Draft lotteries are some of my favorite moments of the fantasy football season. It’s like opening a pack of football cards. Before it’s open, there’s so much promise!

“I could get five rookie cards in this one pack – it’s possible!”

But then after the lottery, after you found out you got the 11th pick, you have that same remorse as when you are done opening a pack with 10 Jets players who have already been cut.

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I would also like to take this time to pitch this alternative league rule:

Do a lottery for every single round of your draft

We used to do this for my league in the ’90s and it was pretty fantastic. We only stopped because the league moved to an online service, and we realized no one else was doing it this way.

But, if you do a draft lottery for every round, starting from the last round and going forward, it does a few things that add to the greatness of the draft lottery:

1. It adds a lot more suspense and buildup to the actual first-round lottery.
2. It helps everyone win one or two rounds, which makes them feel a little better when they get hit with that 11th pick in Round 1. “Hey, at least I’m picking first in Round 9!”
3. It begets a TON more trades. Suddenly, you see that if you trade this pick and this pick, you can move up six spots in this round to grab the guy you believe will be there.

True, it doesn’t make the draft lottery fair down the line, but when was the last time something was fair? I mean, even the midway games at the state fair aren’t fair – and “fair” is right in their name!

Eight boring ways to do your draft lottery

So how can we make the draft lottery even more fun? There are a few dozen ways – but first, let’s review some relatively boring, if not effective, ways to determine your league’s draft order. Boring isn’t always horrible. Some people love saltine crackers!

1. Use the league’s online service

Are you a commissioner who just doesn’t have time to do a cool draft lottery? Or do you just barely care? Then just let the league randomize the draft order. Make sure you only do it once because if it sends out an email and the other owners get it, then you randomize it again and they get a second email – some will think it’s a little fishy, including me.

2. Have two owners email you separately

Ask one owner to mix up the numbers 1 through 12 (for a 12-team draft) and send them to you in any order he wants. Then ask another owner to mix up all the team names and send them to you in any order he wants. Then make a master email, combine both of their emails and match the first number with the first name – that’s where that team is picking. Do the same with all the others, and that’s your draft order! Then send out that email that includes both of their emails, so others can audit how you did it, and voila! This method works especially well when you all don’t live close enough to each other to get together for the draft lottery.

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3. Pull paper out of a hat

If all the managers are together at one time, write down numbers from 1 through 12 and place them in a hat, cup or a margarita pitcher (an empty one!), whatever. Then have each owner pull their number out. It doesn’t matter who goes first or last, the odds are the same they’ll get the top pick.

If everyone’s not together, then you can put everyone’s team names in the hat and draw the team names out. But make sure you mention that you are starting with the 12th pick first! Don’t announce that after you pull a name out or else you run the risk of receiving a beatdown.

4. Draft your draft picks

I’ve always liked giving the owners who win the lottery the option of saying where they’d like to pick. While the first few teams might want the first five picks, you’ll eventually reach a spot where an owner is happier drafting his first pick late, so that he can draft his second pick earlier. He might value two of the top 15 players more than having one top-five player.

5. Draw cards

Separate one suit from a deck of cards, ace through queen, and shuffle them and have the owners pick one card each. That card is their pick! (A queen is the 12th pick and the jack is the 11th.)

6. Use an online dice roller

For one league I’ve been in dating back to the mid-2000s, we use the dice roller at RPGLibrary.org, which has some specific settings you need to use.

Roll 1 d 100 +0, and Sum them all (normal roll).

then roll and subtract 0 d 6 +0, and Sum them all (normal roll).

Roll 0 Fudge (or FATE) dice

Roll this set of dice 1 time.

Send the signed results of this roll to yourself: [your email address]

and the GM: [Your commissioner’s email]

with this subject: [2022 Fantasy League Name]

I don’t know what any of it means, other than it sends my commish and myself the number I rolled.

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Nerd alert!

7. Roll a many-sided die … or 5 regular-sided dice

Either bust out that Dungeons and Dragons game you’ve been dying someone to ask you about or just grab your Yahtzee box. Each owner gets one roll of all five dice – highest total wins the top pick! (But they have to yell, “Yahtzee!” That’s the rules.)

8. NBA Draft Lottery style

Sometimes, the best thing to do is just to follow what the NBA does. It’s classic. Ask everyone for team logos, print them out on a sheet of paper, tape them to thicker card stock or a foam core board. Then put them in big envelopes and mix them up. Have each manager come up and mix them up, too! Shuffle, shuffle!

Then ask your server, or an innocent bystander, or a wife, or a hitchhiker you picked up for this very task, to open each envelope, one at a time, to reveal the picks – going backward, from 12 to 1.

27 much more exciting ways to determine your draft order

Inject a little energy into your draft lotteries with these ideas!

9. Run a Tecmo-like 100-yard dash simulation

I love this because rather than just watching team names revealed, you get to watch an actual simulated race between cartoon football players on the website 100YardRush.com. Imagine cheering on your team representative as he’s racing 100 yards down the field against the other participants. (I feel like this is how people from that movie “WALL-E” watched the Olympics.)

First, choose how many teams are in the league, and then on the next page, name all the managers (I like to name the teams, so the team name is shown with each pick at the end, instead of the manager). You can even change the colors of each little running back to show off your team’s favorite color if you like.

You’ll then see the team names listed by their running back on the left side, so you can hit the shuffle button as many times as you like to mix up where the runners start from (I like three!). Then you can assign “Higher Luck Values” to teams that should be weighted with better chances to win (like if they were the worst team last year, etc.).

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Choose “Yards travelled per rush,” “Seconds per rush” and “Speed” – or just leave it all on the default setting like I do. Then it gives you one final page to review your settings – and then you hit “Start Rush”! There’s a short countdown and then they’re off! (Should work well for Zoom participants, too!)

10. Take an online sample Wonderlic test

Get everyone to take the same test college players take before the NFL Draft, and give the top picks to the highest scores! Each manager gets 12 minutes to take this free sample Wonderlic test, and someone should be there to help administer it and make sure they don’t cheat or use their phone.

11. Start a draft lottery rewards program

If you’re going to do a draft lottery, with the ability to add more balls in the hopper for certain teams, then consider starting a lottery rewards program that allows team owners ways of earning more balls in the hopper for their team. For instance, a team can get extra balls in the hopper for any of the following:

• Paying their league fee before the draft
• Writing a good article/doing a good video for the league last year
• Having the best player knocked out due to injury the year before (voted on by the managers at the end of the previous season). For instance, Christian McCaffrey’s manager would get an extra ball in this year’s draft lottery
• Being the highest scoring non-playoff team from the previous season
• Owning the last pick of the first round in last year’s draft
• Drafting the Fantasy MVP from the previous season (voted on by owners)
• Drafting the Rookie of Year from the previous season (voted on by owners)
• Drafting the Sleeper of the Year from the previous season (voted on by owners)
• Picking up the Waiver-Wire Pickup from the previous season (voted on by owners)
• Earning the Best Regular Season Record from the previous season
• Bringing food and drink to this year’s draft party
• Making a significant contribution to the league in some fashion (voted on by the commissioner)
• Being the commissioner
• Breaking any league records the previous year (highest weekly score, highest total points, most wins, etc.)
• Suggesting a new rule that gets passed by the league

12. Weighted draft lottery in order of last year’s finish

I like weighted lotteries for dynasty or large keeper leagues, giving the worst teams one year the best chance at good picks the next year. I usually like to give four balls to the worst team from last year, three balls to the second-worst team and two balls to the third-worst team.

FantasyDraftLottery.com allows you to do a weighted draft lottery for free, and it’s a pretty sweet setup. They allow you to enter your team names and how many balls go into the hopper for each team. Then you hit the button and it brings you to a page with all the picks listed (and you can turn on the NFL music to play in the background – which is amazing!). Then you go down and click on “Pick 12:” to see who got it, and then Pick 11, and then Pick 10, etc., all the way down to the final reveal. (You can also just hit the “Show All” button to see everyone’s picks immediately.)

One thing I thought might be cool is to reveal the middle picks first, like Pick 8, then Pick 7, then Pick 6, so there’s an even higher depth of drama, leaving Pick 1 and Pick 12 for the final two reveals. That means whoever is left either has the very first pick in the first round – or the very last. Then you reveal the first pick and leave the 12th pick for last, which I believe ignites the drama at the most precise moment. (Should work well for Zoom participants, too!)

13. Fantasy Nerds’ LIVE random draft order tool

This is a pretty great draft order generator. Fill out your league’s team names (create a free account first or you’ll have to do this all over again), schedule when you want the draft lottery to be held, choose how long you should wait between when the picks are revealed (they default to four seconds, but I found that was too fast, I would say choose 15-20 seconds for some drama!). Then you have it email you the results, and click the Schedule the Live Draft Order button. You can then email the link it provides to all of the managers who might not be present. A countdown clock appears, building the suspense! Then the picks are randomized and revealed. I enjoyed this – not as much as the 100yardrush game, but still, this was fun. (Should work well for Zoom participants, too!)

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14. Paper airplane distance competition

Give everyone 15 minutes to make the absolute best paper airplane they can make, then write their team name on the wings. Mark a line on the ground, then see who can throw their airplane the farthest. Draft order is determined by the length at which each plane is thrown!

15. Free-throw contest at a local basketball court

I’m not suggesting a game of 21, as we all want everyone still alive at the end of the draft. But bring everyone to the court for a free-throw competition. Have each person shoot, and if they make it on their first try, they keep shooting until they miss. Whoever makes the most in a row gets first pick, whoever makes the second most in a row gets second pick, etc. For those that miss, they all move on to Round 2 with the same setup. (When it’s all over, play a game of H-O-R-S-E to see who gets to eat and drink for free at the draft that year!)

16. Cornhole tournament

Same concept as above, with each manager getting one throw, and if he makes it, he keeps throwing until he doesn’t. You could make this tougher by having everyone throw with their opposite hand, also.

17. Family fun center tournament

If you have a Dave and Buster’s or another similar-styled place, you can have all your GMs get together for a handful of competitions. Have each do a Pop-a-Shot basketball game, and rank them by finish. Have them do a Skee-Ball game, then rank their scores again. Choose a racing game, and rank their timed finishes. Just make it a great day of nostalgic awesomeness.

While I like the idea of having each contest as a separate event, you could also just have everyone buy $10 or $20 worth of playing time, then the player with the most tickets at the end wins the top pick – and all the tickets!

18. Left-handed darts tournament

Understand that when I say “left-handed,” I really just mean opposite-handed. Each GM gets three throws, totaling all the points for a final score. You should allow everyone to practice, just so it’s not a billion throws that just hit the wall and drop. Cats should definitely be put away.

19. Skills competition: Punt, Pass and Kick

Head out to the local park – and bring a football. Rank everyone for each effort, then use the average rankings for the draft order. If there are women or kids in this league, consider creating some “red tees” for them to hit from.

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20. Hold a fantasy football combine

If you like the idea of the punt, pass and kick contest, try this one out! Combine several of the above events for a Fantasy Field Day.

Do a 40-yard dash, long jump, shuttle race, punt, pass and kick, and whatever else you want to add to the day’s festivities. Make sure you get someone to video the whole thing and take some pictures because you’re going to want to revisit these pics/videos at draft parties for years to come!

21. Football trivia exam

I think this is one of my favorites, and I might just have to create one of these exams for the site for everyone to use for drafts – or just for fun. Have whoever scores highest on a football trivia test win the top pick. This trivia exam should be a mix of fun trivia about NFL rules, team origins, fantasy facts and more, preferably designed by a third party. Like me!

22. Your server ranks your league’s team names

I saw this one on Reddit, but the Redditor said to have your server rank your real names. That’s interesting, but I like the idea of having them rank your team names. This makes your leaguemates try to name their team better than usual. I can see me naming my team something like, “Jessica Rules!” if our server’s name is Jessica. I’m smart like that. Just make sure all the team names are written down, and Jessica just puts numbers by each one. Then have her read off the draft order backward, from 12 to 1. Then order some cheese fries.

23. Fantasy NFL preseason weekend

On the weekend before your draft, have everyone pick a QB, RB and WR from all the preseason games that week. Tabulate the scores and the highest scores win the top picks. Teams can have the same players, breaking any tie scores using last year’s finish (highest finish wins).

24. Royal rumble in video game wrestling on WWE 2K

Another entrant from Reddit (thanks Meta_Franko!). He suggested plugging in an Xbox at a bar and setting up a wrestling video game to run a Royal Rumble wrestling match, with the computer controlling all players, and each time someone gets tossed out, their draft pick is the last available from the first round. He said have people choose their characters to make it more fun. He said it takes about 30 minutes, but it gets pretty exciting – and the rest of the bar even got into it, too!

25. Modified beer pong

Write the draft pick numbers on the bottom of 12 cups, then mix them up and pour some beer in there. Then each GM takes their turn at throwing one pingpong ball into a cup. Once you make it, drink, then look at what pick you earned!

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26. Beer guzzling competition

Staying with the beer theme, set up a phone to do slo-mo video of everyone drinking a full cup of beer as fast as possible. Go to the tape to figure out the exact draft order! Plus, you can use the tape to see if anyone jumped the gun!

27. Play laser tag

Everyone goes to your local laser tag spot and fights for the highest score!

28. Poker hands dealt out

Get two decks of cards together and deal each person five cards – and only five, no draws! Deal them face up, and the person with the best poker hand wins the top pick. Keep doing it until the second-to-last pick and last pick are decided.

29. Race go-karts

Don’t race and hurt each other in a 12-car pileup, but instead, do time trials to see who can finish two laps the fastest.

30. Pick entrants in a race

Head to a horse track and have everyone pick a horse in a race (you might have to split the GMs into two races). You can also have everyone pick a driver in an upcoming NASCAR race (note if you do this: Read our NASCAR writers first, they’re awesome).

31. Bowling tournament

Make sure you make this event fair, though, by making everyone throw the balls opposite-handed or between the legs for the entire game.

32. Miniature golf tournament

Rather than just a regular round of miniature golf, try this out. My wife and her family do this every year, and it’s a hoot. A hoot, I tells ya! Everyone can only use ONE hand on their golf club, and the other hand must have an alcoholic beverage of their choice – for the entire round. One-handed putting is tricky!

33. Video game tournament

Whether it’s Mario Kart or just playing an old Nintendo game, like Tetris or Super Mario, have everyone play to try to get the best scores.

34. Bids placed on picks

This was another great one taken from Reddit (thanks champion_underdog!). Have each owner bid or choose secretly what pick they want. Then the commissioner goes through the bids, and if an owner bids on a pick that no one else bids on, then he/she gets that pick. If multiple people bid on that pick, then their names go in a hat, and one person’s name is drawn out. After all winning bids are assigned, all the extra names go in a hat to fill out the lottery. Do you put a bid on the first pick, with the knowledge that everyone wants that pick, so you might be drawing against a bunch of people? Or do you try to outsmart everyone and choose the second or third pick, hoping to be singular? Strategy!

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Hopefully, some of these methods to determine your league’s draft order work for you and your leaguemates. My suggestion is to rotate what competition you use every year so people can’t practice!

(Top photo: Michael McLoone / USA Today)