Salary Cap Draft Strategy

Salary Cap (Auction) Draft Strategy- Updated for 2021 

If you haven’t done a salary cap draft, previously referred to as an auction draft, you haven’t experienced one the greatest aspects of fantasy sports. Better yet, a live salary cap draft. There’s nothing like it. Those words isn’t a knock on our typical snake drafts, rather a call for the salary cap to become the “standard”. Chances are, it won’t catch on the way it should, and that is primarily because of time. Everyone is busy and there is no doubt that auctions take a while to complete. With that said, have you been in a league where your draft order is randomized and you could very well win or lose your draft because you drew a poor draft slot? Of course you have. We all have. You love Christian McCaffrey, but there is no way you’ll get him by picking 11th. That is one of the beauties of a a salary cap draft. You want CMC? Alvin Kamara? How about both? In a salary cap draft, you aren’t limited as to who is available to you. The aforementioned players will be there for you if you desire. And yes, you actually could draft both of them without offering up a handful of 1st round picks to your friends.

“Too much work”. “I don’t know how to do a salary cap draft” These are often some phrases I hear by those not in the salary cap atmosphere. You can prepare for a salary cap league just like every other draft you prepare for. Almost every major site offers mock drafts in this format. Use this one here for example. So how do you go about a SC draft?

• Have a strategy; Whatever that may be…. You go into a snake draft with a strategy, so do the same with this draft. I’m not going to preach the right or wrong strategy to have, because well, there just isn’t one that guarantees success more than the others. However, there are strategies to go by, and when you find one that you like best, stick to it during the draft.

• • • Stars and “the rest”: This is one strategy that is often followed. This strategy means that you are spending 60-75% of your entire budget on 3 “main” guys. Three stars. As mentioned earlier, you want CMC and Kamara? Go ahead and take them. Throw in Justin Jefferson while you’re at it. Working under the 12-team, $200 budget, (18 roster spots) let’s assume you spent $65 on CMC, $60 on Kamara and $25 on Jefferson. That brings you to $150, or 75% of your budget. You would then have $50 remaining to fill out the rest of your roster (about $3 a player). This does work. You have your three stars and the rest is going to be…well, the rest. The problem with this strategy is you aren’t going to be able to get those “steals” later on in the draft. Most teams are going to be able to out-bid you for some other players you might want. In addition, if there is an injury to one of those guys, you’re going to have to rely heavily on the waiver wire, and even then, it could cripple your team. Other forms of this that I’ve seen used: 50-80% of total budget on 2-4 players (50% on 2, 80% on 4). Would you rather have CMC, Kamara, Jefferson and Jefferson, or CMC, Kamara, Higgins and Deebo Samuel? The latter represents 4 players at 80% of entire budget.

• Spread the wealth: If going heavy on the stars isn’t your thing, then go ahead and spread your money around. Eighteen players with $200 to spend, gives you an average of $11 per player. Taking out $2 for a kicker and a defense (Hopefully your league doesn’t use kickers though), leaves you with an average of $12 a player. A few bucks here for a quarterback and tight end, and now you could be looking at $13 a player for the remaining 14 spots. Chances are you aren’t spending 11,12 or 13 dollars on every player. Some more, and some less, but you could see where I’m going with this. Without going too high on any one or two players, you’ll be able to roster a team that has good depth, and unlike the “stars” approach, you’ll be able to deal with injuries in a much more comfortable way.   

• • Patience: If your plan is to fill the roster using one of the models mentioned above, don’t get over anxious if these top guys aren’t being nominated as quickly as you’d like. The same can be said about overspending on a player that perhaps you like, but doesn’t necessarily fit into the “star” category. Depending on when a player is nominated, often times will dictate their value. Salary Cap values  are great to have, but they are also just used as reference. If you don’t like our cheat sheets or anyone else’s, you could always make your own.
  • Don’t hold your cheat sheet as the be-all-end-all. As I previously said, use them as a guide and a guide only. Don’t look at your sheet and say “well it says here that player x is valued at $14 and now he’s at $15, so I’ll pass” That would be silly. Give yourself and your sheets a little leeway. Come up with your own price that you’re willing to spend for each player, or even make a range that you would be willing to go to.

Be ready to adjust your strategy at any time. Perhaps planning on having two separate strategies is a good idea. More of a..”if this happens, then I’ll do this” type of thing. Salary Cap drafts require time. Not just the actual draft, but the preparation for it.

Sample Rosters:

• Setting a budget: Set a budget based on each position. You want to spend 40% on RB’s, 40% on WR’s, 10% on your quarterback and the remaining 10% on tight end, defense, and kicker (if your league is still old school and uses kickers). If that’s what you prefer to do, then do it, but make sure you stick to it (again, leave a little leeway for yourself) I’m not going to say what exactly your positional budget should be. That is up to you. However, I do recommend spending the majority of your money on running backs and wide receivers. There will always be good value at the quarterback position late in the draft, and it’s just not very wise to use so much of a budget on a player such as Kittle or Kelce. As your grandparents probably have said to you when they sneak you some cash: “spend it wisely”.

• Know when “enough is enough”:  This goes along with setting your budget. I’ve already mentioned to give yourself some leeway, but that doesn’t mean to bid $30 for a player that you feel is worth $10. You’ll get the sense when the bidding is going too high for your liking. Trust me, you’ll feel it in your stomach!

• Keep track of your funds:  I should probably include that of your league mates as well. This becomes crucial towards the end of the draft when everyone is finishing out their rosters. Don’t be the person that bids $4 for someone when the maximum you can spend is $3. If you need 3 players and only have $5 remaining, well you need to know that the most you can spend on any ONE player is $3. I recommend creating an excel spreadsheet, or finding one already created, that will keep track of this information for you.

• Nominating players: The common method of nominating a player, is to nominate players that you do not want. I’m fine with this in relation to the heavy hitters that you know are going to be expensive, and you are sure you do not want them. Let the other owners use the majority of their funds, while you sit back and wait for your “guys”. You will see how quickly certain people are to keep bidding, and those that look stressed as they look at their laptops while raising their hand at the count of “going twice”. Both of these types of bidders want that player. The one who is quick most likely will keep bidding until he wins the player, and the one who is slow in his bid, also wants the player, but only at a certain price. Don’t be afraid to throw your name in the mix to drive the bidding up. Could this backfire on you if you don’t know when to stop? Of course it can, but on the bright side, you will get left with most likely a good player. However, in the middle and latter part of the draft, I would change practices. I would recommend doing this when there are at least 3-4 “top” players still available. You just may be able to get the guy you want at a discounted rate because the others will want to save their funds for the remaining stars. This is also where if you have a particular “sleeper” in mind, go ahead and throw him out there. In addition, keep your opponents guessing. Since most people nominate players they don’t want, go ahead and nominate someone you do. They’ll think you don’t want the player (because you nominated them) and that is when you jump in towards the end of the bidding.

• • • You want Dalvin Cook (this is just an example)? Feel free to nominate, and win the bidding for Alexander Mattison before Cook is even nominated. This could actually shy people away from a certain player (Cook-example) if they know they can’t get his handcuff later on.

• Other tips:

• • • If doing a live auction draft, set aside at least 4 hours of drafting time.
    • With drafts that long, it’s hard not to take breaks. Just limit the breaks you take. It is important however, to take a few times during the draft to make sure everyone is on the same page as far as players drafted and for how much money (or how much remaining).
    • Don’t spend more than $1 on kickers or a defense. I shouldn’t have to say anything else about that.
    • Speaking of kickers (and I would rather not). It’s fine if you nominate a kicker (yes even the #1 ranked) very early in the draft. Even as your first nomination. If someone is going to outbid you for a kicker, then let them!
    • If there is a player or sleeper that you really love, go ahead and set aside a few extra bucks for them. Even if that means exceeding his value.
    • If you are in a league with the same group of people, look back at past auctions to find a history of the value of players and how league-mates like to draft. There is a history there, so find it. If you’re new to a league, ask someone for the previous year’s auction results. If they don’t give it to you, shame on them.
    • Assuming you are following a $1 minimum bid, that should be where you start when nominating a player. Although, when it comes to the top running backs and wide receivers, speed the process up by bidding at least $5-10. The draft is long enough, and you aren’t getting Derek Henry for $1.
    • Pay attention to how other owners are bidding. If you see a bidding war going strong for a particular player at a certain position, find a player better at the same position to nominate next.
    • Read the bidding: If you have a certain price you are willing to pay for a particular player, and notice the other bids are starting to slow down before your your price is met, jump on there and take the guy!
    • Have player tiers. If you set your strategy to where you want a player in the first tier of his position, and they are all gone except for one, you are either going to be forced to overspend or miss out on that player. This is a mistake that I have often made myself. Don’t get picky, and don’t wait for the last player of that tier. These guys often times will go for the most money.

• Stay Calm: If you are the only one left without a single roster spot filled, while others have two or even three filled, don’t worry about it. All that means is that you have all your money remaining and they probably spent a good portion already. There is a lot of good value to be had with what you have left.  

• • In snake drafts, you can take a bathroom break whenever it is not your turn, and you know when your turn is coming up. Salary cap drafts not so much. It is always your turn! You need to be present and paying attention at all times.