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Last year the NFBC offered five National Championship contests and we sold out four of them. They included the NFBC Main Event, the Rotowire Online Championship, the NFBC Auction Championship and the Draft Champions National Championship. All four are on the docket for 2016 with plans to grow each.

The wild card for 2016 is the NFBC Primetime, our 12-team national contest that hasn't found a sweet spot since we introduced it in 2010. We'll take some of the blame because we have bounced the entry fee for this contest from $500 to $750 to $1,000 to $1,600, while doing everything from making it part of the Online Championship to a stand-alone contest with a $100,000 grand prize. We have yet to sell this one out and last year we struggled the most with this format, selling only 204 teams when prizes were based on 300 teams.

So now it's time to either cut bait on the format or revise it once again. Last year's format can't be rolled out again. It's obvious that our players aren't interested in a 15-team Main Event at $1,600 per team and a 12-team Main Event at $1,600 per team. We're fighting ourselves here, unfortunately, and it's time to revise the format.

So let's find a way to keep some of the Primetime with us, while changing it enough to appeal to more of our players. How do we do that? Work on the price. Work on the prizes. Work on the live event aspect.

Gone is the $1,600 entry fee. Let's replace it with a $750 entry.

Let's make the league prizes the primary focus. Last year you paid $1,600 for a chance to win $6,000. How about $750 for a shot at $4,000? That's a very nice top league prize at more than 5 times entry (5.33%). Second place will be $1,950, again a nice payback for finishing second.

Last year's grand prize was $80,000, but we promised less than 300 teams. This year we will make this part of the Rotowire Online Championship grand prize and guarantee a $100,000 grand prize. In fact, this format will be called the Rotowire Online Championship PLUS. Each league generates $1,260 towards the overall prize pool, so nothing is different other than the league prizes. Same rules, same online drafts, same FAAB, same everything except for bigger entry fee and much bigger league prizes in the Online Championship Plus.

As for Live Drafts, we will host these in Las Vegas and they will all be held in our private Bellagio Penthouse Suite. Those who drafted upstairs last year saw the local league atmosphere we had up there and it's the only way to do this at this price point. We will offer the Online Championship Plus in Las Vegas both weekends upstairs in our suites and we'll likely offer one in Chicago on Saturday night without all of the amenities. And then we'll scatter these throughout the season online. I think there will be demand for these Online with a $4,000 league prize.

Hope this makes sense. Here's the details again:

Rotowire Fantasy Baseball Online Championship PLUS
12 team leagues (Online and Live in LV)
30 Rounds
$750 Entry

League Prizes:
1st - $4,000
2nd - $1,950

Overall Prizes:
1st - $100,000 (payouts through Top 25)

The initial thought is a prize pool based on 1,800 teams. We had 1,500 Online Championship teams last year and we believe we can fill another 20 leagues with the Online Championship PLUS. If we grow both formats, everyone wins.

I know there will be some disappointment from owners who loved two different national contests. The timing is also unfortunate because this year Chad Schroeder proved that the $75,000 bonus is attainable in these two separate formats. And not everyone will want more teams in the Online Championship.

But I think we have a chance to make the Online Championship special and grow that grand prize to six figures, while still offering nice league prizes. And this is a way to get people to try our live events in Las Vegas at a very affordable price point. No way we could do that downstairs and with an additional overall prize pool. For those who already come to our live events and take a Main Event, this is an affordable option to add another contest, with the shot at winning nice league prizes and a $100,000 grand prize.

This really shouldn't be confusing as it's just one contest with two price points, something we already do in the Auction Championship and the NFBC Draft Champions National Championship.

Let me know what you think and I look forward to your feedback. Again, the contest page would look similar to this:

Rotowire Online Championship PLUS

Game Information
Number of teams per league: 12
Cost Per Entry: $750

Prize Table (overall prizes are tentative)
Place Overall League
1st $100,000 $4,000
2nd $25,000 $1,950
3rd $17,000 -
4th $12,000 -
5th $7,500 -
6th $4,000 -
7th $3,000 -
8th $2,500 -
9th $2,000 -
10th $1,750 -
11th $1,500 -
12th $1,250 -
13th $1,100 -
14th $1,000 -
15th $900 -
16th $800 -
17th $700 -
18th $600 -
19th $500 -
20th $450 -
21st $425 -
22nd $400 -
23rd $375
24th $350
25th $350

Rotowire Online Championship

Game Information
Number of teams per league: 12
Cost Per Entry: $350

Prize Table (overall prizes are tentative)
Place Overall League
1st $100,000 $1,400
2nd $25,000 $700
3rd $17,000 -
4th $12,000 -
5th $7,500 -
6th $4,000 -
7th $3,000 -
8th $2,500 -
9th $2,000 -
10th $1,750 -
11th $1,500 -
12th $1,250 -
13th $1,100 -
14th $1,000 -
15th $900 -
16th $800 -
17th $700 -
18th $600 -
19th $500 -
20th $450 -
21st $425 -
22nd $400 -
23rd $375
24th $350
25th $350

I'm also not against a higher price point with higher league prizes as part of the Online Championship PLUS. As some have noted, it takes a lot of time to manage these 12-team leagues and getting higher league prizes would be a plus to taking a team. At $1,500 per team you could have league prizes in the range of $9,000 and $4,140, or something like that, along with being part of the $100,000 grand prize. Just something to consider for those who want a little more either online or live.

Hope this makes sense. Bring on the feedback.

Looks like a winner, Greg. You're trying to keep it simple, which is probably best for everyone.

Are you capping this at a certain number of entries?

King of Queens wrote:Looks like a winner, Greg. You're trying to keep it simple, which is probably best for everyone.

Are you capping this at a certain number of entries?

We're working on all of the guarantees now. Again, I'm looking at around 1,800 teams for the Online Championship/PLUS. Any combination to reach 1,800 might be the goal, but that's not finalized yet. Still got a lot of work to do.

Greg Ambrosius wrote:

King of Queens wrote:Looks like a winner, Greg. You're trying to keep it simple, which is probably best for everyone.

Are you capping this at a certain number of entries?

We're working on all of the guarantees now. Again, I'm looking at around 1,800 teams for the Online Championship/PLUS. Any combination to reach 1,800 might be the goal, but that's not finalized yet. Still got a lot of work to do.

ditto. that's a nice price point to accomplish what you want to accomplish, namely, selling it out. i suggest unlimited entries except for Chad. he only gets one. and he forfeits his first round pick. and he only gets $500 faab. still not sure that hamstrings him, but it's a start

Greg - I really like the format change. Those are attractive league prizes that may increase participation substantially. I like the idea of combining the two contests for overall prize purposes. Having a lower price point for live events also makes sense - some folks will have an easier time adding an additional team or two, and it may allow others to experience live drafts for the first time. It also is a good idea running some of these earlier - at the lower price point, folks may feel comfortable drafting one (or more) of these before late-March. One quick question: did you purposefully omit NYC from your post? I saw references to live Plus format drafts in Vegas and Chicago but not NYC. Although the Primetime format got no action in NYC last year up against the Main Event, auctions and a Super, with the lower price point there may be interest in a league or two at some point during the NYC weekend. Just a thought. Regardless, I think you are on the right track.

Mike

This will make it much easier to go into retirement from fantasy baseball.

Looks like a good setup to expand appeal and make this a profit center.

Sounds like a great concept Greg. I'm sure folks will be excited about maximizing their trip with more live events.

This is a GREAT idea that will appeal to 99% of players that play both of these contests. Unfortunately you cant please everyone but if you can't run a contest and make it both profitable for you and appealing to the fan base, then what is the point? Great thinking on this combined championship. I will definitely be entering this year, while I didn't enter the 12 team previously.

Looks good Greg. The league prizes definitely make it attractive to join and these leagues always go like hot cakes in March. While it may take away some of odds of getting an overall, turning 750 into 4K or 1950, might also get new customers to try leagues the year after with their winnings.

Bronx Yankees wrote:Greg - I really like the format change. Those are attractive league prizes that may increase participation substantially. I like the idea of combining the two contests for overall prize purposes. Having a lower price point for live events also makes sense - some folks will have an easier time adding an additional team or two, and it may allow others to experience live drafts for the first time. It also is a good idea running some of these earlier - at the lower price point, folks may feel comfortable drafting one (or more) of these before late-March. One quick question: did you purposefully omit NYC from your post? I saw references to live Plus format drafts in Vegas and Chicago but not NYC. Although the Primetime format got no action in NYC last year up against the Main Event, auctions and a Super, with the lower price point there may be interest in a league or two at some point during the NYC weekend. Just a thought. Regardless, I think you are on the right track.

Mike

We can talk about hosting a league or two in New York City, but this price point makes it very tough to host these as live drafts and still provide food and drink. It just doesn't work economically, but if folks understand that the amenities will be minimal we can figure it out. In Vegas we know how to make this work in the private suites, but I'll talk with Tom and see if we can figure it out. If New Yorkers work with us we can make it work. Thanks.

Great idea. This will get me into this format for the first time.

It is surprising that we are seeing responses that suggest some will now play the 12 team event with the new set up. These folks in the past have resisted a $1500 price point in a 200 team competition with a shot at $80,000. They also resisted the $350 buy in to the 1500 team competition with a shot at $80,000. But now the magical price point of $750 thrown into a 1800 team (lottery type) competition is just right and will draw them in. Interesting.

I don't follow the logic but understand your need to change.

Money wrote:It is surprising that we are seeing responses that suggest some will now play the 12 team event with the new set up. These folks in the past have resisted a $1500 price point in a 200 team competition with a shot at $80,000. They also resisted the $350 buy in to the 1500 team competition with a shot at $80,000. But now the magical price point of $750 thrown into a 1800 team (lottery type) competition is just right and will draw them in. Interesting.

I don't follow the logic but understand your need to change.

Joe, it could be that we're able to offer a lower price point for a live event (albeit in a different setup) and the chance to win $4,000 on a $750 entry. I think the larger take on the league payout is appealing and something we can't do on a stand-alone grand prize contest. Let's see if this works and builds some love for the 12-team format. And if I know our Las Vegas crew, we will still have enough owners who will want a $1,500 Online Championship Plus with a $9,000 league prize and the chance to win $100,000. That's a better league return than we've ever been able to offer before.

It's possible that's what is appealing to some folks. Whatever grows this format is good by me and I know good by you.

Cocktails and Dreams wrote:This will make it much easier to go into retirement from fantasy baseball.

Champ, you haven't mastered the 15-team format yet. We can't let you ride off into the sunset until you do that!! There's still plenty of money to be won in both formats, at least I hope so.

Greg Ambrosius wrote:

Money wrote:It is surprising that we are seeing responses that suggest some will now play the 12 team event with the new set up. These folks in the past have resisted a $1500 price point in a 200 team competition with a shot at $80,000. They also resisted the $350 buy in to the 1500 team competition with a shot at $80,000. But now the magical price point of $750 thrown into a 1800 team (lottery type) competition is just right and will draw them in. Interesting.

I don't follow the logic but understand your need to change.

Joe, it could be that we're able to offer a lower price point for a live event (albeit in a different setup) and the chance to win $4,000 on a $750 entry. I think the larger take on the league payout is appealing and something we can't do on a stand-alone grand prize contest. Let's see if this works and builds some love for the 12-team format. And if I know our Las Vegas crew, we will still have enough owners who will want a $1,500 Online Championship Plus with a $9,000 league prize and the chance to win $100,000. That's a better league return than we've ever been able to offer before.

It's possible that's what is appealing to some folks. Whatever grows this format is good by me and I know good by you.

Greg, it seems you would be willing to go up ($350-->$750-->$1500) in league fees as part of the Online Championship. Have you given any consideration to going DOWN?

King of Queens wrote:Greg, it seems you would be willing to go up ($350-->$750-->$1500) in league fees as part of the Online Championship. Have you given any consideration to going DOWN?

No. We have national contests at $125 per team (Cutline) and $150 (Draft Champions). No need to go lower on this contest.

Greg Ambrosius wrote:

Money wrote:It is surprising that we are seeing responses that suggest some will now play the 12 team event with the new set up. These folks in the past have resisted a $1500 price point in a 200 team competition with a shot at $80,000. They also resisted the $350 buy in to the 1500 team competition with a shot at $80,000. But now the magical price point of $750 thrown into a 1800 team (lottery type) competition is just right and will draw them in. Interesting.

I don't follow the logic but understand your need to change.

Joe, it could be that we're able to offer a lower price point for a live event (albeit in a different setup) and the chance to win $4,000 on a $750 entry. I think the larger take on the league payout is appealing and something we can't do on a stand-alone grand prize contest. Let's see if this works and builds some love for the 12-team format. And if I know our Las Vegas crew, we will still have enough owners who will want a $1,500 Online Championship Plus with a $9,000 league prize and the chance to win $100,000. That's a better league return than we've ever been able to offer before.

It's possible that's what is appealing to some folks. Whatever grows this format is good by me and I know good by you.

Greg - You nailed it. Speaking only for myself, I prefer the 15-team format. At $1,500/team, the Primetime competed directly against the Main Event for my fantasy dollars and I opted for the Main Event. At $350/team, the Online Championship was not especially appealing to me. Due to the huge number of teams, winning an overall prize seemed like an extreme longshot (although Chad and Joe pulled it off to their credit), and the prize for winning a league is not that much more than winning a $150 Draft Championship league.

At first blush, I find the new format appealing. While the overall prize still seems like an extreme longshot, the league prizes now are very attractive. Also, if we can pull off a league or two in NYC, it would be another chance to draft live, which always is better than drafting online in my opinion.

In response to your reply to my earlier post, I easily could do without the food and drink in NYC if it means more live drafts.

Mike

Money wrote:It is surprising that we are seeing responses that suggest some will now play the 12 team event with the new set up. These folks in the past have resisted a $1500 price point in a 200 team competition with a shot at $80,000. They also resisted the $350 buy in to the 1500 team competition with a shot at $80,000. But now the magical price point of $750 thrown into a 1800 team (lottery type) competition is just right and will draw them in. Interesting.

I don't follow the logic but understand your need to change.

I'm having trouble following your logic.

It's fairly obvious people aren't resisting the "$350 buy in to the 1500 team competition with a shot at $80,000" if there are 1500 entries every year, isn't it?

Many people without unlimited budgets preferred to play Main Event teams instead of Primetime teams at the same cost for a variety of reasons. I really don't see much difference in the odds between national contests with 420 teams or 200 teams. You're going to still have to beat out the upper percentile to win the championship in either format.

Greg,

If I understand correctly, the Primetime had a total of 17 leagues this past year, and one owner had a total of 16 teams.

If I didn't know any better, I'd say that was a successful attempt at "buying" the championship. Given the massive overlay, good strategic move for the owner; however bad for your business. Why would anyone want to sign up for a situation like that moving forward? I certainly wouldn't.

I'm not big on 12 teamers; however I did win my only OLC last year. Will consider new format next year.

I did the Primetime this year as my first exposure to NFBC. As a first timer it provided me a format I was most familiar with a 12 team league. The price point of 1500 caused me some consternation but I decided to try it anyway because I really enjoy the live draft concept. I think the new price of $750.00 dollars along with the live draft makes for an experience that new players will find easier to try especially if you don't have to jump on a plane. It's a tough call as a new player to drop 1500 dollars knowing your probably not going to cash.

Joe Lecak
Las Vegas

Greg Ambrosius wrote:

Cocktails and Dreams wrote:This will make it much easier to go into retirement from fantasy baseball.

Champ, you haven't mastered the 15-team format yet. We can't let you ride off into the sunset until you do that!! There's still plenty of money to be won in both formats, at least I hope so.

I don't like the 15 team format very much. For the same reasons most don't like the 14 team format in football. My 2nd place, 3rd place and 14 team championship are going to have to be as close as I come, without any other compelling reason to play. For me, the only one was the primetime, since I cannot trust the contained leagues to be played out with dignity.

There is no way I will focus any energy whatsoever on the online championship overall. Almost impossible to win. And if I were to play, there is certainly no way I would play the 750 version against way better players. The goal is to get in a league with bad players if playing in the same overall purse. Not leagues with better players. I don't like the new set up and would never play it.

Joe/Chad, not going to jump into your east coast battle since I live in hicktown, Texas, but just wanted to chime in on your accomplishments. Competing in 16/17 of the leagues to me isn't buying a championship, at least to me. Still a ton of work to manage, and you drafted against top players in every single one of those leagues. You guys definitely own the 12 team format and will miss the challenge of trying to beat you next year if you are truly done. I know Eric also has done the same thing with quantity in this format as well and does just as good so I get it. Why shy away from the contest you own though? Granted Chad, I get how you want overall money (don't we all?) but if it is like Joe says, why not join a whole bunch of the new leagues and steal the good league payouts as a recipe that seemed to work for you this past year. Granted it might not be 300k money but I think there is a profit there for you as you have proven... It's the end of baseball season and you may just be worn out from all the time you spent this past season. I've never met with either of you personally, but maybe you are the glorified villains of nfbc, but take a page from the WWE and be the greatest villains you can be if the east coasters don't like you guys. Anyways, this little fly on the wall will stop pestering with the real pros in the room.

Who knew we would get into a battle between the 12 team champs and the rest of the universe? Shocking. Bottom line is, the NFBC cannot lose money on a large scale, such as the Primetime, and continue to run the best high stakes fantasy company in the business. Obviously there will be two gentlemen that hate this decision, but so be it. The event will sell out, everyone will have a chance at a bigger league prize and a chance at a large overall prize. Compare that to a contest that was failing, I think you have made the right decision Greg. You would think that partners who made so much money this past season, would respect the fact that the company that helped them make this money, needs to make a profit. If they don't, well good riddance. Talk about as selfish an attitude as I ever seen.

Greg/Tom - Great job in salvaging this 12 team format. It will be a success.

Cocktails and Dreams wrote:
if I were to play, there is certainly no way I would play the 750 version against way better players. The goal is to get in a league with bad players if playing in the same overall purse. Not leagues with better players. I don't like the new set up and would never play it.

Well there you have it.