Fantasy football is a game in which the participants serve as the general managers of virtual professional gridiron football teams. The competitors choose their team rosters by participating in a draft in which all players of a real football league are available. Points are based on the actual performances of the players in the real-world competition. The game typically involves the National Football League, Canadian Football League or college football.
There are two main types of fantasy football:
Traditional in which the competition can run either for an entire season or many seasons if it is a keeper league,
Daily, an accelerated version in which the contests are conducted over shorter periods, such as a week or a single day.
Daily fantasy football is managed by commercial internet companies who charge a percentage of each betting pool. In the US, the two largest of these firms are FanDuel and DraftKings.
There are many different methods of organizing fantasy football leagues, some of which may be combined. The two most popular league types are head-to-head and total points leagues.
In head-to-head leagues, a fantasy team matches up against a different fantasy team from the league each week. The team that receives the most points of the two receives a win for that week. Points are dictated by the scoring system that is either standard set by the website or custom set by the league. A team's total is the sum of all players' points who were placed in a starting slot by the team owner for the day they were playing (as opposed to being on the bench, in which any points gained would not count). Teams with the best win-loss record advance to the playoffs. If two teams have the same record, tiebreakers are employed based on league preference.
Total points leagues are leagues in which teams accumulate points on an ongoing basis. The league standings are determined by the teams’ total points.
All play leagues are leagues in which all teams play each other each week. For example, if there are 14 teams in the league, the top scoring team that week would post a 13-0 record, 2nd highest scoring team would post a 12-1 record and so on.
Also see IPL 2019 match schedule
A Keeper style league allows teams to keep a set number players from one year to the next.
A Salary cap league is a particular type of fantasy league which adds another factor of realism similar to the NFL: the salary cap. Each player has an associated salary and the total spent on all the players on a team has a maximum - the "salary cap."
In Auction leagues, a team is composed of players who are bought auction-style during the draft, as opposed to using traditional snake drafts that are common in fantasy football.
In Dynasty leagues, a team keeps all players from year to year and replenishes rosters through rookie drafts. Dynasty leagues are enhanced versions of keeper leagues.
In Two-quarterback leagues, a team has the ability to start two quarterbacks in their weekly lineup. This changes the value of the quarterback position, as it doubles the number of quarterbacks able to start in any given week. However, in any fantasy football format, the number of quarterbacks who can start is determined by the league commissioner.
In Empire leagues, teams compete in a dynasty-format and prizes are offered for league winners. A special side-pot is created from entry fees each year. Once an owner wins the league two years in a row, the Empire pot goes to that owner, and the league starts over.
SuperFlex Leagues are leagues in which teams can start a QB in the flex position. Generally, a superflex position is added in addition to traditional roster spots such as a flex position. Often, defenses and kickers are removed from these league formats.
IDP or Individual Defensive Player leagues are leagues where teams draft individual defensive players in addition to offensive players, as opposed to drafting an NFL team's defense.
Pirate Leagues are leagues where a winning team gets to choose a player from his opponent's roster.
Daily fantasy sports is like traditional fantasy sports where players draft a team of real-world athletes who then score fantasy points according to set scoring rules. However, instead of being stuck with the same team through a whole season, daily fantasy sports contests last just one day (or in the case of NFL, one weekend). Users can play head-to-head or in larger field tournaments. Both cash leagues and free contests are available for play.