If you’ve gotten hooked on fantasy football but wish you could make it a little more challenging and a lot more involved, then it might be time to graduate to a dynasty fantasy football league.
Dynasty fantasy football is the logical next step for all serious players. If playing fantasy football is like sitting in the backyard with your feet in a kiddie pool, then dynasty is taking a dive head-first into the ocean. The hobby you follow from roughly Labor Day until sometime around Christmas becomes a year-round endeavor, the team you create from scratch once a year instead becomes a franchise.
But because dynasty fantasy football is such an involved activity, finding a league to join can become much more challenging. Sometimes regular re-draft leagues can evolve into dynasty leagues if enough players are interested in changing formats, but it’s often a lot more difficult than teaming up with some friends from work or college and holding a draft.
Luckily, there are plenty of resources online to help find a dynasty fantasy football league to join.
What is dynasty fantasy football?
Before finding a league to join, it’s good to fully understand what you’ll be getting into with dynasty fantasy football. These leagues extend beyond a single season, with team owners drafting a team that stays with them from year to year, with only a rookie draft to add new players every year.
Dynasty fantasy football leagues can be significantly larger than traditional or keeper leagues, and with a much larger roster. Jeff Haverlack, a founder and owner of Dynasty League Football, says he believes dynasty leagues should have “no less than 300 rostered players,” which comes out to at least 25 players per team for a 12-person league.
Dynasty fantasy football requires a more keen understanding of NFL rosters, with an emphasis on finding young and up-and-coming players who will be able to contribute for years to come. And managing your roster looks a lot more like a real football league as you’ll need to pick up players on the waiver wire and make trades to address roster needs, often under a salary cap.
What to look for in a dynasty fantasy football league
If you’ve got the basics down, it might be tempting to jump into a dynasty fantasy football league, but it’s good to take caution before making a decision that will lock you into a league for years.
For any league you find, you’ll want to do as much research as possible on the commissioner and the league rules. Do they have rules in place to prevent players from dropping out after one year? Even a small amount of turnover can send a league into a death spiral. Does the league have a payout structure that’s fair? Some platforms, including some of the most popular ones, take as much as 25% of the league rake, so even if you’re winning you don’t end up taking home very much.
You should also be clear about exactly what you’re joining. If it’s a new league, then everyone will start on equal footing and have the same opportunity create their team through a draft.
But another popular way to join leagues is by taking over an “orphan” team, which is one that has been abandoned by its owner. This can be a good chance to join a long-running league at a discount if some of the fees have already been paid, but it can also mean you have no control over the roster you’re inheriting.
Sometimes people leave dynasty leagues because they no longer have the time commitment, but sometimes they’re quitting because they have a very bad team — and that’s the one you’ll be inheriting.
If you feel confident in the commitment and you’re ready to dive in, here are the best places to find a dynasty fantasy football league to join.
My Fantasy League
MyFantasyLeague.com is like the family diner in town that everyone loves. When it’s been around that long and still looks so simple, you know the food is going to be great.
It may not seem flashy, but it’s popular and well-liked among people who have played dynasty fantasy football for a long time. Mason Dodd, the founder of the Fantasy Flock Network, said the MFL website “looks like it was made the week after the internet was created,” but said he started playing there in 2014 and recommends it.
It could take a bit of work to actually find an open dynasty league to join. You have to jump off the MFL site and onto their forum, where league commissioners advertise openings.
Sleeper
Sleeper has become the standard for fantasy football league management, and has a matchmaker function that helps find a league that meets your preferences. It does function as an app, so people who prefer to manage their team with a laptop may not like it as much.
Dodd said that Sleeper is a “much better and much easier experience for a new dynasty fantasy football player” than MFL, though noted that it’s not as great for league commissioners.
Apex
Like MFL, Apex is another longtime standard for fantasy league management. There’s a very active “find a league” page and the leagues are split into beginner and expert, with a range of price options depending on what level of financial commitment you’re willing to make.
FFPC
One of the most active fantasy football sites is Fantasy Football Players Championship (or FFPC), and for good reason. It’s been around since 2008 and is among the most recommended sites from veteran commissioners. There are options to join ready-made FFPC leagues or fan-created ones (or pick up an orphan team if you’re so inclined), with entry fees from $100 to $2,500 and beyond.
Reddit’s “Find a League” subreddit
The Find a League subreddit is like the classified ads of the internet. There is always a lot of activity, especially as the season approaches and teams look to finalize rosters and find owners for orphan teams.
The Dynasty Fantasy Football subreddit also has a “find a league” post pinned to the top.
Take caution with Twitter, Discord
There are plenty of people advertising leagues on Twitter or Discord. Just type in “open dynasty league” on Twitter and you’ll find a ton of messages from commissioners looking to fill out their leagues.
But you should approach these leagues with a lot of caution. Dodd said his experience with leagues formed on Twitter or Discord is that they may start out strong, but start to unravel within a season as owners start to lose interest and abandon their teams.
Most of these leagues have folded by Year 3, which is the opposite of what a dynasty league is supposed to be. If you find a league opening through one of these avenues, make sure do to plenty of research to make sure it feels legitimate and has some rules in place to ensure longevity.
