We give you the skinny on three alternative ways to enjoy fantasy football next season: dynasty, best ball and guillotine leagues. Why not give one a try?

The fantasy football season is over, and we know you’ve already broken at least one New Year’s resolution. So we're here to introduce another one that you can stick to. Instead of only playing in your traditional redraft fantasy leagues in 2025 (which reminds us, make sure to renew your Sleeper leagues for next season), consider three exciting alternatives: dynasty, best ball and guillotine leagues.

Dynasty

How are dynasty leagues different from standard redraft?

  • In a dynasty league, you have the players on your team for their entire career. Year 1 of a dynasty league is known as the startup draft, and it’s generally 3-5 rounds longer than a traditional season-long fantasy draft. 
  • You’ll notice there’s a steep premium for younger players in the startup draft compared to traditional redraft. Davante Adams (age 32) may project similarly to Drake London (23) for the upcoming season, but a player like London will be drafted many, many rounds earlier in a dynasty league. In 2-3 years, Adams will probably be out of the league (there are currently no WRs age 35 or older), while London will still be in his absolute prime.
  • In subsequent years, the primary way to add new talent to your dynasty roster is through the annual rookie draft. Usually 3-5 rounds long, these are quick, action-packed ways to divide the incoming rookie class among the dynasty managers in a league.
  • In redraft, every team is trying to win the fantasy championship in that specific season; however, dynasty leagues contain a mix of teams contending (trying to win) or rebuilding (stockpiling younger players and future rookie draft picks in trades to win in a future season).

How your redraft knowledge transfers to dynasty leagues

  • When contending in dynasty, use redraft rankings to identify inexpensive veterans that can put your team’s chances of winning the championship over the top. The aforementioned Adams is worth little in dynasty formats, but as a one-year rental, he’s a solid bet to at least return fantasy WR2 production in 2025.
  • Because running backs generally have shorter production peaks than the other fantasy-relevant positions, redraft rankings factor heavily into RB dynasty values each year. Outside of 5-10 young, premium stars like Jahmyr Gibbs, a running back’s redraft ranking is a very good indicator of how you should value him in dynasty.

Key strategy for dynasty success

  • Use youth as a tiebreaker for valuing players, especially in the Year 1 startup draft. The biggest mistake newer dynasty managers make is going all-in on contention by drafting a collection of late 20s and early 30s stars. Most likely, your team will quickly depreciate in value over the next season, and you’ll probably lose to a younger team that hit on rookies or second-year players. 
  • If it’s your first time playing dynasty, aim to have one of the 4-5 youngest teams overall during the startup draft to ensure some of your roster will gain value from Year 1 to Year 2.

Best Ball

How are best ball leagues different from standard redraft?

  • Rather than worrying about start-sit decisions each week, your highest-scoring starting lineup is automatically selected once the games conclude each week. So, if you have two QBs on your roster with 17 and 21 fantasy points in a given week, 21 points would be awarded to your QB slot.
  • Aside from that little wrinkle, best ball looks like a traditional redraft league on Sleeper. You can still work the waiver wire and trade with league mates to improve your roster throughout the season – if you choose. There is also an option to toggle off waivers, for those who savor the art of the draft: truly set it and forget it. 
  • Best ball is a great option for those who want to play in multiple leagues without agonizing over tinker regret.

How your redraft knowledge transfers to best ball

  • Waiver wire and trade strategy translate seamlessly from traditional redraft to best ball. Last season’s waiver wire heroes like Bucky Irving and Jonnu Smith added their fair share of spike weeks – big fantasy performances – to best ball rosters.
  • Unlike a dynasty startup draft, a best ball draft will play out similarly to traditional redraft. The average draft positions (ADPs) are virtually identical between best ball and standard redraft, though late in best ball drafts, managers are advised to make sure they have multiple QBs and TEs on their roster.

Key strategy for best ball success

  • Focus on stockpiling players in strong offenses to maximize your chances of touchdown scorers each week, especially late in the draft. Remember, you don’t need to worry about whether you’re going to start a player each week. 
  • For example, Mike Gesicki, courtesy of Joe Burrow and the Bengals’ No. 1 pass attack, ended the season with five top-12 fantasy finishes at the position. Best ball managers were not sweating over Gesicki’s nine finishes outside the top-20 at the position, since they most likely had a better-scoring TE during those weeks on their rosters.

Guillotine

How are guillotine leagues different from standard redraft?

  • In a guillotine league, the lowest-scoring team each week is “chopped” and removed from the league for the remainder of the season. So while there are no actual beheadings – we needed to clarify for safety sake – guillotine leagues are the most chaotic and action-packed version of fantasy football.
  • Generally, guillotine leagues require 18 league members, since one team is eliminated each week. This way, there is one surviving team at the end of Week 17 that avoided the dreaded chop.
  • When a team gets the axe, its entire roster is put back onto the waiver wire. The remaining managers then bid on the newly-freed up players via the FAAB system, and the highest bidder wins each player.
  • Guillotine is the one format where elite fantasy options will pop onto the waiver wire each week, as each manager desperately tries to stay alive while also building a super team over the course of the season.

How your redraft knowledge transfers to guillotine leagues

  • The initial guillotine draft isn’t particularly different from traditional redraft, so experienced drafters will feel at home when compiling their initial team. 
  • Because guillotine leagues rely so heavily on the waiver wire, those with FAAB waivers experience have an immediate leg up in terms of budgeting and knowing when to spend or save. 

Key strategy for guillotine success

  • Make sure you diversify your bye weeks. In traditional redraft, if you have six players with a Week 7 bye, you’ll likely lose that week’s matchup; you at least have a margin for error. Your season’s almost certainly over if you’re in a guillotine league with a team under those same circumstances. 
  • Additionally, don’t draft players from the same team early in the guillotine draft. While stacking is often encouraged in traditional redraft leagues, you’re trying to avoid multiple low scores from your starting lineup in the guillotine format. For example, if an offense scores just two field goals on Sunday, your guillotine team with their starting QB and WR is likely getting chopped. 
  • Back to those Bengals as another case study: They earned that league-best passing attack by season’s end, but the team mustered just 10 points against the Patriots in Week 1. Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Joe Burrow combined for only 20.3 fantasy points due to ineffectiveness and injuries, and if you relied on them, you likely didn’t make it to Week 2. Don’t draft players on the same team for at least the first 5-6 rounds.

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