So I started a keeper league last year...2009 will be the first year we keep players from the previous season...we are trying to figure out every detail and I was wondering if anyone here is involved in a good keeper league and could share their rules for keeping players, etc...as of right now we have the settings at:

1. Teams can keep 0-3 players
2. You can't keep anyone drafted in rounds 1-2
3. Teams must give up draft pick 1 round higher than player was selected previous year
4. Max. keeper length is 3 years for each player
5. Draft order is random each year

Do you like/dislike any of these rules? I am sort of thinking about changing rules 1 or 3 to either increase the # of players you can keep or getting rid of the 1 draft pick higher rule (I think with this in place teams will keep a lot less players and I want most teams to keep the max. to make it feel more like a keeper league)

I've been in one keeper for about 15 years. Another for eight. The only difference btw the 2 is we do no playoffs in the original.

We keep up to 3 players, no limit as to how long. Keeps it simple and doesn't seem to pose a significant advantage to anyone (see Tom Brady). Don't have an issue with any of your rules though, except for the last one.

How would you like to finish last this year then get randomly selected to draft last next year? Don't think I'd stick around in that league, make it last place picks first and so on in a snake draft. Keep everybody happy.

The only reason I have the draft at random right now is because picking last isn't necessarily a disadvantage...some people don't want to pick 1st, they'd rather get 2 picks at 12 and 13...but I'll prolly have that go to a league vote...if it was non-snake 1st would be great for the last place finisher...do you give up 1 round pick higher for the player u keep?...would it be better to make it the same round pick as you drafted a player

We don't give up any picks, most guys keep their three so it ends up basically starting in round 4. 3 or 4 each year will keep less so they get conditional picks before the draft starts, which is their 2nd or 3rd round pick, then when the draft starts everybody is on round 4. Confused yet? Me too.

I guess in this scenario it's wise to award the last place finisher the first pick but I like your way of doing it too. Something different.

Incidentally, I zagged and kept no one last year and ended up with Portis, Fitz and MoJo as my conditional picks. Finished 1/2 game out of first, ties suck.

OK...I think I followed that...I do like your settings and I am going to propose it to my league and see if they will change allow me to change it to that...

Just to make sure I am following what you guys do...last year I had the 2nd overall pick and here's how my first few picks ended up

1 - Adrian Peterson
2 - TJ Housh.
3 - Brees
4 - Forte

In that scenario I would pretty much keep Adrian, Brees, and Forte and wouldn't get any conditional picks before the draft started? correct? The only thing I think people would be upset with is, for example, the person who drafted Aaron Rodgers or Matt Ryan. Rodgers went 10th round and Ryan 14th. It seems to me that your way would hurt their keeper value a lot because you would essentially have to give up a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd rounder for them when the settings I had before it would only be a 9th or 13th rounder. Does that make sense?

The team who would keep Rodgers also has LT. Say he keeps LT as his 1st keeper and Rodgers as his 2nd. I would keep Peterson as my 1st and Brees as my 2nd. It sort of seems unfair that Brees and Rodgers are being kept in the same round there when I had to draft Brees in the 3rd round last year and Rodgers was a 10th rounder.

Not a fan of your rule #2. Why make a keeper league if you can't keep your best players?

True that.

Agree on Rodgers and Ryan, that's why I'm not a fan of giving up draft picks for keepers. Just make your keepers your 1st, 2nd and 3rd rounders and be done with it. Your way is fine and interesting but maybe too much overkill?

I don't think the team with the best keepers necessarily has the advantage anyway. For instance, in my other league two years ago I finished 3rd because of a playoff loss by 1 point. Went undefeated in the regular season so my keepers should have been great right? Wrong, my keepers for last year were Ryan Grant, Randy Moss and Braylon Edwards. We all know how that turned out. Drafted Forte with my first pick (it's a ppr league) so my RBs should have been strong with great receivers. I tanked and finished last.

I have sort of combined our 2 styles into one I think people will vote for in my league:

Since there are 15 rounds in our draft...everyone must keep 3 players

1 keeper from rounds 1-5
1 from 6-10
1 from 11-15

Teams have the option to keep one person they picked up off FA instead of any one of the 3 category keepers
Draft order is reverse order of standings

I think this system is a lot easier than the system we were going to use and it also encourages/rewards people for sleeper picks later in the draft. Thoughts?

Sounds like a lot of work but if you're up for it I like it. Especially the FA rule, Eddie Royal would be a prime example of that.

Nice work, I'd enjoy your league.

So what happens the second year you have a keeper? What round does it count as?