The waiver wire can be one of the most exciting aspects of a fantasy football league. Uncertainty looms at least once per week to see which team will end up with the hottest name left on waivers, sometimes following a colossal breakout performance. So how can we take something inherently exciting and make it even better? Say hello to FAAB waivers.

What Is FAAB?

For those unaware, FAAB — or Free Agent Acquisition Budget — is an alternative waiver wire method that differs significantly from traditional waivers. In a conventional waiver system, the team with the worst overall record will be rewarded with the highest priority on the first run of the waiver wire each week. This has been a tried and true method for running fantasy football leagues for years, but implementing a FAAB system can make things even more fun for your league.

When using FAAB, each fantasy football manager receives a set budget to spend on waivers throughout a season. This budget can be any amount the league agrees upon, but one of the most common setups is each manager receiving $100. Every week before the waivers process, each fantasy manager in the league can place a blind bid on any player available on waivers. The highest bidding team will be awarded that player on waivers, and their budget will subsequently be reduced by the winning bid for the remainder of the season. There is no way of telling what your league-mates have placed as their bid, and thus every team who still has FAAB remaining has a shot at acquiring the players they value most. 

Getting a longstanding fantasy league to commit to a FAAB waiver system can be tricky after years of going about business traditionally. Still, it can lead to exponentially more fun for everyone in the league. Which team might be willing to spend most of their remaining budget on a running back who jumps off the page within the first few weeks of the season? Can you sneak through a cheap bid on a player you think is a diamond in the rough that your fellow fantasy managers might be sleeping on? In a game that is ultimately based on playing for fun, adding additional ways to have fun is never bad. 

Approaching FAAB During the Season

Budgeting your FAAB appropriately can depend on multiple factors. League format, league size and size of the bench can all dictate how you allocate your funds. 

You should be willing to part with a more significant percentage of your budget in redraft formats for a true breakout star early in the season. Most of your competition is likely angling to try and hang on to some funds for late in the season, but it can often be a fool’s errand to wait for that late breakout. That’s not to say that it can’t or won’t happen, but you could find yourself regretting not spending up early in the season. That said, it’s wise to make sure you hang on to at least a few dollars as you approach the playoffs in redraft formats. If you’re playing in a single-quarterback format, this can come in helpful for streaming the position during the playoffs. The same thought principle applies to defenses and kickers if your league starts those positions.

In dynasty leagues, the waiver wire is often somewhat picked over compared to what it might look like in redraft leagues. For this reason, you need to be willing to part with large percentages of FAAB in one shot, especially if a player you value gets released by another team facing a roster crunch. In today’s fantasy landscape, most dynasty leagues don’t start kickers or defenses, so hanging on to small amounts of FAAB down the stretch becomes less critical. When trying to pick spot starters off the waiver wire, you’ll want to keep the bids relatively low if it’s a player you don’t see as a long-term part of your roster.

One essential tip for placing your waiver bids with FAAB: be deliberate in the amount you choose to bid. The analysis will often focus on using a certain percentage of your budget on a specific player, whether 5%, 10% and so on. If there’s a player you’re interested in spending 15% of your budget on, it can make a big difference to up your bid to $16 or $17 rather than sticking at $15. The thought process here is to slightly differentiate yourself from the rest of your league without blowing through your budget in one shot. 

FAAB waivers are undeniably fun. They can help level the playing field on the waiver wire and give every team a chance to compete for the players they value most. Once you play in a league that uses FAAB, it’s hard to imagine returning to the standard waiver wire of days past! 

If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you navigate your season. From our Start/Sit Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup based on accurate consensus projections – to our Waiver Wire Assistant, which allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team and how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.