There is absolutely no question that the biggest area of growth right now in fantasy football is with the explosion of Daily Fantasy Contests. With several top sites out there already and more entering this space each day, Footballguys is expanding the coverage in this arena to give Footballguys Insiders exclusive coverage of the latest news and information of Daily Fantasy Football.
Over the course of this football season, we will talk about numerous aspects of Daily Fantasy Football. From articles on these sites, strategies to win daily contests, bankroll (money management) strategy, different league and game types, signup and reload bonuses, players to target each week and even contests that look to be undersubscribed ("overlays"), we will cover it all. Welcome to the one-stop shop for Daily coverage.
Please note that even though the NFL has weekly Thursday games and DFS sites have contests that start on Thursdays, in general we will be looking at the majority of the contests and DFS games that do not begin until Sunday. Our weekly coverage does include Thursday DFS information if you are looking to get a jump on the DFS action for the week with the first game on Thursday.
DFS LESSON OF THE WEEK - FLEX SPOT MANAGEMENT
Some DFS sites like DraftKings allow you to use a flex spot in your lineup. You can insert a running back, wide receiver or even a tight end into this extra lineup position, but not everyone knows how to fully utilize the flexibility that this offers to DFS players. Allow me to illustrate with an example from last Monday night. I was in a head-to-head battle and trailing my opponent by three points (See Figure 1).
Figure 1 - Flex Spot Management in Head-to-Head Contests
By looking at both my lineup and his, I could see that we each had one player to go. I had mine in the flex spot, but he had his as a running back in his roster. That leads me to Lesson #1 for managing a Flex Spot:
Lesson #1 – Always use the flex spot for the last player in chronological order, if possible.
What that means is if you are going to use a third RB in your lineup, leave that 3rd RB for your flex spot – and decide which RB is your third based on how late his game kicks off. By putting my 3rd RB (Le’Veon Bell) in my flex spot, I could make roster changes all the way until Monday afternoon before Bell’s game kicks off.
So back to my example. My opponent had a running back spot left in his roster with the name of the player hidden until kickoff, but with a little math I figured out he had Le’Veon Bell in that spot too.
Figure 2 - Finding Salaries of Players
By clicking on all the players in his roster (See Figure 2), I can see their salaries and calculate how much he had left to spend for his running back – just enough for Bell, but not enough for Arian Foster. That told me I had to change my flex player, even though I liked Bell a lot against the Texans. Why? If I didn’t, the outcome would be the same as it was before Monday Night Football – a 3-point loss to my opponent. I could not possibly beat him unless I used someone else. So I took a risk and went with Andre Johnson instead of Bell, which brings up Lessons #2 and #3 about the Flex Spot:
Lesson #2 – By using your last player (in chronological order), you have the opportunity to make a change before that game kicks off
Lesson #3 – By using the most expensive last player you can, you have salary cap room to change to another player.
By using Bell as my flex, I could afford several wide receivers and tight ends if I wanted to make the change that I needed to make. Only Foster and Antonio Brown were off the table as choices. Now, I knew that Bell was the better play, but I could tell that I was facing a 0% chance of winning this matchup if I used Bell and any other player than Bell would give me a shot. I took it and it did not work out, but just like hitting on 16 in Blackjack against a dealer, sometimes the right play does not work out – but it does not change the fact that it was the right play.
INDUSTRY NEWS
Big Prizes Keep On Coming
Both FanDuel and DraftKings continue to increase their big prizes. This week, FanDuel's top GPP contest is up to $2.5M, while DraftKings continues with its $2.2Million weekly contest that awards $1Million to the top winner. Week after week, both of these sites continue to advertise and promote these contests as they see the Daily Fantasy Sports world continuing to grow. Both want to acquire as many new users as possible, and these big Guaranteed Prize Pool contests - even if they do not completely fill up - are viewed as worth the investment to get FanDuel and DraftKings out in front of the competition. FanDuel's payouts for major contests is not as top heavy as DraftKings (DraftKings is giving out $1M to first place, almost half of the prize pool, whereas FanDuel gives out just 20% of the prizes to first place), but with additional money added to the prize pool, the value continues to increase to play in these contests, even before considering the possibility of an overlay situation with so many entries avaialable. Both of these major contests (among others) can be found later in this article.
Terrell Owens Endorses Draftster
Never one to shy away from publicity, Terrell Owens has aligned himself with Draftster.com, a DFS site that is still growing its following. Here is an excerpt from Draftster's press release:
[Terrell Owens] has signed a sponsorship deal with Draftster.com, a leading daily fantasy sports platform. This endorsement deal further confirms the attraction of professional athletes to this relatively new sector.
"We are very excited and proud to be working with a player the caliber of Terrell Owens. He has an edge that fans relate to and players are going to love having the opportunity to engage and challenge him in our contests," said David Peterson, Draftster, CEO.
According to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association (FSTA), 32 million Americans spend $467 per-person or about $15 billion in total playing. Of that, roughly $11 billion is spent on football. That is a 13% gain from IPSO Public Affairs' 2013 study.
"I'm very excited about joining the Draftster family. I spent a lot of time researching DFS platforms and can say they offer the best user experience I've seen," said Terrell Owens. "I am really looking forward to challenging other players and expect to keep my name (terrellowens) in the top of the standings."
"Athletes are the sole reason professional sports exist. Having them as an integral part of the Draftster experience is both a strategic decision and an issue of quality for us. We have great things planned and we're stacking our decks for success," commented Peterson.
Another Major Live Event - Fantasy Aces
Another major event in the DFS space is highlighted here with the FAFC (Fantasy Aces Football Championship) Live Event, which will take place on November 23rd. This is a remarkable event with a big prize pool, and all of it is available at the $109 entry fee. All 13 Fantasy Aces members who qualify will win the trip and a cash prize of at least $1,500, with a shot at the top cash prize of $40,000. Here are the details:
- 13 Fantasy Aces members will be flown out to Southern California for an all expense 2-night stay and compete in the $100,000 Aces Daily Fantasy Football Championship on November 23rd.
- 2 Night Stay at the beautiful Balboa Bay Resort in Newport Beach, CA (November 22nd - 23rd)
- Saturday Night Pre-Game Kickoff Yacht Cocktail Party on the Mojo (100ft Yacht)
- The Main Event - $100,000 Championship Party at American Junkie in Newport Beach, CA
- Include a plus 1 (pay for the cost of the flight and we will reimburse the costs via site credit)
Read all of the details and join here:
ON THE DAILY AND INTERACTIVE VALUE CHARTS
Footballguys' own Maurile Tremblay does not just do projections for Footballguys - oh no, far from it. One of the best innovations that he has provided since last year is his "On the Daily" column, where he takes his projections, David Dodds' projections, and Sigmund Bloom's projections and provides recommended optimal lineups for five major DFS sites (FanDuel, DraftKings, DraftDay, FantasyAces, FantasyFeud) based on those projections. How cool is that?
But what if you want to play at other sites or build your own lineup (or multiple lineups)? Once again, Maurile has you covered. He has provided interactive value chart pages where you can click on each player, sort by position, salary and value (points per $10K) to craft your own custom team. All of the links for these are provided below in our Daily Content on Footballguys table plus they appear weekly on Footballguys' weekly home page.
But wait - there's more! Maurile went even further by adding the ability to partially fill out a lineup and have the tool fill in the rest of your roster. From Maurile himself:
How cool is that?
DAILY CONTENT AROUND FOOTBALLGUYS.COM
NFL WEEK 8
Two weeks down for the NFL season, and we have had some big, big contests in DFS so far - and the fun continues. Let's dig into some of the big contests out there. If there are any that I miss, please drop me an email (pasquino@footballguys.com) and I will update this article.
FANDUEL - WEEK 8 BIG CONTESTS
All of these contests can be found in the lobby at FanDuel.
FanDuel Presents the Playboy Championship
This year our friends at FanDuel are offering you the chance to go on the trip of a lifetime to the world famous Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles! You and 75 finalists will compete for $1,000,000 in prizes, including a $150,000 first place prize as you sit poolside with Hef at this year’s hottest fantasy football event.
Not only that, they’ll be running contests for 25 additional trip-only packages to maximize your chances of getting in on this exclusive party. That’s 100 chances to win!
Qualifiers start at only $5 to enter, seats to this epic event will be going fast, so enter one of the qualifiers and punch your ticket now!
Click to enter PFC $5 Qualifier
Click to enter PFC $50 Qualifier
Click to enter PFC $535 Qualifier
DRAFTKINGS - WEEK 8 BIG CONTESTS
Are you interested in winning $1 Million Dollars in a single week? DraftKings hopes that you are.
NFL $2.2M Millionaire Maker - $1,000,000 to First Place. Welcome to the second edition of the $2,200,000 guaranteed Millionaire Maker, where you can turn $27 into $1 Million! Over the past three weeks, the Millionaire Maker has paid out $1 Million to first place, and DraftKings is doing it again this week. First place will become an instant millionaire, and over 15,000 spots are paid out in total. Multiple lineups per player are permitted. Will you be this season's next millionaire? Enter now!
NFL Sunday 300 Grand. $300,000 in total prizes. $200 to enter. Up to 1,667 entries with the top 350 getting a payout. $50,000 to first.
World's Biggest $50 50/50 - This 2,224-player contest boasts a $100,080 prize pool and pays out the top 1,112 finishing positions. All winners earn $90. Good luck!
World's Biggest $20 50/50 - This 5,556-player contest boasts a $100,008 prize pool and pays out the top 2,778 finishing positions. All winners earn $36. Good luck!
World's Biggest $10 50/50 - This 11,112-player contest boasts a $100,008 prize pool and pays out the top 5,556 finishing positions. All winners earn $18. Good luck!
Note from Jeff Pasquino: As of Thursday afternoon, all of these contests were less than 50% full. Keep in mind that this is a guaranteed prize, so there is definitely an opportunity here for a large overlay situation. Watch these closely, all the way to Sunday morning.
Future Big Contests:
"Four months, SEVEN millionaires": Seven contests where the top winner will win at least $1 Million. Weeks 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 15 and 16 of the NFL season. Direct entry is $27, but you can earn your way in for as little as a quarter - yes, $0.25. (Odds are certainly much steeper at $0.25 vs. $27, but hard to get more action for a quarter!).
Questions, suggestions and comments are always welcome to pasquino@footballguys.com.