Every league has a top dog in charge of overseeing the league and resolving any disputes. Here’s how to become a first-rate fantasy football commissioner.
Every fantasy football league has a fearless leader who does an often thankless — yet important — job. That person is the fantasy football commissioner, and in many ways it's the person who sets the tone for your league and your season.
There are methods to becoming a liked and appreciated commissioner, and there are plenty of ways for a commissioner to be downright detested. So how do you excel as a commish? Read on and find out.
What Is a Commissioner in Fantasy Football?
A fantasy football commissioner is in charge of all aspects of organizing the league, from setting scoring and roster settings down to collecting buy-in fees and overseeing all transactions.
A commissioner is almost always also a manager in that same league, but he or she takes on the additional responsibility. Other managers have the luxury of setting lineups, putting in their FAAB bids and waiver claims and making trades. The commissioner does that, too, but also ensures that the league is run in a fair and proper way.
Fantasy Football Commissioner Responsibilities
Being a commissioner is typically a front-loaded job, with the heavy lifting coming before the season starts.
Perhaps a league needs new members, or maybe it is just being launched and needs all of the rules and parameters set. Getting everyone’s input and feedback before making decisions can be a painstaking process, and there’s a lot of unrecognized, behind-the-scenes work that goes into ensuring a league is set up to operate smoothly.
Once the season begins, the workload should, in theory, lessen, but there are always a number of tasks required to ensure the league is run competently all season long. Here are some of the key aspects that fall under the commissioner’s purview:.
Finalizing the league format and scoring settings
Whether it’s a new league or one that has existed for years but may be undergoing changes, deciding on format (PPR? Keeper? Dynasty?) before the season starts is critical. Getting member alignment and establishing league settings is arguably the most important part of a commissioner's job. A good commissioner will seek input from league members and not act as a dictator who sets the rules unilaterally.
Setting the draft type and date
Will the draft be a snake draft or a salary cap/auction draft? When will it happen? Does the league want to draft early in the summer, or is the preference to go as close to opening kickoff as possible? Will it be in person or fully online? These are all questions that need to be answered — never mind trying to get 12 (or however many managers are in the league) people to all be available for a few hours at the same date and time so all are present to pick their teams.
Here’s an extra pro tip: if it’s an online snake draft, do not forget to set a clock, or else the thing will just drag on forever.
Setting the draft order
This can be done by a random generator or picking names out of a hat, which is the easiest way to go. But if your league likes to have a little fun, then picking an alternative means to set the draft order would also be part of the commissioner’s job.
Collecting league dues, deciding the prizes
This is probably the most annoying part of the job. There’s always a manager who “keeps forgetting” to pay the entry fee right away. Hassling managers for money is nobody’s idea of fun, and neither is threatening managers with a locked roster until they pay.
But there are no welchers in the world of fantasy football, and it’s the commish’s job to see that all have paid up so that the prize pool is full. From there, it’s about determining how many managers get paid winnings after the season is over and how those winnings should be split.
Bonus points go to the commissioners that offer a legitimate trophy for the champion (and a creative punishment for the last-place finisher).
Adding and subtracting members
Sometimes managers come and go from fantasy leagues. Perhaps they’ve just had enough and don’t want to play anymore. Perhaps they’re asked to leave due to shady activity.
Regardless, the commissioner should have first and final say over who participates in the league, with other managers of course encouraged to offer recommendations and seek replacements.
Overseeing disputes
There comes a time when the commissioner is called upon to be the arbiter of a contested deal. When it happens, it’s usually centered on a trade that has caused consternation among managers. Vetoing trades is a slippery slope, but if collusion is sensed, or a trade is just so lopsided it’s impossible to defend, the commissioner should step in to handle things as a neutral third party.
The most unusual and universal dispute came during the 2022-23 championship week, when the Bills-Bengals Monday night game was suspended and then canceled following Damar Hamlin’s horrifying near-death injury.
Obviously, fantasy implications were far from the most important aspect of that night — Hamlin thankfully enjoyed a successful recovery and eventual return to the sport — but the scheduling dilemma required commissioners to figure out how to sort championship games that included Bills and Bengals players who didn’t get to play their full complement of minutes. Talk about a no-win situation.
How to Become a Fantasy Football Commissioner
Becoming a commissioner is largely a volunteer position. Few want a fantasy football role that requires responsibility beyond managing a team, with no reward. It’s supposed to be a break from work! But if you’ve been anointed commissioner by your peers or raised your hand to take on the role, you’ve got a job to do.
Once league membership is full and the format and rules are in place, the first big step for a new commish is ensuring the draft goes smoothly. Nothing rocks the boat more than a technical glitch or something going wrong in the draft room, since that sets the tone for the season and is the base for every manager’s roster. If something does go wrong, operating with a steady and decisive hand is key.
Perhaps the draft needs to be suspended or paused due to an error. In drastic cases, it may need to even be restarted. Regardless, you don’t want your league kicking off its season with questions or suspicions about its integrity.
5 Tips for Being a Good Fantasy Football Commissioner
There’s a lot that comes with being a league commissioner (unfortunately, Roger Goodell’s annual eight-figure salary isn’t part of it), but by following these simple steps, you can pull it off rather easily.
1. Set Simple and Clear Rules
It seems straightforward enough, but make sure everyone is on the same page and that there are no surprises. If it takes an extra email, so be it, but every manager should be made aware of draft, format and scoring parameters so that when it’s time to kick the league off, there are no misunderstandings.
2. Don’t Change Rules in the Middle of the Season
This is a clear and obvious no-no, or else you’ll get skewered. The scoring settings that are in place to start the season should remain until the championship week. Roster size, IR eligibility, normal flex vs. superflex, PPR vs. no PPR — all of it should be sorted well before teams are rostered up.
3. Communicate with Your League Mates
Making yourself appear approachable and in command is a good way to display your authority. An introductory message to start the season is a nice touch, coupled with any questions that require manager input before settings are set in stone.
The occasional update throughout the season, whether it’s a straight State of the Standings or something a bit more lighthearted that pokes some playful fun will keep managers engaged to a higher degree than if there’s no communication at all.
Sleeper makes this incredibly easy, with both league chat and 1-on-1 chat functionality.
4. Choose Your League’s Winner Prize Before Starting the Season
Make it very clear before the season starts how the winnings will be distributed. Is it winner-takes-all? Only the top two get paid? Is there a prize for the top overall points scorer or regular-season champion? There are plenty of ways the prize pool can be split, and you should set it up from the jump.
5. Collect League Fees Early
Easier said than done. But the longer unpaid fees linger, the more annoying it gets. A good commissioner will ensure all have paid before draft day — or at the very least before opening night of the NFL season — to nip any financial issues in the bud.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the commissioner move players in fantasy football?
The commissioner does have the ability to move players, but it comes with conditions, at least in Sleeper’s game. From our official rulebook:
“A commissioner CANNOT adjust a team's roster until the NFL week has been completed. They are not able to move someone's player from IR to the bench, or vice versa. Only an owner of the team can move players within their lineup.”
Can the fantasy commissioner push trades through?
Yes, the commissioner can make trades official as soon as they’re accepted. Generally, there’s a waiting period so that the league can review the trade and vote on it in the event it’s not so straightforward. But if time is of the essence, the commissioner can send it right on through.
What other powers does the commissioner have?
A commissioner can lock rosters, preventing managers from making lineup moves and waiver pickups, in the case of something drastic (unpaid dues or some other behavior that’s over the line). He or she can also remove managers or even delete a league altogether.
Can more than one person have commissioner powers in a league?
Yes. It’s not unusual for a commissioner to want to either have backup or just someone else to rely on with commish powers on a platform to assist with the minutiae. Sleeper, for example, allows for multiple managers to have commissioner control.
Take Control of Your Own Fantasy League on Sleeper
Whether you’re ready to be a commissioner or just better-suited to operate underneath one, try your hand at season-long fantasy football with Sleeper. You can join either by signing up on the website or downloading the app to start enjoying all of the customizable and user-friendly features that Sleeper has to offer. If you’re a commissioner seeking familiarity with the platform, you can read through all of Sleeper’s commissioner features here.
If daily fantasy sports (DFS) is more your speed, sign up for Sleeper Picks, where you can maximize your winnings up to 100x by making selections involving players and whether they will exceed or fall short of their projected stat totals.
