There isn’t nearly enough auction draft content out there for fantasy football managers. First of all, when I tell you it is THE best way to draft a fantasy football team, I don’t use caps lock lightly. The 2024 fantasy football season will be my 13th season playing in at least one auction league, which just so happens to be my home league. Once we made the switch from snake drafting to an auction draft, we never looked back.
If your league is still on the fence or did effectively make the change ahead of this season, then you’re in the right place. While I plan to roll out more auction draft content, let this be your introduction to the greatest way to draft a fantasy football team. If you are a year or so into auction drafting and can’t quite get the hang of it, I hope you take something away from this beginner’s guide, as well.
Auction Draft Tips for Fantasy Football Managers
Acquire an Auctioneer Who Isn’t in Your League
This is easier said than done and really pertains to in-person auction drafts. Obviously, if you are doing an auction draft online, the draft room settings will manage the countdown clock during bids. However, if you are able to do your auction draft in person, which is the best way, finding an auctioneer who isn’t in your league, but is willing to hang out for three to four hours, can be tricky.
Most of your friends, family, or co-workers are probably in your auction league so finding someone not involved can be difficult. If you’re lucky enough to do so, you’ve got to reward them in some way whether they get to drink adult beverages for free that night or get a generous tip from the league. Trying to do an auction draft in person with one of your league members bidding and auctioneering can create tension and isn’t fair to the manager playing both roles.
Failing to Prepare is Preparing to Fail
Anyone can show up to a fantasy football draft with a set of rankings and make their selections. An auction draft requires more thought. Not only do you need to have a good pulse on just about every player, but you need to know how much you’re willing to spend to secure them on your roster.
Basic preparation for an auction draft starts with knowing your total budget and what kind of roster you hypothetically want to build. If you play in a Superflex league, for instance, you know quarterbacks are going to have higher price points than every other position. The same goes for tight ends in tight end premium leagues. Having an idea of what positions hold the most value is a good place to start when preparing your auction draft values and rankings for players.
One of my favorite things to do to prepare for an auction draft is to write down a hypothetical roster. That quite literally means jotting down the names of players next to each starting position, as well as the bench, with a rough idea of what their price point may be. From there, I can see how much specific roster builds may cost and generate a strategy as to how I want to attack my auction draft. Whether this works for you or not, the bottom line is you shouldn’t walk into an auction draft without any preparation or you’re going to be blindsided by prices, flustered by bidding, and leave with an inefficiently constructed roster.
Know Your Budget, Know Your Limits
Beyond basic preparation, this is the most important piece of advice I can give anyone for an auction draft. Knowing your budget is crucial as you begin to spend money adding players to your roster. Being off by even just a dollar could affect the outcome of a future bidding war. You also don’t want to finish your auction draft and realize you had a few bucks left over and could’ve made your roster that much better somewhere along the way.
Knowing your limits specifically pertains to setting budgets for certain player values. You never want to feel like you overspent on a player during an auction draft. Not only does that mess with your pre-draft plan, but it can weigh on your mind as the auction draft progresses and you see others come off the board at much better values. The beauty of an auction draft is that if a player you really, really wanted is going for much more than you expected, you can let them go elsewhere and use the money you saved on the very next bid. In an auction draft, there is consistent involvement for every fantasy football manager on just about every player, especially early on.
Stay Active and Alert
When you’re in a snake draft, once you make a selection, there’s plenty of time to grab a bite to eat, use the bathroom, or even brag to your league about the pick you just made. You can certainly do those things in an auction draft, but you could be missing out on value in the process. Establishing bathroom breaks and keeping food close by creates a fair environment for all involved. If you’re doing your auction draft online, designate moments to pause the draft so everyone can collect themselves.
Even if you lack interest in the current player nomination, it’s beneficial to remain alert to the bidding. You can get an idea of which position and players your league members are interested in as well as how they’re choosing to allocate their funds. Staying alert to draft trends, spending habits, and everyone’s fluid budgets will help you navigate your own draft better.
Don’t Bid for Players You Don’t Want
This should be a simple concept, but even I find myself forgetting this auction draft tip at times. Acting as the “price police” during your auction draft can ironically get you into trouble. What do I mean by this? If a player is put up for nomination and you think the bidding is too low, you step in with a bid to raise, or police, the price to what you think said player should be going for. However, if you do so, and find yourself to be wrong, you’re going to get stuck with said player on your roster when your intention was to raise their price to what you believed it should be. Worry about yourself and your team.
Be Flexible and Ready for Anything
In a snake draft, you can set the intention of drafting certain players in later rounds as sleepers and almost always execute this strategy. However, that running back sleeper you think is a league-winner could be a first-round nomination in your auction draft. Since your league-mates can nominate players to be put up for bid, at any position, at any time, you need to be ready for anything.
On the tail side, you are only in control of the players you nominate and the players you choose to bid for. That said, if you want to factor in a certain stud to your budget, nominate them when it’s your turn, win the bid, and then move on. There’s not a ton of control in an auction draft so if there is a player you’re specifically targeting, it’s best to nominate them yourself, but be ready at any time for another manager to do so.
Don’t Panic and Have Fun
Evaluating your snake draft roster after a few rounds may have you come to the realization that you do not have a running back yet. However, after a few rounds in an auction draft, you might only have one player! This is another chance for me to reiterate how important it is to worry about yourself and your team. Focusing on the manager who’s halfway done filling out their roster is pointless because they’re likely running low on funds and will have little impact against you when it’s time to bid for the players you want.
At the end of the day, there’s nothing like the thrill of getting into a bidding war in an auction draft. Even spectating one between two or more other people is an absolute rush. Every nomination and pick has so much excitement that should make you realize how much fun an auction draft is especially if the rest of your league is as invested as you are. By the time it’s over, you’re going to be wishing it was this time next year to do it all again so have fun while it lasts!
Who’s your favorite dark horse QB1? Drop some names in the comments below and then make sure to check out our 2024 Fantasy Football Draft Kit for more great rankings and analysis.