For some of you, dynasty is a scary commitment. You aren’t sure that you can be good at it. There is a lot of strategy, maybe you are not ready to make that next step. How do you get into a pool or body of water? I’m the guy that just jumps in, but you might be a dip your toe in kind of person. A great place to start on the way to dynasty is to try a keeper league.

Dynasty versus Keeper

The concepts of dynasty leagues and keeper leagues are very close. In a dynasty league, you draft your players and you keep them until they retire or you decide to trade them or cut them. Keeper leagues only hold a specific amount of players depending on roster rules, salary caps, or time on the team. I would suggest someone who wants to get the feel for a dynasty league who is not sure they are ready, to start with a keeper league.

Keepers R Us

So you like the idea of keeping some of your players, but not sure you want to keep them all on your team? Every keeper league starts with a number of players to keep or a certain way to keep some players. There are leagues where you keep as little as one player or half of your team or have a salary cap imposed to determine who you can keep and who you can’t. You decide which core of players to build around. Maybe last year you got Maurice Jones-Drew in the first round and Ray Rice in the fifth round, now it is up to you to decide which one to keep. In some leagues, the team loses the round in which the player kept was drafted. In other leagues, a team owner can only hold one player in a particular position. I have seen some leagues start off as keeper leagues the first year and then become dynasty leagues a year later. Some owners need that gradual immersion, The variations are endless, so pick the league with keeper rules that best fits you. Heck, do your own research and discover what you like then create your own league.

Modified Salary Cap Keeper

I think we all fall in love with one of the fantasy leagues that we first had success. I am no different. In fact, I was inspired by my vacation back to Ohio to write about one of my favorite leagues ever. Yes, I will get to the point! If you are looking for a keeper league that has many layers to it, look no further than the second fantasy league I joined, the modified salary cap keeper. This was the brainchild of my friends Todd C. and Tony S. back in Northeast Ohio.

The Cap

In this league, every player drafted held a value of one point with a roster limit of 14 players. In all drafts after the inaugural draft, a team could hold one player before each round. Players held before the first round received an additional 4 points added to their total. For instance, if a team held Frank Gore before the first round, then Gore would have a value of 5 points (1 point for the player plus 4 points for first round hold). A hold before the second round added three points, a hold before the third round added two points, and holds after the first three rounds added one point to their total. A team could have a total of 26 total player points. The points would remain a part of the player until they were drafted again. Trading a player would not affect the player’s point total. Dropping the player outright would reduce their value to one point, but a team would risk another team picking the abandoned player up.

How long to hold

This was genius, as a team could decide to hold onto a player like Gore for a total of three years after they had drafted him. The team would have to sacrifice the building of the rest of the team if they really wanted to keep the player. Strategy is very intense as each owner has to determine before every round whether they wanted to hold a player, and additional point totals may prevent a team from holding anyone else. You also had to determine if you owned a player worth holding that would get drafted in that particular round. Do you hold Matt Schaub for an additional year or not? If a team didn’t hold then it went to the front of the line in that round which is determined by the reverse order of last year’s results.

To hold or not

Whether to hold a QB like Drew Brees (a top-tier player) or go “no hold” is a tough decision to make in the first round. A team can choose to hold Brees and end up with a starting RB like Ryan Grant or choose “no hold” in the first round and get Michael Turner. This is where knowing your opponents tendencies from years past can make a difference. This modified keeper league was in Northeast Ohio, with ten out of twelve league members being hardcore Cleveland Browns fans. My favorite Pittsburgh Steelers were hated and Steelers players usually dropped a round or so because of that built up hatred. Rookie RB’s are always a premium in this type of league as they come with zero points added to their total and one could hold them for many years to come. Jahvid Best and Ryan Matthews will be very interesting players to own in a league like this.

So dynasty is a little too much for you? Pick the right keeper league for you. You can try a modified salary cap keeper. Know your salary cap. Determine how long you can hold. Decide whether you want to hold or not.

Any questions about the article or commissioner or general fantasy questions feel free to contact me on Twitter @realanakin. Have fun! Good luck.

Tags: Andy Miley, Dynasty, Fantasy Football, Keeper Leagues, Rookie Draft, Roster Management, Trade