How The Waiver Wire Works in Fantasy Football

I've gone two full years of writing this blog, and getting very few questions about Fantasy Football. If we're being honest, that kind of disappointed me, because I love to help and talk football 24/7. This season though, you guys have been asking tons of questions and it makes me kind of giddy! Karina asked me on twitter if I could explain how the waiver wire works in Fantasy Football. I'd be happy to, let's do this! 

|| There are TWO Types of Players in Fantasy Football ||

   || There are TWO Types of Free Agents in Fantasy Football ||
1. A regular Free Agent It'll just say FA next to their name.  These players you can pick up, and will instantly be a member of your roster. 

  1. A Free Agent Available on Waivers It'll say W (date) next to their name These players have a waiting period before they can be added to your roster, which I will explain.

  || Why Are Waivers A Thing? ||
Waivers give everyone in the league a fair chance to obtain that player, rather than just awarding him to the person with the fastest internet speeds. Waivers eliminate, "First Come, First Serve." 
In the opposite words of Ricky Bobby, "If you're not first, you still have a chance." 
The person with the highest waiver priority is awarded that player on the date listed. So for the example above, Blake Bortles will be added to someone's team who attempts to claim him, on September 19th. 
|| Who Gets The Highest Waiver Priority? ||
(Note: There are actually a couple of ways waiver order can be determined, but I'll discuss the most common.)
The Team in LAST Place will be FIRST in the Waiver Order. 
So let's say I'm in last place in my league, I'll get first dibs on any player I want. If I put in a claim for Blake Bortles, for example, I'll get him. 

  The team in first place, will be last on the waiver priority.
Let's say that you are 8th on the waiver priority list, and you want Blake Bortles. You can still get him, assuming the teams in the priority order above you, 1-7, don't try and claim him. 

|| What Happens After The Waiver Period Ends? ||
After the waiver period is over, so in our example on September 19th at 3am EST, everyone is listed as a Free Agent (FA) until the end of Monday Night Football. 
You can pick up anyone you want, and it is based on a First Come, First Serve basis.  
|| How Do I Find Where I Am In Waiver Priority? ||

|| If you play on Yahoo ||

Go to League

Then Click Overview

Scroll down to "Standings" and look at the waiver column. 

*as this issue went to press, it was brought to my attention by my proofreader that she is the team in first place.  My proofreader is my mom. Go mom. 

|| If you play on ESPN ||
ESPN makes it easy on you!  Click on the "My Team" tab, and it is located right on that first page! 

  I hope I cleared up any confusion on waivers! If you have any other questions on waivers, or a request for a different football post, both fantasy and non-fantasy, just let me know and I'd be more than happy to help!  P.S. I won $25 my first week on draft kings, and so did CB! It didn't cost me anything to play, and I has an absolute blast watching my team move up in the rankings with each game! If you've never played Draft Kings before, click here and use my link to get free entry in your first week. More info on Draft Kings, and how to play can be found on this post!