A dynasty fantasy football league is a type of league where you retain most or all of your players from year to year, creating an environment that is very different from a traditional redraft league. In a dynasty league, after the first season, you keep 100% of the players you took in the leagues startup draft and carry over all of the players onto your squad into the next year. The goal of a dynasty league is still very similar to the goal of any traditional fantasy football league, which is to foster a competitive team and give yourself a chance at winning the league outright once playoff time comes. However, dynasty leagues also have a lot of different factors involved, which makes managing them quite unique and much different from other formats.

If you are interested in joining a dynasty fantasy football league, there are a few ways to get started:

1. Join a start-up or existing dynasty fantasy football league. Youre better off getting in on the ground floor of a dynasty league, as the initial draft in a dynasty or deep keeper league is critical to the future direction of a team. If you dont know anyone starting a league, and you have an opportunity to take over an existing team, then go for it. Just be aware that turning around a struggling dynasty franchise can often take several seasons.

2. If you don’t have access to a new or existing league, then you can start your own dynasty league. Don’t be intimidated if you’ve never played in a dynasty or keeper league before. If you are familiar with fantasy football, you can do this, and there are resources available to help you.

Starting a dynasty league is much like any other league. Some decisions must be made regarding rules and format, and an initial draft is held with all of the available NFL players, just like a regular fantasy league. However, there are some things to think about which are specifically relevant to creating a dynasty or keeper league, such as rosters and keepers. Dynasty rosters are generally deeper than redraft rosters, and you’ll commonly hold 20-30 players (or even more) in a dynasty league. This lets you stash players who might not have immediate fantasy value but could help in the longer term. Dynasty starting lineup requirements are typically similar to redraft, but some dynasty leagues will still include kickers or DSTs, and IDPs (individual defensive players) are catching on in more dynasty leagues and can make the rosters even more complex.