It's been well-documented that over 95% of those who try auction-drafting never go back to snake-drafting. The added dimensions of bidding and salary cap management make the auction a much more exciting and fast-paced player selection process. The only regret people usually have when trying it for the first time is not switching their draft format sooner. While people are generally happy with the snake draft, calling it the "best day of the season", they only need to auction once to see that the day can be so much better.
How it works:
Like snake drafts, people take turns selecting players in a serpentine format. Instead of simply adding players to their rosters, however, participants place them "on the auction block." An opening bid is introduced and auction-style bidding follows ("Going once...Going twice...Sold!"). The league has a preset, imaginary salary cap of $300.00 that people cannot go over. The highest bidder adds that player to his or her roster and the winning bid is subtracted from that bidder's salary cap. This process continues until all the rosters are full.
We give each team $200.00 imaginary auction money. You must manage this money to fill out an entire roster.
Taking The Draft To The Next Level
As mentioned above, the added dimensions of bidding and salary cap management change the draft from a relatively slow, wait-and-pick game to one of strategy and guts. The following reasons are why so many savvy fans have switched and have never looked back:
Auctions are much more fair because you are on an equal footing because you have a chance to get any player, no matter what your draft position is. If you get stuck with the 12th pick in a 12-team snake draft league, you have virtually no chance at any of the franchise players. In an auction, you have as good a chance as any to get players like LT or Brady - as long as you're willing to pay the "going market price." Draft position simply doesn't matter, so it evens the playing field tremendously.
Auctions are more flexible. In a snake draft, you're forced to get players evenly distributed throughout the draft (i.e. one 1st rounder, one 2nd rounder, one 3rd rounder, etc.). In an auction, you can build whatever team you want, however you want. For example:
- If you want two or three "can't miss" 1st-rounders, you can spend as much as 75%-85% of your cap chasing after them and then build around that core with sleepers.
- If you feel that way too many 1st-rounders turn into season-breaking busts year after year, you can bypass all of them and go after a disproportionate number of 2nd- and 3rd-rounders.
- If you feel a more balanced team is the way to go (like in a snake draft), you can also build such a team, but now you have much more control on which players to target. If you're a big Browns fan, you can make sure they're all on your squad. If you just have to have LT on your team, he's yours. You can pick your battles much more effectively, allowing you to have your "fantasy" team makeup.
Auctions are more fun. More than half an hour can go by between picks in a snake draft, making much of it a spectator sport. In an auction, you can bid on players you don't want just to drive the price up. Each time a player is placed on the auction block, the whole league can participate, making the process much more interactive. Not only will everyone's heart beat a little faster every time "Going twice" is called out, but there are also more opportunities to turn on each other and talk trash about it.
Auctions are more strategic. Part of what makes auctions so much fun is how much strategy is involved. In a snake draft, the only strategy revolves around "what position should I take in X round", which is followed by the more exciting "everyone after me already has a QB, so I can wait until next round to get mine". The auction draft changes this mindless who's-next-on-my-cheat-sheet game into one with as much strategy as chess, poker, and Risk - all rolled into one. Can I drive the price up a bit more or am I going to get stuck buying a player I don't want? Should I save my salary cap space for the upcoming bargains or am I going to miss out on all the quality players? When will the bargains be? What kind of a team do I want to build? Should I overpay for the last QB on the board? How do I convince people I want players I really don't? What other mind games can I play?
