Goodbyes are never easy.
That truism extends to the realm of fantasy football. Weeks 4-10 of the NFL season pepper fantasy rosters with frustrating “byes,” leaving fantasy managers with holes to fill on an almost weekly basis. Nowhere is the sting of a bye week more sharply felt than in the Liga Guadalupe. With only one bench spot to stash that star player on a bye week, we are often left with an agonising choice: (1) drop some bigger-name players on their bye week and hope to pick them up again off waivers or (2) start a less-than-full roster.
To help counter the temptation to stockpile talent through bye weeks, I began offering increased weekly bonuses to teams who start a full roster during weeks 4-10. This year, the stakes are even higher.
Here’s how it works . . .
effective weeks 1-16
weeks 1-16
The weekly reward is pretty simple: start a full roster (11 players) and receive your reward ($11). If you don’t start a full roster, your $11 will go into “the pot,” and will wind up going to whoever wins the best of the worst award that week.
effective weeks 4-10
weeks 4-10
These weeks, at least four NFL teams are on “bye,” meaning they don’t play that week. Weeks 8 and 9 are particularly problematic, as six teams are on bye.
The goodbye bonus awards take this into account, as they scale according to the number of teams on bye:
N × M = A
- N = NFL byes
- M = multiplier
- A = award
The base amount for the multiplier is $13. Therefore, the base award amounts for weeks 4-10:
| week | n | × | m | = | a | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 4 | × | $13 | = | $52 | |
| 5 | 4 | × | $13 | = | $52 | |
| 6 | 4 | × | $13 | = | $52 | |
| 7 | 4 | × | $13 | = | $52 | |
| 8 | 6 | × | $13 | = | $78 | |
| 9 | 6 | × | $13 | = | $78 | |
| 10 | 4 | × | $13 | = | $52 |
effective weeks 4-13
weeks 4-13
As I mentioned above, the base value of M is $13. This value can increase with the addition of a streaker bonus, to reward a streak of consecutive goodbyes.
The full value of M, then:
M = ( B + F )
- M = multiplier
- B = base amount ($13)
- F = Fibonacci streaker bonus (the type of streaker in play here).
The Fibonacci sequence, which I will address in more detail at a later date, is built on the simple rule that each number is the sum of the two previous numbers. By rule, the sequence starts with 0, 1; so the first 10 numbers are:
0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34 . . .
Incorporating the streaker bonus, the goodbye bonus awards look something like this:
| week | n | × | ( | b | + | f | ) | = | a | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 4 | × | ( | $13 | + | $0 | ) | = | $52 | |
| 5 | 4 | × | ( | $13 | + | $1 | ) | = | $56 | |
| 6 | 4 | × | ( | $13 | + | $1 | ) | = | $56 | |
| 7 | 4 | × | ( | $13 | + | $2 | ) | = | $60 | |
| 8 | 6 | × | ( | $13 | + | $3 | ) | = | $96 | |
| 9 | 6 | × | ( | $13 | + | $5 | ) | = | $108 | |
| 10 | 4 | × | ( | $13 | + | $8 | ) | = | $84 |
Pretty cool.
Although the goodbye bonus awards only run through week 10, the Fibonacci streaker bonus runs through the end of the regular season — week 13. For weeks 11-13, F is simply added to R (the $11 weekly reward). Assuming a full streak (starting in week 4), here’s what that looks like weeks 11-13:
| week | f | + | r | = | faab | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | $13 | + | $11 | = | $24 | |
| 12 | $21 | + | $11 | = | $32 | |
| 13 | $34 | + | $11 | = | $45 |
putting it all together
I omitted R (the weekly reward) from the first two tables, but remember that the weekly reward runs weeks 1-16. To put it all together, then, here’s what your FAAB (total income) would look like if you started a full roster all season long:
| week | n | b | f | r | faab | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $11 | = | $11 | |||||||||
| 2 | $11 | = | $11 | |||||||||
| 3 | $11 | = | $11 | |||||||||
| 4 | 4 | × | ( | $13 | + | $0 | ) | + | $11 | = | $63 | |
| 5 | 4 | × | ( | $13 | + | $1 | ) | + | $11 | = | $67 | |
| 6 | 4 | × | ( | $13 | + | $1 | ) | + | $11 | = | $67 | |
| 7 | 4 | × | ( | $13 | + | $2 | ) | + | $11 | = | $71 | |
| 8 | 6 | × | ( | $13 | + | $3 | ) | + | $11 | = | $107 | |
| 9 | 6 | × | ( | $13 | + | $5 | ) | + | $11 | = | $119 | |
| 10 | 4 | × | ( | $13 | + | $8 | ) | + | $11 | = | $95 | |
| 11 | $13 | + | $11 | = | $24 | |||||||
| 12 | $21 | + | $11 | = | $32 | |||||||
| 13 | $34 | + | $11 | = | $45 |
Pretty cool.
. . . it's alright.
don’t think twice . . .
The choice, of course, is up to you, my beloved Liga. Every add or drop, start or bench, waiver bid or trade — they’re all calculated risks. I’m just here to fill you in on the calculations behind the FAAB income you may (or may not) be entitled to.
If you, like the freewheelin’ Bob Dylan of 1963, feel that goodbye is too good a word . . . well, go ahead and leave those roster slots empty; I’ll just say: “fare thee well.”
-Prof.
