Have you heard of a dynasty salary cap fantasy football league before? If you're like me who has been playing fantasy football for over a decade, you start to get an itch to want to mix up the strategy. A few years ago, I started looking into what other fantasy football formats are out there besides the traditional redraft snake league. Don’t get me wrong, there is something nostalgic about getting together with your friends and family members once a year for the draft (although it should be an auction draft, more about that another time…). But have you ever felt like you want to spice things up?

A dynasty salary cap league is a variation of a dynasty league, but you guessed it, adds a salary cap. If you play in a dynasty league, some league events are still the same:

Regular season
Playoffs
Rookie Draft

What’s different is just like the NFL, you have to manage all your players under a salary cap. This means that all players will be signed to a contract term (years) with a salary amount per year. In our dynasty salary cap league, our league events double in size:

Cap Rollover
Compensatory Picks
Franchise Tags
Re-signing Period
Free Agency
Rookie Draft
5th Year Options
Post June 1st Cuts
Free Agency after Rookie Draft
Training Camp Cuts

Now I recognize this is a case of it being easier said than done. In the current platform environment, in order for a league like this to exist, you need a commissioner who is willing to put in the work to maintain a great league experience. If you are reading this and your reaction is, “This is really cool, but how do I get started?” I’ll answer your question in a little bit. I first want to speak to those who are feeling overwhelmed.

One of the biggest objections I hear about starting this format is that “it sounds like fun but complicated…”

Although it may be an investment in year 1, I would tell you it’s very much worth the investment. In our dynasty salary cap home league that I run as the commissioner, we have had a few expansion teams and they would all tell you that the first year is certainly a learning curve, but after that, it is smooth sailing (and this is 16 team offense and full IDP league). They, too, had a hesitation to dive in, but they all now say it’s their favorite format!

Like anything that you haven’t tried before, it sounds daunting at first. One big takeaway that I have personally experienced since jumping into this format is that it honestly makes you understand more of how the NFL operates and WHY. I am a fantasy football fan, but I am also a Buffalo Bills fan, and like many of you, I am sure you scratch your head as to why your team extended, restructured, or used a post-June 1st designated cut on a player.

What's Next?

Okay, back to the “This is really cool, but how do I get started crowd?” The reality is, there are a few fantasy football platforms that support this experience I am describing, with very few offering the customization needed to accommodate all of the features discussed in this article.

As a commissioner for a dynasty salary cap league, I can attest that it takes A LOT of manual work from the commissioner. You have to be dedicated; otherwise, the league will crumble. Most of you that I have heard from who are in a dynasty salary cap league end up managing their contracts and salaries in separate spreadsheets.

Well, I’m here to tell you that you can start preparing to rip up those spreadsheets! At Front Office Pros, we are in the process of building a dynasty salary cap platform dedicated to this format. If you’d like to learn more, check out the About page on our site and be sure to subscribe to Front Office Pros HQ to be provided updates on our progress as we get closer to launch!

If you're like me, one of the reasons why I enjoy Fantasy Football so much is that I’ll never be a real GM, but this is the closest experience to me managing a team. When you introduce salary and contracts, it adds a whole new dynamic to player value, which significantly increases the strategy. If you want to read more, check out the “Why you should try a dynasty salary cap league” article, where I discuss the benefits and features of this type of league format.