1. The first step is to create an account for a website that has access to fantasy football (assuming you’ve decided you want to try it). NFL.com, ESPN and Yahoo are a few examples that offer fantasy football.
2. Once you have created an account, the next step is to decide how many people you want to compete against. Most leagues are 10 or 12 team leagues, but some can be as low as 8 or as high as 16. For beginners, I’d recommend starting at the low end, like 8 or 10 team leagues.
3. Next, you need to decide what type of league you want to join. There are several different types of leagues. For example, there are standard leagues, PPR (point per reception) and 2 quarterback leagues. You can even customize any league you really want. Leagues can also be for money or they can be free. Money leagues require money to be paid before the draft begins. The cost varies for each league. For beginners, I’d recommend doing just the standard because it’s the easiest. I would also recommend that beginners join the free leagues before they start spending money to join a league.
4. Now it’s time to join a league. You can join a league with your friends, with people from all over the country, or both. You can have more than 1 league if you wish. I think NFL.com and ESPN may have up to 10 leagues. Deciding on a league can be difficult because there are so many league options.
5. The next step is to create a name for the team. Team names are supposed to be a lot of fun to create. They can be pretty much whatever you want your name to be. Your team name can be about a certain soccer player, a team, or based on current events. It can also be based on an inside joke with your friends, or it can be something mean to piss off your opponent. The point is that this step is all about you and having fun.
6. The draft is the next step. Many people believe that this is the best and most fun part of the fantasy football process. The draft is where you can choose your players. There are 2 different ways to write. You can do a snake draft (the person who picks first in the first round picks last in the second round, then comes back first in the third round, etc.) or an auction draft. An auction draft is where you can “buy” players to be on your fantasy team.
You have a limit on how much you can spend on the draft. I’ve never done an auction draft, but I know these drafts take a lot longer. I recommend doing a snake twist if you don’t have a lot of free time.