Reviews are a funny thing. Most people come to them to get a good idea if they will or will not like something. But often, when you come across a review of a movie you’ve already seen, and you disagree with it, you automatically think, “That critic stinks!” For this review of the top Fantasy Football draft services, understand this – some things are loved by some people and hated by other people. I’m here to try to help you figure out if you’ll be on the “love it” or “hate it” side.
Not only are these draft services fun to review, but in some cases, you can save money, like if you use CBSSports.com coupon codes or NFL.com coupons.
4 Most Popular Fantasy Football Draft Services
(Listed alphabetically)
CBSSports.com – 4.0 STARS
First, CBS has free draft leagues, cash leagues (“prize leagues”) and full Commissioner leagues. Actually, they were the first to have these types of commissioner/customizable leagues, dating back to the mid-to-late ‘90s.
For their prize leagues, they have five different levels to choose from, starting with Gold ($39.99 to win $200), all the way to Elite ($999.99 to win $5,000).
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This is obviously the place to go to play big-money leagues against people you don’t know, and remember that the runner-up in each of these 12-team leagues gets a chunk of cash, too. One of my favorite new features is the updated game tracker, where you’ll get a better idea of what’s going on with every play as the games unfold. They’ve also updated the whole user interface on the home page, which is leaps and bounds better than the old way.
Purchase a commissioner league by Aug. 8 and save $20 on their early bird special. You can also get a 20% off coupon code.
The league service itself, however, is moving into the 2010s, with one of the best and most informative player pages around. Even with the dated draft room, I still consider this a league service for intermediate to advanced Fantasy owners.
ESPN Fantasy Football – 3.5 STARS
ESPN also has free leagues, as well as prize leagues, which you can win ESPN prizes and uber points with. You can buy one team for $19.95, three teams for $39.95 or five teams for $49.95. I like that the overall grand prize winner (highest overall adjusted score and wins their league championship) wins a $3,500 gift card for Best Buy. Head-to-Head league winners get 100 Winners Circle points, which you can redeem for ESPN gear, gifts and merchandise.
Make sure you pay attention to their standard scoring because I’m a big opponent of their setup. They have 10-team leagues, with four teams making the playoffs, and the playoffs run for four weeks, in two-week periods, through Week 17. What!?!?! All of the above choices, I believe were made to maximize their profits, and not for the good of the hobby. Why not 12-team leagues as standard? Why force us to play in Week 17, when some NFL stars are in street clothes?
Some of their new features for 2013 include a new mobile draft app for the iPhone and iPad, and new league participation limits.
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This league is for intermediate sports fans, in my opinion, as they don’t use the standard setup, and more people find themselves on ESPN for other reasons, which ends up in them playing here as well.
NFL.com – 4.5 STARS
You have to like having a Fantasy league service that offers up instant video highlights with its free scoring. And obviously, that’s going to be a feature that only NFL.com offers.
They also have matchup previews and recaps, which I always enjoy checking out. They have a pretty sweet draft room that I have to say is the best designed draft room of them all. The “Add to Queue” button stands out, it’s apparent where you are in the draft and when your next pick is. It also has a great 10-seconds left timer, to let you know what’s happening.
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This league service is for intermediate Fantasy owners and big NFL fans.
For their $10 league, each winner gets a customizable championship ring. For $25, you can join a league where the winner gets an autographed NFL football signed by an NFL star. For $45, you enter a league where the winner gets an autographed NFL jersey by an NFL star. These leagues seem like good ones for people that don’t have a bunch of Fantasy friends, or for veterans that want to get some swag. Just want to buy some stuff at the official NFL Shop? Here’s some coupons.
Yahoo! Fantasy Football – 3.5 STARS
You can play for free, join a free custom league – or go pro. For $20, you win up to $100. You can win up to $500 with a $100 entry. And finally, you can try a $250 team to win $1,250. They also have standard and auction league mock drafts to play with.
I have great respect for the Fantasy writers on their site, including Andy Behrens and Brandon Funston, who have been around for ages. And their Fantasy Football league service has always ranked as one of the most popular in the world, but that’s part of the problem.
The people that draft here are often not the veteran Fantasy Football players that you’ll find at CBSSports.com or ESPN. I love that they use Rotoworld’s player updates and that Pro Football Focus provides projections, as they are one of the best groups out there.
Pros:
Just announced live draft now available on mobile devices (finally!)
Cons:
This is the league that someone in your office sets up for free, and usually consists of several workmates that aren’t considered sports fans. They do it because it’s a social thing at work and it’s easy. I’d have to think the abandon rate on these leagues by Week 6 is among the highest in the Fantasy industry. I don’t know that for certain, however.
Summary
NFL.com is my top pick for this year’s platforms. Feel free to follow my individual player advice at FantasySports.org and if you’re looking for deals on this season’s NFL merch’ you can score some great coupons at nfl.bluepromocode.com.
David Gonos is a fantasy sports veteran of over 20 years and 100 fantasy football leagues. He wrote for CBSSports.com for five years, and currently dispenses fantasy advice on SportsIllustrated.com, FantasySports.org and his own site, DavidGonos.com.
