Five Easy Ideas to Level-up Your Draft Party

It’s a given that your league should be using a draft board. And, of course, we hope that you are using the FanDraft Draft Board, because nothing will step up your draft party like that.

However, here are 5 more simple to implement tips to take your league’s draft to the next level this year:

1. Decor
In its dorkiest sense, the draft is a theme party. We’re all dressing up in our draft attire, be it jerseys or formal wear, and pretending to be NFL GMs. You may as well lean into the theme, and make the draft space feel festive too. Check out the video below by our friend @FFUnlimited, and you’ll see the extent you can level up the decor of your draft space.

• Football-based decorations. Print out some banners/signage with your league logo.

• Get a podium to announce picks from.

• Print off team logos and put them on glassware, furniture, etc.

2. Drinking Penalties
We use penalty flags (cheap on Amazon, or make your own) in one of my leagues, which owners will throw at each other when a “Draft Penalty” is made. Subsequently, the offending owner is then forced to do a shot (or in our league, we do shots of Champagne just because it’s ridiculous). Here are a few ideas for said “Penalties”:

• Every time an owner uses a draft extension.

• If an owner tries to draft an already taken player.

• When an owner takes a player from a pre-decided team (usually a mutually hated team amongst the league)

3. Awards / Introductions
Every league should start off with a brief speech from the Commissioner, who can take a moment to cheers the league and event, as well as honor the prior year champion. It can also be fun to print out little certificates for made-up recognitions from the prior year, such as: “Most Average Team”, “Team with the Worst Draft”, “Owner We Forgot Was In The League”, etc.

4. A small humiliation for the Toilet Bowl winner
Purchase and decorate a toilet seat that the prior year Toilet Bowl winner has to wear around their head for the duration of the draft.
It’s a small humiliation, but also irritating enough to really not want to get stuck with that title.

5. Provide Handouts
Print out “draft packets” for your owners, which include league rules, history of champions & league records, the draft order / traded picks, and roster sheets so they can write down their selections.
These types of materials add to the experience, but they also streamline communications and getting things running smooth from the get-go.