Auction Keeper league expansion draft w/ inflation

Theories, Concepts and Analytical Discussion (draft strategies, valuation, inflation, scarcity, etc.)
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forelsu

Auction Keeper league expansion draft w/ inflation

#1 Post by forelsu »

We ran a standard 5x5, 23 active player, $260 auction keeper league at Fantrax while keeping up to 10 players.

We had one member drop out last year and had to run with 9 teams and now this year we are stepping up to 12. My question is if anybody has ever done anything like this before and has to ideas how to run it. There's always the option of a redraft but that stinks in my opinion but it may be the best idea.

We you couple an auction keeper expansion draft with auction inflation it just make my head spin. What's the best way to curb some of the inflation that takes place? I read one thread on the subject and it suggests lowering the $260 cap to reflect inflation.

It just seems the rich get richer and parody among the league members is our main goal.

Trav The Ump

Re: Auction Keeper league expansion draft w/ inflation

#2 Post by Trav The Ump »

We've been running our league similarly for the last number of years, when a team drops out we simply erased their team altogether. When an expansion team came on board we used to give them the option of taking over the dead team (not a choice for you here). We tried some modified expansion drafts where you can pick one player from each team after that team say protected 3 guys but it just never turned out great. We now go with any new teams simply fend for themselves and start fresh. It will create some inflation but generally only at the high end of the market if these new guys play it right, if they don't big opportunity for you as an owner as the middle and late part of the drafts will be dominated by teams wondering when these new guys will start throwing around their leftover money.

I'd say let them just start fresh and see where the chips fall. Only painful for the one year and next year you have 12 teams starting with keeper lists.

Captain Hook

Re: Auction Keeper league expansion draft w/ inflation

#3 Post by Captain Hook »

You MUST do something to help the new owners - otherwise you are asking them to pay full price for a franchise that can't be competitive for several years. I know your existing teams don't want to give up "their" players but you need the league to look at the BIG picture.

You have several alternatives:(sounds like you already have committed to have twelve teams)
1) The BEST (read fairest) would be to start over
2) If you don't start over so everyone is on equal footing, you should have an Expansion Draft
3) If you want the three new teams to start from scratch, have them pay HALF the entry fee for the first two years (with the proviso that if they should finish in the money the other half would be deducted first)
4) Just stay with the nine team league

For an Expansion draft you have the three new teams drafting:
1) Have each of the nine teams protect THREE players*
2) Then each of the new teams draft two players (but each of the nine teams can only lose ONE player)
3) Each of the nine teams who lost a player can now protect another one of their players
4) The new teams now get one additional pick each

*Yeah I hear the bitching and moaning from here BUT have them realize that the NEW teams are starting with the fourth best player from each team - the exising teams are MILES ahead of the new teams even after the expansion draft.


At that point I still don't think you are finished - if the existing teams can freeze up to ten players and the new teams have three players. Let the three new teams have another DRAFT from all the existing free agent players (they would play them whatever it costs to keep a free agent from the previous season like the existing owners would have done. They should be allowed to draft as few or as may ans each owner likes up to the maximum but absent injury, they would have to freeze anyone they draft.

Also if you have a minor league draft then for this year only you should give the new teams the top three picks AND have the draft go 1-12 each round (not a serpentine draft) This will help catch them up - they will STILL be behind the existing teams.

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alleyoops
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Re: Auction Keeper league expansion draft w/ inflation

#4 Post by alleyoops »

A couple of years ago we gave new owners (and expansion owners) the choice of taking over an abandoned team, or going into the auction with $15 of "discount". The discount would be taken by subtracting $5 from the salary (and cost) of each of the first 3 guys they bought for at least $15. This essentially gives them $15 in "keeper value", which was about the average for the returning teams. The owner who chose this option last year finished 4th. It slows the auction a little at the beginning (have to stop and adjust the winning bid of those 3 players).

For your league you may want to choose a different amount than $15, or a different number of players than 3. But it is a relatively easy way to allow new owners to be able to compete right away, without costing returning owners some of their keepers, as some other expansion methods do.

themather

Re: Auction Keeper league expansion draft w/ inflation

#5 Post by themather »

I play in an auction league that has dealt with expansion/new owners in the past, and in our league the new teams have an expansion draft (serpentine) and are allowed to take as many (or as few) of the non-kept players from the existing teams.

It allows them to have a little SOMETHING as a base, and also gives them a chance right off the bat.

I was an expansion team several years back (20 team league) and made the playoffs in my first season. Didn't have the best team in the league, but I was certainly competitive and finished in the money year #2.

da_big_kid_94
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Re: Auction Keeper league expansion draft w/ inflation

#6 Post by da_big_kid_94 »

Perry's idea is the one you really have to follow - the numbers have to be determined - but it's the only fair way to go. The new teams need a total of 69 players - you can't ask them to do that if the top 207 players are already unavailable to them regardless of how much of a discount you may want to give. When we expanded several years ago, each team was allowed to protect 4 players (ours was a two team expansion rather than a three team expansion). When one player was selected off their roster, they were allowed to pull one back. No team could lose more than three players. This gives the expansion teams (in this case) 9 players each in the expansion draft - a decent start.

BTW - the initial poster didn't say but I'll assume this is a mixed league. If it isn't, then the expansion is the only fair way to go.
These are my views based on my own opinions and observations - your mileage may vary.
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Boulder Rifles2

Re: Auction Keeper league expansion draft w/ inflation

#7 Post by Boulder Rifles2 »

We added our expansion/contraction rules to our consititution a couple of years ago. You can see it here.

http://spot.colorado.edu/~simpsonp/bvl/ ... tution.pdf

There is also a couple of anti-dynasty clauses later in the winter roster section and the spring protection list section. We stagger the number of players an owner can keep based on where they finished. Since we have done this, no team has been able to win the league in back-to back years. Several have come close but no one has done it.

As to inflation, I think you are just going to have to eat it for the next couple of years. You are going from a very shallow league to a much deeper one so there are going to be some players way under market locked up. There is not much you can do unless you re-draft.

jbird669

Re: Auction Keeper league expansion draft w/ inflation

#8 Post by jbird669 »

We have had this happen twice in the past 7 years. This is how we've done it.

We're a 5x5 roto keeper league. The new owners take over one of the existing franchises. They can keep up to 5 players off the franchise they are taking over. After the returning owners submit their keepers, the expansion teams fill the rest of their keeper roster (up to 10 total players) with players not kept from the existing teams at their keeper prices. We had this happen last year and one of the new franchises finished in the money.

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