Eibl, Stauffer & Anderson Win 2023 NFFC Kickoff Gridiron Titles

[Greg Ambrosius]

We hosted three NFFC Kickoff Gridiron Leagues in 2023 at Park MGM in Las Vegas and we came away with three great champions. Chris Eibl of Chicago, Illinois won the 14-Team Kickoff Gridiron League title for the third time in the last five years, while Scott Stauffer of Loves Park, Illinois won the 12-Team Kickoff Gridiron League title for the first time. We added a Friday evening NFFC 12-Team Kickoff Gridiron League in 2023 and NFFC Hall of Famer Derek "Lumpy" Anderson won that one in dramatic fashion.

Chris not only won the $6,500 league prize for winning the NFFC 14-Team Kickoff Gridiron League, but he also won SIX weekly prizes for the high score each week. I believe the weekly high scores were worth another $900+ this year, so he almost equaled his league prize with the weekly prizes. Chris has won this title four times since 2019 and I think this is his favorite format, which is saying something since he LOVES the auction league format.

Chris won the title with 2,878.20 points as he finished 200.35 points ahead of Wayne Ellis. Wayne won $3,500 for his runner-up finish and he also won three weekly prizes. Matt Shepherd finished third with 2,653.80 points to win $1,500 and he won the last two weekly prizes. In fact, Matt jumped from sixth place to third place over the last two weeks with those big finishes.

I'll update all three Kickoff Gridiron Leagues in this thread and highlight the draft picks of each champion. Remember, in this format, owners bid for their first round draft spot with real dollars and then bid again for their second round draft spot with real dollars. They stay in the draft spot they bought in the second round for the rest of the draft and all of the dollars accumulated from the bidding is paid out equally to the 17 weekly winners. It's a great, great format and thanks to KJ Duke for running these leagues for us.

In the 14-Team Kickoff Gridiron League, we paid the Top 3 finishers at the end of the season and $900+ per week for the weekly winner. Here's the final standings and weekly winners:

2023 NFFC 14-Team Kickoff Gridiron League Standings:
1 Chris Eibl Rex Grossman 2,878.20
2 Wayne Ellis Coltsfan 2,677.85
3 Matthew Shepherd PRACTICE SQUAD ALL STARS 2,653.80
4 Michael Cole Alabama Abandoned 2,640.15
5 Ramon Valentin Valentin 2,609.70
6 Richard Hart God Is Real 2,592.90

NFFC Las Vegas 14-Team Kickoff Gridiron League Weekly Winners:
Week 1 - Chris Eibl, 170.00 points
Week 2 - Chris Eibl, 198.20 points
Week 3 - Wayne Ellis 235.75 points
Week 4 - Chris Eibl 208.65 points
Week 5 - Wayne Ellis 225.35 points
Week 6 - Kenny Stratton 158.7 points
Week 7 - Ramon Valentin 190.25 points
Week 8 - Chris Eibl 200.95 points
Week 9 - Michael Cole 170.9 points
Week 10 - Wayne Ellis 186.85 points
Week 11 - Ramon Valentin 180.45 points
Week 12 - Chris Eibl 200.4 points
Week 13 - Ramon Valentin 203.7 points
Week 14 - Scott Keikoan 171.4 points
Week 15 - Chris Eibl 182.35 points
Week 16 - Matt Shepherd 193.2 points
Week 17 - Matt Shepherd 214.30 points

[Greg Ambrosius]

Not counting the weekly prizes for each format, here's the payouts for the final regular season finishers:

NFFC 14-Team Kickoff Gridiron League Prizes:
1 - $6,500
2 - $3,500
3 - $1,500

NFFC 12-Team Kickoff Gridiron League Prizes:
1 - $5,600
2 - $2,800
3 - $1,500

I believe the 14-Team Kickoff Gridiron League paid $900+ per week to the weekly winners and the two 12-Team Kickoff Gridiron Leagues paid around $800 per weekly winner. It's a great format, so thanks to everyone who participated. We plan on returning with all three Kickoff Gridiron Leagues again in 2024 at Park MGM on Thursday, September 5th. See you there.

[Greg Ambrosius]

In this format, owners bid for their 1st round picks with real money and all of that money goes into the weekly pot. They also bid for their second round pick with real money and that is the spot they have for the rest of the draft. Chris Eibl was aggressive in the first round as he acquired Christian McCaffrey and then had the third highest bid in Round 2 to acquire Jalen Hurts. He stayed in the 12th spot for the rest of the draft, but that start was a winning combination. Here's how he built that championship team:

Rex Grossman:
1 12 McCaffrey, Christian RB Rex Grossman
2 17 Hurts, Jalen QB Rex Grossman
3 31 Jacobs, Josh RB Rex Grossman
4 54 Hockenson, T.J. TE Rex Grossman
5 59 Godwin, Chris WR Rex Grossman
6 82 McLaurin, Terry WR Rex Grossman
7 87 Evans, Mike WR Rex Grossman
8 110 Engram, Evan FLEX Rex Grossman
9 115 Stroud, C.J. QB Rex Grossman
10 138 Mitchell, Elijah RB Rex Grossman
11 143 Doubs, Romeo WR Rex Grossman
12 166 49ers, San Francisco TDSP Rex Grossman
13 171 Jets, New York (NYJ) TDSP Rex Grossman
14 194 Hubbard, Chuba RB Rex Grossman
15 199 Steelers, Pittsburgh TDSP Rex Grossman
16 222 Patterson, Cordarrelle RB Rex Grossman
17 227 Chargers, Los Angeles (LAC) TK Rex Grossman
18 250 Woods, Robert WR Rex Grossman
19 255 Steelers, Pittsburgh TK Rex Grossman
20 278 Parker, DeVante WR Rex Grossman
21 283 Bourne, Kendrick WR Rex Grossman
22 306 Harty, Deonte WR Rex Grossman
23 311 Granson, Kylen TE Rex Grossman
24 334 Breida, Matt RB Rex Grossman
25 339 Williams, Trayveon RB Rex Grossman
26 362 Trautman, Adam TE Rex Grossman

[Greg Ambrosius]

Scott Stauffer made a big comeback to win his first NFFC 12-Team Kickoff Gridiron League. I know this title means a lot to Scott, who LOVES this format. His team was in second place through Week 14, but he won the weekly prizes in Weeks 15 and 16 to move into first place and he held onto the lead through Week 17. Scott won three weekly prizes and the $5,600 league prize.

Scott finished with 3,104.05 points to top Mark Moyer by 130.8 points. Mark won $2,800 for his runner-up finish, while KJ Duke finished third to win $1,500. Nine different people won weekly prizes in this 12-Team league, which is pretty amazing. Well done everyone.

Here's the final standings from this league along with the weekly winners:

NFFC 12-Team Kickoff Gridiron League 1 Final Standings:
1 Scott Stauffer Out of the Shadows 3,104.05
2 Mark Moyer Follow Me 2,973.25
3 KJ Duke KJ Grid.12 2,938.95
4 Matthew Shepherd Rex Burkheads Fat Ass 2,770.50
5 Michael Cole Alabama Abandoned 2,715.10
6 john spurlock spurlock 2,704.95

NFFC Las Vegas Sept. 7th 12-Team Kickoff Gridiron League Weekly Winners:
Week 1 - Chris Eibl, 204.10 points
Week 2 - Matthew Shepherd, 202.80 points
Week 3 - Scott Stauffer, 237.3 points
Week 4 - Mark Moyer 235.8 points
Week 5 - Frank Mammola 203.4 points
Week 6 - John Spurlock 177.25 points
Week 7 - Mark Moyer 201.25 points
Week 8 - Matt Shepherd 192.5 points
Week 9 - Scott Keikoan 179.35 points
Week 10 - KJ Duke 200.8 points
Week 11 - Matt Shepherd 181.9 points
Week 12 - Mark Moyer 203.25 points
Week 13 - Frank Mammola 197.8 points
Week 14 - KJ Duke 201.25 points
Week 15 - Scott Stauffer 225.2 points
Week 16 - Scott Stauffer 252.6 points
Week 17 - Todd Schoenfeld 192.80 points

[Greg Ambrosius]

Scott Stauffer didn't spend for his draft spots and he still landed Amon-Ra St. Brown in the first round and Jaylen Waddle with the 11th pick in the third round. He held onto the 2nd spot in the draft from that point on. Getting Puka Nakua in the 23rd round certainly paid some dividends, right Scott? Well done there. Here's Scott's draft results:

Out of the Shadows:
1 2 St. Brown, Amon-Ra WR Out of the Shadows
2 23 Waddle, Jaylen WR Out of the Shadows
3 35 Fields, Justin QB Out of the Shadows
4 38 Cooper, Amari WR Out of the Shadows
5 59 Gibbs, Jahmyr RB Out of the Shadows
6 62 Williams, Javonte RB Out of the Shadows
7 83 White, Rachaad FLEX Out of the Shadows
8 86 Flowers, Zay WR Out of the Shadows
9 107 Burks, Treylon WR Out of the Shadows
10 110 Purdy, Brock QB Out of the Shadows
11 131 Mostert, Raheem RB Out of the Shadows
12 134 Achane, De'Von RB Out of the Shadows
13 155 Smith, Irv TE Out of the Shadows
14 158 Allgeier, Tyler RB Out of the Shadows
15 179 Ridder, Desmond QB Out of the Shadows
16 182 Conklin, Tyler TE Out of the Shadows
17 203 Lions, Detroit TDSP Out of the Shadows
18 206 Henry, Hunter TE Out of the Shadows
19 227 Bengals, Cincinnati TK Out of the Shadows
20 230 Falcons, Atlanta TK Out of the Shadows
21 251 Dolphins, Miami TK Out of the Shadows
22 254 Falcons, Atlanta TDSP Out of the Shadows
23 275 Nacua, Puka WR Out of the Shadows
24 278 Bears, Chicago TDSP Out of the Shadows
25 299 Claypool, Chase WR Out of the Shadows
26 302 Robinson, Allen WR Out of the Shadows

[Greg Ambrosius]

NFFC Hall of Famer Derek "Lumpy" Anderson was ecstatic to learn that we were adding a second NFFC 12-Team Kickoff Gridiron League because he used to be in both the 14-Team Kickoff Gridiron League AND the other 12-Team Kickoff Gridiron League. But all of those owners return each year, so a new one was needed to get more folks into this great format.

This draft was held Friday evening at Park MGM. Lumpy's Loser Gridiron team jumped from third place to second place in Week 16 by scoring 219.95 points and it then passed Craig Bernes for the title in Week 17 with 211.75 points. He won the league title and five weekly prizes thanks to having the high point total in Weeks 16 and 17. Craig Bernes finished 34.3 points behind Lumpy to win $2,800 for his runner-up finish, while Kirby Morgenstern finished third to win $1,500. Six different players won weekly prizes during the season. Great job everyone and let's do this one again in 2024.

Here's the final standings and the weekly winners:

NFFC Las Vegas Sept. 8th 12-Team Kickoff Gridiron League Standings:
Rank Owner Team Points
1 Derek Anderson Lumpys Losers Gridiron 2,972.35
2 Craig Bernes Fookin Koontz 2,938.05
3 Kirby Morgenstern Eli_Morgy_Gridiron 2,878.15
4 DAVID QUEENER David Queener 2,783.05
5 Paul Spiteri Mile High Club Kickoff 2,767.80
6 JUSTIN PIERCE ARSENAL 2,765.45

NFFC Las Vegas Sept. 8th 12-Team Kickoff Gridiron League 2 Weekly Winners:
Week 1 - Craig Bernes, 193.40 points
Week 2 - Derek Anderson, 207.50 points
Week 3 - Derek Anderson, 250.8 points
Week 4 - Paul Spiteri 243.45 points
Week 5 - Kirby Morgenstern 232.7 points
Week 6 - Craig Bernes 175.8 points
Week 7 - Kirby Morgenstern 228.4 points
Week 8 - Kirby Morgenstern 203 points
Week 9 - Derek Anderson 182.75 points
Week 10 - Justin Pierce 183.85 points
Week 11 - Justin Pierce 179.8 points
Week 12 - David Queener 193.8 points
Week 13 - Justin Pierce 172.85 points
Week 14 - Kirby Morgenstern 195.65 points
Week 15 - Kirby Morgenstern 190.2 points
Week 16 - Derek Anderson 219.95 points
Week 17 - Derek Anderson 211.75 points

[Greg Ambrosius]

This was Chris Eibl's third title over the last five years in the NFFC 14-Team Kickoff Gridiron League as he also won this title in 2019 and 2020. This was Scott Stauffer's and Lumpy Anderson's first title in the NFFC 12-Team Kickoff Gridiron League. Here's the list of champions from these two great best ball leagues:

NFFC 14-Team Kickoff Gridiron League Champions:
2023 - Chris Eibl
2022 - Wayne Ellis
2021 - Ramon Valentin
2020 - Chris Eibl
2019 - Chris Eibl
2018 - Wayne Ellis
2017 - Michael Cole
2016 - Mark Moyer
2015 - KJ Duke
2014 - Mark Moyer
2013 - John Rozek
2012 - Shawn Childs & Chris Schinker

NFFC 12-Team Kickoff Gridiron League Champions:
2023 Scott Stauffer
2023 - Derek Anderson
2022 - Kenny Stratton
2021 - KJ Duke
2020 - Mark Moyer
2019 - Billy Wasosky
2018 - Glenn Lowy
2018 - Matt Shepherd
2017 - Billy Wasosky

[Greg Ambrosius]

Lumpy also sat back in the bidding for draft spots and took CeeDee Lamb in Round 1 and took the 11th spot in Round 2 to land Chris Olave. He held the No. 2 pick the rest of the way. Here were his draft results:

Lumpys Losers Gridiron:
1 2 Lamb, CeeDee WR Lumpys Losers Gridiron
2 23 Olave, Chris WR Lumpys Losers Gridiron
3 35 Allen, Keenan WR Lumpys Losers Gridiron
4 38 Cooper, Amari FLEX Lumpys Losers Gridiron
5 59 Akers, Cam RB Lumpys Losers Gridiron
6 62 White, Rachaad RB Lumpys Losers Gridiron
7 83 Sanders, Miles RB Lumpys Losers Gridiron
8 86 Pacheco, Isiah RB Lumpys Losers Gridiron
9 107 Carr, Derek QB Lumpys Losers Gridiron
10 110 Pickett, Kenny QB Lumpys Losers Gridiron
11 131 Higbee, Tyler TE Lumpys Losers Gridiron
12 134 Young, Bryce QB Lumpys Losers Gridiron
13 155 Johnson, Juwan TE Lumpys Losers Gridiron
14 158 Thielen, Adam WR Lumpys Losers Gridiron
15 179 Steelers, Pittsburgh TDSP Lumpys Losers Gridiron
16 182 Bills, Buffalo TDSP Lumpys Losers Gridiron
17 203 Smith, Irv TE Lumpys Losers Gridiron
18 206 Raiders, Las Vegas TK Lumpys Losers Gridiron
19 227 Henry, Hunter TE Lumpys Losers Gridiron
20 230 Pierce, Alec WR Lumpys Losers Gridiron
21 251 Colts, Indianapolis TK Lumpys Losers Gridiron
22 254 Williams, Kyren RB Lumpys Losers Gridiron
23 275 Cardinals, Arizona TDSP Lumpys Losers Gridiron
24 278 Titans, Tennessee TK Lumpys Losers Gridiron
25 299 Wilson, Jeff RB Lumpys Losers Gridiron
26 302 Fournette, Leonard RB Lumpys Losers Gridiron

[eliasond]

Correction -- the new 12-team gridiron league was held on Friday night. Kirby and I are probably in again if it is on Friday night. If it is moved to Thursday night we'll have to see, as our flight doesn't always get in by then.

[lumpy463]

We actually won five total weeks
We won week 2 not Queener

Derek "Lumpy" Anderson