Proposals on the table & help I need from you
Two things live here: rule changes I'm formally proposing before the 2026 draft, and the gaps in our history that only your memories can fill. Both are grounded in the data on this site — check my math and come argue.
Proposals for 2026
1. Re-seed the divisions every year
One division has taken 3 of the 4 playoff seats in 12 of our 14 seasons. The current split hasn't changed since 2022 and has sent three of the same four teams to the playoffs four years running — while the other division fights over one seat. Proposal: re-draw divisions annually by snaking the prior year's points-for (1-4-5-8 vs 2-3-6-7), or keep the division names for flavor and just seed the playoffs straight top-4.
2. Draft order by reverse points-for
Random draw has actually been fair — but it does nothing for parity, and reverse standings invites tanking. Reverse points-for helps whoever genuinely struggled and can't be gamed: you can't sandbag your score all season without losing real games while you do it. (For drama, the same thing works as a weighted lottery.)
3. One clean keeper-pricing rule
The rounds-1–3 keeper era locked the same stars on the same rosters for years and made "keep or don't" a gameable choice. Formalizing where 2025 was already headed: a keeper costs the round he was drafted, minus one, escalating one more round each extra year kept, with a two-year maximum; undrafted or waiver pickups cost a round-8 pick. A keeper simply replaces your pick in that round — everyone drafts in every other round, no special slots, no loopholes.
Why these three: the Luck Ledger shows schedule and structure — not skill — driving a ±6-win spread between managers, and the division data is the single biggest lever we control. Vote happens in the group chat.
Help complete the record
The servers gave us everything from 2012 on, but some history only exists in your heads and your inboxes. If you know any of this, reply in the chat:
🕰️ The lost seasons, 2009–2011
ESPN deleted our original league. If your oldest email account has anything from
espnnewsletters@espnmail.com or espnfantasy@fantasygames.go.com
dated before 2012, do not delete it — forward it to me. The weekly
"E-mail Report" recaps contain full box scores; with enough of them we can rebuild
entire seasons. League invites from back then would also confirm the old league ID.
🔁 Keeper history
- Was 2020 really our first keeper year? (The data says rounds 1–3 became keeper slots that season.)
- What was the exact 2025 keeper-cost rule we adopted?
- Any keeper exceptions, forfeits, or side deals I should record?
🤝 The 2021 pick swaps
The draft record shows Chris and Cody repeatedly picking in each other's slots in 2021 (rounds 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 13), plus Cody picking in Bill's round-19 slot. What was the deal (or deals)? Nobody's in trouble; the ledger just wants to know.
📜 ESPN-era trades (2012–2021)
ESPN purged all our old transactions, so I reconstructed likely trades from players switching lineups mid-season. There are 69 candidates — skim your years and confirm, correct, or add what actually changed hands (especially any deals that included future draft picks, which left no trace at all):
All 69 reconstructed trade candidates
| ID | Season | ~Wk | What the lineups show |
|---|---|---|---|
| TR-2012-01 | 2012 | 4 | Bill sends DeAngelo Williams ⇄ Chris sends Kevin Smith |
| TR-2012-02 | 2012 | 4 | Cody sends Michael Bush ⇄ Bill sends Tom Brady |
| TR-2012-03 | 2012 | 7 | Clark sends Brandon Marshall ⇄ Bill sends Jordy Nelson |
| TR-2012-04 | 2012 | 8 | Bill sends Falcons D/ST ⇄ Drew sends Mike Williams |
| TR-2012-05 | 2012 | 8 | Cody sends Michael Vick ⇄ Clark sends Steelers D/ST |
| TR-2012-06 | 2012 | 15 | Cody sends Bengals D/ST ⇄ Bill sends Patriots D/ST |
| TR-2013-07 | 2013 | 6 | Bill sends Broncos D/ST ⇄ Matt sends Larry Fitzgerald |
| TR-2013-08 | 2013 | 7 | Bill sends Bilal Powell ⇄ Chris sends Calvin Johnson |
| TR-2013-09 | 2013 | 7 | Chris sends Eddie Lacy ⇄ Bill sends Philip Rivers |
| TR-2013-10 | 2013 | 8 | Chris sends Dez Bryant ⇄ Matt sends Robbie Gould |
| TR-2013-11 | 2013 | 9 | Chris sends Drew Brees ⇄ Bill sends Larry Fitzgerald |
| TR-2013-12 | 2013 | 10 | Cody sends Chris Johnson ⇄ Matt sends Wes Welker |
| TR-2014-13 | 2014 | 7 | Matt sends DeSean Jackson ⇄ Cody sends Le'Veon Bell |
| TR-2015-14 | 2015 | 7 | Neil sends DeMarco Murray ⇄ Drew sends Larry Fitzgerald |
| TR-2015-15 | 2015 | 11 | Bill sends Calvin Johnson ⇄ Matt sends Dez Bryant |
| TR-2015-16 | 2015 | 11 | Bill sends Stefon Diggs ⇄ Matt sends Tom Brady |
| TR-2015-17 | 2015 | 13 | Bill sends C.J. Anderson ⇄ Matt sends DeAngelo Williams |
| TR-2015-18 | 2015 | 15 | Matt sends Karlos Williams ⇄ Cody sends Zach Ertz |
| TR-2016-19 | 2016 | 6 | Chris sends LeSean McCoy ⇄ Bill sends Matt Forte |
| TR-2017-20 | 2017 | 6 | Neil sends Dustin Hopkins ⇄ Chris sends Jared Cook |
| TR-2017-21 | 2017 | 6 | Drew sends Jaguars D/ST ⇄ Cody sends Jameis Winston |
| TR-2017-22 | 2017 | 8 | Bill sends Lions D/ST ⇄ Neil sends Steelers D/ST |
| TR-2017-23 | 2017 | 9 | Bill sends Adrian Peterson ⇄ Neil sends Julio Jones |
| TR-2017-24 | 2017 | 13 | Cody sends Matt Ryan ⇄ Drew sends Saints D/ST |
| TR-2018-25 | 2018 | 5 | Cody sends Amari Cooper ⇄ Chris sends Leonard Fournette |
| TR-2018-26 | 2018 | 5 | Drew sends Carson Wentz ⇄ Cody sends Christian McCaffrey |
| TR-2018-27 | 2018 | 5 | Drew sends James Conner ⇄ Cody sends Robert Woods |
| TR-2018-28 | 2018 | 6 | Drew sends Austin Ekeler ⇄ Cody sends Bears D/ST |
| TR-2018-29 | 2018 | 9 | Drew sends Aaron Jones ⇄ Cody sends Austin Ekeler |
| TR-2018-30 | 2018 | 9 | Cody sends DeSean Jackson ⇄ Drew sends Panthers D/ST |
| TR-2018-31 | 2018 | 10 | Cody sends Aaron Jones ⇄ Drew sends Dan Bailey |
| TR-2018-32 | 2018 | 10 | Bill sends Alshon Jeffery ⇄ Cody sends Corey Davis |
| TR-2018-33 | 2018 | 10 | Bill sends Duke Johnson Jr. ⇄ Rick sends Vikings D/ST |
| TR-2018-34 | 2018 | 11 | Drew sends Allen Robinson ⇄ Bill sends Austin Hooper |
| TR-2018-35 | 2018 | 11 | Chris sends Dalvin Cook ⇄ Drew sends Nick Chubb |
| TR-2018-36 | 2018 | 11 | Bill sends Harrison Butker ⇄ Cody sends Travis Kelce |
| TR-2018-37 | 2018 | 11 | Chris sends Odell Beckham Jr. ⇄ Drew sends Sony Michel |
| TR-2018-38 | 2018 | 12 | Matt sends Chris Carson ⇄ Bill sends Robbie Gould |
| TR-2018-39 | 2018 | 15 | Bill sends Chris Carson ⇄ Drew sends Doug Baldwin |
| TR-2019-40 | 2019 | 3 | Bill sends Chargers D/ST ⇄ Rick sends Jaguars D/ST |
| TR-2019-41 | 2019 | 7 | Bill sends Devin Singletary ⇄ Drew sends Josh Gordon |
| TR-2019-42 | 2019 | 9 | Bill sends Cowboys D/ST ⇄ Rick sends Steelers D/ST |
| TR-2019-43 | 2019 | 9 | Drew sends Matt Gay ⇄ Rick sends Wil Lutz |
| TR-2019-44 | 2019 | 12 | Neil sends Baker Mayfield ⇄ Bill sends Kirk Cousins |
| TR-2019-45 | 2019 | 16 | Rick sends Colts D/ST ⇄ Cody sends Jamaal Williams |
| TR-2019-46 | 2019 | 16 | Chris sends JuJu Smith-Schuster ⇄ Cody sends Vikings D/ST |
| TR-2020-47 | 2020 | 3 | Drew sends David Montgomery ⇄ Cody sends Odell Beckham Jr. |
| TR-2020-48 | 2020 | 4 | Drew sends Alexander Mattison ⇄ Bill sends Mason Crosby |
| TR-2020-49 | 2020 | 4 | Cody sends Cam Newton ⇄ Chris sends Russell Wilson |
| TR-2020-50 | 2020 | 5 | Cody sends Chase Edmonds ⇄ Bill sends Jonathan Taylor |
| TR-2020-51 | 2020 | 6 | Cody sends Brandin Cooks ⇄ Drew sends Randy Bullock |
| TR-2020-52 | 2020 | 6 | Cody sends Jonnu Smith ⇄ Bill sends Tyler Higbee |
| TR-2020-53 | 2020 | 7 | Cody sends Austin Hooper ⇄ Bill sends Emmanuel Sanders |
| TR-2020-54 | 2020 | 8 | Bill sends Alexander Mattison ⇄ Drew sends Brandin Cooks |
| TR-2020-55 | 2020 | 10 | Rick sends Carson Wentz ⇄ Bill sends Ryan Succop |
| TR-2020-56 | 2020 | 10 | Matt sends Chris Carson ⇄ Bill sends Robby Anderson |
| TR-2020-57 | 2020 | 11 | Bill sends Buccaneers D/ST ⇄ Cody sends Evan Engram |
| TR-2020-58 | 2020 | 11 | Matt sends Chargers D/ST ⇄ Bill sends Jason Sanders |
| TR-2020-59 | 2020 | 11 | Cody sends Christian Kirk ⇄ Rick sends Eagles D/ST |
| TR-2020-60 | 2020 | 12 | Bill sends Austin Hooper ⇄ Drew sends Washington D/ST |
| TR-2020-61 | 2020 | 12 | Drew sends Bears D/ST ⇄ Cody sends CeeDee Lamb |
| TR-2020-62 | 2020 | 12 | Chris sends Christian McCaffrey ⇄ Cody sends Devontae Booker |
| TR-2020-63 | 2020 | 12 | Chris sends Hayden Hurst ⇄ Cody sends Jimmy Graham |
| TR-2020-64 | 2020 | 14 | Cody sends Mike Gesicki ⇄ Chris sends Nyheim Hines |
| TR-2021-65 | 2021 | 9 | Cody sends Derek Carr ⇄ Chris sends Matt Prater |
| TR-2021-66 | 2021 | 13 | Cody sends Brandon Aiyuk ⇄ Bill sends Dalton Schultz |
| TR-2021-67 | 2021 | 13 | Bill sends Daniel Carlson ⇄ Drew sends Khalil Herbert |
| TR-2021-68 | 2021 | 13 | Bill sends Devin Singletary ⇄ Cody sends Rashaad Penny |
| TR-2021-69 | 2021 | 16 | Cody sends Devin Singletary ⇄ Bill sends Dolphins D/ST |
⚖️ Commissioner actions, 2022
Sleeper logged 6 commissioner moves in our first season there (add Gus Edwards wk1, drop Gus Edwards wk1, add Gus Edwards wk1, drop David Njoku wk1, add Kadarius Toney wk1, add Justin Herbert wk1). Bill — what were these fixing?