The primary goal for every fantasy football manager is to win their league. In theory, everyone who misses the playoffs loses all the same. Sometimes, that’s not the case, though.
In some leagues, it’s very important to also not come in last place, as that comes with a special punishment. Here are some fun and creative punishment ideas for last-place teams.
Best Fantasy Football Punishments
I’m sure many of you have experienced the frustration of seeing a team in your league reach eight or so losses and then stop setting their lineup. This can severely impact the competitive balance of the league. We need managers to set their lineups throughout the regular season.
There are ways to combat managers giving up once they are mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. The easiest and most straightforward way to do it is to give them a reason to continue trying.
The desire to avoid a punishment for finishing in last place accomplishes this and also adds some excitement to the teams battling at the bottom of the standings.
Punishments can range from fun and temporary to serious and permanent. I prefer to stick with the more lighthearted ones, but not everyone thinks the same way. Here are several last-place punishment ideas that cover a wide array of possibilities.
The Waffle House
Many of you are likely aware of this one. Over the years, we’ve seen many fantasy managers document their experience on X/Twitter. It’s always fun to track, albeit in a very schadenfreude way.
This doesn’t have to specifically be a Waffle House. It can be any restaurant that works. Earlier this year, I saw someone doing this at a McDonald’s with the league providing how much time each item was worth. The way it works is the same.
The last-place manager must go to a Waffle House and cannot leave for 24 hours. That’s the punishment. The manager can shorten their stay by consuming copious amounts of waffles. Every waffle eaten will shave one hour off the clock.
The first couple of waffles are easy. But rather quickly, you will start to feel full. Do you accept the feeling and just wait out the clock? Or do you try and down several more waffles to get out of there sooner?
It can be a lot of fun when the manager embraces the challenge and provides live updates on social media. Well … it’ll be fun for the rest of the league.
Singing Karaoke
It takes a certain kind of person to fearlessly belt out karaoke in a room full of strangers. If you know your league is filled with managers who wouldn’t enjoy this type of activity, then this might be the last-place punishment for you.
You can schedule a night out with as many of your leaguemates as you can and have the last-place manager prepare for a rendition of a song either voted on by the rest of the league or, better yet, chosen by the winner. If you can’t get everyone out, then I guess the loser will just have to record it and share it with the league.
Travel
This isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s not a punishment that will have any long-lasting effects, but it’s an expensive one.
The last-place manager will be forced to go on a series of flights that can be decided in any manner your league or league champion sees fit. You could predetermine the locations your loser must go to … or you could do something far more punishing.
You can give the last-place manager the privilege of going to the nearest airport. Once there, they must buy the cheapest plane ticket possible on a flight leaving relatively soon after they arrive and go wherever it takes them. Then, at the airport they land at, they must do it again.
How many times must they do this? Well, that’s entirely up to you!
Lemonade Stand
Who doesn’t smile when they see a child running a lemonade stand, selling cups of delicious liquid for $1? Well, what if, instead of a child, it was a fully grown adult?
That year’s winner can decide where the stand must be located and how long it must remain open. Or maybe it has to remain open until a certain number of cups are sold? Either way, it will be a day of embarrassment for one unfortunate fantasy manager.
Forced Date Night Without a Date
Date nights are fun. Whether it’s with a friend or a significant other, it’s nice to get out for a nice dinner and maybe a movie. But what if you had to do the fine dining experience without a human companion? (I say “human” because this doesn’t have to be a solo experience.)
Being forced to go wine and dine yourself might be punishment enough. But why not up the ante and require the last-place manager to bring an inanimate date? Maybe they have to bring a giant stuffed animal to place in the seat opposite them. Perhaps a life-sized human doll would provide maximum embarrassment?
The possibilities are endless!
Other Fantasy Football Punishments for Last-Place Teams
Tattoo Time
I want to go on record by saying I am not a fan of permanent punishments. It’s fine if the punishments cost the last-place manager time and money or cause significant embarrassment — those are all temporary. A tattoo, however, doesn’t go away.
But if you really want to incentivize not coming in last, following in the footsteps of the original “Tattoo League” is certainly a way to do it.
Made famous when it was highlighted by Matthew Berry, this is exactly what you think it is. The last-place manager has to get a small tattoo designed by that season’s champion. If you think you’re going to end up with something cool … well … you already know that won’t be the case.
Piercing
This one is in the same vein as the tattoo punishment but can be temporary. Sure, the hole created by the piercing doesn’t go away immediately, but if you remove the piercing, after a while, it will close.
A fair punishment would be for the winner to pick the piercing the last-place manager must get and require them to wear it for a designated period of time (be reasonable with this).
Bumper Sticker
Once your league ends after Week 17, there will be a loser for that season. That manager will remain the loser until a (hopefully) new loser is “crowned” the following season.
Until there is a new last-place team, the previous season’s last-place manager must have a bumper sticker on their car that reads “Fantasy Football Loser” or something of the sort.
Social Media Profile Changes
Similar to the bumper sticker, this is a loud and public proclamation that you were bad at fantasy football in the previous season. The last-place manager will be required to display something akin to “Fantasy Football Loser” prominently on one of their main social media accounts.
This could mean a Facebook or Instagram post or a tweet. It could also be more long term, with the unflattering phrase of the winner’s choosing displayed in the last-place manager’s Facebook cover photo, Twitter banner, or Instagram bio for an extended period of time.
YouTube Video
In this punishment, the last-place manager must record a short video discussing their fantasy football failures. In this video, they will explain why they are bad at fantasy football while singing the praises of the winner. Then they must upload it to YouTube for the world to see.
This is a great idea because it’s both permanent and unserious. Nothing about this video would be designed to have any real impact on the person’s life. But it would be on the internet forever, allowing future fantasy managers to bring it up later and remind that person that they once came in last in their fantasy league.
Attend a Sporting Event
Just go to a sporting event? That sounds fun … right?
Not so fast.
This isn’t just gifting the last-place manager a ticket to a sporting event. For starters, the last-place manager is going to have to pay for it. Beyond that, though, they must wear a sign that lets the world know they lost in fantasy football.
If you really want to add insult to … well … insult, you can also make them wear a jersey of a team they despise or their favorite team’s archrival. Or, even worse, make them wear something totally ridiculous.