My Commish Rules

League Dues

Accountabilibuddy

A Rule About League Dues

As the fantasy season approaches (HELLO! IT’S HERE!) we know you commissioners out there have a million things on your mind. Renew the league, contact owners, fill league spots, consider rule changes (Hey, we know a site for that…). But perhaps the most stressful is the question of how you will collect league dues this season. Unless you were the 3rd grade bully stealing lunch money in the 60’s or currently work for the IRS, chances are you are not the biggest fan of collecting these dues. And that is why we have found the perfect solution: The Accountabilibuddy.

 

How It Works

Think of the Accountabilibuddy as that person you put down as an emergency contact on doctor’s forms, or you field trip buddy from grade school. Their main job is to make sure that you are safe and accounted for and always has your best interest in mind. Now forget everything we just taught you about the Accountabilibuddy. This person is now the muscle commissioners send out to collect dues when they cannot seem to shake down team owners by themselves. 

 

Prior to the start of the season, have owners submit a name and phone number of their Accountabilibuddy to The Commish. We highly suggest this be someone in regular contact with the owners. Someone who can remind them constantly or subtly ask, “hey, have you paid your wonderful commissioner those league dues yet?” Significant others are great to recruit for this task, if willing. Not only does it help make them feel as if they are a part of the league, but it also informs them how much their loved ones may be spending each year on fantasy football. Either way, it helps lessen the burden on you as a commissioner.

 

In all honesty, just the thought that somebody else could be checking in with them about league dues will get owners to get league dues paid in full and on time in the first place. After all, how many of us want to hear about league dues not only from our commissioner, but from our loved ones as well?

 

Nuts and Bolts

  • Before the year begins, explain the implementation of the Accountabilibuddy and the reason for it existing. 
  • Collect a name and number of the Accountabilibuddy for each owner.
  • Inform team owners that their Accountabilibuddy will NOT be contacted unless they fail to pay league dues by specified dates, at which point their Accountabilibuddy will be hearing from you.
  • League owners should still get a reminder to pay prior to reaching out to their Accountabilibuddy.

Change Ups

So maybe your team owners are single or do not have that special someone in their life, and we totally get and respect that. You do you, baby boo. Mothers also serve as great people from whom we don’t want daily reminders to pay league fees. Or even better yet, collect the name and phone number for each league owner’s boss. There is nothing quite like the threat of contacting employers to get league owners to pony up – :).

 

Related Rules

Late Tax

In this League Dues Rule, it’s all about speed. The sooner a league owner pays you their annual dues, the less they will have to pay. Those that lollygag or […]

Read More »

Super Season

Can’t find a set of chumps to reliably finish out the season or come back next year? Starting to feel frustrated about a recent rash of league owner turnover? Us […]

Read More »

Accountabilibuddy

As the fantasy season approaches (HELLO! IT’S HERE!) we know you commissioners out there have a million things on your mind. Renew the league, contact owners, fill league spots, consider […]

Read More »

You're the Commish.
Make your own rules.

Super Season

A Rule About League Dues

Can’t find a set of chumps to reliably finish out the season or come back next year? Us too.

 

Starting to feel frustrated about a recent rash of league owner turnover? Us too.

 

Conversely, have you found your people and already agreed to a blood pact to play fantasy football together forever? Us too.

 

Whether you’re hearing flaky owners say they don’t have enough skin in the game to keep them interested or your best buds are getting sick of the same payouts every year, we think you will love experimenting with Super Seasons – a fresh new look at paying league dues and distributing end of season payouts.

 

How It Works

It’s good to spice things up every once in a while, especially when it comes to fantasy football league payouts. Afterall, winning money is great, but winning more of your friends money is even better.

 

Under a typical Super Season format, your league will operate on a four year schedule with a spike in payouts happening every fourth season. Each year, owners will pay 125% of the normal league dues at the beginning of the year, however payouts in Years 1, 2, and 3 will be your typical agreed upon amounts. The Commish will hold the extra 25% paid by each owner until Year 4, where all payouts will be doubled.

 

To keep owners interested in the league, make it so that extra league dues they have paid into the Super Season are nonrefundable. This way league owners have progressively more and more money on the line with each season and will have to take a financial hit if they choose to walk away from the league.

 

Nuts and Bolts

  • Find a set of league owners that you would like to maintain long term.
  • Your league will operate on a four-year cycle.
  • When it comes time to pay league dues, owners will pay 125% of the normal dues.
  • In Years 1, 2, and 3, payouts will be in the amounts agreed upon by all owners.
  • In Year 4, payouts will be doubled using the extra 25% dues paid each year.
  • Extra dues paid by owners are non-refundable should they choose to leave the league.

Change Ups

Why even wait four years? Have owners pay 150% dues and have a super season every other year! Hell – have owners pay 200% and DO A SUPER SEASON RIGHT NOW. WE DARE YOU.

Related Rules

You're the Commish.
Make your own rules.

Late Tax

A Rule About League Dues

In this League Dues Rule, it’s all about speed. The sooner a league owner pays you their annual dues, the less they will have to pay. Those that lollygag or take their sweet time giving you the runaround, will pay the price – literally.

 

How It Works

The Late Tax Rule, is just as it sounds. At a specific and well advertised time, The Commish officially kicks off the new season. On this date, league transactions can begin to take place including trades, keeper declarations, and you guessed it – payment of league dues. Under the Late Tax League Dues Rule, this kickoff is also when the payment clock begins. The Commish will accept dues at this time from all league owners. However, based on the date and time of payment, owners will pay different amounts. This added incentive will have owners scrambling to be one of the first to pay league dues on time and in full.

 

In a ten team league, the first six league owners to pay their dues will receive a 10% discount and the last three owners will pay a 20% late tax. You, the Commissioner, will not be able to receive the early payment discount and will pay the normal league dues in order to avoid any question of unfairness. In a twelve team league, the math gets a little more complex, the first 7 owners will receive the 10% discount and the last four owners will be charged a 17.5% late tax.

 

Logistically, this can be accomplished a few different ways.

 

The recommended MyCommishRules method is to have all league owners submit electronic payments to you in the amount of the inflated Late Tax amount (typical league dues plus 20%). Based on the timestamp of the payments, you can then issue refunds to the first 6 owners (7 owners in a 12-team league) in the amount that will give them a 10% discount. For example, if your typical league fees are $50, have each owner submit a $60 payment to you. You can then determine which 6 (or 7) owners made their payments first and immediately issue them a $15 refund, effectively reducing their league dues to $45 (a 10% discount). The remaining owners will not be issued refunds.

 

Nuts and Bolts

  • Discuss and agree upon a specific date and time to kickoff the new fantasy football season.
  • Once the season has officially begun, the Commish will accept league dues payments.
  • All league owners will submit payments in the amount of an inflated league dues (120% of typical dues).
  • The first 6 owners (or 7 in 12-team leagues) to submit their payment will receive a 10% discount in the form of a refund.
  • The last 3 owners (or 4 in 12-team leagues) to submit their payment will not receive a refund and their dues will remain at the inflated amount.
  • The Commish will pay the typical league dues amount and will not be eligible for the early payment discount.

Change Ups

Tie the kickoff of the open season to an external event. This will ensure that all league owners are aware of a common starting point. For example, have league owners text the final score of a specific pre-season NFL game to the league’s group chat. The first half of the league owners to correctly respond in the group chat will pay the discounted league dues and the last half will pay the penalty fee.

 

If your league is a keeper league, you can easily tie this League Dues Rule to the declaration of keepers. Kickoff the season at a date and time specified in advance and have owners submit their desired keeper and league dues simultaneously.

 

Related Rules

You're the Commish.
Make your own rules.