Punishments for fantasy football irrelevance are just as important as the championship trophy itself. These punishments serve as the fantasy police against collusion and unsavory roster behavior among the eliminated teams. This forces a competitive waiver wire run every week through the end of the season, as well as preventing the dreaded Week 15 “kicker for QB” trade. All eliminated teams will strive to avoid last place at all costs. The sentencing should be just as fun for the league as it is feared by the convicted GM.
Varying degrees of the best 2021 fantasy football punishments can be found below:
PG: FAMILY-FRIENDLY
Keeping it friendly can be an option if doing a league with co-workers, or family. As such, we need to keep some of the punishments on the mild side.
Having the loser pick up the restaurant tab at the next league outing, or buying the pizza for next year’s draft are some examples of a friendly wager that will allow you to look family in the face at thanksgiving dinner. Forcing the owner to perform a league-chosen karaoke song for the family or work Xmas party is another fun option. These are innocent punishments that should also drive owners to avoid last place by any means necessary.
PG-13: UP THE ANTE
Moving to the next tier of punishments is where it starts to get juicy. If you’re in a league with close friends, you can level up when it comes to last place humiliation. Common punishments like making the owner stand roadside with a sign written by the league can be gold. “I drafted an entire team with the same bye week” or “I suck at fantasy football” are some examples.
Upping the ante, even more, is a league-wide takeover of the owner’s social media accounts for 24 hours. Photos, status updates, and DM’s are all on the table for the rest of the league and could provide some very interesting messages for any exes of the poor GM.
NC-17: NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART
The final tier is for you young bucks where fantasy is your primary focus in life between September and December. No kids or careers to worry about, no filters to apply. These are intense punishments that are feared at the draft in August.
A league-chosen tattoo is the gold standard for fantasy football punishments. The 2-13 GM should be the proud owner of a Justin Bieber tattoo on their upper thigh or forearm at season’s end, which would make future Memorial Day weekend BBQ’s unforgettable.
Is your league going somewhere for spring or winter break? A thong or banana hammock may be in order for the entire resort to see. He may even come out ahead if anyone starts slipping singles into his waist at the hotel pool like an episode of MTV’s The Grind, hosted by Simon Rex.
SUMMARY
Ultimately, your league type will determine the level of punishment for the owner who drafted Cam Akers or Michael Thomas this year. Keep it clean and fun, or make it downright humiliating. The choice is yours as a league and it can make for some stressful late-December Sunday afternoons.
Just make sure you’re competing to the end of the fantasy season, or you may end up on the police blotter for indecent exposure on Route 1 in front of the orange dinosaur.
