How much do you pay to play?

[FantasyFreak]

Depends on if you win or not, I suppose.

[slaughterrt]

$0.

Same. Never paid for any fantasy sports, whether dynasty or redraft.

[Friction]

I play in a couple $80 leagues, and a couple $50 leagues.

I used to play in a couple $350-$500 leagues, but I found the annoying flukey things that decide a game so often in fantasy to be downright infuriating and stressful when a couple Grand was the prize. I think I'm sticking to $100 and under for now.

In all reality, yearly/dynasty fantasy leagues are one of the worst future bets you can do on sports. I mean that by the payout and odds, regardless of how good we all think we are. With that said, many of us consistently churn out profits year to year, myself included, but it is still a horrible bet on paper. That is why you gotta like/love the hobby, which the majority on this site do, or you would not be on this site.

Can you show your work here?

The rake in many leagues is $0 which obviously you're never going to find in sports gambling. There is also a much more direct line to having a legit skill advantage over your competition since you're generally competing only with regular Joe's in most sub $2000 buy-in leagues.

The math is fairly easy, in a typical 12 man league you have a 12-1 chance to win less than a 12-1 payout for first.Though, the glass half full might say you have a 6-1 chance to profit, if top 2 teams make money. Future bets in gambling usually are sucker bets, but there is nothing better than hitting on something that is 25 to 50-1. Kind of like parlays, teasers, etc. The grey area in fantasy odds is balancing the aforementioned playing with regular joes and skill side hopefully being in ones favor, against the crazy luck side that none of us have any control against. Regardless, it's a good thing most of us enjoy playing, as if it was just for the payouts, we may end up disappointed more than not. That is a simple gambler's mindset on it. Not nearly as bad as those who play a handful of entries in a big DFS tourney and come out frustrated with the sharks who throw 150+ lineups generated by a computer. Or the sites who rig it.

[TheNuts]

$0.

Same. Never paid for any fantasy sports, whether dynasty or redraft.

And you really enjoy it even though its free?

[bjd5211]

$0.

Same. Never paid for any fantasy sports, whether dynasty or redraft.

And you really enjoy it even though its free?

I don't play any free leagues, but I know I would still enjoy it just as much if it was a good league. The money is just a bonus for me and I basically end up breaking even each year on average, the thing with money leagues is it kind of ensures owners will be engaged and active in the league.

[ninotoreS]

I'll never pay 100 bucks to play fantasy football. I'd balk at half of that.

[Friction]

Joined my first free league with people here, and its been fun without the season even started yet. It helps with the GroupMe and it being some serious fantasy fans/players/posters. It is also a diverse group, so you get a little of everything to some extent. Favorite is a $2500 redraft, but its also helps since i have never ended up in the hole in that one, at least a significant one. High weekly payouts and regular season winners ensure the best teams get paid, but also give the teams who have some great weeks some cash back. We still give a hefty sum to the playoffs, so it also rewards the, "get hot at the right time and/or a dash of luck" that so many prefer. Im a gambling degenrate overall, but have never had my knee caps broken by a Vinny-type, so theres that to hang my hat on.

[Orenthal Shames]

Its crazy to me to see people invest all this time for something that's free. It's hard to keep everyone interested in a money league all season, let alone a free one. I also have never played a free league so maybe it's different?

This is where I fall. I've played in free leagues in the past and personally was disinterested. I need some skin in the game. I've whittled down to one dynasty league along the years. It's a 16 team, 105 buy-in (the 5 covers MFL costs). In all honesty, if i weren't in my win now window in this league, I'd probably bow out for good.

[killer_of_giants]

$0.

Same. Never paid for any fantasy sports, whether dynasty or redraft.

And you really enjoy it even though its free?

i do plenty of things that i enjoy without being paid to do them.

[TheNuts]

Same. Never paid for any fantasy sports, whether dynasty or redraft.

And you really enjoy it even though its free?

i do plenty of things that i enjoy without being paid to do them.

I do too, and I was thinking of this earlier. I'm not sure why I associate fantasy football with money so much, but they are inseparable for me, at least at this point. I think the money aspect adds an edge to the game that a free league wouldnt. If I played free leagues it would definitely be more light hearted and I wouldnt take it as seriously.

[Big Al]

Most of my leagues are in the $50 to $75 range.

[petebusey]

4 leagues:
$50
$50
$50
$35

Seems like a nice range for me where I’m not bummed about the money part (if I lose it) and the other owners are active and pretty serious (which is important to me).

[rmacattack6]

I'm trying to set up a league and I'm finding that $100 per season seems to be scaring players away (it seemed like a reasonable amount to me). I want it to be a friendly league but sill competitive. If you got to set the league fees what would they be and what would the payouts be? Help me find a balance between competitive greed and fun.

One of our 12 team redraft leagues is $100 buy-in each year but we give $25 to the point winner from each week ($300) and then the rest gets handed out in playoffs ($900). I find this small step improves buy-in

[ArrylT]

I am a little surprised a poll was not attached to this question - but regardless a solid # of good responses.

[Phaded]

$0.

Same. Never paid for any fantasy sports, whether dynasty or redraft.

And you really enjoy it even though its free?

Why not?
It is one of few hobbies out there that don't actually require a money investment to have fun and enjoy it.
I commish three leagues; all free - 8th year, 5th year and one just started this year.
I enjoy football and fantasy football; but I am not a big gambler (and no matter how good you are at fantasy football, it is gambling because there is such a huge luck proponent on a year-to-year basis).