Behold The Empire ... Leagues

It goes without saying: Darth Vader is one of the all-time cinematic badasses. From the first moment he’s on screen, you know you’re dealing with the highest order of malevolence. Vader is so freakin’ intense, he had his own walk-up song long before Ricky Vaughn was playing Wild Thing. 

When we first see Vader, tall and adorned in black, he’s striding through the rebel ship like he owns the place—which at that point, I suppose he did. Vader’s rasped breathing made it instantly clear that he was a broken, sinister man. At that early point of Vader’s first scene, nine-year-old me soiled my Underoos—which had a 50:50 chance of being worn inside out on any given day. 

Great villains, like Darth Vader, engender a fatal attraction in viewers. We’ve all wondered what it would feel like to be masterfully evil. To be simultaneously hated, feared, and respected. Like Heath Ledger as Joker. Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter. Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh.

Would you want to be Darth Vader? You can be. Keep reading, Padawan. 

Be Your Empire League’s Ultimate Ruler

I’m here to introduce you to a somewhat new, dare I say, a better [gasp!] way to play dynasty. It’s called an Empire League, and it's basically Dynasty 2.0. 

An Empire League is a dynasty league with a couple of key differences that make this format hotter than Alderaan. And if you’re good at it, you get to be Darth Vader.

In an Empire League, your end-of-season winners get half the pot. The other half of the pot rolls forward in an “empire pot.” Year after year, the empire pot grows, waiting for someone to win the league in consecutive years. 

When that happens, the league’s emperor is crowned. He or she gets the entire empire pot and that season’s winnings. 

And here’s the part that’ll really blow your mind: The league is over. 

That’s right, an Empire League crowns a true champion—the person who won in consecutive years. In every other format of fantasy football, you only have the most recent year’s winner. 

The idea of disbanding the league causes panic in some people. But if you love your Empire League and your people in it, once you have a winner, just reboot it.

Last year, my 10-year-old Empire League cashed out a champion, and he won $15,000. Normally, I’d identify the name of this person because he deserves kudos for the win, but the Fantasy Life Newsletter is a big hit at the IRS. Hello, Agent Phillips in Kansas City! 

Dynasty

No One Escapes The Empire

In normal dynasty leagues, you always need to worry that managers will abandon their crappy rosters. One of the great benefits of Empire Leagues is this: Nobody quits. Before long, the pot is too substantial to walk away from. 

When you’re the reigning champion of an Empire League, you have the power to win the empire pot and end the league. That means every other owner is gunning for you. You’re hated. You’re envied. You’re Darth Vader.

As the champion, the rest of the league will (and should!) conspire against you. They’ll mortgage their futures. They’ll trade with each other to try to take you down. You’ll cackle with delight, watching their desperate machinations. I recommend twirling your mustache, also. 

This is a feeling you’ll never get playing any other form of fantasy football. 

At this point, if you’re still not convinced that Empire Leagues are awesome, well, I find your lack of faith disturbing. 

Dynasty

Empire League Strategies

If you’re still reading, I’ll assume the Empire League has piqued your interest, and you’re already thinking about how you can win one. 

Let’s talk strategies for your initial Empire League draft. 

Draft/Auction Strategy 1: You’re not playing to win now, you’re playing to win roughly five and six years from now. There’s not much point in winning in years one and two, because the empire pot is barely funded. By targeting five and six years from now, the empire pot will have some legit funds.

In a 12-team league with a $100 buy-in, winning in the first two years would only get you $2,400. But winning in years five and six would get you $9,000—plus anything you won along the way in years one to four.

So in your initial draft (or ideally, auction), you’ll be targeting players who can help you in 2030. So, obviously, you’re putting a very high value on young players. Duh. 

Draft Strategy 2: Specific to drafting, not auctioning, if you’re starting a new Empire League, trade away current-year draft picks for future-year draft picks. For example, trade away this year’s second-round pick for next year’s first-round pick. That’ll help your 2030 team be one year younger at a position. 

Draft/Auction Strategy 3: Target positions where good players hold their value for a long time. That’s wideouts, tight ends, and quarterbacks, who have an especially long shelf life. Here’s an example from 2021:

• 2021 Top 10 WRs by ADP: Davante Adams, Tyreek Hill, Stefon Diggs, DeAndre Hopkins, Calvin Ridley, DK Metcalf, Justin Jefferson, AJ Brown, Keenan Allen, CeeDee Lamb. Nine of those 10 guys are still in the league, and half of them are major fantasy contributors.

Running backs come and go, other than HOF-level guys like Derrick Henry or Christian McCaffrey. Two-thirds of 2021’s top 10 ADP RBs are out of the league or totally irrelevant (Antonio Gibson, what were we thinking?). 

The only running back I’d take in the first five rounds of my initial Empire draft is Ashton Jeanty (age 21). Maybe Bijan Robinson (age 23). 

You can find tons of dynasty coverage at Fantasy Life, and much of it will overlap with Empire Leagues. Playing the Imperial March while reading is totally optional.