Draft-order Olympics and three other ways to make ...

Draft-order Olympics and three other ways to make fantasy football more fun49mDaniel DoppFantasy football buzz: Why Commanders RB Rachaad White should be on your radar21hESPN FantasyFantasy football: Four players to trade for, four to trade away in dynasty leagues22hEric MoodyTo draft or not to draft? Eight players fantasy football managers are divided on8dESPN Fantasy staffFantasy football: Don't make these six draft mistakes13dEric MoodyFantasy football: The two bye weeks you need to plan for this season.39dTristan H.

CockcroftFantasy football: Why the 2026 NFL schedule benefits the Lions and Eagles39dMike ClayFantasy football winners and losers after NFL draft: Price-to-Seattle a perfect fit?56dESPNFantasy impact of A.J.

Brown trade: Which players to upgrade, downgrade22dMike Clay2026 fantasy football rankings: Profiles for more than 30 tight ends74dMike Clay2026 fantasy football rankings: Profiling more than 60 wide receivers77dMike ClayFantasy football: 25 trends to know before draft season begins89dMike ClayThe 12 things fantasy players need to know about the NFL offseason so far90dLiz LozaFantasy football 2026 offensive depth charts22dMike ClayFantasy football 2026 defensive depth charts22dMike Clay2025 fantasy football consistency ratings169dTristan H. CockcroftFantasy football consistency ratings: 2023 through 2025169dTristan H. CockcroftAim for your fantasy draft to be as exciting as the NFL's version.

APDaniel DoppJun 23, 2026, 06:57 AM ETCloseDaniel Dopp is a writer and contributor for fantasy football at ESPN. Daniel also appears on "Fantasy Football Now" and the Fantasy Focus Football podcast.Multiple AuthorsEmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsThis is going to sound super cliché, but hear me out.

Fantasy football is about more than just winning and losing your matchups. It's easy to be reductive and turn fantasy football into straight competition, but at their core, fantasy sports are about community, relationships, shared interest and love of sports.Ideally, your fantasy league looks at the game this way, but if you don't have many yearly traditions in your league, fear not -- for I am here to help.

Here are four ways to spice up your league's yearly investment and maybe build some traditions along the way.Draft-order OlympicsYou could just randomize your draft order an hour before the draft ... but some of us want to put in the sweat equity to potentially earn a higher pick!

Being able to do an event or Olympic-style games to determine your yearly draft order is one of the most fun things a league can do together.There are so many easy games you could put together to create a draft-order gauntlet. For example (and please tag me online if your league does this for your draft order): complete one flip cup, make one ping-pong ball in a cup (include a beverage, if you like), make one free throw, get three bags on the board in cornhole and knock over five bowling pins.

Whoever can do all of that in the shortest time gets to determine which draft pick they want. The second-fastest time gets the next pick, and so on.It doesn't have to be only physical events.

You could have a trivia section or a stats portion, if you're not as interested in all of the other moving pieces. There are plenty of ways to do this, but it really makes setting your draft order a lot more fun.In-person draftAnother great way to maximize the fun is to draft in person.

That doesn't mean you can't still draft on ESPN (almost every live draft I've gone to in recent memory is still done with ESPN's fantasy game), but being in the same room as everyone else takes the day to another level. Food, drinks, jokes and fantasy football. How could an afternoon get any better?

Hosting a live draft is sort of like throwing a party for the entire league, and it's an especially nice way to introduce newcomers to the rest of the managers. At the end of the season, only one of you gets to feel like a winner, but at the beginning, everyone gets to feel like they have a shot. You can feel that energy in the room when you're doing a live draft.

There's not another day like it on the fantasy football calendar.Weekly write-up or podcastI realize not everyone has the free time to do a weekly recap for your fantasy football league, but if you do have a person like that in your league, there are few things that are as fun and entertaining as a witty reaction to last week's games.It's an opportunity to bust the chops of managers for poor roster decisions, benching the wrong guy, or to highlight how an underdog team trounced the defending champion and create inside jokes that will live on for seasons to come.

These recaps, in whatever form, are another great way to build camaraderie and keep a league invested throughout the season.League punishmentYou're reading a column by a former fantasy punishment victim. You don't have to go as hard as I did when I got an eight-hour tattoo on my side of three puppets from "The Fantasy Show with Matthew Berry."

However,