What is a Guillotine League?
In recent years a new format of Fantasy Football has burst onto the scene, known as the Guillotine League. A Guillotine League is traditionally a redraft-style fantasy football league, that unlike traditional redraft formats abandons head-to-head weekly matchups. Leagues start with 18 teams in Week 1 and conclude at the end of Week 17 with a lone survivor. These leagues are a total points league with the lowest weekly scorer being eliminated. Simply put, score the fewest points in a week, and your season is over. In traditional fantasy football formats you are trying to win each week. In the guillotine format your just trying not to finish last.
The Waiver Wire
When a team is eliminated, the players from that roster are added to the free-agency pool. This is the best part of the Guilliotine format and what makes it so enjoyable to be a part of. Leagues operate on a Free Agent Acquisition Budget, (FABB) style of waivers many fantasy managers are familiar with. Managers are assigned a budget for the season and use that budget to bid on free-agents.
When waivers run, the league-mate who bid the most of their FAAB will add that player to their roster. Depending on how your league is set up, you may have several blind bid waiver periods each week, as well as add/drop days, where you can add a player to your roster at no charge. The League Commissioner establishes the amount of FAAB for the season. How you manage that budget is up to you. Deciding on who to spend on and how much to bid, makes this a strategic and fun format to play.
FABB
Managing your FABB is a key component to being successful in a Guillotine League. There are three main ingredients in the recipe for keeping your head; 1. The Draft, 2. Waivers, and 3. Luck. The draft is unique being it’s a 17-team league, luck is a part of every fantasy league but it is the waiver wire that makes this format magical.
The quality of players added to the waiver wire weekly, and how managers target them is truely unique to this format of fantasy football. Seeing the likes of players like Justin Jefferson, Christian McCaffrey and Travis Kelce availble on waivers is not uncommon. In fact seeing them there numerous times a season can be common place.
You may be tempted to blow the majority or even your entire budget on a player of this calibre when they become available. The reality is you can’t afford too. Every dollar of FABB is like gold and resisting the temptation to go all-in will serve you well. Managers that manage their FABB wisely typically do better than managers that do not. Strive to avoid overspending, the deeper, you go the more valuable your remaining budget becomes.
Bye Weeks
Bye weeks are a part of every fantasy league. In this format they take on even more meaning. In a typical league should you find yourself in a week where your key players are on bye the worst thing that can happen to you, is you lose the week. In a guillotine league the same scenario can cost you your head. When a player has his bye, plays into his value. Players with byes in later weeks are more valuable than a comparable player with a bye in an earlier week. As the season progresses players who have had their bye become players to target off waivers.
Where to play in a Guillotine League
There are more and more host sites adding Guillotine Leagues with each passing season. My recommendation is to host your league on guillotineleagues.com. This host site is the only platform dedicated to the guillotine format. My Fantasy League (MFL), has the format as a standard feature, and you can also host your league on the Sleeper app, NFL.com, and ESPN with some commissioner work required.
Setting up your Guilliotine League
As mentioned, I recommend operating your league on GuillotineLeagues.com which is run by Fantasy Sports Hall of Fame member Paul Charchian. The site takes care of everything for a $36 fee and makes being a League Commissioner a breeze. The Standard Settings on Charch’s site are;
League Size – 18 Teams
Draft Types – Your choice of a Fast Draft: Snake-style, 14 rounds, 60 seconds per pick, or a Slow Draft: Snake-style, 14 rounds, 2 or 6 hours per pick.
Free Agent Aquistion Budget (FABB) – $1000
Rosters – 14 total players: 8 starters, 6 bench spots. Weekly you start: 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE, and 2 FLEX (RB/WR/TE)
Scoring Settings – Passing: 1 point every 25 yards, 4 point TDs, 2 point passing conversions. Rushing: 1 point every 10 yards, 6-point TDs, 2-point rushing conversions. Receiving: 1 point per reception, 1 point every 10 yards, 6 point TDs, 2 point receiving conversions. Kick/Punt Return: 6-point TDs. Trading is typically not a part of the guillotine formats, but commissioners have the option to include them if they see fit.
The webisite offers two formats used to decide the league champion. There is a last man standing format where a team is elliminated each week until only one remains. For those seeking a playoff feel to their league, there is the Final Four format. After the conclusion of Week 14, the final four remaining teams enter a playoff in Weeks 15-17. There is no elimination during this period. The cumulative highest scoring team from Weeks 15-17 is the winner.
For Commissioners and managers that fancy a more customizable Guillotine experience, MFL, Sleeper or other hosts mentioned earlier should be where you look to set up your league.
In conclusion, Guillotine leagues are a blast! They bring a must win playoff feel to every week, except you don’t need to win, you just have to avoid finishing last. Monday nights each week are drama filled as there will enevitivley be two or three teams battling to avoid being chopped. My advice join a Guillotine League is 2023, I am confident that once you try this format you will be hooked.
Thank you for reading What is a Guillotine League. I plan on bringing you much more guilliotine coverage all off-season as well as to prepare for the 2023 season. For more fantasy football content, follow me on twitter, subscribe to the rotoheat.com website, and make sure join the conversation in our Discord by clicking here.
