy football league is as simple as just having to set a draft date and collect fees. Being “commish” comes with a lot more responsibility than just that. It’s a process, all season long. The league runs through you and it is important you do things the right way.

There are a few specific things you absolutely have to do as commissioner. Your very first and most basic task is to define the specifics of your league. How many teams? What's the scoring system and roster size? How much are fees? How will the prize money be distributed? What's up for debate and what's set in stone? Define these things clearly so that people can make an informed decision when deciding whether they want to join your league.

Once your league is full, plan a draft date that works for everyone. Drafting is one of the most enjoyable aspects of fantasy football and you're doing it wrong if you're not accommodating each and every one of your league mates. Set your draft at 10:30 pm on a Tuesday night if that’s what it takes. Or do it slow, with a long timer, or without one completely. Just make sure everyone has access.

Once the Draft is over, don’t be one of those commissioners who fades into oblivion until it’s time for cash payouts. There’s still a lot more that you are responsible for.

As the season carries on, its your job to keep an eye on teams that start to show signs of inactivity. Nobody likes playing with “ghost” players. If a team owner starts leaving players in their lineup who are hurt or on byes, it’s your job to reach out to them. Is there something wrong? Is that league member unhappy? Is there something that you, as commissioner, can try to help resolve? Or is the person just disinterested? If they have simply just lost interest, you have to decide whether to ask (or force) them to relinquish control of the team to an interested owner. You shouldn’t just turn a blind eye to prolonged inactivity in your league. It’s not conducive to a competitive or enjoyable atmosphere.

If there are any issues between owners, always remain neutral. Unless someone is breaking the rules, forcing you to actively have to make a decision, it’s not your job to pick sides in arguments. The rest of your league will do that for you. Your league needs someone who can suppress their own personal biases and remain committed to finding common ground. If you aren’t doing that as commissioner you can’t expect any of your leaguemates to either.

Make sure to give everyone a reminder (at least 1 week) prior to your league’s trade deadline. Put it on your calendar. Everyone will appreciate you for looking out for them and for not allowing the deadline to sneak up on them and pass without them noticing.

You should also thank and congratulate your leaguemates at the beginning of the fantasy playoffs. Be sure to thank the teams who failed to make the playoffs, as well as playoff participants.

Once the playoffs finish, be sure to congratulate your League Champion, & thank everyone else one more time for playing in your league.

Be sure to get payments out immediately.

If you're still waiting on payments from any league members when the time for payouts comes around, the right thing to do is to pay out of your own pocket.

Don't take money out of the group pot.

It's your responsibility as commish to be the money collector.

& if you allowed it to get to the payout-period without having everyone's fees collected, you have nobody to blame for those missing fees but yourself.

As Commish, you’ll learn quickly that you can never please everyone.

But, if you follow this list as a guideline, you can hopefully maximize your chances.