📈 Promoted to Prime
RJ
Gabe & Mary
2023 Season
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
- LISTEN TO THE AUDIO RECAP
- 4 new managers & 1 manager returned from hiatus. 2 of the new managers have commissioner experience, and both made the playoffs.
- New format. Both leagues became 12-team leagues. The only differences: buy-in amounts, bench sizes, and autodrafting policy.
- Minor rule changes. Forced fumbles and return yards.
- New award: Comeback Manager of the Year. Each league had an amazing comeback season, which made me realize we needed a new award. I've retroactively added it to past seasons.
PRE-SEASON
📉 Relegated to Comp
Nelson
Raymond
Aleks (draft conflict)
POST-SEASON
📈 Promoted to Prime
Raymond
Lionel
📉 Relegated to Comp
Michael
Kevin
PRIME
🏆 Champion
John
Runner-up: RJ
🐣 Baluser
Michael
Runner-up: Kevin
🫡 Comeback Manager of the Year
Eugene
Started the season in last place with an 0-4 record, but then rallied as high as first place with a hot streak of 8 wins, ending up with the most weekly payouts and the highest weekly score.
Prime Highlights
- The most competitive regular season in the history of the league. Going into week 14, 6 teams were vying for a playoff spot, 4 teams for a bye week, 3 teams to avoid/minimize penalties—and no one had secured a bye week, yet.
- Most league FAAB ever spent. Every single team out-of-contention had less than $20 (10%) left—a strong indicator of competitiveness.
- Only 7 trades for the entire season. 6 of which were before week 3. In 2022 there were 24 trades; in 2021 there were 39 trades.
- John won his first championship, overcoming a cursed history of losing a stud early in the season—this time, Aaron Rodgers in four snaps. But this championship was overdue, since John’s never missed the playoffs in 3 seasons, despite the curse.
- Kyle managed the best team that missed playoffs, possibly all-time. Despite scoring the 2nd most points and entering week 14 in 5th place, Kyle lost a close matchup against Kevin (whom he referred to join the league) and dropped to 7th place. Kyle had the 4th hardest schedule, the most matchup sweats, and the most median sweats. Other than Kyle, the rest of the 7 highest-scoring teams made the playoffs.
- Kevin's cold streak. A record 16 losses in a row, and yet he still managed to avoid last place.
- Eugene's comeback. He started the season in last place with an 0-4 record, but then rallied as high as first place with a hot streak of 8 wins, ending up with the most weekly payouts and the highest weekly score.
- Michael's first time in last place in 11 years. He showed up to the draft hung over, spent all his FAAB on 4 players, then autodrafted the remainder of his roster. Despite a vigorous attempt to rescue his team (4th most transactions), his season ends in relegation.
Awards & records
🌊 Most points scored in the season
Eugene
Led the league with 2702.10 points. Second was Kyle with 2632.65 points. Third was Reinier with 2576.23 points.
💦 Fewest points scored in the season
Michael
Came in with 2195.11 points. Next lowest was Kevin with 2378.92 points.
💰 Most weekly payouts
Eugene
4 weeks with the highest score. Jeff, John, Kyle & RJ each had 2 weeks.
💸 Most weekly penalties
Michael
3 weeks with the lowest score. Anthony, Eugene & Gabe/Mary had 2 weeks each.
🤩 Highest weekly score
Eugene
Scored 250.82 points (20.9 points per starter) in week 5. Next highest was Kyle's 241.2 in week 10.
🥺 Lowest weekly score
Michael
Only scored 90.22 points in week 1 1. (7.5 points per starter.) Next lowest was John 's 110.55 points, also in week 11.
🚀 Highest-scoring player in a game
Gabe
De'Von Achane gave him 51.8 points in week 3. Second was Christian McCaffrey giving John 50.7 points in week 4. Right behind that was Amari Cooper giving John 50.5 points in the semifinals. Then Ja'Marr Chase giving Reinier 50.2 points in Week 5. All four were drafted by their managers.
🏰 Highest-scoring defense in a game
Bryan
The Cowboys gave him 44 points in week 1. Second, John got 34.25 from the Bills in week 3. Third, Michael got 29.75 points from the Chargers in week 9; then John got 29.5 from the Colts in week 9; then Bryan got 29.25 from the Cowboys in week 4.
🔥 Hottest streak
Eugene
8 wins in a row between weeks 4 and 8. John, Reinier & RJ had 6-win streaks each, though John had two 6-win streaks.
🥶 Coldest streak
Kevin
A record-setting 16 losses in a row between weeks 1 and 8. Next worst streak was Michael, with a 9-loss streak.
🍀 Easiest schedule
David
Scored the 8th most points but had the easiest schedule with 2338.44 points against. This was 100 points fewer than the next easiest schedule— Bryan at 2439.48.
🤕 Hardest schedule
Kevin
2646.50 points against, but Michael was right there with 2641.90 points against —a 4.6- point difference!
🤼 Most matchup wins
Eugene, John & RJ
9 matchup wins each. Gabe/Mary & Reinier were next with 8 matchup wins each.
💀 Fewest matchup wins
Michael
Only 2 matchup wins. Anthony was next with 4 matchup wins. Kevin had 6.
😌 Largest matchup margin of victory
Kyle
Dominated RJ by 103.2 points (241.2 to 138) in Week 10. Next was Kyle besting Gabe/Mary by 90.58 points in week 1 1.
😅 Smallest matchup margin of victory
Kevin
Edged out Michael by 0. 58 point in week 9. Next closest was Kyle winning by 0.75 against Anthony, and David winning by 0.8 6 against Jeff —both in week 1.
🏟 Most median wins
Jeff & RJ
1 0 median wins each. Tied for second with 9 median wins each were John & Reinier.
☠️ Fewest median wins
Kevin
Only 2 median wins. Tied for s econd fewest were David & Michael, with 4 each.
😌 Largest median margin of victory
Kyle
Comfortably got his only median win as the 7th highest-scoring team in week 3, with a 1 4. 08 -point gap over Eugene.
😅 Smallest median margin of victory
John
Edged out Gabe/Mary for a median win by 0. 24 point in week 2. Next closest median win was week 6 when Bryan edged out Kyle by 0.3 1 point.
😰 Most matchup sweats
Kyle
Had 6 matchups decided by single-digit points, winning half of them. Kevin & Reinier were next with 4 sweats each, both winning 3 of them.
😰 Most median sweats
kyle
5 median sweats and won 3 of them. Anthony, Bryan & Reinier had 4 sweats each: Anthony won 2; Bryan won 1; Reinier won 3.
📈 Best FAAB move
Reinier
Picked up Puka Nacua as a free agent for free on September 4, before week 1.
📉 Worst FAAB move
Bryan
Spent 5 5% ($110) FAAB to acquire Zach Evans in week 7, after Kyren Williams injury. But the Rams leaned on Darrell Henderson and Royce Freeman instead. Zach Evans scored 1.6 points all season—not in the same game.
🎯 Best trade
Kyle
Received TJ Hockenson after sending Michael Thomas, Isaiah Pacheco and $20 to Eugene, after week 1. Hockenson went on to be the #2 TE rest of season.
🗑 Worst trade
No one
Every single trade was reasonable.
🤝 Dealmaker
David
Most trades completed with 3. Jeff, Kyle, Michael & Reinier each had 2 trades each.
🙅 Dealbreaker
Bryan, Eugene, John, Kevin & RJ
All completed zero trades.
🎱 Best drafter
Gabe/Mary & Jeff
Made the playoffs, then won the league, despite making the fewest transactions.
🤓 Best waiver manager
Reinier
The most waiver transactions and made the playoffs.
🤠 Most active
Reinier
Led the league with 114 transactions. Second most transactions was Bryan with 48.
😴 Least active
Kevin
Only 9 transactions. Next fewest were Gabe/Mary & Jeff with 24 each, though they both made the playoffs.
😎 Never the worst
Bryan, Jeff & RJ
Never had the lowest weekly score.
🥴 Never the best
Anthony, Bryan, Kevin, Michael & Reinier
Never had the highest weekly score.
COMP
🏆 Champion
Raymond
Runner-up: Gabe
🐣 Baluser
Cory
Runner-up: Chris
🫡 Comeback Manager of the Year
Raymond
Started the season in last place with a 1-9 record through week 5, and finally broke into playoff contention in week 11, maxing out at 5th place by the end of the regular season. And then he won it all.
Comp Highlights
- A controversial trade. A superflex trade triggered a spicy debate and an unprecedented trade veto vote, which upheld the trade 9-3.
- Figuring out a solution for week 14 drops by out-of-contention teams. In order to avoid penalties, Aleks dropped studs that were injured or on bye, which resulted in another spirited debate resulting in the provisional solution of a Locked Player List.
- Only 9 trades for the entire season. 6 of which were before week 3. In 2022 there were 13 trades.
- Aleks's record cold streak. 14 losses-in-a-row, which Aleks ended by ending Henry's near-record hot streak in week 14. Henry maxed out at 12 wins; the current all-time record is 13, held by Ian in 2013 (pre-doubleheaders) and Michael in 2021 (doubleheaders).
- Aleks escaped penalties by a tiebreaker. With only 5.91 more Points For than Chris.
- Cory ended up in last place despite never being the lowest scoring team in a single week. This has never happened before.
- An impactful week 14. Going into week 14, 4 managers were vying for the last 2 playoff slots, and 4 managers vying to avoid paying bottom-two penalties. And Aleks's controversial drops paid off, as it kept him out of penalties.
- Raymond's comeback season. Started the season in last place with a 1-9 record through week 5, and finally broke into playoff contention in week 11, maxing out at 5th place by the end of the regular season. And then he won it all.
Awards & records
🌊 Most points scored in the season
Lionel
Led the league with 2688.84 points. Just behind him was Reinier with 2685.60 points. Third was Henry with 2620.19 points.
💦 Fewest points scored in the season
Chris
Came in with 2214.50 points. Next lowest was Aleks with 2220.41 points.
💰 Most weekly payouts
Gabe
4 weeks with the highest score. Lionel was next with 3 weeks. Henry had 2 weeks.
💸 Most weekly penalties
Chris
4 weeks with the lowest score. Aleks, Nelson & Raymond were next with 2 weeks, each.
🤩 Highest weekly score
Lionel
Scored 247.68 points (20.67 points per starter) in week 5.
Next highest was: Lionel again with 245.64 (20.47 points per starter) in week 13. Then Lionel again with 240.14 points (20.01 points per starter) in week 11.
🥺 Lowest weekly score
Nelson
Only scored 87.75 points in week 13. (~7.3 points per starter.) Mary had the second lowest score with 112.39 in week 13. Chris comes in third with 115.70 in week 11.
🚀 Highest-scoring player in a game
Lionel
De'Von Achane gave him 51.8 points in week 3. Second was Christian McCaffrey giving Henry 50.7 points in week 4. Right behind that was Amari Cooper giving Gabe 50.5 points in the semifinals. Then Ja'Marr Chase giving Lionel 50.2 points in Week 5.
🏰 Highest-scoring defense in a game
Gabe
The Cowboys gave him 44 points in week 1. Second, Reinier got 34.25 from the Bills in week 3. Third, Mark got 29.75 points from the Chargers in week 9; then Reinier got 29.5 from the Colts in week 9; then Gabe got 29.25 from the Cowboys in week 4.
🔥 Hottest streak
Henry
A 12-win streak from weeks 8through 13. Runner-up was Reinier with an 11-win streak from weeks 1 through 6.
🥶 Coldest streak
Aleks
An all-time record 14-loss streak from weeks 7 to 14.
🍀 Easiest schedule
Henry
The easiest schedule with 2299.32 points against, though he was the 3rd highest scoring team. Nelson was close with 2332.51 points against.
🤕 Hardest schedule
Cory
Cory had 2715.65 points against —124.64 points more than the next hardest schedule: Jesse with 2591.01.
🤼 Most matchup wins
Lionel & Reinier
Tied with 10 matchup wins each. Gabe & Henry were next with 9 matchup wins each.
💀 Fewest matchup wins
Cory
Only 2 matchup wins. Chris was next with 4 matchup wins.
😌 Largest matchup margin of victory
Henry
Dominated Nelson by 94.26 points (182.01 to 87.75) in Week 13. Henry also had the second highest margin of 94.15 points (219.24 to 125.09) over Raymond in week 5.
😅 Smallest matchup margin of victory
Raymond
Edged out Mary by 0. 65 point (176.51 to 175.86) in week 7. Lionel was next with a 0. 9 margin (208.09 to 207.19) over Cory in week 3.
🏟 Most median wins
Gabe & Reinier
11 median wins each. Lionel was next with 10 median wins, then Henry with 9.
☠️ Fewest median wins
Aleks
Only 3 median wins. Chris, Cory, Mary & Jesse had 5 median wins each.
😌 Largest median margin of victory
Lionel
Comfortably got a median win over Chris with a 12.36 gap in week 10. Se cond lagest was also Lionel over Mary with a 9.64 gap in week 4.
😅 Smallest median margin of victory
Cory
Edged out Lionel for a median win by 0.44 point in week 6. Nelson won the next closest median win in week 1 over Chris by 0.51 point.
😰 Most matchup sweats
Nelson
Had 5 matchups decided by single-digit points, winning only 1 of them. Cory, Jesse, Lionel & Mary each had 4: Jesse & Lionel won 3 of theirs, Cory & Mary won 2 of theirs.
😰 Most median sweats
Gabe & Lionel
Both had 4 median sweats, and both won 3 of them. Chris, Cory, Mark & Mary had 3 sweats each.
📈 Best FAAB move
Cory
Picked up Puka Nacua before week 1 for free.
📉 Worst FAAB move
Jesse
Spent 52 % FAAB (the highest FAAB payment of the season) to get Jameson Williams before week 5, when he had drafted him for $2. Williams averaged 5.8 FPS on the season. Runner up was Nelson 's 40% FAAB to get Emari Demercado, who only delivered 23.1 points total over the 4 games James Conner was out.
🎯 Best trade
Gabe & Mary
Gabe received Diontae Johnson; Mary received Marquise Brown. A fair trade, but the problem with trading same-position players one-for-one is that one of the managers will lose the trade.
And yet! T his specific trade is an exception that proves the rule. It ended up being a win-win. Gabe was in 2nd place and Mary was in last place. Gabe traded for an injured Diontae, believing he could hold onto him for 4 weeks, and when he returned, Diontae averaged 11.1 points a game, while Marquise averaged 8.8 points a game. And while Diontae was injured, Marquise averaged 13.3 points per game for Mary, helping her climb out of last place.
🗑 Worst trade
Jesse & Mary
Jesse received Russell Wilson and Jordan Love; Mary received Stefon Diggs, Kenneth Gainwell and $10.
The trade was controversial but defensible, and yet it's the worst trade because it caused unprecedented drama—including the first trade veto vote, which upheld the trade 9-3.
🤝 Dealmaker
Mary
C ompleted 4 trades. Jesse & Cory were second with 3.
🙅 Dealbreaker
Raymond, Mark & Nelson
All three completed zero trades.
🎱 Best drafter
Gabe
Ended the regular season in 3rd place despite only making 9 transactions, the fewest in the league.
🤓 Best waiver manager
Reinier
The most waiver transactions and ended the regular season in 1st place.
🤠 Most active
Reinier
Led the league with 88 transactions. Second most transactions was Jesse with 76.
😴 Least active
Gabe
Only made 9 transactions, and yet made the playoffs! Next lowest was Nelson with 13 transactions.
😎 Never the worst
Cory, Gabe, Henry & Lionel
Never had the lowest weekly score.
🥴 Never the best
Aleks, Chris, Cory & Mary
Never had the highest weekly score.