This is my final column of the 13th season of the Fantasy Football for Winners blog. 182 columns in 182 days. I'll return in about six months, shortly after the NBA Finals.
A few things before signing off. First, thank you as always for being part of this community. Many of you have been here for a decade or more -- hundreds of familiar names/faces who have become part of FF4W's DNA. You've helped make this page what it is.
There are also a lot of new names. Glad you found this site. This isn't a business, and it's not a rag-tag group of friends who decided to start a blog. I'm just one person. An active dad. A competitive fantasy manager. A data analytics advocate. And a big fan of engaging personally with everyone who reaches out. So don't hesitate to contact me if I can be helpful.
Also, don't hesitate to donate if this page has been helpful. FF4W content is and will remain free. Some people move their blogs to monetization platforms. I won't. When I shared two summers ago why drafting overall-1 ADP Christian McCaffrey would be a huge mistake, because 92% of 27+ year-olds coming off 400+ touch campaigns regressed statistically the following year -- often significantly -- it wasn't behind a paywall. When I issued a similar warning this past summer about RB2 ADP Saquon Barkley, again, it was published for everyone to see.
These and other findings stem from hundreds of hours of research -- dozens and dozens of homemade spreadsheets with (literally) millions of data points. If you want to know whether rookie seventh-round RBs average more fantasy points than rookie UDFA RBs, I can tell you the answer because I'm continually updating all of my spreadsheets, including one quantifying the careers of every RB who's entered the NFL since 1997. (And in case you're wondering, the answer is "no.")
In mid-August I used this research to address a popular question: Should fantasy managers buy into the hype surrounding Jacory Croskey-Merritt? I urged managers not to buy into it and explained in detail why not.
This is what makes FF4W pretty unique. It's not just scattershot opinions. This content is based largely on historical, quantitative evidence. Your donations keep it all free. Please keep supporting FF4W in whatever way you'd like.
Also, I launched a daily podcast five months ago. That, too, is wrapping up for the season today. It takes about 30 minutes a day to think up a topic, record it, plug it into GarageBand to add the intro and outro music (I say "music" generously, because it's pretty low-budget), and upload/schedule it for 5:00am Eastern the next morning. There's a lot of homegrown research on the podcast, and it also gives listeners a deeper dive on specific topics -- like why Dak Prescott was an insane bargain this summer, and why managers should overpay for RJ Harvey (when JK Dobbins was still healthy).
I'm 50/50 on whether to continue doing it next season because of the time investment. So if you enjoy the podcast, please let me know, or post a review on any podcast platform. I'm a big believer in responding to the "market." If there's value, I'll remain all in. If there's not enough value, I'll reprioritize.
Finally, a huge congratulations to Scott Slavick for beating out 153 other teams to win the FF4W Premier Fantasy Football League championship. This is a free league (we play for pride) with basic PPR rules. If you compete in a league where people stop caring by Week 12, or if no one ever trades, or if there are hints of collusion and the commissioner doesn't care, you might enjoy competing in the PFFL next season. Ping me if you want to learn more.
That'll do it. You all rock. Looking forward to continuing the dialogue with hundreds and hundreds of you in 2026.
Have a great offseason.
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End-of-Season Tip Jar:
(1) Venmo -- https://www.venmo.com/u/ff4winners
(2) Cash App -- https://cash.app/$ff4winners
(3) PayPal -- same e-mail as always: fantasyfootballforwinners@gmail.com
* Today's FF4W podcast, episode 167: "Facts > Opinions . . . Final Episode of the Season" -- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fantasy-football-for-winners/id1800490745