Planning Ahead For 2012 Classic League

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Sun Feb 05, 2012 4:07 am

Originally posted by Glenneration X:
I understand and even personally like a couple of these suggestions. However, there's little doubt that reducing the Overall Prize for an event that's already considered a niche contest is catering to the player who already plays in the Classic and does nothing for growth.

Why would a new player used to the 12-team format divert some of his investment capital to an unfamiliar 14-team format with two 12-team Championships available when the carrot isn't even comparable? The reality is he won't.

However if growth isn't the goal and it is instead to keep the Classic as a living breathing ancillary contest for those who already play and love the event, then these suggestions will certainly accomplish that. While I agree with this Glenn, the fact of the matter is that the 14-team event won't ever compete with the size of the 12-team event anymore, including ours. So whether the Classic is a $100,000 grand prize or a $75,000 grand prize, it doesn't seem like it's ever going to get to $150,000 or $200,000 under its current situation/payouts.

I'd like to keep this at $75,000 to provide a nice carrot and yet provide a league prize at $6,000 or above. As Matt suggests, maybe that's at the expense of the growth of 2nd and 3rd place league prizes. Let me provide two more examples tomorrow with league prize at $6,000 and $6,500 and see if that helps at all. Interestingly, if there is a wider gap between 1st and 2nd place league prize, then it will either make the league playoff prize a big number (could be worth $4,000) or we find a way to better split prizes for winning h2h and total points through the regular season. A few ways to work this and make it more interesting.

Okay, thanks for the suggestions here. We'll keep tweaking and hopefully get it better.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Sun Feb 05, 2012 4:11 am

Originally posted by hammer:
Greg,

For what it's worth, if you're going to come down from the $100K grand prize then why not simply augment 1st place league prizes?

Second and third places are nice, but personally I don't value an increase in those prizes compared to the lure of the overall grand prize.

Would the numbers make sense for you if you the Classic came down to $75000 overall and then paid 6000, 2500, 1000 to the top 3 league finishers? This is worth looking at Matt, although there is a churn rate in the Classic that is higher than my other contests because I think people do see that it's tough to get ROI when only 3 of 14 league mates are cashing each year. And in our current format, only 2 of 14 are making any money from those league prizes. So how can we slow down the churn rate and keep people coming back for more? Is that higher league prizes all around? Or augmenting a higher league prize? Or keeping the big carrot? I'm struggling to find the right answer here and keep the Classic growing, but I know we all want to do that.

We'll work through this together and I know we'll find a good solution.

mtreff4 · Post by **mtreff4** » Sun Feb 05, 2012 5:32 am

I want to throw my two cents in... My brother and I have been playing in the NFFC Classic for seven years, and besides a few times when it took a long time to get our prize check, we have nothing but awesome things to say about you guys and this league. As far as I can see it is the best league of the best fantasy sport. That's quite a title Greg and Tom, nice work.

The lure of joining the Classic is the $100,000 prize. That's what drew us here 7 years ago and every year since. I have 15 friends that I tell about this league and when I tell them the six figure overall prize, their eyes light up. When I tell them it's $5,000 for first in your league, they have little reaction.

If you guys say there are other leagues out there that offer the same or similar payouts with $100,000 grand prize then you don't have to read this email any further cause people like me can join that one.

I think this league could grow for the long term because it offers a beautiful, round, 100K payout. The odds to win it are fantastic. 280-1? I'll take it every time. If the grand prize number drops to 50K or 75K, it loses that 'wow' factor. Some people will see the big drop in overall payout on the home page and think your business is not performing as well as it has in years past. And lately in the national media this business had been made out to be quite unstable and often crooked.

At least post another survey where you can get most if not all of your fantasy football participants to respond (I didn't know about it but then again I don't check this message board often and I'm not that bright). I can live with a majority rules survey among all 300 or so of us.

This is the NFFC Classic! Their residents may be a bit biased but in my home town of Albany, NY, this league is known as the greatest fantasy football competition in the world! I have six friends already making their mock drafts for next year for the Classic, based on the 280-1 odds to win 100k. If the prize drops below 100k that is no longer the case.

In this the year that you guys paid out faster than ever, I say if it's not broke don't fix it!

Or I'll save the dissertations and just join the primetime league

mtreff4 · Post by **mtreff4** » Sun Feb 05, 2012 5:38 am

one last thing...

Last year it took about 2 1/2 months to get our prize check. We considered playing in a different league this year because that was difficult to stomach. I bet a bunch of people werre skeptical for this year as we were. And now this year you paid out faster than ever. My check was received, deposited and cleared 31 days after the week 16 games. Spectacular.

Also this year, one of the three biggest fantasy contests folded. That puts hundreds more eager participants out there looking for a reputable league to join.

That league is the NFFC Classic. Your business will grow next year based on the two factors above which occurred this year.

Glenneration X · Post by **Glenneration X** » Sun Feb 05, 2012 6:38 am

Originally posted by Mike Treff:
The lure of joining the Classic is the $100,000 prize. That's what drew us here 7 years ago and every year since. I have 15 friends that I tell about this league and when I tell them the six figure overall prize, their eyes light up. When I tell them it's $5,000 for first in your league, they have little reaction. This was the whole point of my post in a nutshell. Well stated Champ.

philpo · Post by **philpo** » Sun Feb 05, 2012 6:48 am

I will throw me 2 cents in the higher payout for league prizes would be great but I dont think going from 5k to 6k will draw any more entries for the event with the drop in the 100k grand prize. I would suggest with adding more drafts on opening NFL weekend in Vegas may attract some of the former Wcoff players to help get you to the sell out numbers.

Also why not have a Kickoff Classic draft after the conclusion of the Thursday nite game and draw the draft spots live at each table.

alanr824 · Post by **alanr824** » Sun Feb 05, 2012 7:30 am

Keep the prizes for the Classic as it is. I am a classic league veteran. I have not won a grand prize, but have won league prizes. I don't believe raising the league prizes will bring more people to the event and you will lose a lot of people if you lower the 100K grand prize. They may just go over to the Primetime, but I don't understand the reasoning to change something that isn't broke. The Classic is a niche, with 14 teams, and will never appeal to the masses, but it will maintain the current classic diehards by keeping it the way it is. I don't mind change, when it is warranted. In this case, it isn't, and the proposed increases in league prizes does not appeal to me like the 100K possibility. Just my opinion.

Dave Clum · Post by **Dave Clum** » Sun Feb 05, 2012 7:49 am

I love the feeling when I sit down at the draft table.Someone here can win $100,000.Someone here can win $50,000 just does not have the same panache.I think you could lose some cross country travelers in that format.

BillyWaz · Post by **BillyWaz** » Sun Feb 05, 2012 7:50 am

I think the problem here is that the 14 teamer could be dying (hope not), as it is obvious that the NFFC wants to pursue building the 12 teamer.

With that said, if more and more people don't join, there is no way the NFFC can continue to offer a $100K prize for the 14 teamer. and make it worth their time.

Maybe I am wrong, but that is my thinking as to why they are considering reducing the grand prize.

Coltsfan · Post by **Coltsfan** » Sun Feb 05, 2012 9:57 am

I would really like to see 3 changes this next year in the classic.

Reduce the overall and increase the league prizes.

Increase the roster size to 20. It's a real issue only having 19 roster spots.

Go PPR across the board.

That's my wish list. You really can't say that it ain't broke as this contest hasn't been growing and their is a high attrition rate. This is a niche product and will be second fiddle to the 12 team event moving forward. The masses have spoken that they prefer 12 team leagues. With that being said, it's still my favorite event and would love to see it continue.

Wayne