Its fantasy football season and that leaves many fans wondering which site is the best fantasy football site out there? Well don’t worry, we’ve done the dirty work for you over the past few seasons and tried out all the best fantasy football sites on all the major networks. Here is how we see it:

#1 – Yahoo Sports Free Fantasy Football: Who says nothing good in life is free? Well certainly not us because we really like the setup they have heading in to the 2009 season. The scoring is fully customizable, the user interface has a clean layout and it isn’t stuffed with ads like some sites. The only downside in the past was live scoring wasn’t free but in 2009 Yahoo Stat Tracker is 100% free, so that really puts Yahoo over the top in our book.

#2 – MyFantasyLeague.com: MFL is a nice site, it has tons and tons of options for those of you in really specialized leagues. In fact, I would almost say the site is TOO customizable with all the options, sometimes it is difficult to sort through all the options to find what you want. Also the user interface is decent, but it isn’t very “pretty” and can be difficult for players new to fantasy football to find what they are looking for. It’s also not a free hosting service, it costs around $90 to run a league there, but if youre looking for customization, this is your site. Overall it’s a solid site, but not as good as Yahoo.

#3 – ESPN Fantasy Football: ESPN has come a very long way with their setup, from a joke to one of the better league hosts out there. They have a drag and drop interface, which is nice for some and irritating for others. They host free mock drafts and mock, which is a nice feature, but essentially this site is a clone of Yahoo fantasy football, but just not quite as good. Overall its not bad, but it could be a little better in our opinion.

#4 – CBS Sportsline: Quite frankly, I hate using CBS Sportsline for leagues. The navigation is horrible, you cant view free agents stats AND pick them up in the same screen, so you have to memorize who you want, then switch screens to see if they are available. If they aren’t, you go back and do it all over again… does that make any sense? Also there are WAY TOO MANY ADS on the site. Perhaps they should have figured out how to make the site more user friendly and less ad populated.

Well we hope our list of the best fantasy football sites helps you make a tough decision on your fantasy football league. We really liked Yahoo a lot, even though many people assume that something that is free cant be good. If you are going to start a league today, use Yahoo, it is one of the best fantasy football sites out there.

Best Fantasy Football Site

Keeper fantasy football rules are both a lot different and not at all different from regular fantasy football league rules. What I mean by that fence sitting statement is that in a lot of respects keeper fantasy football rules are the same, but in other areas they are completely different. Let me explain.

The scoring for keeper fantasy football leagues is usually no different than a regular fantasy football scoring system, which can vary depending on your league’s settings anyway. Running backs and receivers still get points like they would in redraft leagues, and quarterbacks still get their passing yards. Most systems like Yahoo Sports free fantasy football will allow you to set specific scoring systems in the commissioner panel.

The big difference is that keeper fantasy football rules allow you to keep one or more players when the season is complete. Most keeper leagues will let you keep a handful of a players while other leagues let you keep all of your players. Usually when you get to keep all of your players that is known as a Dynasty League. The remaining players are drafted to start the next season.

The big issue in keeping one or more players in a keeper league is that some teams could become top heavy with lots of top draft picks kept while others have no stars to keep, so you want to think of some ways to restrict owners from doing so. Some common methods include only being able to keep a player for two or three years, some leagues use a point system or salary cap. The reason for this is not to punish owners but in keeper leagues if one team is dominant, many losing owners tend to quit.

Ultimately the only difference between keeper fantasy football rules is that you are playing for the future so youth is a consideration. As you can see in Yahoo Sports free fantasy football draft information, players like Kurt Warner who are up there in age may fall further in drafts than normal in favor of younger players like Matt Ryan. In my opinion though, people take age too seriously so if your league has keeper fantasy football rules, play for the current year and let the future sort itself out.

Keeper Fantasy Football Rules

What fantasy football scoring system you use really makes a big difference on how your league plays out as it can radically impact what players are more valuable, and as a result should be drafted higher or lower in your fantasy football drafts. Yahoo Sports Free Fantasy Football usually sets the standard for scoring, as they are the largest and best fantasy football program going. Fortunately Yahoo calculates all scores on the fly so you just need to sit back and enjoy their free stat tracking software.

Standard fantasy football scoring systems usually award 1 point per every 10 yards rushing and/or receiving for all offensive players and 1 point for every 25 yards passing for all players, but typically only quarterbacks will end up getting these points. These can be adjusted depending on your league’s desire for points, if you like high scoring matchups adjust it down to 1pt per 5 yards or 20 yards passing, etc.

Touchdowns can vary by position. Normally rushing and receiving touchdowns are scored at 6 points each, but passing touchdowns are typically scored at 4 points each since quarterbacks throw quite a few touchdowns over the season. Some leagues include touchdowns for kickoff and punt returns, but typically these are awarded to defenses.

Some leagues also give points per receptions to running backs, wide receivers and tight ends, this is known as PPR scoring. PPR scoring is typically 1 point per reception, but it can vary up and down with some leagues rewarding receptions with multiple points and some awarding ½ a point per catch or one point per every 2 catches, with the latter rounding down for every odd number of receptions.

Kickers usually receive one point per extra point, but when it comes to field goals scoring can vary. Some leagues score all field goals at 3 points each, whereas others give bonus points for distance. For example a 45 yard field goal might be worth 4 points, a 55 yard field goal worth 5 points etc.

Lastly, defenses tend to have the most variation but normally they start with a given number of points and the number of points or yards given up usually decreases that amount. Points are usually also rewarded for interceptions, forced fumbles and sacks. Special teams touchdowns are also rewarded to the team defense that scores them.

If you are new to fantasy football setting up a fantasy football scoring system can seem complex at first, but most leagues just use the standard scoring and don’t tinker with it. Systems like Yahoo Sports free fantasy football do all of the calculating for you, and their free stat tracker software lets you watch it live as the game happens. Whatever fantasy football scoring system you choose sit back and enjoy the season!

Fantasy Football Scoring System