Here at Apex Fantasy Football Leagues, we strive to create the ultimate online fantasy football product. We believe this can only be accomplished by excelling in multiple ways such as having some of the highest payouts, creating a format where the most skilled fantasy football owners win, and by providing the best customer service in the entire industry.
All of our efforts have thus far successfully created a service that has grown by at least 100 percent in every year of its existence, been featured on Rotoworld, Yahoo Sports, and RotoViz and shown adaptability by responding and morphing to the wants and needs of its customers.
In addition to one-year leagues, at Apex we host many dynasty fantasy football leagues. Dynasty leagues are ongoing fantasy leagues that continue year-after-year.
We also write original strategy articles that are available for free on our Apex Insider Blog. This subscription-quality content will help you win any league that you’re participating in, whether it be your very own Apex league or your casual friends and family league!
High Cash Prize Payouts and Enhancements
First and foremost, customers are looking for the most bang for their buck and the chance to win the highest amount of money possible. That is why we take our payouts so seriously here at Apex. Not only do we have some of the highest payouts online, but we pay 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in every league – a rarity among fantasy football sites. However, our already high payouts increase substantially with our “enhancements”.
An “enhancement” is when we offer extra money to first place from our end (at no extra cost to the customer) right before the draft. These enhancements serve two highly attractive and important purposes: to push our payout percentages even higher and to ensure that leagues fill and draft on time. Enhanced leagues typically fill very quickly.
Visit the Apex lobby to see if there are any enhanced leagues available right now!
Skill-Based Fantasy Football Format & Rules
One major issue in many fantasy football leagues is that the best players are not always rewarded, with luck becoming a factor in deciding who takes home the big bucks. Apex helps mitigate this issue in three different ways:
1. Two-Game Weeks in Every Fantasy Football League
This is by far our most popular feature. In typical head-to-head fantasy football leagues, it is possible to score the 2nd or 3rd most points in your league in a given week but still lose if the randomly generated schedule pitted you against a team that happened to score more points than you. Meanwhile, the person who scored the 10th or 11th most points gets lucky and plays against a team that scored fewer points. The result is that even though your team scored more points, your team loses while the team with fewer points wins.
But head-to-head matchups are still fun from a competitive standpoint, so we don’t eliminate them entirely. Instead, we add a second game to the schedule every week: against the league average score. All of the scores from the starting lineups of the league are averaged, and if your score is higher than the average, you receive a win. Typically, six teams score above the average and six teams score below the average. So in any given week, your team can go 2-0 (you beat the average and your head-to-head opponent), 1-1 (you beat one of them), or 0-2 (you beat neither). This forces teams to be more consistent on a week-to-week basis while rewarding high scoring teams and keeping the competitiveness of head-to-head play intact.
2. Blind Bidding Waivers For Free Agents in Each Fantasy League
At Apex, you won’t have to worry about not getting the hottest free agent because you aren’t at the bottom of the standings or don’t have the random “waiver priority”. Since free-agent acquisition is such a vital part of being successful in fantasy football, there should be some strategy involved. In Apex leagues, you get $500 in “blind bidding” money to spend on free agents. During the designated period each week, you bid on free agents. However, you will not know what any other team bids at the time you make your bids, so you must weigh the estimated market value for each free agent. This forces owners to balance aggression with frugality and brings a whole new aspect of the strategy to the equation.
3. Deep Starting Lineups To Help The Best Owners Win Cash Prizes
On other fantasy sites, shallow starting lineups handicap the best owners. When lineups only require a few starting players, the owners who are able to identify the sleepers and later-round values are not rewarded while the casual player is not punished for his or her lack of knowledge. The lazy and uninformed owners are exposed when you are forced to start a deeper starting lineup. At Apex, each team starts eight skill-position players (QB, 2 RBs, 3 WRs, TE, a Flex that can be RB/WR/TE) in addition to a kicker and defense. We also keep rosters deep with a total of 18 roster spots so you have room to stash your favorite backups and breakout candidates.
In addition, we offer other starting lineup formats like Deep (an additional flex position) and Superflex (an additional flex that can be a QB). You can learn more about our starting lineups here.
Our format is so popular and innovative that we have been featured on Rotoworld and Yahoo Sports for three straight years hosting a fantasy football league for the most well-known fantasy football analysts using our league settings and brand.
How is Fantasy Football Played?
Like all fantasy sports, fantasy football begins with a draft where teams pick players. Generally, the draft is serpentine, but owners can also pick players by bidding in an auction. Owners draft the real NFL football players that they like. By picking the right players, owners can win their league and make money.
During the NFL season, the real teams play against each other and so do the fantasy teams. The real-life players’ stats are converted into fantasy points and the fantasy team that scores the most points wins the game for the week.
Like the NFL, the teams with the most wins during the regular season games make the playoffs. In the playoffs, teams play in a bracket which determines the league champion. The league champion generally wins the majority of the league fees.
Do You Win Anything Playing Fantasy Football?
Most fantasy football leagues play for money. The money is divvied up between the teams who finish at the top of the league are paid. The league champion will take home the biggest cash prize, but some leagues also pay the teams that finish in second and third place.
Fantasy football leagues allow users to use their knowledge to draft a team and win cash prizes. Apex offers contests that allow you to win real cash and earn a solid amount of winnings. It doesn’t get much better than getting paid to watch your players win your fantasy football game. The combination of fun and entertainment is unbeatable.
On Apex, owners can join enhanced leagues, which provide winners with an even larger cash prize. See what an enhancement is and why owners can make more money joining a specific league.
When Should I Draft A Fantasy Football Team?
Fantasy football leagues draft their players before the NFL season. The 2020 NFL season begins on September 9th, so most fantasy football drafts take place in early September or August. Early drafts typically take place in July.
Typically, owners like to draft as close to the regular season as possible to avoid injuries, but owners do need time to prepare and set lineups prior to the first kickoff. Drafting earlier also allows teams to make trades for players they want to target before the season begins.
Visit the Apex Lobby, to see which fantasy football leagues we have available for this season.
Who is the No. 1 Pick in Fantasy Football?
After a historic 2019 fantasy season and another promising (but injury-shortened) 2020 campaign, running back Christian McCaffrey is the top fantasy football player. He is expected to be the top pick in fantasy drafts and is picked first in the average draft. In most drafts, wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Davante Adams and tight end Travis Kelce are the first non-running backs selected.
In the Apex Blog, we provide drafters with more information on which players to target and how to win their fantasy leagues. We have written strategy articles about undervalued running backs, receivers, and tight ends. Doing research prior to drafting is an important part of winning a fantasy football league.
Why Did Apex Fantasy Leagues Join Dataforce Fantasy Football?
With the rise of popularity and monetary value in fantasy sports, lawmakers are cracking down on the regulations for each state. The legislation is quickly becoming a very concerning issue for fantasy sports businesses, especially small businesses like Apex. Many states are actively passing new laws to regulate and potentially limit your ability to enjoy playing the game you love.
Most of the legislation is focused on regulating Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS), but the language is broad enough to encompass our season-long contests. Some states are requiring licensing fees, while others require audits, compliance with numerous regulations, the collection of taxes, and technical monitoring of customers. It is impossible for small businesses like Apex to comply with all of these regulations without substantially increasing entry fees and/or reducing payouts.
We have identified the only viable solution: operating with DataForce. DataForce has complied with the regulatory requirements and acquired permits to operate in all states where fantasy football is legal and legislation is reasonable. Thus, DataForce will be responsible for all regulatory and compliance requirements while Apex will continue to commission the best online fantasy leagues while maintaining the same high payouts and unparalleled customer service in the fantasy football industry!
In order to comply with new state regulations, users are required to create an account to sign up for leagues, and winnings will be paid through this account at the end of the season. To ensure the safety of your prize money, the funds will be held separately in an audited trust account during the season. Aside from these regulatory changes, your Apex experience will remain the same.
