Etiquette is such a goofy word, but it’s also a very important one when it comes to the success and failure of newer dynasty leagues.

In the world of re-draft fantasy football, if someone isn’t behaving as desired, they just don’t get invited back the following year. In dynasty leagues, where the goal is to create long lasting, invested owners of a team, you don’t want to have that turnover. On the flip side, if you don’t deal with that owner, it runs the risk of destroying the league because it ceases to be fun for the other owners. It puts the league and commissioner in a rather tricky position that just might be solved if the offending parties took a moment to review a little bit of “Dynasty Fantasy Football Etiquette 101.”

If someone in your league posted this link, chances are they feel that you or someone else in your league would benefit from a little refresher, so pay close attention.

Rule 1: Be Careful With the Trash Talking in New Leagues

You probably wouldn’t hesitate to walk up to your best friend of 20 years and toss an insult his way in jest, because you know he would probably fire something right back. Hopefully you wouldn’t do the same thing to a random stranger that you pass on the street, because it would definitely get a much different response. How long and how well you know someone can make a huge difference in the world of joking and sarcasm.

The same goes for trash talking.

Trash talking, especially when it is done right, can be a whole lot of fun and a vital part of some leagues; however, it does have a time and a place. If you are in a new league with people you don’t know, you need to be very careful with the trash talking and feel out the league a little bit first. This is especially true if you are the only one doing it. If you aren’t getting any responses from people, it is very likely that everyone is thinking that you’re just a huge jerk, not someone that is trying to have a little fun with trash talking. Once things get going and you get a feel for the league let the trash talking commence.

Rule 2: Don’t Be “That Guy”

We all know “that guy” without me even describing them because just about every league has one or maybe even more than one. If you don’t think your league has one, take a quick look in the mirror because it might be you!

“That guy” is the one who is always sending out the lowball offers trying to rip people off with the page long emails telling them why it is a huge favor that he is offering this deal. When it gets turned down, “that guy” often gets nasty and sends a rather hostile email back, makes little comments in league chat, or might even post something berating on the league message boards or DLF Forum about the deal.

These are also the guys that tend to have very unrealistic views of their players. Players are suddenly worth more just because they are on their roster filled with four RB1s and six WR1s, even though every website you can find has their players ranked in the 10-30 range on their positional rankings.

They are also “that guy” who tries to tell everyone how they should be running their team. Unfortunately, “that guy” often does pretty well in leagues because he manages to complete one or two of those lopsided trades before the reputation catches up with them and all of the bridges are burned. Otherwise, they are the ones who prey on the new owners in the league before they completely understand the dynasty concept, stealing the one good piece they had in exchange for six pieces of trash or aging players. They takes their success as a justification for their terrible behavior, not realizing that they are the scourge of the league, that the other owners talk about him, and that he just might be the biggest problem in general.

If you are “that guy,” wake up and change what you’re doing before you ruin the league or get voted off the island!

Rule 3: Respond to Other Owners

If you set your lineups each week, there isn’t a whole lot of other things you need to do. If you like your team, you don’t need to trade or make claims. You don’t need to be posting on the message boards or in the chat. However, you do need to respond to direct communication from other owners in a timely manner.

Think about it along the lines of you needing some home repairs done. If you call a business and leave a message for them to call you back, you expect to hear something from them. Maybe they call and tell you they are too busy or their price is too high, but at least they called you back. If another owner sends you a trade request, a private message, or an email you should do them the courtesy of responding in a timely manner. I’m not saying you need to answer within 15 minutes, but you should be able to give them some kind of response within 48 hours.

Sure, things happen from time to time like emergencies and vacations, but if you can’t check the website or can’t be troubled to check your email at least every other day, you need to re-evaluate your choice to be in a dynasty league. If you need more time to think about a trade, just tell them that so they aren’t left twisting in the wind. There is nothing worse than not hearing a peep about a trade offer that was sent out.

Rule 4: Don’t Get Offended and Insulted

There always seems to be several posts on the forums that include some variation of the phase “This is an insulting offer” or “You should be offended they offered this to you.” Please, get over yourself. Especially in a dynasty league, there are so many different ways to look at player values and deals. Don’t assume your values are always the correct ones. You don’t know anyone else’s thoughts or plans for their team or how they view players. In their eyes, what they offered could have been very fair and you just have different views.

Getting offended or insulted and throwing a little temper tantrum isn’t going to help anything. In fact, if you do it publicly, it just might make you look like the jerk. It is always best to reply with a simple, “No thank you. This deal isn’t close to what I’m looking for” and be done with it. Throwing a counter offer that is even worse back at them just throws more fuel on the fire and could burn a bridge. One “bad” offer isn’t grounds for a freak out or you refusing to speak with someone.

Leagues are small enough that you can’t afford to cross teams off your trade partner list every time you get an offer you don’t like. The only time that more than the polite refusal is warranted in my opinion is when you are dealing with “that guy” as stated above. Still remain as polite as possible, but you can call them out a bit on their behavior. Maybe even give them the link to this article!

Rule 5: Follow the Deadlines

This one is pretty simple.

There are certain times during the year when you are supposed to have things done. This could be paying your league fees, making roster cuts, voting on a rule change, or any number of other things. Follow those deadlines. Don’t hold up the rest of the league just because you are being lazy. Plus, it puts a lot of stress on the league commissioner when they need to not only be hounding you about it, but also fielding questions from the rest of the league about why you haven’t taken care of things as of yet.

Rule 6: Support the Decisions of the League

Very few leagues keep the exact same rules from year to year. Most leagues have some kind of discussion and change to rules as time goes and hopefully those are decided as a league and not just by the will of the Commissioner. Regardless of who makes the changes, you aren’t always going to be on the winning side of things. Once those discussions end and the change is or isn’t made, you need to drop it until the following year when the rule changes are discussed again. Don’t keep bringing up the rule week after week, keep making comments to those on the other side of the fence, or turn into a malcontent.

For example, those of you who have been following my work know about my stance on kickers. If you don’t, you can view them here. Even with this, all of the dynasty leagues I am in still have kickers. Every year I bring it up during our rules meeting and the votes have gotten a little closer each time. Other than that meeting, I don’t mention it at all. There is a time and place for everything.

Rule 7: Be Gracious in Victory and Defeat

This is something that every kid should learn before the age of eight, but we often forget when we become adults. No one likes a sore loser or a sore winner. The guy who mopes around or talks about quitting just because they finish last or lose a game by one point isn’t going to win many friends – neither is the guy who signs every bulletin board post with “Five time back to back champion.” Luck can change very quickly in fantasy football and a little humility goes a long way.

Rule 8: Always Give Your Best Effort

We all make mistakes and we all have bad luck from time to time. That might mean that you end up towards the bottom of the league. Even if you are near the bottom of the league it is never okay for you to tank a few games to shoot for the first pick or for a better wavier wire claim. Tanking in a dynasty league is ten times worse than in a re-draft leagues because not only does it mess up the payouts and playoffs for that year, but it messes with the draft order. That draft order in turn impacts the league for years to come. Always try your best to win with what you have on hand.

These are just a few of the more commonly ignored rules of etiquette that tend to cause some issues in newer leagues. There are lots of other ones that drive seasoned owners crazy, but if you can follow these you should get your new league off to a good start and hopefully prevent it from fizzling out. Keep in mind, once leagues have been around for a while they all take on their own personality and some of these rules might not apply. Once they get to that point, just sit back, relax, and have fun with it.

What are some other rules of etiquette you like to follow?