BOSTON - Let me present the worst position in all of sport and that is the job of the Fantasy Football League Commissioner in the year of our Lord 2020. There is no worse occupation and we’re only six weeks into the NFL season.
In most cases, the job as a Fantasy Football Commish is a volunteer position. In days of yesteryear, when scores were kept by hand and results were faxed or emailed, a Fantasy Football Commissioner was sometimes afforded a “free franchise,” a savings of modest league fees. As the fantasy football league technology progressed online, the Commissioner’s role was eased to that of draft organizer, new franchise finder, old franchise liaison to assure continuity, money collector and occasional rules enforcer. Not too shabby a deal if it saved an entry fee.
But, as the technology improved and most league issues were resolved online by “the system,” most Fantasy Football Commissioners paid their franchise fee along with the rest of us. Call it progress.
The good news is that many a league would go two or three seasons without an incident that would require the Commissioner’s attention. There might be the need to pressure a non-paying franchise or two with debt collection, threatening a week of frozen line-ups and no transactions (a fate worst than death during the bye weeks of the NFL season).
Those tasks pale in comparison to days long ago when arguments would arise, friendships placed in peril, all because of a never, ever contemplated set of circumstances that would inevitably arise during an NFL season and no rule was in place. In those situations, it was usually a 50-50 ball and the acting commish couldn't win with his ruling. He (or she) would inevitably rule against one friend in the league and jeopardize long-standing friendships or considerable amounts of moolah.
Ties? (usually broken by cumulative points)
Illegal pick-ups without a proper drop? (usually the loss of the player being acquired)
Overall standings or power rankings for playoff qualification? (our league does this)
The list goes on and on and the “big” decisions would fall in the lap of the commish like strategic decisions to be made in the White House Situation Room.
Sometimes, the job of a good Fantasy Football Commissioner would be to act as a sounding board or therapist for a fellow owner who had his/her club decimated by injury. Good commissioners would listen to a team owner complain about his injury woes to the likes of RB Nick Chubb or QB Dak Prescott even though the Commish, himself, had lost RB No. 2 Saquan Barkley or RB No. 1 Christian McCaffrey earlier in the season.
At other times, good fantasy commissioners simply anticipated problems and inserted new league rules (sometimes by chairing a full vote of league franchise owners in the preseason).
And that brings us to Fantasy Football in 2020, the dreaded Season of Coronavirus (COVID-19).
In advance of this season, a league known as the SWFL, frequented by many of us for decades gone by, inserted a few smart, preemptive new rules that included:
Reducing the $ buy-in (anticipating trouble and lessening the stakes)
Allowing four QBs rather than our league agreed max limit of three.
Adding an extra Injured List spot.
All of those rules have already proven worthy.
Then?
The COVID+ tests began to mount. Players sat out, games missed, games moved, switching bye weeks, switching schedules, bad/short turn-arounds, team bye early, thus increasing the chance of injuries later in the season, the uncertainty of whether a game would even be played (i.e. Buffalo vs Tennessee last week).
One famous fantasy commissioner, namely Matthew Berry of ESPN, noted that his decision as a fantasy league commish in two leagues he chairs was to allow franchise owners to designate an “alternate/back-up” player - sent to him in advance of the weekly games - to be inserted in case a usual starter was sidelined because of something related to the virus.
The challenges continue this week.
The Indianapolis Colts shutdown their practice facility Friday morning but re-opened Friday afternoon after the COVID+ tests were determined to be “false positives.” Meanwhile, the New England Patriots - who’ve experienced problems for consecutive weeks - were happy to have QB Cam Newton back after his positive tests and bout with the virus only to have more players and team personnel test positive again.
The Patriots’ schedule called for a game today against the Denver Broncos in a contest that was originally scheduled for Week 5, which seems like a year ago but is only seven days or so.
On Thursday, the Atlanta Falcons closed down camp after positive tests putting their game today against the Minnesota Vikings in doubt. But, low and behold, Falcons camp opened again Friday.
Saturday, it was the Jacksonville Jaguars with a COVID+ test and facility close-down. As of pastime, it seems the NFL is all systems “go” on that one. “Go” figure.
Of course, the Tennessee Titans seemed to be in the worst possible position as COVID+ tests closed down practices and all club activities for 16 fun-filled days only to see them return to play their best game of the season, a 42-16 thrashing of Buffalo. In that game, fantasy football owners were considering the benching of stars like RB Derrick Henry of the Titans or WR Stefon Diggs of the Bills. Many sat Henry and paid dearly for it.
In that situation, all a Commish could do was the same as what the “real” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell did, and that was to hope for the best and that the players remain safe and healthy while we watch from the couch.
For your entertainment: