My Commish Rules

Trade Deadline

A Rule About Trades

Maybe a trade deadline seems too aggressive for your league. Hey, we’re all just here to have fun, right? Until Jeff, 3-10, postseason dreams dashed and life crumbling around him, hands over the top-scoring wide receiver he had stashed all year for a six pack of Natty Light. Not to knock an incredibly great-tasting, affordable, and ubiquitous (sponsorships available) beer, but Jeff is clearly giving up. A fire-sale is about to happen, it’s the first week of playoffs and now all of a sudden your light-hearted work league has turned into a contentious warzone. It’s time to lay down the law with a Trade Deadline.

 

How It Works

Trade deadlines exist for a reason and just because this is not the real NFL what happens in fantasy football has real-life implications. If you do not believe so, check out our Last Place Rules over in Wagers. There is a little wiggle room of when you decide to implement that deadline, but without it, prepare for chaos to break loose and major team adjustments to happen at any point in the season.

 

Pick a point in the season where playoffs aren’t yet determined, so you do not have teams who are no longer part of the competition shipping players for peanuts. This is especially important in Dynasty or Keeper Leagues where owners may be playing the long game and giving up on a current season. Even fair deals can benefit playoff teams and shift the league dynamic and are easily avoided by way of a Trade Deadline.  

 

Nuts and Bolts

  • Determine a cutoff date for trades within your league based off playoff dates and owner preferences.
  • Within league settings on the site’s webpage, set the trade deadline date.
  • We recommend implementing a trade deadline around Week 8, or so.

Change Ups

If you don’t want to implement a hard cutoff as far as trades go, you could put a premium on trades later in the season by charging FAAB dollars (if used in your league) or even by charging real money that can be used for things such as Wagers or Payouts. This could decrease any late-season trades and give your league a little more freedom for other fun incentives.

 

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