Leagues keep crumbling- how long does a dynasty league last?

[hamburglar]

So it seems to be a pattern that I'm experiencing. Particularly in the 3-4th year of a dynasty league when a few owners leave and are replaced by new ones who eff up their team or refuse to rebuild it and be patient then want the entire league to redraft.

And it's almost always an expansion owner coming in, going all in to win, trading off young pieces and future draft picks for win now guys-- then they start complaining.

Then suddenly the only way to save the league is going from a 3 team dispersal draft to every single owner being asked to redraft.

Is this the norm? Should I change my whole outlook on dynasty leagues and just treat them like 3 year redrafts instead of trying to build a young and deep powerhouse?

I've had this happen the last two seasons with two league per season.

Any insight would be appreciated. I've been playing fantasy football, but only 4-5 year into dynasty

[Dynasty DeLorean]

Just find a league with a strong commisioner that won't disband the league so quickly, and also give incentives to the new guys taking over teams maybe with extra draft picks or something, or no fee (if it's a paid league) for the 1st year or whatnot.

[Pac_Eddy]

Are these all leagues filled with people you know personally or internet people you've never met?

I haven't had this issue, but my leagues are all with friends and their vouched for friends.

[voiceofunreason]

So it seems to be a pattern that I'm experiencing. Particularly in the 3-4th year of a dynasty league when a few owners leave and are replaced by new ones who eff up their team or refuse to rebuild it and be patient then want the entire league to redraft.

And it's almost always an expansion owner coming in, going all in to win, trading off young pieces and future draft picks for win now guys-- then they start complaining.

Then suddenly the only way to save the league is going from a 3 team dispersal draft to every single owner being asked to redraft.

Is this the norm? Should I change my whole outlook on dynasty leagues and just treat them like 3 year redrafts instead of trying to build a young and deep powerhouse?

I've had this happen the last two seasons with two league per season.

Any insight would be appreciated. I've been playing fantasy football, but only 4-5 year into dynasty

Well if you trade future picks you have to pay for future years first. Sounds like your problem right there.

I've been in about 10 different leagues only 1 folded and the it was the commishes fault as he let teams stay in that hadn't logged in for months and didn't set their lineups.

[Tsunami]

I only play for free, so I run into this quite often. I find that many disband after the first season, but I have been in the same Yahoo keeper league for 11 years now, so some endure too. It's easier to take over a team in an established league and expect it to continue than to find a startup draft, unless you manage to get in with some reliable people.

I've also joined leagues where the commish and most of the people quit, but one guy who liked his team wanted it to continue, so he filled it with replacements and kept it going. So maybe there's your answer: for a league to crumble, you have to let it.

[BuckeyeNation]

I've been pretty fortunate with the leagues I've been in so far. However, most owners that I'm in one league with I'm actually in multiple leagues with.

As burdensome as it can be, this is why i like to commish leagues also. I know I'm in it for the long haul, so i really don't have to worry about leagues folding if I'm running them. There's only been one league I commish that has had a large turnover in multiple seasons. I chalk that up to bad luck. If you're in enough internet leagues with strangers, you're bound to get a group of uncommitted owners from time to time

[Petrolbomber]

I joined a startup this year, playing for free, and all owners are Fantasy Life app. We will see how this goes but everyone is active during the preseason so far.
I also adopted an orphaned team from a league that I found on here. This league has a buy in and my arrival as a new owner has been accepted by all. I paid for my first year to prove my commitment.
What I found, more so while playing redraft, is owners need something to play for. It is easy to blow up a league and redraft when nothing but time is invested.
I would suggest you check the forum for a league in need, be willing to pay to play and spend some time speaking to the commish and other owners before you commit to joining. This is my first year on DLF and first year playing dynasty. I still run my keeper league as well. That league has been running for 5 years now and has only seen 4 ownerships change hands.

[ericanadian]

Generally, you want a league where you can find replacement owners fairly easily. We've had guys complain about how bad their teams were (not even replacement owners in all cases) and some were pushing for a redraft. We simply told them they could walk if they wanted to. We have three to five guys that want in at most points, and most of our owners like their teams and are dedicated to seeing it through.

[sloth8u]

i guess going from redraft into dynasty leagues...i kind of expected something like this to happen in some leagues. i havent experienced a complete redraft, but i have gone through dispersals.

i guess it was just a gut feeling that when some owner/s made moves that set them back...they would pack up and move on. it isnt fair for the rest of the league to have to start their franchises over though. the only dynasty league that i commish experienced 2 departures this offseason. we found the replacements and i had asked if they wanted to inherit a franchise or do a dispersal. both wanted the dispersal. i felt that it was a good time to ask if any of the other members wanted to let their team go and enter the dispersal, i was elated that not 1 other owner wanted to do that. it gave me confidence that we had a league full of dedicated owners.

in all reality...if i was part of a league that just decided to start over...i would likely just move on. if it happens once in that group of owners, its bound to get brought up again and thats not something i really want to go through in a dynasty league.

[hankscorpio]

It wasn't really your question, but one solution to this problem is a contract/salary cap league. You have a dispersal draft built right in to the format every year, each team is only a couple years away from turning over their entire roster, and you can also build a young powerhouse (although its reign is shorter lived than full dynasty).

[JaCeLo3]

Whether a commish or just an owner, it all sincerely depends on your surrounding cast. To me, it sounds like the people being chosen are unreliable and lack dedication and passion for dynasty league style of fantasy football. When they come in they need to understand that the league IS LOOKING FOR ONLY DEDICATED AND ACTIVE OWNERS, not people who plan on leaving at all and want to be part of a tradition. That's what I stress immediately if I ever need to bring in a new owner. I don't care who it is or their interests in life...as long as they PAY, are ACTIVE, and are completely DEDICATED to the longevity of the league, that's all I can ask for because that's what establishes a great all-around league.

It also could be league fee too. Higher league fee and expecting year-in-year-out same rosters/failure/etc. could steer guys away. I purposely set my league at an affordable $30 a year...not super super low, not high at all...guys aren't forking over two weeks worth of groceries to play fantasy. Know what I mean?

[SteelLake]

I have this fear as well.

I only played in 1 dyno league (going into third year / all original owners / very strong). I started a salary / contract startup this year as well.

Both leagues are friend leagues / appear strong, but I notice a couple weaker owners w horrid teams in dyno / I'm wondering if it'll eventually become an issue. I was in a keeper league for 5 years that rapidly collapsed. Sometimes it seems silly to care about more than next 3 years because what % of dyno leagues actually last 15 years?

[DDT]

When looking at picking up orphans I've recently started paying more attention to the owners in the league as opposed to the quality of the team that I am acquiring. I'd rather take an extra year or two to rebuild but get myself into a solid league than take over a stacked team where the league may fold in the near future.

[bonscott]

Perhaps I've been lucky but I've not had this issue.

Salary cap league I'm in has been going for 9 years (was a founding member and I knew/trusted the commish from the MFL forums). Rarely have turnover and it's a 16 team league. I'd say we average 1 new owner every 2 years.

Dynasty league I'm in was already going for 5 years when I took over an orphan. The fact it was already a long standing league helped in my decision to take over the team. Again, I knew/trusted the commish from various forums I participate in.

My local keeper leagues have been going for 16 yrs and 21 yrs respectively and the league I commish still has 6 of the original 12 owners and we haven't had a new owner in 5 years. I have one weak owner in that league that I'd thought about replacing, but he always pays ($170 buy in), always sets his lineups, just can't trade worth a darn. LOL

The key as others have stated is just the quality of the commish and the other owners. I would not join a league of complete strangers. If a startup I would need to know the commish in some fashion and trust him. I'd also be involved in the startup (setting up rules and so forth). If taking over an orphan I either need to know the commish or have a current owner recommend me to join *and* need to see the league has been around a while. I also don't play in free leagues. I find that even a nominal fee of even $50 keeps out the "riff raff" for the most part and has more dedicated owners. Just a generalization of course.

[TomBobAnderson]

Someone mentioned it before but the key is that you have to play for something. If you have no skin in the game and your team sucks you can just quit. Also it has to have a good commissioner. I just joined a league a couple of months ago and the commish seems disorganized so I'm not optimistic about that league. Last but not least as someone stated, The price to play can't be too high. I don't want to spend $250+/year on an orphan team if I know that it's going to take me a few years to rebuild. If you're going to play in big money leagues, the commissioner HAS to make sure all the owners are committed.