Fantasy football trophies are great and all, but what makes for a fun change is a fantasy football league offering up punishments for those who come in last place.
One such punishment making the rounds of late is of Henry Stern, who had to photoshop pictures of himself into (in)famous (and embarrassing) photos that were then turned into a calendar.
So it got us to thinking: what other forms of punishment are out there for those who lack the skills to properly coach a quality fantasy roster?
And boy oh boy, did we find some good ideas. Check ‘em out below…
Reddit’s Fantasy Football Punishment Ideas
Reddit’s Fantasy Football community is a great place to share ideas about what leagues are doing all around the country. Everything from their draft preparation tools and in-season advice are some of the best you’ll find on the web. But it was a preseason thread talking fantasy football punishment ideas that had the ideas flowing.
Here are some of the best:
“Last place has to wear a pink tutu and tiara during next years Live (drunk) Draft. ‘The Draft Princess.’”- veryfarfromreality
“Our last place finisher has to register and take the ACT. Their score is emailed to the rest of the league and engraved on the toilet bowl trophy.” – Bergerbe
“We have a pink license plate frame with glitter and stickers with hearts that says. “LAST PLACE FANTASY FOOTBALL.” The loser has to have it on is car until the end of last season. The current loser has caught people taking pictures of it on their phones. He also constantly gets weird looks. Now he knows to not be a Taco.” – UnpassTheSalt
“Last place loser in my league has to record themselves lip syncing a song of the league winners choosing and post it to the league YouTube page.” – nward21
“I believe this year we are going to make the last place finisher do a 5-minute set at a comedy club’s open mic night.” – mki401
“We have the rabbit race. The loser of the league dresses in a carrot costume. The worst score of the 1st round of the playoffs dresses in a rabbit costume. The remainder of the league is in normal clothes. The whole group starts drinking at a house near the bars. The carrot leaves and must drink at least 1 drink at a specific list of bars. 15 min later the rabbit leaves and chases the carrot, while maintaining the 1 drink minimum. Finally 15 min after the rabbit, the remaining group chases the rabbit. Technically if the rabbit catches the carrot, the carrot buys drinks and if the group catches the rabbit, the rabbit buys. These rules are never enforced due to intoxication. The patrons at the bar love it. First a lone carrot runs in, chugs a drink and runs out. Followed by a rabbit, then a bunch of drunk guys.’ – MiltonianFootsoldier
Mathew Berry’s Worst Fantasy Football League Punishments
In his book, ESPN Fantasy Guru Mathew Berry wrote about the worst punishments he had heard of. Most involved public embarrassment that included:
-Wearing a t-shirt that says “My Team Sucks” that’s autographed and worn during the annual draft by who ever lost the previous year.
-Going to the grocery store, picking the busiest checkout line only to purchase three things: cucumber, lube and condoms.
-In one of the grossest punishments, the league eats at Taco Bell prior to the draft, then they all use the same toilet without flushing, and the loser from the previous year has to draft their team while sitting on the same toilet. Disgusting.
-A week before the draft, the league takes their team to play paintball, dresses the loser up as a lion and everyone else hunt him down.
-Loser has to get their belly button pierced or a tattoo, usually of the league’s choosing.
More Ideas For Losers In Your Fantasy Football League
Fantasy Football Nerd came up with a bunch of ideas but this one is on another level. In “The Bow Before Me Bet,” the loser must bow anytime they’re in the presence of the winner. If asked why you’re bowing, the only answer allowed is “Because he/she is my king.”
Now, many of these ideas listed are a little extreme, so here are mild punishments you can consider for your league:
-Loser has to shave their legs for an entire football season.
-Sit in the back of a pickup truck and go through a car wash.
-Place their name on a losing trophy, a toilet seat is rather common, and make the loser display it in their house for all to see.
-First place team gets to pick the fantasy name the worst team uses all year.
-Last place has to buy the beer for the entire league on draft day.
-Loser has to dress up in whatever the league votes on during a night out (usually at the bar following the draft).
Editor’s note: This article was originally published in 2016 and slightly updated in 2022
