The Dynasty Commissioner's Handbook is your guide to creating and overseeing a harmonious and enduring fantasy football league experience. In this seven-part series, we'll introduce you to your responsibilities for each phase of the dynasty lifecycle.
It's the fantasy postseason! Under your watchful eye, the top teams vie for a spot on the winner's podium.
After the curtain comes down on the regular season, the stage lights focus on the fantasy playoffs, where months of strategic composition culminate in a crescendo of climactic competition.
RELATED: See Part 1 - Are You Ready to Lead? here
RELATED: See Part 2 - Putting the Band Together here
RELATED: See Part 3 - The Preseason Rehearsal here
RELATED: See Part 4 - The Regular Season Concert here
As commissioner, you ensure that every playoff note - from seeding to payouts - resonates with anticipation, harmony, and resolution.
Scheduling the Playoffs - Set the Stage
To preserve the integrity of the competition, schedule your fantasy playoffs to conclude before Week 18 of the NFL season. This avoids the unpredictability and perils of NFL teams resting their starters. A common structure is:
- Week 15 - Wild Card games
- Week 16 - Semifinals
- Week 17 - Finals
Determining Playoff Teams - Who Performs in the Final Movement?
Before the playoffs can begin, you must determine whose rosters have earned a seat in the orchestra - and whose must watch from the balcony. It's your opportunity to tune the competitive balance and ensure the right notes carry through to the finale.
How Many Teams Qualify?
If too many qualifiers make the playoffs, you dilute the importance of the regular season. Having too few qualifiers causes premature owner disinterest. Here are some typical sweet spots for different league sizes:
- 10-Team Leagues - Four qualify, with a two-week playoff.
- 12- or 14-Team Leagues - Six qualify for a three-week playoff; the top two records get first-week byes.
- 16-Team Leagues - Eight qualify, with a three-week playoff.
Best Practice - Choose your playoff format before the first note of the season. Don't change the sheet music mid-performance.
How are the Playoff Teams Determined?
Many leagues use win-loss record (with head-to-head tiebreakers) to select the playoff ensemble. This is a clean and serviceable process. But there are other options to consider for awarding playoff spots, especially if your league has multiple divisions:
- Division winners, regardless of record
- Best all-play records
- Total possible fantasy points
- Total actual fantasy points scored
Whatever method you choose, make sure your league knows the score. Unambiguous rules prevent sour notes when the playoff picture sharpens in the final weeks of the fantasy regular season.
Best Practice - As the field takes shape, send out a promotional newsletter. Who's clinched? Who's in the hunt? What are the critical matchups ahead? You're not just the commissioner, you're the playoff hype-man.
Disabling Roster Transactions - Freeze the Movement
To maintain competitive integrity, establish a freeze on roster additions (e.g., trades, waiver pickups) at the onset of the playoffs. This prevents last-minute roster manipulations that could undermine the fairness of the competition. Communicate this deadline clearly in your league constitution.
Engaging Non-Playoff Teams - Keep the Band Playing Until the Final Curtain
The playoff spotlight might be shining on the championship contenders, but your league has other musicians in the orchestra. If they all pack up and head to the parking lot once the playoff bracket locks, your finale's going to sound awfully hollow.
Sure, the playoff teams are competing for the grand prize. But the real test of your motivational skills is whether you can get all the other band members to continue playing until the last note of the score.
Set aside a portion of your prize pool to incentivize non-playoff team participation throughout the fantasy playoffs. Here are some ideas:
Set up a mini-tournament
Winner earns an extra second-round draft pick next season.
Offer a "Highest single-game score of the postseason" award
Winner gets a discount on next year's league fees.
Hold a "Most total points scored in the postseason" contest
Award the winner a FAAB bonus to use next season.
Keep your NFL Pick'em contest running through the playoffs
Put a little holiday cash on the line.
Best Practices for the Playoffs
Here are some additional ways to make sure things play out without any sour notes:
Lock In Settings Early
Check your platform's playoff settings before the regular season ends: bracket structure, trade and waiver transaction rules - everything. A quick audit now beats a meltdown in Week 15.
Monitor Lineups
Your job isn't to optimize everyone's rosters; it's to ensure legality. Inactive starters or apparent tanking? Step in. Honest mistakes? Let it ride.
Have a Backup Plan
Platform crash? Weather delay? Define your emergency rules in your league constitution - before you need them.
Stay Neutral and Above Reproach
If your team is in the playoffs, congratulations! Now, consider recusing yourself from all rulings, and hand the baton to a neutral deputy. The other playoff participants need confidence that the conductor is above the fray.
Disbursing Winnings - The Final Ovation
Schedule prize distribution for the week following the championship game. Transparency in the payout structure - including allocations for runner-up, consolation prize winners, and side pot winners - invites trust from your leaguemates.
Conductor's Notes
Your job isn't to compose the finale - it's to set the stage so the performance proceeds without a hitch. If you do it right, your playoffs will become a thrilling, fair, and unforgettable coda to your dynasty season.
Keep your leaguemates engaged until the final curtain. When managers care, they pay attention. When they pay attention - and like what they see - they applaud and return next year for an encore.
As the curtain closes, take a well-deserved bow, commish.
Your job isn't finished, however. In Part 6, we look at the commissioner's offseason duties.
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