Fantasy Football Collusion: How to Deal with it and Cheating Owners
by Ray of RotoPicks.com
Integrity. You would like to think everyone has it, but that is not always the case. Now fantasy players, and especially commissioners, need to also be aware that there is a difference between a lack of integrity and lack of knowledge. You cannot combine the actions and reactions to these two things as you work to protect your league from collusion.
The fight against collusion is a noble fight and one that must be fought in every fantasy league. Do not ever think that your league is immune from this. A lot of leagues are, or at least start out as, "friendly leagues" where the thought of collusion/cheating is unthinkable. But even in those leagues, there are often cliques where some players are closer than others. That is what you need to guard against. Also in time, as people drift in and out of leagues, the connections become frayed and there is less loyalty.
You must keep in mind that money also makes people do crazy things. Not only are people willing to risk friendships over money, but the threat is worse when some of the owners are strangers. You do not want to let your league fall victim to this as it's the quickest way to the demise of even the strongest of leagues. But forget about the money, because even though money talks, we also do play fantasy sports for pride. Aside from the money that we put into the pot for each season, the time spent and pride at stake are even more important. You do not want collusion to make all of that hard work useless.
So the questions are, what exactly is collusion, what can you do to prevent collusion, and what should you do if collusion takes place?
What is Collusion?
I would describe collusion as quite simply when 2 or more owners take steps to dictate who wins the league or pockets the cash. There are three ways in which owners can engineer this.
- Through unbalanced trades. This is the obvious answer and the most commonly used tactic. As the season progresses and the pack begins to separate, one owner makes highly questionable "dump" trades to another owner towards the top of the standings. This allows the balance of power to clearly shift giving an unfair advantage to the owner on the receiving end.- By dropping players. Depending on your league settings and the waiver rules, it can be manipulated that if you drop a player, your partner in crime can then pick that player up. The player in question has no business being dropped so that is why the red flag gets raised.
- By essentially forfeiting a category. This applies to roto formats. If one team is chasing another in a category, it is possible that team lets the other team pull ahead of them. That important roto point could mean the difference between first or second place.
- By essentially forfeiting a matchup. This applies to head to head formats. Quite simply, one owner takes the necessary steps to lose a matchup. The effects of this on the standings could be huge.
How to Determine if Collusion is Taking Place
There is somewhat of a fine line to walk here. You don't want to offend other owners, by either allowing collusion to take place or by implicating them in a collusion scheme that is not taking place. Although the commissioner has the ultimate power, everyone should be involved in the fight against collusion. If the commissioner suspects collusion, then there are steps they can take to remedy the situation. If another owner notices collusion, they should then mention it to the commissioner, and only to the commissioner as this is a sensitive topic. In simplistic terms, if something does not pass the "smell test" then collusion could be taking place. You are not always going to agree with every move that is made by other owners, but if something seems grossly out of the ordinary then the question must be raised. In most situations, at least the potential for collusion will jump off the page at you.
What to do to Avoid Collusion
- Use a do not drop list. Some websites do offer this feature, but if that is not the case, it can also be done manually. Agree that the top 75 or 100 players are not allowed to be dropped (waived) unless their status changes and they are out for the season. If one of those players are dropped the move will be reversed unless the dropping owner can make a logical case to the league for their rationale behind the move. If that majority of owners agree with logic, then the move will be allowed.
- Follow up lineups. If an owner is starting a lineup with players who are injured or they have a lineup with empty positions, then the commissioner should have the right and ability to correct that roster by inserting the highest ranked player. This scenario applies to weekly leagues. If there are allegations of roster misconduct in daily leagues, then the owner should be given the opportunity to answer for themselves and then have it go before the league. This is not meant to allow for leagues to become overzealous if an owner misses getting their lineup in occasionally.
- Have a voting system in place for all trades. But I'm not sure that it is as simple as majority rules. In order for this work, you are going to need full participation from the league for everyone to vote. If they do not, you cannot get an accurate judgment on the trade.
If more than 60% of owners vote to approve a trade, I would let it thru without an issue.
If the trade gets less than 60% of acceptance votes, then each owner must submit to the league their rationale for the trade. After the admission of that evidence, a vote should be held. If more than half of the previously dissenting owners then vote to approve the trade, then I would let it thru.
- Have a tiered trade deadline.- All leagues have a trade deadline which is fine, but in order to extend the action it is perfectly understandable to have that deadline extend as far as possible. But there are steps to take to eliminate the possibility of collusion. As the season draws on, teams can only make trades with teams one or two places above or below them.
How Should Collusion be Handled?
- Be transparent. Make all of the above clear before the season begins. Have it all in writing and get all the owners to agree prior to the draft. Having it in writing makes it easy to reference and it does not allow for any misinterpretation.
- Do not air out the dirty laundry for the whole league. Tempers can flare easily. The best way to deal with these allegations is in private. Have all discussions about possible collusion come from the commissioner. If there is a question about this, that owner can directly contact the commissioner and the process can go from there.
- Make decisions based on firm reasoning and not emotions. Be clear in your decision making process and give reasons for your decision. The job of the league and the commissioner is to make sure the league runs smoothly for that particular season. Ultimately the commissioner has the final say on every issue, so if necessary they can take control of the situation.
- Have a 3 person council to assist the commissioner in these matters. This will help in keeping things from becoming a league wide issue if there is no need for it to become that way.
- Quite simply, next year, the offending owners will not be invited back. Collusion is a serious issue. There is a fine line to be walked between preventing collusion and not become overzealous and alienating owners. The best advice would be to act as fairly and level headed as possible and to get owners you trust.
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