auction budgets

The above worksheet is one I use for my auction drafts. I determine roughly how much I want to spend at each position in total at the top of the page. So in this worksheet, at the top it shows that I want to spend $100 on the WR position, $70 on RB, $10-20 on QB, $10-20 on TE, and $1 at D/ST and K. I then try to shade the top in as I buy players, which gives me a visual on where I am spending by position. This sheet also helps me determine which positions I think I want to have on my team. Before any draft, I will fill in my ideal players at each position with what I want their cost to be. This usually has to be adjusted downward to get back to the $200 budget cap. I will fill 4 or 5 of these sheets out to kind of get a feel for what kind of build I want to have on my team. I'll do one where I spend up at QB, one at TE, one at QB and TE (I usually don't like where this leaves me at RB and WR), or one more RB heavy and one more WR heavy. While none of me estimations are going to actually be exact once the auction starts, it gives me a guide to where I want to spend my auction budget. I try to write in 3-5 names in the player grid at a certain cost, and my goal is to be able to get one of them at that price when the auction happens.

I put the players in the left side as I purchase them, and then list them at their position on the right side. The positions in Bold on the right side are the starters for my team. There are also 22 "potential" players on this roster, and so you want to cross out as many positions as you can to get down to a couple of your roster limit. You may have a swing position or two as your last purchase depending on the strength of your other positions before the end of your draft. So in this case, I have nine starting spots, which would leave seven backups. So depending on how I want to build my team in general, I will cross out certain spots before my auction draft even begins. Depending on league tendencies, I will select which positions I think I need for that team to be successful, I also try to keep track of byes, just so I am aware if I am getting too many in any given week, even though that may not change who else I buy later. There will always be the opportunity for waiver wire pickups and potentially trades before the bye weeks hit.

As the auction progresses, I also track the actual amount of money I have left, which lets me know how much I can bid on my remaining roster. A concept popularized by Drew Davenport of the Auction Brief and Football Guys, is the Par Sheet. This is where you keep track of each purchase based on your budget, and write off to the side if you are over, or under that amount, with the goal of hitting par on your budget. When you spend a little less, then you can say +2, which would give you more room to bid slightly more on another roster spot. Or if you really believe in a player, you can bid a few dollars more, and then maybe you are -3. The key is to know where you are at for each roster spot, so you know if you have to save or spend a little more or less at another position. As mentioned on the bidding page, I do believe that you can spend up to 10% more on one of "your guys." There is nothing worse in an auction then going home and wishing you would have spent a couple of more dollars to have a player you really wanted on your team. You can always make up a few dollars in your auction, although you need to be careful here to make sure you can build an entire roster you like.

The other thing to remember is that auctions are dynamic. In any given auction, a particular position may sell for more than they do in other auctions. It is also possible that higher end players sell for way more, or way less, then they do at a typical auction. As you watch the auction you are participating in unfold, you need to adjust your budget to account for these differences. In my home league, traditionally the top running backs always sold for $50-60, while the top wide receivers sold for less. So in this auction, you had to plan to spend up if you wanted a top running back. In more recent times, this has not been the case, as the top wide receivers are now selling for similar prices. You just need to pay attention in each auction you participate in, and if you see patterns that are different than you expected, be ready to alter your budget. There is never any more money in the auction draft room, so if a position or top tier of player is selling for a higher or lower amount, that means it has to be counter balanced somewhere else in the auction. You just don't want to be caught over-paying for players based on your original budget. Many times in an auction with new fantasy managers, most of them are hesitant to spend a lot of money, and you can take advantage and get multiple top tier players while the rest of your league overspends on flex and bench players.