Looking For Quick Feedback On NFFC Cutline Rule

[Greg Ambrosius]

I know we are late in launching the NFFC Cutline Championship this year and you can blame me for that. I'm looking at a major rule change for this contest and just taking my time here before launching. But we will start drafts in the next week, I promise.

Okay, here's my thought and I want your quick feedback. The NFFC Cutline Championship has been a nice contest and a nice success as we've grown from 1,800 teams to around 2,200 teams over the last three years. But I feel like there's room for further growth and bigger overall prizes with a slight rules change. Hear me out:

The NFFC Cutline Championship is a lottery ticket, right? It's $125 for a shot at $75,000 this year. Sure, you can win $250 in your league, but we're all playing to get past the cutline in weeks 10-15 and earn a seat at the final table of 12. If we do that, we have a 1 in 12 shot at $75,000 in Week 16. That's what we're playing for, correct? $125 to win $75,000?

Yet we're making this lottery ticket a lot of work. You still have to pick 10 starters from your 26 man roster each week. And you have to do three FAAB periods per week. Not brutal, but still a lot of work for a lottery ticket.

So let me ask you: Would you be in favor of this contest being an optimal scoring league rather than a league where you need to set your starting lineup each week? In other words, a draft 'n hold league throughout the contest but still with 3 FAAB periods. This way your only job after Draft Day is picking up new players three times during the year, similar to our NFBC Cutline Championship. The computer does the rest of the work during the season.

For a lottery ticket, it would be quick and easy.

10-team, 26-round drafts every night without the work during the season.

Still different from the Draft Champions leagues because they are shallower teams and you can still improve your team throughout the year with three FAAB periods.

I know we already have an optimal scoring lineup contest in the Draft Champions, but for a low entry fee league and a lottery-style contest I'm trying to make this as easy as possible for people to draft and move on. Who doesn't like to draft? And the majority of DCs are slow drafts, which people still love to do over a two-week period. I think that contest will continue to prosper and grow, even with the 35-round DC Express Leagues.

So let me ask: NFFC Cutline
a) stay as it is with owners setting starting lineups each week; or

b) optimal scoring lineups with the computer picking your best lineups each week, including during the Championship Round of weeks 10-16.

I haven't made a decision yet on this contest and either way we can start these in the next week. I see the merits of both. I also see how the Cutline could grow to really big numbers with the change, which would be good for everyone. I think you'd see multiple drafts each night, even early in the season. But I also understand how setting your starting lineups is still a fun process (one that is available in satellites, Online Championships and Mains!!!).

Anyway, I'm looking for feedback from folks who do a lot of the Cutlines. What's the best path for the growth of the Cutline and what is the most fun method? We definitely are bringing in new customers with the Cutline and DC, but the majority of our entries are by NFFC veteran owners. Let me know what you think of the potential change here.

Thanks all. Please give me your feedback.

[Greg Ambrosius]

If we went with the new rule change, it would look like this:

NFFC Cutline Championship
Welcome to our fourth season of the NFFC Cutline Championship, the NFFC's only contest with 10-team leagues. This contest also has our lowest price for a national contest ($125) with a grand prize of $75,000. That's right, $125 can win you $75,000!

NEW FOR THIS SEASON: The NFFC Cutline Championship will use an optimal scoring format throughout the season, meaning that you won’t have to ever set a starting lineup. The computer will do the work for you, giving you the best possible scoring lineup from your 26-man roster each and every week. You still will need to pick up players via free agency three times during the regular season, but after Draft Day most of your work is done.

The NFFC Cutline Championship has a unique playoff format in Weeks 10 through 16 where teams are eliminated each week based on a "cutline" of maximum teams. Watch your team move above and below that cutline each week in real-time scoring as you try to survive for a shot at the $75,000 grand prize in Week 16. No contest provides that type of thrill each and every week.

Here's what you get when you compete in the NFFC Cutline Championship:
• $125 Entry, $250 top league prize, $75,000 grand prize
• 10-Team Leagues
• 26 Round Online Drafts, 60 Seconds Per Pick
• Optimal Scoring each week; you never have to set a Starting Lineup
• Only 3 Free Agent Pickups During the Regular Season
• 9 Weeks of Regular Season Action
• Top 2 Teams From Each League Advance To The Championship Round; 3 Teams Advance To Wild Card Round
• Teams Try To Survive Above The Cutline In Weeks 10 through 15. The Top 12 Teams In The Championship Round Compete In Week 16 For The $75,000 Grand Prize!
• Drafts Are Quick, In-Season Free Agent Pickups Are Minimal, You NEVER have to set a Starting Lineup, And The Overall Prizes ARE BIG!! Join The Cutline Championship AND WIN $75,000!!

1. Overview
The National Fantasy Football Championship (NFFC) Cutline Championship is a national contest that consists of leagues comprised of 10 teams/managers. The NFFC Cutline Championship regular season will begin with all Week 1 NFL games (including results from the Thursday, Sept. 8th game) and through all Week 9 games. Teams will play every other team in their league once in head-to-head competition and the team with the most points after Week 9 wins the $250 league prize.
NEW FOR THIS SEASON: The NFFC Cutline Championship will use an optimal scoring format throughout the season, meaning that you won’t ever have to set a starting lineup. The computer will do the work for you, giving you the best possible scoring lineup from your 26-man roster each and every week. You still will need to pick up players via free agency three times during the regular season, but after Draft Day most of your work is done.

2. Draft
All NFFC Cutline Championship drafts are held online at nffc.stats.com. Cost of entry is $125 per team.

NEW THIS SEASON: The NFFC Cutline Championship will use optimal scoring every week, so no one has to set a Starting Lineup. The computer will pick the best lineup from your 26-man roster. All players are eligible to be used in Week 1, even if they played on Thursday Night and were drafted after that game as Cutline drafts will continue through Saturday, Sept. 10th. All leagues will be competing for the same overall prize pool.

Again, THIS IS JUST A RULE PROPOSAL. This is not enacted yet.

I'm just looking for feedback here. Thoughts? Thanks all.

[76erfan]

I'd prefer it stay as is. I don't think there is a reason for change to be honest. If we did make it best ball, its very similar to slow DC and DC Express.

I agree on the lottery ticket point but I think you would lose just as many people signing up as you did new signups.


Just my opinion. I get the rationale for exploring this but I'd rather keep as is.

[hammer]

I'll do it either way.

[edelman24]

At the end of the day I will do some of these leagues either way. When thinking about it though if you change it to best ball it will become a 10 team version of a slow draft IMO. Yes not setting lineups is great and I love that, but what this would do is change the feel of a draft and turn it into something very different then it is today. You will have to draft multiple QBs, TEs, Ks, Ds just like a slow draft and to me that changes the entire dynamic of the draft. At that point why do I need to do both Slow Drafts and Cutlines? Its the same dynamic to me and I don't need both, I would still play in the cutline but most likely at the expense of the slow drafts.

[Cdh]

I have to agree with 76er. It's too much like DC for me. I enjoy the grind of setting lineups. It may be a lottery tix but I want to choose my numbers...

I love NFFC either way. I just prefer it stay as is.

[Greg Ambrosius]

All good feedback and I hear ya on all points. I'm not trying to ruin a good thing, but to be truthful we pushed the grand prize so high the last three years that it's been a payout close to 100 percent the last two years. We just haven't seen this contest grow the way we thought it would. Heck, the DC is growing at a faster pace.

I don't want two contests the same, but I'm wondering if making our lottery ticket contest a bit easier is the right strategy. Again, just thinking this all through and the feedback from our top players is critical. It might also be too late for a change, but either way it's great feedback. All of this is what I was looking for.

Keep it coming. Thanks all.

[greenwichsttavern]

I'd prefer for it to stay the way it is as well for the same reasons Andy and Mike stated. cutline would feel like a draft champions league. Just my 2 cents

[Greg Ambrosius]

Quick feedback from two other veteran NFFC owners:

"Don't love the optimal scoring set up would rather have to set a lineup."

"I would prefer the optimal scoring. Not sure if you planned on offering discounts as you did for baseball. But if you do I planned on doing 3 teams as the rules stand, but I could see bumping it up to do more if you change to optimal scoring."

[76erfan]

at end of the day...truly Greg/Tom call....but my guess is you get as many saying yes I want more as you have I don't like it I want to do less.

I think its more likely people understand you have to lower the prize carrot a little because it hasn't continued to grow year over year. People like the contest...........its unique....making it best ball takes some uniqueness away.......