The Touchback is taking an in-depth look at the role of the commissioner and how it related to fantasy football philosophy. Click here to read the retort of this article.
Being a good fantasy football commissioner is really quite simple. You need to get all other managers to abide by a very simple philosophy: Pay your dues, follow the rules. Now, this isn’t some myopic, Donald Trump-inspired, “Law & Order” rallying cry. Instead, it is, in essence, the only duties required to maintain stability in any fantasy football league.
There is this misnomer that a fantasy football commissioner should serve as a presidential figure, enacting policy and trying to lead. In reality, being a good fantasy football commissioner requires the mindset of a sheriff. You are there to enforce rules and regulations, agreed upon by everyone in the league, to ensure stability.
This issue recently came up in one of the leagues I play in. Long story short, a manager was fiddling with his roster before Sunday Night Football kicked off and left two players on the bench. He realized this after the game had started, and after one of the players had already scored points, and mentioned it to the commissioner.
The commissioner decided to put these players back into his roster despite rules expressly stating players lock at kickoff. There are a few other interesting reasons as to why I believe this decision was made, but I’d prefer to not get stuck in the weeds on this.
So, while the decision was being a good person, it most certainly wasn’t being a good fantasy football commissioner. If anything, it is a reckless move that threatens the fabric of the league and shifts the role of commissioner from enforcer to despot.
Consistency is the hallmark of being a good fantasy football commissioner
When it comes to pay your dues, follow the rules, a commissioner needs consistency. Without consistency, a fantasy football league becomes unstable and, in most cases, eventually devolves into a failed state. This is bad.
Pay your dues is the easy part. A good fantasy football commissioner makes sure all the money is collected before the season starts and swiftly pays out winnings once the season ends. A league where that doesn’t happen is doomed because managers have no trust in the authority.
Follow the rules should also be straightforward. Before the season begins, all managers agree to the rules the league will abide by. All being a good fantasy football commissioner requires from that point on is to enforce what is already on the books. What the commissioner shouldn’t do is erratically make decisions on the rules in season based on how they interpret them.
This eliminates consistency and creates an opportunity for chaos to creep in. The next thing you know, your fantasy football league resembles Syria as infighting and a leadership vacuum allows instability to take hold.
A fantasy football league as a failed state
Once a commissioner starts freelancing when it comes to the rules, the league cannot project authority over its territory and people. The issue in the example of our league is that the decision to re-insert the players back into the lineup after they had locked does not set any precedent.
Instead, managers will now look to manipulate or circumvent existing rules when it benefits them. Of course, we have no idea how these decisions will be ruled upon with no precedent and it’s only natural for managers to become upset should judgements go against them. Eventually, managers end up quitting because there is no consistency and the league folds.
Related: A Game of Clicks: A fantasy football waiver wire strategy
When should a fantasy football commissioner interject?
Being a good fantasy football commissioner requires you to defer to the rules when they are available. However, there will be times when you do need to use your authority to interject every now and then. When a situation does arise that is not covered by your league’s bylaws, then you must use your power to defuse the situation.
The most common example of this is when a manager goes rogue and starts making crap trades or dropping star players. Most leagues don’t have rules expressly covering these acts. It is during occasions such as this when a fantasy football commissioner must go beyond his or her role of enforcer.
That being said, the most important trait of a good commissioner is knowing when to use that power. Ultimately, it all comes back to the failed state.
The only time a commissioner should step in is when there is a risk that the league cannot project authority over its territory and people. Managers trying to throw the league into disrepute by dropping early round draft picks must be stopped, even if there is no rule forbidding it. On the flipside, injecting on issues clearly covered in the rulebook creates similar disrepute.
Syria. Afghanistan. South Sudan. Don’t let your fantasy football league join this list of failed states.
