Looking For Feedback On 2021 Cutline Championship
Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2020 1:02 pm
This year a record 1,960 teams competed in the NFBC Cutline Championship as we awarded a record $75,000 grand prize. It was another solid year for our hybrid Best Ball Championship and we believe even better seasons lie ahead.
But how do we guarantee that better seasons lie ahead? Let's discuss.
Baseball has never had a true Best Ball format like football does, even though our Cutline Championship is the closest thing to it. That contest is a hybrid form of Best Ball because we still allow Free Agent pickups. In the fantasy football industry, Best Ball is the hottest rage and there are even contests that award $1 million prizes. We have seen incredible growth in our Best Ball products as well and our unique hybrid NFFC Cutline Championship has had a $100,000 grand prize for 5 years now.
So we look at what we have done in football and wonder if we can grow Best Ball even faster in baseball. In 2020 due to Covid, we turned the NFBC Cutline Championship into a straight 10-week Best Ball Championship where the highest scoring teams over the entire season won the top prizes. There was no "cutline" playoff format because there wasn't time for that. It was straight points for 10 weeks with two FAAB periods built into it and the highest scoring teams won all of the prize money. Plain and simple over a full season.
With that in mind, we started talking about the NFBC Cutline Championship format and if anything needed to be done there to continue with its growth. Should we consider changes to the format or is the current format the best one for a Best Ball Championship? Are two FAAB periods too many or too few? Is the total points format the true measure of the best team or is the cutline format where you need to survive the regular season and two preliminary rounds to cut down to just 20 teams the best format?
I think we've agreed internally that as much as you'd love to have a straight Best Ball format in baseball -- where your job is done after the draft with NO Free Agent pickups -- is tough. We do that with our BestBall10s private leagues, but to have an overall championship over the entire 27-week season you almost have to have some Free Agent pickups. Even with two FAAB periods, we know it's a pain in the ass for some people and a turnoff to this format for others, but it would be insane not to allow owners who drafted in December and January the chance to improve their rosters with new pickups at least twice a year. Without that, nobody would draft before March 1st and the number of teams would go waaaaaaay down.
So as much as we'd like to spare you the time during the season, I think that part stays. We could talk about whether two periods is too few or too many and I'm all ears for that, but as much as we wish we could avoid two FAAB periods we just can't.
What about the length of the season? Is it fair for half of the participants to be eliminated by the All-Star break? In the current format, the bottom five teams in each league are eliminated. Would it be better to just go total points for 24 weeks with everyone staying alive with the hope of a solid second half? Is there sentiment for total points all year over the "cutline" playoff format? Anyone up for a longer version of what we ran in 2020 or is that "survivor mentality" in the regular season and playoffs more appealing?
And if we stay with the "survivor format", are there any recommended changes needed there? Do we create a third tier for those who finished 6th through 10th in their leagues for a chance to move up to the Wild Card Tier? Adding another three-week playoff period could at least give a little more relevance to the season for those teams, right? Are the three-week survivor periods too long? Would two weeks work instead? Is there anything else in the playoff format that you'd like to see added, deleted or changed?
I do think we have a good format here, but I'm antsy to see it continue to grow and to continue to grow faster. The Cutline drafts get done in 90 minutes or less and the slow drafts get done in 7 days or less. It's a fun, quick format to learn the player pool and to win cool prizes. And I do think the survivor format works, but I'm also wondering if a straight total points Best Ball format wouldn't work just as well or better, too. It seems like it could.
But let's hear the feedback from you folks and we'll unveil our plans at the end of the month. Thanks for any and all feedback on this game format or anything else we have. We're gearing up for some fun announcements soon, so be ready. Baseball 2021 is right around the corner.
But how do we guarantee that better seasons lie ahead? Let's discuss.
Baseball has never had a true Best Ball format like football does, even though our Cutline Championship is the closest thing to it. That contest is a hybrid form of Best Ball because we still allow Free Agent pickups. In the fantasy football industry, Best Ball is the hottest rage and there are even contests that award $1 million prizes. We have seen incredible growth in our Best Ball products as well and our unique hybrid NFFC Cutline Championship has had a $100,000 grand prize for 5 years now.
So we look at what we have done in football and wonder if we can grow Best Ball even faster in baseball. In 2020 due to Covid, we turned the NFBC Cutline Championship into a straight 10-week Best Ball Championship where the highest scoring teams over the entire season won the top prizes. There was no "cutline" playoff format because there wasn't time for that. It was straight points for 10 weeks with two FAAB periods built into it and the highest scoring teams won all of the prize money. Plain and simple over a full season.
With that in mind, we started talking about the NFBC Cutline Championship format and if anything needed to be done there to continue with its growth. Should we consider changes to the format or is the current format the best one for a Best Ball Championship? Are two FAAB periods too many or too few? Is the total points format the true measure of the best team or is the cutline format where you need to survive the regular season and two preliminary rounds to cut down to just 20 teams the best format?
I think we've agreed internally that as much as you'd love to have a straight Best Ball format in baseball -- where your job is done after the draft with NO Free Agent pickups -- is tough. We do that with our BestBall10s private leagues, but to have an overall championship over the entire 27-week season you almost have to have some Free Agent pickups. Even with two FAAB periods, we know it's a pain in the ass for some people and a turnoff to this format for others, but it would be insane not to allow owners who drafted in December and January the chance to improve their rosters with new pickups at least twice a year. Without that, nobody would draft before March 1st and the number of teams would go waaaaaaay down.
So as much as we'd like to spare you the time during the season, I think that part stays. We could talk about whether two periods is too few or too many and I'm all ears for that, but as much as we wish we could avoid two FAAB periods we just can't.
What about the length of the season? Is it fair for half of the participants to be eliminated by the All-Star break? In the current format, the bottom five teams in each league are eliminated. Would it be better to just go total points for 24 weeks with everyone staying alive with the hope of a solid second half? Is there sentiment for total points all year over the "cutline" playoff format? Anyone up for a longer version of what we ran in 2020 or is that "survivor mentality" in the regular season and playoffs more appealing?
And if we stay with the "survivor format", are there any recommended changes needed there? Do we create a third tier for those who finished 6th through 10th in their leagues for a chance to move up to the Wild Card Tier? Adding another three-week playoff period could at least give a little more relevance to the season for those teams, right? Are the three-week survivor periods too long? Would two weeks work instead? Is there anything else in the playoff format that you'd like to see added, deleted or changed?
I do think we have a good format here, but I'm antsy to see it continue to grow and to continue to grow faster. The Cutline drafts get done in 90 minutes or less and the slow drafts get done in 7 days or less. It's a fun, quick format to learn the player pool and to win cool prizes. And I do think the survivor format works, but I'm also wondering if a straight total points Best Ball format wouldn't work just as well or better, too. It seems like it could.
But let's hear the feedback from you folks and we'll unveil our plans at the end of the month. Thanks for any and all feedback on this game format or anything else we have. We're gearing up for some fun announcements soon, so be ready. Baseball 2021 is right around the corner.