Fantasy Drafts Gone Wrong
It takes a lot of preparation, as a league commissioner, to put on the most exciting party of the fantasy football year. Let’s be honest, as a fantasy football owner that loves live drafting, our Super Bowl is draft day. There are very few things that can ruin a draft party. Rain, sleet or snow can’t ruin a draft party. Burnt pizza or undercooked hot wings can’t ruin a draft party. An owner getting too hammered, half way through the draft, and struggling to put his sticker on the board can’t ruin a draft party. Running out of beer, could ruin a draft party, but good commissioners don’t let that happen. So what does ruin a draft party?
Have you ever been to a live draft party and the board used to place your picks was terrible? Maybe the board or labels were too small or players were missing so you had to write in names. The only thing worse than any of these things being wrong with your draft board is your commissioner pulling the ultimate party foul, going software base. Ughh, the ultimate fun killer. Its like golfing on an indoor simulator on a beautiful spring day.
Choosing The Right Fantasy Draft Board
How do you know the fantasy football draft board you buy is going to be the best option. Let me tell you, as a commissioner for over 10 years, I have gone through them all. There have been seasons where I bought three different draft boards because the first two just didn’t live up to the description I was given online. I decided to help you by comparing 5 different fantasy draft boards and giving you my opinion on which is the best for your draft party this year.
Bruno’s Draft Board
http://www.brunosdraftboards.com/default.asp
Price: $30-$99
Board Types: Economy, Premium, Ultimate & Reusable
Label Sizes: Small(3.9″) Medium(5.3″) Jumbo(10″) Elephant(14.1″)
Pros: Great size boards and they offer a stand. Their elephant board is so big your great grandfather wouldn’t have to stand up to see it. I like the reusable boards where the stickers are removable.
Cons: The bye weeks and player first name, on the labels, are surprisingly small. In order to get into the size board you would want for a twelve man league would get into the higher price range.
Feedback: Overall this is a nice board made with good quality. True meaning of you get what you pay for though. If dropping $75-$100 on a good board is in your budget you won’t be disappointed.
Grade: B+
Fantasy Jock’s Draft Board
https://www.fantasyjocks.com/collections/fantasy-football-draft-kits
Price: $28-$70
Board Types: Custodian, Manager, Executive
Label Sizes: 4″x1″
Pros: These guys give you everything that goes into a fantasy party. Their executive package includes
- ‘Merica Championship Trophy
- Championship Banner – 2016 Edition
- Horse’s Ass Loser Award
- Miss Fantasy Loser, Sash & Crown
- Beer Koozies for each member
- FantasyJocks Marker and Tape
Cons: The boards are actually high gloss paper. You will have to find a solid wall of equal size to tape the board up. It also lends itself to wrinkles and creases. Bye weeks and first names are printed a little small.
Feedback: Basic boards with lots of extras build a great value. Fantasy Jock’s are known more for their championship belts and rings and seem to stay more basic on their draft boards.
Grade: B
CommishKit.com Draft Board
Price: $24-$40
BoaTypes: 8-16 Team Paper, 12 Team Corrugated Board
Label Sizes: 4″x1″
Pros: Paper and Corrugated boards are available. Plenty of room for the labels.
Cons: The bye weeks and player first name, on the labels, are extremely small. In order to get into the size board you would want for a twelve man league would get into the higher price range. No where to write team names
Feedback: Its hard to trust buying a board that has hot women in every picture with the board. Although I don’t mind the hot women, it feels like this serves as a distraction from the board itself. Perfect for an office league that the draft might happen in the break room during lunch hour.
Grade: C+
FJ Fantasy Sports Draft Board
Price: $34-$49
Board Types: Regular boards are available in 10, 12, 14, and 16 team versions, Jumbo boards are available in 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16 team versions. All boards hold 23 rounds.
Label Sizes: Regular(1.5″ x 3.375″) or Jumbo (1.5″ x 6.75″)
Pros: Comes in both snake draft and auction style boards. The largest 16 team board I could find on the internet measuring in at 42″ x 126″. Great cardboard material with a built in stand. Board also features a spot for your league name that you can customer print a label for. Labels are great size.
Cons: My 12 man board came in two pieces. You can see in the picture the seam down the middle. It gets held together with binder clips. The stand is cardboard so you have to put weight behind the board to help it stand up.
Feedback: I really like this board. The board and label size are second to none. It’s hard to get this board high enough off the ground so the last few rows get tough to see as they are not eye level.
Grade: A
Savethedraft.com Draft Board
Price: $25-$30
Board Types: 14 Team Paper Board
Label Sizes: 4″x1″
Pros: Large board with plenty of space. measuring at 4 feet tall by 6 feet wide, even the most hard of seeing guy in your league can’t miss this board. They do offer rolled shipping vs. folded to reduce creases. Large print on labels, including names and bye weeks.
Cons: The boards are high gloss paper. You will have to find a solid wall of equal size to tape the board up. Not that easy because of how big this board is. Not selection for smaller or larger leagues.
Feedback: I have personally used this board two of the last three years in my league. I tried going away from this board two years ago but due to overwhelming demand came back to it.
Grade: A
Disclosure: In regards to customer service all of the above options are great with going above and beyond for their customers. Additionally all of the boards above also offer IDP (Individual Defensive Player) labels.