2023 NFFC Champions Profile - Michael O'Brien

[Tom Kessenich]

There’s nothing like an Auction in fantasy sports. The opportunity to have EVERY player at your disposal in a league if you’re willing to make a play for them. It all comes down to how much you’re willing to spend and the combinations of strategy and values that each league present that are unlike anything a draft can replicate.

And in the NFFC we offer the Online Auction Championship which has grown in scale every year we’ve offered thanks in large part to the industry’s premier online auction software and, most importantly, our players’ intense love of the auction format.

Michael O’Brien is one of the most passionate players when it comes to auctions in both the NFFC and NFBC. And in 2023 he turned that passion into a national championship.

Michael took down the competition in the Online Auction Championship, besting a record field of 840 teams to win the title and pocket the $15,000 grand prize. This was his second national championship in his NFFC career. He had previously won the 2021 NFFC Football Challenge Points title.

“It was a great feeling to take down a national title,” he said. “I absolutely love auction drafts, so taking home the Online Auction Championship was special.”

He built his team around Christian McCaffrey at $46 and Deebo Samuel at $24, with Amari Cooper at $20 really helping in the Championship Round. But the real bargains were Breece Hall at $14, Isiah Pacheco at $12, Rashee Rice at $3 and Brock Purdy at $1.

“McCaffrey was the centerpiece of my team,” he said. “I had him valued at $50 and got him for $46. I also wanted to come away with three wide receivers that I had valued as WR2s or better.

“I wasn't able to get any of the top wide receivers, but I got three wide receivers that I had ranked as WR15, WR16 and WR19 in Deebo ($24), Amari Cooper ($20) and Mike Williams ($17). Unfortunatley, Mike Williams got hurt early, again, but I hit big on a $3 Rashee Rice to make up for it.”

For a time during the regular season, however, Michael wasn’t overly confident his team had the stuff to make a serious championship run.

“After 12 weeks of the regular season, my team wasn't even in a playoff spot, as I was just 6-6 with no chance at best record and sitting third in points,” he said. “But two 190-plus point weeks to finish the regular season moved me into second place in points (just 7.65 from moving into first) and into the overall playoffs.

“My only concern at that point was that maybe my team had peaked too early. But my team was hot and in looking at the matchups my players had during the playoff weeks I was feeling pretty good about my chances.”

Then the tide quickly turned in his favor.

O’Brien’s team moved up to 4th place overall through Week 15 when he scored 184.90 points. He then moved into first place after Week 16 when it scored 193.95 points and it maintained that lead by scoring 177.10 points in Week 17.

“My team had a pretty good start to the playoffs with 184.9 to move into 4th overall at that point,” he said. “After scoring 193.95 in Week 16, I had moved into first place. Having the lead with one week to go can be a little nerve-wracking, as you're both so close, yet so far away, where anything can happen from week to week in football.”

Fortunately for Michael nothing out of the ordinary happened in that final week. Thanks in large part to Breece Hall (27.6 points) and Brock Purdy (23.9), his team played up to expectations and the title was his.

Then it was time to celebrate. Looking ahead to 2024, as the defending champion in the Online Auction Championship Michael has but one simple piece of advice for fantasy players:

“Auctions are by far the best way to do a draft, and if anyone has yet to do an auction draft, I emplore you to do one,” he said. “The NFFC (and NFBC) have amazing online auction software, and the drafts go seemlessly. I hope the Online Auction Championship continues to grow and the grand prize continues to climb.”