Fantasy football trophies: championship trophies, belts, rings and the Sacko

A trophy changes a fantasy league. Money gets spent and forgotten; a trophy sits on someone’s shelf for a year and gets photographed at every draft. If your league has been playing for cash alone, this is the season to add one. Here is how to choose, what to order and when, and how to make last place hurt a little too.

First decide: perpetual or keepsake

There are two kinds of league trophy, and the best leagues have both.

• A perpetual trophy belongs to the league. The champion keeps it for a year, adds their name and season, and hands it to the next winner. Over time it becomes the league’s history book. Buy something with room for a lot of names, or with plates you can add to.
• A keepsake belongs to the winner forever: a small trophy, a ring, a medal. It is cheaper and it means every champion has something to keep after the perpetual trophy moves on.

Classic trophies

The big chrome trophy shaped like the real championship one is the default for a reason: it is instantly readable and it photographs well. For a perpetual trophy, look for a base with an engraving plate or room to add small plates each year. If your league would rather put the money into the prize pool, a desk-sized trophy does the job for a keepsake.

Championship belts

A wrestling-style championship belt is the other common choice, and it has one big advantage over a trophy: it is meant to be worn. The champion wears it to the draft, to the bar on Sunday, and in the photo when they hand it over. Many belts come with side plates so each season’s winner can be added, which makes them a natural perpetual trophy.

Order before the playoffs, not after

Most fantasy football championships are decided in late December or early January: the worst time of year to be waiting on a parcel. Engraving, custom plates and personalisation all add days on top of shipping. Order the trophy itself early, around the start of the fantasy playoffs, and have the champion’s name added after the final. If the name is not ready in time, hand it over at the draft next summer instead; a trophy ceremony at the draft is a fine tradition in its own right.

The last-place trophy (the Sacko)

A league with a prize for first place and nothing for last place has no reason to keep playing once the playoffs are out of reach. A last-place trophy fixes that. Many leagues call it the Sacko, after the last-place trophy in the TV comedy The League, and the rules are simple: the loser keeps it on display until someone else finishes last.

The best ones are ugly, heavy and impossible to hide. A gold toilet is the classic. A medal works too, if the rule is that the loser wears it for the whole draft.

Last-place punishments that tie into the draft

If a trophy is not enough, plenty of leagues add a punishment. The best ones are tied to the next draft, because that is when the whole league is together to watch.

• The loser picks last. Or, in a slot draft, picks their slot last. It costs nothing and it matters. (Our draft order ideas cover how to run a slot draft fairly for everyone else.)
• The loser hosts the draft party. They provide the venue, the food and the drinks. Our draft party checklist gives them no excuse to do it badly.
• The loser drafts in costume. A league-chosen outfit, worn for every round.
• The loser announces every pick. They stand up and read out each manager’s pick to the room, every round, all night.
• The loser’s first pick is chosen by the league. The rest of the league votes on the loser’s first-round pick, and it has to be someone available. Keep it playable: a bad pick, not a wasted one.

Whatever you pick, agree it before the season starts and write it in the league rules. A punishment the loser agreed to in August is a tradition; one the league invents in December is an argument.

A note for commissioners

Trophies are one part of keeping a league together for years. The leagues that last tend to have written rules, a commissioner who settles disputes the same way every time, and traditions that the whole group looks forward to. If you are building those for the first time, a book on running a league is a reasonable place to start.