waiver wire, how to make it fair?

[pantherb99 0]

For the last two years we've used Yahoo and the Commissioner has set all the parameters for our league making it somewhat customized.

 

I have a real problem with how he has done waivers, and that is #1 priority goes to team with the worst record. This does not change throughout the year. My problem is in both years I've came out of the gate winning and around this time of year I am always in the top 2 or 3 so I obviously never get a chance to land a notable guy off waivers that's worth anything. I am forced to better my team through trades and to date do not have but 1 guy on my entire roster that was plucked off waivers.

 

I have complained about the way he does this, and many other owners are beginning to see that it's unfair. For instance, last year a team started 0-4 but was able to pick up every single stud off waivers and ended up running the table only to lose in the championship game. This just doesn't seem fair to the other 9 owners.

 

In my baseball leagues, its a ever changing scale that begins week 1 with the 10th pick getting 1st on waivers, if a claim is made by this person then they simply drop to the back.

 

I guess I'm just too stupid to put this into play and make it work. I would start running into a problem with wiaver order once teams start having a few claims a piece and the order would be difficult to keep up with.

 

Are any of you guys commissioners in a Yahoo league and if so, how do you manage the waiver wire? I am eager to learn of a resolution to this ridiculous problem.

 

Thanks guys.

 

[Larry David 20]

Our system is based on position points. If multiple waiver claims are put in for the same player, the guy that has the fewest points at that position, gets the player. So you could be in a first place but have a crappy QB. You could win the QB waiver claim despite your overall success. Of course, more often than not, the guy with the crappy team will win the waiver but you're not automatically excluded just because you're in first place.

[Bears_Rule 0]

We have the same rules as the author of the thread in my league and although I am in the same spot you are most often (bottom of the waiver claims) I do believe that is a fair system.

 

As my commissioner says "shitty teams need the help the most".

 

But I think the most fair system is an auction blind bidding system where you get $ at the beginning of the year and use it on waiver claims throughout.

[Patmos 2]

I experience the same issues, and I totally agree with Bears_Rule that the switch to FAAB is the best solution for all

[nzoner 937]

Our 12 team league doesn't reward a team for being sh!tty,if your team sucks you best be doing your homework and/or watching all the games because we play in a first come first served and the WW is always open.We get 7 transactions with our $160 entry fee,after that it's $5 per move,so it's not like guys can just grab whomever,whenever,unless they're willing to pay the price.It works for us great.

[Law 241]

I am the commish of my league and changed the waivers from a season long system of get a waiver claim and drop to bottom to a system as the op described. I didn't like the season long system as it only heightened the "luck" factor of having the top waiver spot when the real gold hit (like Vick). It also benefited the better teams and further taxed the worse one. The worse ones needed to use waivers to improve and so had lower waiver spots. The better teams didn't need to use waivers and so good afford to wait for the gem.

 

I think it is far more fair and equitable to do waivers week to week with the worst teams with higher priority. The idea is for them to get better and to make the league better. That's the idea for the NFL and it works for me in FF too.

 

Sure, I always draft well and start of well so I don't get many great waivers, but I still win and the other teams stay more active because they have a chance to improve.

[Teren 2]

That does seem shitty in my leaugue everyone starts with 100 'dollars' and you bid players on the wire like a silent auction and whoever bid the highest gets the player. Many players go in the 17-25 dollar range where some such as Peyton hillis went for almost half the persons allowed bidding Money. If you run out of money you can't aquire anyone till free agency

[swirvenirvin 25]

Blind Bidding

[joelmrut 4]

Fair for whom? The teams that need the most help or the teams with winning records?

[IMMensaMind 462]

I agree with the OP - we have the same waiver wire system, and I always get screwed. No chance at the top RB waiver picks, and as such I've had to play with the likes of Best, Mathews, Torain, Ronnie Brown and Goodson all year. The rest of my team is extremely good, and I'm tied for first, but no one will trade with me for fear of improving my team beyond their reach. It sucks.

 

I think the blind bidding on a limited waiver purse is the best way to go. I would also not have a problem with a rotten team being given #1 waiver, but I think that the system should reorganize for the FOLLOWING week by NOT dropping waiver spots for those teams who elected NOT to use their high waiver position to actually pick up a player (so that a team which elects to keep their powder dry actually can move up the waiver priority list to be able to pick up a player later on.

 

That's the kind of risk/reward dynamic that would make a very good waiver system.

[doughboys_2002 11]

Been doing FF for 12 years now, been the commish for 5 years. Our league is set up as a semi-keeper league. You keep 4 players every year then draft the rest. 10 straight years I have finished in the money and we have the same waiver system, one pick a week from worst to first. The idea is to even the odds for everyone, and I think it works. I always end the season in the top four and still manage to pick some gems off the waiver. I read the writing on the wall and pick up players before others do. I think it is a matter of having a strong draft, and paying attention. I mean you honestly think it's fair that a team struck with injuries should be punished so you can stack your team to win? The idea of fantasy football is to make it fair and fun for everyone.

[Cunning Runts 0]

Priority systems do tend to keep teams involved that have suffered either self-inflicted (draft) or unlucky (injury/benching) circumstances. It also does "punish" the better teams; however with a $5 pick-up fee, the bottom teams expand the total pot, usually to the better teams' benefit!

[MDC 7,099]

My league runs the same waiver wire system as described by the OP. My problem with this system is that it doesn't necessarily reward the worst teams, just the teams that happen to have the lowest ranking when a hot commodity is available on the waiver wire.

 

For example, in my league the Kolb owner was 0-1 after Week 1, because he lost his starting QB in the first quarter of the first game (obviously) but also because he happened to be playing the highest scoring team of the week. So he acquired Vick ... to go along with Foster, Charles, Andre Johnson and Colston. His team is now #2 in overall points. In hindsight, I don't really think this system rewarded the team that needed help the most, it ended up helping one of the best teams get even better.

 

That said, last year we did a "first come, first serve" waiver wire that ran all week and I robbed my league blind by adding Vernon Davis, Sidney Rice and Calvin Johnson. Davis and Rice were undrafted (check their pre-season ADP from last year) and the Megatron owner got fed up mid-year and I happened to be online at midnight when he dropped him. That wasn't fair either and since I won last year I can't really complain.

 

Blind bid seems most fair IMO.

[chroniciguana 13]

Waiver wire opens at 7 a.m. Tuesday. First come, first served. $2 per transaction. Has worked fine for 12 years. No add/drops allowed after 1 p.m. Sunday.

[ravenwood 1]

all players on the WW auctioned - $100 seasonal budget

[Reality 3,086]

Blind Bidding.

 

Each team is given $100 at the start of the season. Waivers lock at the Start of the Sunday games, Blind Bidding ensues, Waivers are processed blindly and automatically Tuesday night (MFL - the customization can't be beat). First come first served Tuesday night till the Start of the Sunday games.

 

By far the best system we have ever used.

 

Full blown first come first served is absurd. Waiver wire priority based on sucktitude is only slightly less absurd.

[ravenwood 1]

my league does it the same way - it's made the league all the much more better

 

Blind Bidding.

 

Each team is given $100 at the start of the season. Waivers lock at the Start of the Sunday games, Blind Bidding ensues, Waivers are processed blindly and automatically Tuesday night (MFL - the customization can't be beat). First come first served Tuesday night till the Start of the Sunday games.

 

By far the best system we have ever used.

 

Full blown first come first served is absurd. Waiver wire priority based on sucktitude is only slightly less absurd.

[jrbdmb 28]

my league does it the same way - it's made the league all the much more better

I'm in a full blown free waivers league - agree it sucks. Glad it's non-$$.

 

Now my money league reset waivers each week based on standings. One thing that makes this a bit better is a limit of 10 add/drops a year, so a crappy team can only grab the hot pickup so many times. That said, it is a disadvantage to start hot and know you will never get Vick or other hot pickups.

 

There's been some grumbling about this recently - perhaps we move to a FAAB next year.

[djrockstar 0]

My league has instituted an interesting system. We've removed the waiver system entirely. At the end of every week, players are re-assigned to teams so that the total scoring for each team is always equal. Everyone finishes the season 0-0-14 and we all go to the playoffs and win the Superbowl. It's totally fair.

[maxxpower 0]

er.

 

That said, last year we did a "first come, first serve" waiver wire that ran all week and I robbed my league blind by adding Vernon Davis, Sidney Rice and Calvin Johnson. Davis and Rice were undrafted (check their pre-season ADP from last year) and the Megatron owner got fed up mid-year and I happened to be online at midnight when he dropped him. That wasn't fair either and since I won last year I can't really complain.

 

INB4 do you play in a 4 person league with your grandmother.

[chroniciguana 13]

Full blown first come first served is absurd.

 

The OP seemed to be surveying what other leagues do. If a league uses a system that works for that league then the only real absurdity is to call the system absurd. If using make-believe money to bid on waiver wire pickups works for your league and for you, then do it.

[PDrax 0]

Hey reverse record..seems to work fine in the NFL.

[msudavedawg 5]

Set it to rolling waivers with weekly waivers from Sunday to Tuesday. That way the team that drafted last gets 1st crack at the WW but after that it just rolls all season.

 

I have played under this system for a few years now and it is the one I like best. Adds another layer of strategy to the game. You can burn your waiver priority every week or save it for that plumb FA that is going to be available at some point.

[Reality 3,086]

The OP seemed to be surveying what other leagues do. If a league uses a system that works for that league then the only real absurdity is to call the system absurd. If using make-believe money to bid on waiver wire pickups works for your league and for you, then do it.

 

Have fun sitting at the PC all Sunday waiting for an injury. Like I said, absurd...

[tikigods 76]

Our league has been in existence since 1989. We've always done it worst to first and one pick per week. People are welcomed to trade up to improve their waiver position or get multiple picks each week.

 

We've never had one issue with the WW in over 20 years.

[Grateful Parrot 0]

My big money league has been around since 90. We do things a little different. Waivers begin on Tuesdays, but transaction don't go through until Friday. Rosters are locked number of players at positions. We also do IR's on Mondays. Meaning, if you had a player taken out, you can do an IR, which gives you the best replacement player and takes him off of this weeks waiver wire, if you initail player comes back into action, you have the option to drop your original player and keep your waiver, or drop your waiver. Our normal waivers are worst to best, but locking positions limit the peeps who are going after that guy. You have a better shot at getting him.

[bugzy 1]

Been doing FF for 12 years now, been the commish for 5 years. Our league is set up as a semi-keeper league. You keep 4 players every year then draft the rest. 10 straight years I have finished in the money and we have the same waiver system, one pick a week from worst to first. The idea is to even the odds for everyone, and I think it works. I always end the season in the top four and still manage to pick some gems off the waiver. I read the writing on the wall and pick up players before others do. I think it is a matter of having a strong draft, and paying attention. I mean you honestly think it's fair that a team struck with injuries should be punished so you can stack your team to win? The idea of fantasy football is to make it fair and fun for everyone.

 

I like that attitude. Keep it fun for everyone and give the teams in the back of the standings something to get back on their feet. I think it's more fun for everyone if someone doesn't run away with it every year. My only complaint is that typically the juiciest waiver pick ups are in the first couple weeks and team's records are pretty random at that point so the guys that happen to bomb the first week can hit the jackpot.

[WahooJim 4]

Free agent system rules from our 22 year old, big money league. We have refined and revised a million times over the years as owners get more innovative finding ways to cheat the system. This system has been in place for about 5 years now and appears to be cheatproof and also very fair. First day of waivers each week (Tuesday) is based on a FAAB, with owners bidding for available players. Starting Wednesday morning, it becomes FCFS until Friday. No moves during the weekend, so people with families don't get punished if they miss the games live. A player is not available until the week after he gets dropped, so everyone knows he is there. No priority for crappy teams, except the tiebreaker in the case of equal bids. Plus, this system adds a few hundred to our prize pool every year.

 

WAIVER AND FREE AGENT RULES

 

1. All transactions must occur between 7 am each Tuesday morning and 4 pm that Friday afternoon.

2. A player dropped during a particular week cannot be picked up by anyone until the following week. The names of all players picked up and released during a week will be made available to the league by Monday of the following week so we can all have equal access to the new free agents.

3. From 7 am to 12 pm Tuesday of each week will be termed "The Window". When requesting a “free agent”, meaning an NFL player that is not currently on a WFL roster, during the Window, the league will utilize a bidding system. During the week between the auction and the start of the regular season, free agent moves will be allowed. After the close of the window, no more moves will be allowed until 9am CT on Wednesday of that week.

4. Each team can make only one phone call during the window each week. During that call, the owner may bid on as many players as desired. Please state your desired players in order. Your first priority must have a higher bid than your second priority and so on. Players will be awarded based on highest total bid for that player. Once a team has been awarded a window FA, they are not eligible to be considered for another player until the next day. Always remember to state who you wish to release to make room on your roster for your new player. Position of either player is immaterial. You can acquire only one player during the window. If two owners submit identical high bids (in identical priority order) for the same player, the player will be granted to the team with the lowest overall total points.

5. Outside the window (Wednesday 9 am to Friday 4 pm), there is no limitation on the number of transactions you can make. All player rights are secured on a first come, first served basis. All acquisitions occuring outside the window will cost $X. These transactions will be executed by calling the hotline number listed in Item 6 below. Total FAAB for each team will be $XXX per season.