Fantasy Football League Beginners Guide

To be perfectly clear, we are going to be talking about American football and this new phenomenon called Fantasy Football. This takes playing football to a whole new level and if you did not already know, there are Fantasy Football Leagues.

Since this was new to me, I figured I was not alone and if someone decided they wanted to become part of this phenomenon they might need a Fantasy Football League Beginners Guide.

In Fantasy football everyone who is a participant or owner as referred to in the Fantasy Sports World, will either draft or buy a team of players through an auction. Although a Fantasy football league can either be college or NFL, we are going to assume (for simplicity only) that we are talking about or referring to a NFL Fantasy football league.

Depending on which Fantasy football league you belong to will determine how a winner is declared at the end of the season. Some leagues decide winners by the total amount of points earned for the whole year while others will actually play each other weekly and whichever team has the best record at the end of the season is proclaimed the winner for that league.

What started out as a sports bar hobby or a game played at home has been turned into a multi-billion dollar industry by way of the internet.

Fantasy Sports Trade Association or the FSTA reports there are nearly twenty million players who actively participate in fantasy sports with a growth rate of around ten percent for the whole industry.

Although there are a variety of fantasy sports available, Fantasy Football remains the most popular. Websites, software and even fantasy football magazines have exploded with a wealth of information and contributed to the popularity of the Fantasy football league.

Usually made up of about ten to twelve individual teams, the fantasy football leagues will have their own simulated drafts before starting their season.

Real players are actually what you are drafting, so their performance during their off season as well as pre-season is very important.

For example if you draft a player and during (real life) the off or pre-season he gets himself in trouble, suspended or decides to retire, then you are just out that player. Depending on the fantasy football league you belong to, you may have to draft a whole new team for each season or some leagues allow you to withhold some players from the draft.

There are also leagues that create so-called dynasty leagues in which the owner of that league is allowed to keep their team from the prior season and draft incoming rookies. This type of league is one that is the most similar to how the NFL really works.

"Free agents" also exist and are made up of the players that are not drafted. These players may be chosen during the season by trading players that an owner currently has and turning them into free agents. It is a good idea to find out which leagues follow these rules because it can vary from league to league.

Understanding how Fantasy Football leagues operate can get a little confusing, and these basics are meant only to introduce you to how it works. If you would like to get more information and tips on entering the world of Fantasy Football, Ebay has a good selection of guides at great discounts. It can be a great hobby and a lot of fun, just remember to do some research about each Fantasy Football league before jumping in and you will be just fine.