A Legendary Dynasty Auction: Draft and Strategy
Auction drafts should be the gold standard of dynasty startups, they are dominant to traditional snakes drafts in numerous ways... and are more fun to play. Auction drafts are littered with deeper strategic nuances, they level out the playing field for all participants, and allow for maximum versatility when building out your dream team. Auctions are where the best players can easily separate and dominate their opponents. But there isn't a ton of dynasty auction strategy content available.
Many players who have never done auctions are intimidated. I promise once you try one, you will see they aren’t scary and are fairly simple to pick up. After you play in an auction startup, all those old-fashioned slow dynasty snake drafts will feel incredibly boring by comparison.
Thus, in my pursuit to demonstrate how great auction leagues are and fill the auction content void, I created “The Legendary Dynasty Auction League.” Now I have a tangible way to walk you through my mindset and approach to a dynasty auction startup draft. I swear, my only purpose for creating this league is for this article and has absolutely nothing to do with satisfying my own unyielding, deep-rooted and selfish desire to do another dynasty auction startup draft.
First, I highly recommend you read Steph’s Dynasty Startup Draft Guide, as I will delve into how many of these core principles and strategies apply to my dynasty auction approach.
The Legendary Dynasty Auction League Format Basics
I created a 12-person superflex/tight end premium best ball dynasty league on MFL. The league is a slow proxy auction format with a 12-hour clock and $1000 budget. All startup money, players, draft picks, and in-season waiver funds were tradable assets for this draft.
The league utilizes full PPR scoring with a .5 tight end premium and starts 12 players (1QB-2RB-3WR-1TE-1SF-4FLEX) with 18 bench spots. During the startup draft, the league expanded the roster to a maximum of 35 players. There were no minimum roster requirements for the number of players managers had to leave with from the draft. However, all teams must field a full starting lineup once the season begins. Since this is a best ball league, we only have three predetermined waiver periods to mitigate the responsibilities of in-season management.
My goal with the setup of this draft was to give all players as much freedom as possible to construct their teams and choose their preferred strategies… along with enough rope to hang themselves with, if not careful. I forced all players to be fully accountable for their own spending, as there were no guardrails to prevent managers from overspending. If you are interested in the full league details, feel free to check out this link to the bylaws for the Legendary Auction Dynasty League.
Auction Drafts... That's Fair (Non-Derogatory)
A big reason I recommend everyone should at least try this format for their startup is that auction drafts are by far the fairest way to do a startup draft.
It's the only format that truly levels the entire playing field. Every manager has an equal opportunity to draft every player and construct their dream team without any additional barriers toward accomplishing their goals.
Auction drafts remove all "luck aspects" from the league, placing each person in complete control of their own destiny. There are no outside excuses to blame if you have a bad draft, except for your own process.... every player possesses the same tools, the same bankroll, the same trade capabilities, and plays with the same rules. Auction drafts are a game of strategy and wit where the best players can separate on their own merit and outmatch their opponents.
For example, in a snake draft format, players are at the mercy of predetermined draft slots, which naturally exclude many players from the pool based simply where their ADP lines up with each draft position. Let’s say in a superflex league you have the ten spot in the draft. You are confined to this spot, and never afforded the opportunity to start your team with the likes of Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen. These players are essentially unavailable.
In dynasty there are trade options which exist to move around the board which are absent in other best ball and redraft leagues, but these still require an exorbitant price to move up and zero guarantees another manager is willing to trade out of their draft slot.
On the flip side, the managers in these early draft slots are uniquely positioned to be guaranteed an elite top player or a massive trade haul simply based on the luck of their draft position. It is difficult to argue that there is not a sizable edge to having an early pick, and even methods leagues use to try to mitigate this advantage, such as third round reversal, cannot balance out all the implicit inequities of the format.
Another reason to prefer auction drafts is that traditional snake draft formats do not accurately reflect the fact that draft capital value is non linear. Early draft picks are worth significantly more draft capital than later picks, and the gap between elite players in the early rounds to the next tier is magnified, as well.
If you recall, back in my startup guide, I provided a value over replacement chart illustrating the differences in points above a replacement level for players across the different positions.
When looking at the VORP chart, there is clearly value in paying up for elite studs. However this must be balanced based on the rules, scoring, and roster requirements for your individual league.
One popular auction strategy many dynasty players implement to take advantage of these elites is to use a stars and scrubs approach to their auction. This strategy works well in more shallow leagues where you can spend the majority of your budget on 3-5 elite players and fill out your bench with dollar values. However, when you play in deeper formats there is additional value to roster depth, which you need to consider.
The Legendary Dynasty Auction League is a deeper superflex/tight end premium format with a large 12-player starting lineup and best ball scoring. These factors increase the value of positional scarcity and roster depth. Therefore, to truly compete in this league, the managers will need strong players and adequate depth across all positions. Many of those managers who overspent on a few studs in this league will feel some remorse once the season starts, or find themselves trading some of these studs to fill other holes in their lineup, unless they are willing to risk being forced to punt the inaugural year.
Proxy Auctions Are Best
Those of you who are unfamiliar, proxy slow auctions use a blind bidding system that is similar to an “eBay” style auction. When you nominate a player, you place a minimum bid of at least $1 on them and set the maximum amount you are willing to pay for the player nominated. However, this maximum bid amount is hidden from the rest of the league; only $1 will show.
When another manager bids on the player, the amount showing will change to the amount of the bid if it is lower than the maximum set. If a manager bids an amount higher than the maximum bid, that bid amount becomes visible and that manager takes over as the new high bidder, resetting the 12-hour clock. When time is up, the high bidder only pays the amount of money that is visible. If this amount is lower than the maximum bid they set, the rest of the money will be returned to their bankroll.
The high bidder can adjust a player's maximum price as well without changing the amount they would be forced to pay. For example, many players may increase their maximum if they notice someone bidding up a player they really want, especially near the very end of the clock. They can also lower their maximum to an amount less than what is showing to the rest of the league.
Also, please note, I left the proxy bidding public. This means that managers could see who was bidding on their players (with the bid amounts still hidden), which could instigate some rivalries and vengeance… sorry y'all I love some good ole fashion drama.
Now that you have a better understanding of how proxy auction drafts work, let's discuss why I love this format so much.
First, they allow for constant action if league mates so choose. There is no waiting around, and you can always find something to do depending on your level of dedication. This format is also a great and easy way to account for players in different time zones and with different schedules. People can do things on their own time.
Trading is one of the best parts of dynasty and in a slow proxy auction, this integrates seamlessly as well. Players can easily trade startup funds, future draft picks, players won, in-season waiver budget, or any combination your league chooses.
Proxy auctions on MFL have another unique feature compared to most other formats, which is the ability to make multiple nominations at once. Other platforms only allow one nomination at a time and players simply bid up a player until someone offers to pay more than anyone else. This process can range from a fast auction with, say 30- second nomination clock and a 1-minute bidding window, to slow auction where the nomination and/or bid time extends to best fit the league’s needs. In these traditional auction formats, all the cards are laid on the table. Everyone can see what the amount each player is going for, making the process very cut and dry.
For our draft, each person was allocated three nominations at a time, so there were always thirty-six players available to be bid on. When a nominated player cleared the clock, the manager who nominated the player receives another nomination. This allows for so much activity and strategy beyond simply nominating a player you don’t want to get or people only bidding their money and filling out their roster according to a strict, predetermined budget for each position. You must account for several positions at once and allocate your spending accordingly. With proxy auctions, there are numerous strategic elements at play and constant adjustments to be made because each league is its own entity and different from other leagues.
Next, I want to share with you how to best prepare for your dynasty auction startup draft and meet the members of the Legendary Auction Dynasty League.
Meet the Legendary Auction Dynasty League Members
I attempted to gather an eclectic group of participants for this Legendary Auction Dynasty League. Here is a small introduction for each cast of characters by team name.
Please note all participants were aware ahead of time that I would be writing an article based on the league and gave consent by agreeing to play and answer some basic questions throughout the startup draft.
Stealing Go Bills is my team, named as an homage to the high stakes FFPC battles against the back-to-back FFPC main event championship winning team, ”Go Bills,” whom I wrote about in my FAABulous Football newsletter last year. My main event team “StephWuGee” had an intense battle for the league championship against “Go Bills.” There was also one of the Ship Chasing teams I managed, aptly named “Chasin’ Go Bills,” that was in another head-to-head matchup in the main event. Now the war continues against one of the trio in this dynasty startup draft.
PiperWaner is a co-managed team composed of Piper, who is a member of both LegUp and ETR dynasty communities, and plays in several auction dynasty leagues with me. Waner is Piper’s friend outside our fantasy bubble, adding in a dimension of mystery that could sway Piper’s typical youth centric, win-later approach.
Texan Wolverine/Atrostle is another co-managed team. The duo plays in two other auction dynasty leagues which I commission. Texan Wolverine is also a member of LegUp and Spike Week discords.
Kimberlyd1313 plays in several dynasty leagues with me, and won “The Best Ballers Dynasty Auction League” last year. She is a member of LegUp, ETR, and Women of Fantasy Football, a group that helps promote women in the fantasy space.
Chad Candles is a member of the LegUp and Ship Chasing communities. He is new to the dynasty format and was very excited to participate. He has some experience with MLB fast auction drafts, but no slow draft or football auction experience.
HitEmWithTheGriddy19 is not the real HitEmWithTheGriddy (sorry to disappoint). Better known as Dan, he is one of LegUp's and Ship Chasing’s most active discord members. This is his sixth season of dynasty and second dynasty auction draft, with some additional experience in redraft auctions.
WeirdFrank is another dynasty first timer, but is an active member of LegUp, ETR, and Spike Week communities... and plays a lot of best ball. He also has done some auction drafts for managed leagues, but it has been a few years.
Kingcos is one of the three members of the infamous “Go Bills” back-to-back main event champions team. He is one of the absolute best high stakes redraft players out there and prides himself as a ruthless competitor and strategist. He has an extensive dynasty background playing for the last 15 years and has done proxy, fast, slow, and live auction formats over this time. Good luck, big King, with me “stealing” your players. I won’t go down without a fight.
Keith recently played with me in another auction dynasty startup league that I do not commission. He is outside our fantasy bubble, which is always a great way to spice things up. Keith has been playing dynasty for about 6 years and has done several auction and contract fantasy leagues.
JTimber is a member of LegUp and ETR communities, and is the resident “spreadsheet socialist” of the group who has played in several dynasty auction leagues with me. He also helped me collect data and make some of the charts and tables used throughout this article, so I want to give him a big shout out and huge thank you there.
Bindles is another member of the LegUp and Ship Chasing communities and is an avid best ball player. He began playing dynasty about 2 years ago and dove in head first, joining forty-eight managed and eight best ball dynasty leagues; however, this is his first time doing a dynasty auction draft.
Spurzy210 is a member of LegUp and has been playing dynasty since 2021 and a friends redraft auction league since 2019. He made his own rankings through creating his own models and player data. This is something he was very proud of and he was eager to test out these convictions by drafting off of his ranks this year. Spurzy210 did some gut checks against LegUp ranks and Underdog ADP and felt they generally aligned, albeit not perfectly.
Assign an Auction Value to Your Player Rankings/Tiers
In this auction draft, each team has a finite auction budget that is reflective of their total draft capital. In this case, $1000. Before the auction draft, I assigned each player an estimated dollar amount by taking Dynasty League Football Auction Values and applying them to the Legendary Upside Dynasty Rankings. I made some adjustments based on total money in the league and rounded to whole dollar amounts.
There are other ways to assign auction value as well in which you could use trade charts or percentages of your total budget between tiers and/or the rounds players would be drafted in a typical snake draft. The exact method you choose is less important than how you utilize the information.
Your goal when assigning these auction values should not be to be exact, but to give yourself a foundation where your end results reflect the ranks you used. You should have been able to capitalize on getting great auction values by using your estimates as your guide for setting your maximum bid amounts during the auction.
Create a Budget and Track Your Money
The second thing everyone should do to prepare for an auction draft is to create a budget. Allocate a specific amount of money to each position across your entire lineup.
Again, you can be flexible here and change course throughout the draft, but having a baseline will make the process that much smoother. I am constantly monitoring and adjusting if I spend less or more than I planned at a position. I will move that money around to account for these changes. If I identify a position where I think there is extraordinary value or people are over spending, I will adjust accordingly as well.
Here is an example of a budget tracker I used for the auction and summary. I also tracked the amount of money I spent to know the actual total amount remaining and how much usable funds I have at any given time. Remember, money is tied up in your maximum bids until that player clears the 12-hour clock.
Please note my starting amount is larger than $1,000 in the chart below because I sold my future draft picks for additional startup money.
Now that you have made your auction values and budget, you can use your evaluations to set your maximum bids to the actual amount you are willing to pay for a player the first time.
Set Yourself Up for Success with Your Maximum Bid Amount
I use the auction values on my sheet to set reasonable maximum bids for players from the start. This simple tactic is instrumental in keeping you on track during your auction. Objectively setting the maximum bid using your estimated auction value will help keep you grounded, preventing you from chasing players you love and ignoring exceptional values on your non favorite players. In addition, this practice can help improve your nomination strategy, prevent price enforcing mishaps, and ensure you come out ahead when being bid up… should someone take it too far.
When you set maximums too low or arbitrarily, it is easy to get sucked into a bidding war. Which also resets the clock, giving ample time for league mates to change their minds, get funds back to steal your guys, and/or drive up the price more on you because they have identified you as someone willing to pay to get your guys. If you lose a player after setting your maximum, let them go and do not chase (unless you really know the person you are engaging with and are prepared for psychological warfare).
A common strategy many auction players employ to get people spending the big bucks is by nominating players they don’t want or they believe are popular and managers will pay up to win. I nominate players on this criterion at times, but do not shy away from nominating players I want, too. However, the key is when I nominate a player I do not want, I still always set a reasonable maximum bid to ensure that a threshold is met. That way, if anyone benefits from a killer value, it will be me.
Price enforcing is a common pitfall dynasty leagues players can fall into if not careful. If you set your maximum bid appropriately, it also assures anyone who wins a player from you is in fact overpaying according to your estimates and ensuring it will not be a good value. The main reason behind price enforcement is people do not want others to get what they perceive to be too good a deal and will attempt to bump up the price of a player. This is perfectly acceptable if you want the player and it is in fact still a reasonable or plus value, but don’t enforce a player you don’t want, cannot afford, or that goes against your roster construction.
At this point, you should have a solid foundation and feel prepared to dominate your auction. However, the prep work is just the beginning... the actual work is yet to come. Those managers who put in the most effort to stay active during the auction through recording, analyzing, and adjusting are often the most successful in auction drafts.
Record, Analyze, and Adjust Throughout the Auction Draft
Tracking the spending of teams and monitoring what your opponents are doing throughout the auction draft is of utmost importance. Remember, your auction values are estimates and a baseline to start from. You should be flexible and analyze what is happening throughout the draft, and adjust accordingly. Every league is different and has its own market evaluation. It is near impossible to fully predict how the draft will unfold ahead of time.
I also track the roster construction of my competition. When I am aware of what the remaining needs are of each team, I can get out ahead of a positional run to avoid a bidding war with other teams who are all in need of the same thing, and drive up the price of the remaining players.
The best players learn to adapt to their league’s environment. When you become accustomed to maneuvering with your league and tracking the values and positions being drafted, it becomes easy to get out ahead of positional runs, hit the best value pockets at each position, avoid end of tier inflation rates, and seamlessly execute your desired game plan.
For example, along with several others, I took advantage of big values being offered on high-end running backs during a time when most of the league was battling for the elite quarterback and wide receiving options. Without tracking the league's positional spending, I would have been less likely to identify that opportunity.
Some of the best running back steals during this time were my win of Jonathan Taylor, Bindles with Bijan Robinson, Texan Wolverine/Atostle with Breece Hall, Spurzy210 with Jahmyr Gibbs, Keith with Christian McCaffrey and Saquon Barkley, and JTimber with James Cook.
To give you a better visualization of my tracking strategy, here are some examples from my spreadsheet that I used to track the money spent and actual values.
Reading the room and tracking your opponents spending also opens up exploitative edges, like bidding up players.
If you're reading a room and profiling league mates correctly by paying attention to their habits, tracking their spending and knowing what their needs are, you'll start to get a feel for when to give a little nudge to their bids, sucking out just a bit more value. Learning how to effectively execute bidding up other players is a bit more of an art than science.
For example, I knew who didn’t set their maximum bids at a reasonable place (yet another reason to utilize my previous tip). I also knew who was willing to set maximum bids above the value I would pay, giving me ample room to bump up the bid without winning the player and draining their funds. And finally, I correctly profiled my competition, knowing who would fight to get their player back should they lose them and let me drive up the price. Yes, I, in fact, never wanted Keon Coleman (sorry Kingcos).
However, it would also be a disservice if I did not pay my respects and give Kingcos credit for his heavy and successful use of an effective bidding up strategy. He spent the time meticulously checking how the bid money was allocated and made reasonable assumptions based on good old-fashioned killer instinct.
You also want to be aware of what other teams are doing and get a feel for their goals to execute an effective trade strategy during your auction draft. Trading is one of the best parts of any dynasty league, but continues to be challenging for many players to navigate confidently, especially new dynasty players.
