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There is no secret fantasy football has taken off exponentially over the last several years. For those of you that just became interested over the last three to four years, you probably have done standard leagues for the most part. More than likely you’ve been approached a few different times to partake in an auction league. If you said yes this year here are some basic tips for success.

Back in the day even before standard draft leagues, leagues that use to be popular were salary cap leagues. They’re still around, but dwindling down to fantasy football extinction (head2head.com still is very popular) but smallworld, sandlot, and others around years ago have fallen of the earth. I, myself have not done a salary cap league in over five years. The basis of a salary cap league is kind of how an auction league is based. Salary cap leagues would give you an X amount of dollars (salary cap) and each player would be given a dollar value based on his skill set.

So back in the day in a $200 salary cap league, high stars were likely in the 50 to 65 dollar range. Fantasy league roster spots were similar to today and salaries will shift throughout the season. The fun of it was that you could gain dollars if you bought an athlete low, and use that to bolster your roster. I’d say if you have not done one of these leagues and want to join one this year head to sportingnews.com. They probably have one of the best free salary cap leagues around.

What really has taken over the dollar strategy leagues is auction leagues. People like to have self control and auction leagues put you in that position off the bat, just like standard draft leagues. I’m sure after three or four years being in a standard draft, you’ve seen a mistake or two from someone inexperienced in a fantasy football draft.

That laughter you had then, and mistake pick you capitalized off of might be staring at you for your first auction draft.

Here are four basic tips to have success in your auction league

You Have Money, Spend It. Don’t Be That Guy/Gal
Your given an X amount of dollars to spend. When it’s all said and done you typically do not want to have dollars left over. If you do, you were over cautious and missed out on depth and better profile players. At the end, if you’re the one buying consecutively you know you did something wrong. Just because you have the most amount left and can outbid everyone, means nothing because you didn’t partake in the majority of the auction.

Let’s compare the bid wars show on A@E as an example. If you came to bid on a storage unit and waited, waited, and waited, and then the last two units shown you decided to bid on, you’re left with a limited upside and more than likely duds. Bid early with everyone else and manage your money as the draft goes.

Have a Strategy
The main purpose of an auction league is that you have full control of each and every player you can get. For the most part you should be able to control 70% of your roster outcome, especially the cream of the crop. Sure, you might have to outbid aggressively for a couple of players, but that’s the cost of having a sure-fire top notch athlete. Go in with an aggressive mindset that you’re going to get seven to ten players. You’ll be surprised how many of those athletes you end up with.
Use Common Sense
This goes hand and hand with strategy, but you need common sense when piecing together a roster. You’re the GM, and you have to surround your team with high caliber automatic high ceiling athletes, middle-tier, and value based with potential. If you lack the common sense to envision a team with prospects along with stars, than you’re in a world of hurting. You need to spread out your dollars and picture yourself as a GM taking risks and outplaying the other ten to thirteen fantasy owners in your league. Remember, these aren’t computers automating selections. Have a mind, and outthink as if you were on the poker table.
Your Team is Assembled, Now Manage It
Just like in professional sports, a draft with talent looks good on paper. Ironing out the rough spots (bye weeks, injuries, poor performance) needs to be a daily and weekly focus for you. If you end up like a NFL coach or GM that is too trustworthy of his talent, you’ll fall flat on your face. You need to be prepared to dump players that don’t perform, go for a couple of trades, and out bid league owners on certain waiver wire acquisitions. Don’t fall asleep at the wheel once your draft is over. Wake up and smell the coffee on the players that are dragging your team down. Even if you’re doing well early, there are other owners pushing to outpace you before season’s end. Outsmart them and ensure your team is not going to falter.