If you’re a true fantasy football manager, you’ve already been taking notes on who you’ll be drafting in August.
But whether you’re beginning your fantasy league journey for the first time or are already a seasoned veteran, our guide will help you make the most of this year’s NFL season.
We list out the different types of leagues you can join and the best resources to help you win your fantasy league this year.
Best NFL fantasy football sites
The first step in fantasy football is selecting the right platform. In the table below, we’ve highlighted the most popular fantasy sports websites that offer the best fantasy football games.
As a 5-year fantasy football manager, our group always chooses ESPN Fantasy Sports because of its simplicity. I personally do not like Yahoo Fantasy Sports because it’s not as straightforward and it’s overwhelming. This year, we’ll be giving Sleeper a try.
| Site | Free-to-play leagues | Pay-to-play leagues | Key features | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CBS Sports Fantasy | ✔ | ✔ |
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Get started |
| DraftKings Fantasy Sports | ✔ | ✔ |
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Get started |
| FanDuel Fantasy Sports | ✔ | ✔ |
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Get started |
| ESPN Fantasy SportsOur pick | ✔ | — |
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Get started |
| NFL Fantasy Football | ✔ | ✔ |
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Get started |
| Sleeper: Fantasy Leagues | ✔ | ✔ |
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Get started |
| Yahoo Fantasy Sports | ✔ | ✔ |
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Get started |
Data effective as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
*Available in states where sports betting is legal.
Our recommendation: ESPN Fantasy Sports offers the best experience for fantasy football players. Both the website and the app are easy to navigate, and you can play for free to become more familiar with how things work before jumping into the deep end.
You can also play for free during the regular season, commissioners. (If you’re new, the commissioner is the person who created and is in charge of your league.)
Like most of the other options in the table above, ESPN also offers fantasy leagues for other sports, including MLB, NCAA basketball, NHL, and NBA.
Types of fantasy football leagues
Once you choose a platform, you’ll need to select the specific type of league you want to play. While not every league type is available on every platform, you’ll have one or more of the following options:
- Standard Draft League
- Auction League
- Dynasty League
- Keeper League
- Redraft League
- Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) League
Fantasy league newcomers will want to choose a standard draft league. This mode lets you draft players at the start of the season and make roster adjustments ahead of each NFL game week.
Even as fantasy football veterans, we tend to stick to the standard draft league because we find it the most fun—especially with a salary draft.
There are generally two competition types within a standard draft league: head-to-head and total points. A head-to-head competition puts different teams against each other each week, with a win awarded to the team with the most points that week. On the other hand, total points competitions focus on accumulated points, and the winner is decided based on who holds the most points by the season’s end.
If you’re looking for a more difficult league type, a dynasty league might be the best option. Most aspects of a dynasty league operate like a standard draft league. But you stay with your same roster for subsequent seasons and can only draft rookies in season two and onward. Sleeper‘s fantasy league platform is our favorite for dynasty leagues because of its dynamic mobile app and year-round team management system.
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Best online resources for fantasy football
After getting an understanding of your league’s rules, you’ll want to back yourself up with fantasy news and analysis resources. A combination of the right tools and football knowledge will take your league domination from the NFL Draft all the way to the Super Bowl.
Most fantasy league platforms offer tools and resources, but we’ve listed some great third-party options in the table below.
| Resource | Description |
|---|---|
| Beer Sheets | A single-sheet draft guide catered to your league rules to help build a draft strategy. |
| FantasyPros | A fantasy sports hub focused on aggregated expert advice, rankings, and projections. |
| Pro Football Focus | A news and analysis site dedicated to fantasy and betting leagues, with premium features available for advanced NFL stats and projections. |
| Reddit (r/fantasyfootball) | A one-stop shop for quick player and team news, including a lot of hot takes and confirmation bias. |
| Sports Injury Central | An in-depth source for injury news and analysis from sports medicine experts. |
Some resources might be daunting for newcomers due to the abundant usage of fantasy league terminology and acronyms. But ESPN has a helpful fantasy football glossary you can refer to when necessary.
NFL fantasy football leagues FAQ
How much does fantasy football cost?
Fantasy football sites usually offer free contests. But if you’re in it for the big prizes, most public competitions require entry deposits or monthly fees. Private fantasy leagues cost differently based on the platform used and the predetermined buy-in—some in-person leagues play for tacos.
What is a fantasy football commissioner fee?
The person in charge of a paid fantasy league—usually referred to as the commissioner or league manager—may have to pay a fee to run their league on specific platforms each season. In most cases, league members split the cost and pay the commissioner.
What is a PPR league?
In a PPR (points-per-reception) league, you will receive points for every reception completed by a player in your starting lineup.
Why you should trust us
Our sports experts spent over 20 hours researching and testing different fantasy football league platforms. We based our recommendations on ease of use by examining each platform’s user interface, free-to-play options, and in-app resources.
Check out our How We Rank page to learn more about our methods.
