Every year, in mid-May, DataForce Fantasy Football hosts their annual orphan auction. It’s a week-long, blind-bidding event, and I thought maybe the best way to tell you how to find your dream team is to interview the guy who has guided hundreds of these teams through the auction process.
Transcript of May 7 interview between DataForce owner L. Harmon and website auctioneer Lee H. Any similarities between these two characters is purely coincidental.
L. Harmon: Let’s start at the beginning. Who in the world is DataForce Fantasy Football?
Lee H.: DFF is a season-long fantasy sports provider focusing solely on NFL football. They have their own software for hosting leagues, and also run leagues on MyFantasyLeague if you prefer. Their claim to fame is the best payouts you’ll find anywhere in the hobby.
Q: And these are dynasty teams we’re talking about, right?
A: It’s not just dynasty leagues on the auction, but they are all multi-year leagues for sale. Dynasty leagues, legacy leagues, keeper leagues, salary cap leagues, contract leagues. But mostly dynasties. You can learn more about the types of leagues on the auction at DataForce’s page of games offered.
Q: So you auction off orphans? Sounds a little sordid.
A: Perfectly legal, I assure you, though each orphan does have its own sad story. Each one is a fantasy football team that needs a new home. For whatever reason, last year’s owner doesn’t want to play in the league anymore, and offers it up for sale on the auction.
Q: These are all crappy teams then, right?
A: Heck, no! Some of the teams are losers that need a bit of TLC, probably just a bunch of veteran players past their prime, but a lot of them are great teams! The reasons for leaving a league are varied, not always related to the odds of winning.
Q: Who gets the money from the sale?
A: The guy who owned it before. And that’s why you’ll find good teams along with the bad. Some owners literally buy teams for the fun of rebuilding and selling them at next year’s auction.
Q: But why would anybody want to adopt an orphan team? Wouldn’t they rather draft their own team from scratch?
A: Well, it’s like buying a fantasy team “used”, so of course you can expect to pay less than when you join a brand new league. It’s like garage sale shopping: The fun is finding the diamond in the rough, a team with great prospects at a reasonable price.
Q: Why does an orphan cost less than a start-up league?
A: Because you don’t have to pay a deposit. See, when a new league forms, each owner pays a deposit. A start-up Copper league has a $50 entry fee and a $50 deposit, for double the cost. That’s not the case when you buy “used.”
Q: I take it you don’t get your deposit back when you leave a league?
A: Nope. The deposit stays with the team and gets passed on to the next owner, the buyer. Instead, the seller gets whatever they can sell the team for on the Orphan Marketplace or at the Orphan Auction. So of course they’re incentivized to keep the team in tip-top shape, so they can get some of their money back when they’re done playing.
Q: OK, let’s talk about the event itself. Do I have to deposit money before bidding in the auction?
A: No, you don’t. But you will need to create an account at DataForce Fantasy Football before you can place any bids.
Q: You say this is a blind bidding auction. What exactly does that mean?
A: It means you bid what you’re willing to pay, and nobody knows who the winner is until the bids are revealed after the week is over. The person who bids the most gets the team.
Q: How do you enforce payment if they don’t have to deposit before bidding?
A: We don’t. If you win, you have 48 hours to deposit the money and claim the team you won. And you have to pay the 2025 entry fee at that time, too. If you take a pass on payment, the team passes down the line to the next-highest bidder.
Q: So I don’t really have to take a team if I win?
A: Well, please don’t bid if you aren’t serious about buying the team at that price! (Here, Lee H. crinkled his nose in disgust.) But do feel free to bid on as many teams as you want! (And here, he got that glint in his eye that comes from closing a sale.) If you happen to win several auctions, we won’t force you to take them all. (Lee held up two fingers side-by-side, scout’s honor, pledging he was sincere in this promise. I believe him.)
Q: OK, so let’s talk strategy. I see hundreds of teams on the auction to choose from! Are they all going to sell?
A: Um, no, they won’t all sell! The best will draw 10 or 20 bids, the worst won’t get any interest at all. About a quarter of the teams get no bids and have to be moved back to the marketplace at discount.
Q: So maybe I should bid $1 on all the teams, sight unseen, and just see what happens?
A: That won’t work, sorry. First, you can’t bid less than 10% of the deposit on the team. That’s to protect the seller at least a little. Second, we really do beg you not to bid on teams unless you’re serious about paying the price, and that means examining each one closely. And third, you have to pay the 2025 entry fee for your team as you buy it, and that’s in addition to your bid.
Q: How much should I bid, then?
A: A good rule of thumb is 20% to 50% of the entry fee. For a Copper ($50) team, that would be between $10 and $25. A reasonable price to pay for a decent, but not great, team. You want to get your team at discount, but you can’t expect to win any good teams at auction by bidding the minimum possible. On the other hand, if a team is really good—better than you could draft on your own in a start-up league—expect to pay the full deposit for it, or even more!
Q: Even more than full price?
A: It happens! We’ve seen teams for twice or three times the entry fee.
Q: How many teams should I bid on?
A: Check out the box labeled Top Orphan Rescuers. You’ll want your name on the top of that list, right? But if infamy is not your goal, I’d say bid your max price on two or three really good teams, bid low on a few teams and hope to get lucky, and bid the minimum on a couple just because every orphan needs a little love. In other words, target at least seven or eight, a variety. Some high bids, some low-ball offers. If you accidentally win too many teams, you can pick and choose after the week is over.
Q: Also, if you don’t have the highest bid, you MIGHT win an auction anyway, if the high bidder doesn’t pay?
A: That’s right! So it’s a little tricky figuring out which winning bids to keep, if you win several. Well, my advice then is just to borrow from your ex and buy everything you win. We fantasy football fanatics have to be true to our priorities.
Q: Hundreds of teams, huh? That’s a big pile of hay to go needle-searching through. How do I find the good teams?
A: We have tools! Here’s a couple of them:
1. First, use the filters box to select just those that you’re interested in. For example, maybe you’re looking only for Bronze ($100) dynasty teams. Or just Bestball teams. Or only those that are hosted on MyFantasyLeague. Build your filters, and then SAVE PREFERENCES so you don’t have to do it again when you come back tomorrow. Tomorrow, you’ll just click LOAD PREFERENCES to put them back the way you saved them.
2. Next, in the area just at the top of the team listing, you can choose how to order (sort) the teams on the auction, and select just teams that have certain players or picks. You can pick two players or two picks or one of each. Fiddle around with the AND and OR buttons to see how they work.
Q: No, I mean how do I go about choosing a winning team?
A: Oh! Yeah, I guess that’s important too. You’ll find an Orphan Buyer’s Guide at the top right of the page, that little blue box, but here’s a few of the tricks you MUST know when examining the options:
1. Click on the PICKS button for each team, and check the picks available this year and next.
2. Click the ROST button, and don’t assume the best players to be in the starting lineup. They could be on the bench or on Injured Reserve.
3. Don’t trust the team’s win/loss record. Only rookies pay attention to that, any number of things could cause a good team to underperform.
4. Do look at the deposit amount though! Teams with a full deposit will require a higher minimum bid, because they have the deposit money underneath them to keep them valuable. Remember, if the league folds for any reason while you’re still in it (no DataForce leagues have folded yet, but someday one might!) you’ll be the one who gets that deposit money.
5. Do more research before buying into a more expensive league. Click on the league name and review the other team rosters as well, to see if your team will be able to compete with them.
6. If you have questions about how fun or active the league is, you can click CONTACT OWNER to ask questions.
Q: Wow, that’s some exhaustive advice. Any final words of wisdom, Mr. L. Harmon? Or are you Lee H., I keep forgetting.
A: Just call me Commish if you can’t remember, I seem to have trouble with your name as well. My final advice is just this: Have fun, man! This event only comes once a year!
With that, the Commish shrugged his broad shoulders, flashed an overpowering smile, donned his dark glasses and sauntered gracefully off toward a flock of admirers. What I wouldn’t give to be a fantasy football commissioner like L.H. when I grow up!