Much like the real NFL, the fantasy football season is a grind. Risk mitigation, bye weeks, waiver wire transactions, and the draft all factor into your end-of-season results. But for those willing to put in the effort, a trophy is a nice addition to cash prizes and off-season bragging rights. The same goes for those who were on the flip side, whether through poor moves, apathy, or just plain old bad luck.
As part of the fun of being in a fantasy football league, adding a trophy to your end-of-the-year awards party can add a humorous and exciting element to the festivities. So if you want to bring a bit of hardware to the display cases of your league mates (or your own), sift through these fantasy football trophy ideas.
Alright, maybe it’s not a $1 million dollar question, but choosing the right trophy does have its place in your fantasy football championship celebrations. Before the fantasy football season starts, you should consider whether you want a perpetual trophy or a one-off trophy. Both have their benefits and drawbacks, so understanding both are essential.
In professional sports, perpetual trophies reign supreme. These types of trophies go from winner to winner, year after year — just like the Lombardi Trophy in the NFL, the Commissioner’s Trophy in MLB, or the Stanley Cup in the NHL.
In a fantasy football league, a perpetual trophy stays with the champ for the entire year. If you have a perpetual fantasy football league that has played every year historically, this trophy is probably the better option.
Sometimes, it may include an engraved plate with the winner’s name and their fantasy football team name to enshrine both in the pantheon of great players for eternity. At the end of the next season, a new winner gets the trophy and their name engraved. The cycle continues indefinitely.
The upside to this type of trophy is that it’s easy on the budget, starts a tradition, and hell if it isn’t downright fun to pose with your trophy and send the photos to your league mates. However, winners also don’t get a keepsake to commemorate the occasion.
Opposite to a perpetual trophy, a single-use trophy is a new fantasy football trophy you buy each year. While it’s not as easy on the pocketbook, it gives winners a chance to remember their victorious season with something they can keep forever. Plus, it can give you a creative outlet to choose a different trophy each year.
Every sport across the globe has some sort of annual trophy for the top teams in league play or the playoffs. From the Stanley Cup in the NHL to the Lombardi Trophy in the NFL, these illustrious trophies are synonymous with greatness.
In fantasy sports, winning a championship carries a certain amount of prestige as well — and only the best player should hoist the trophy at the end of the year. Armed with these fantasy football trophy ideas, you can provide that honor in style — and with a bit of bling to boot.
Most fantasy football league players are football fans as well, so it only makes sense to give the league winner a taste of the NFL itself. If Super Bowl winners get to kiss the Lombardi Trophy, your winner should have the opportunity to do the same.
You can find plenty of Lombardi Trophy replicas on Amazon, Etsy, or TrophySmack — many altered to replace the NFL logo with FFL in the middle. You may not get to engrave it with each winner’s name, but your league champion will feel every bit as special as the team that wins it in real life.
Since the Lombardi Trophy is a perpetual one, NFL players remember their team and performance with a championship ring. In fantasy football, the same idea can accommodate a trophy, or you can use it as the championship trophy itself.
Available at many online football memorabilia stores, the ring can contain the league name, player name, team name, or anything else of note from the year. It may not be the best fantasy football trophy from a hardware standpoint, but there’s something about waving your ring in front of the faces of your defeated foes that brings a bit of schadenfreude-based joy.
If your budget is a little light, you can always DIY a trophy of your own. In general, all you need is a can of spray paint, some wood, and a few pieces of football memorabilia or equipment.
For example, you could take a football and a block of wood, spray paint them gold or silver, and bam — you got yourself a great fantasy football league trophy in the form of a gold football. Other items that would make a welcome addition to the DIY trophy might include:
Be creative, keep in line with your budget, and you’re sure to come up with a truly unique fantasy football trophy idea.
Leave it to pro wrestling and boxing to give you the best fantasy football trophy idea. Yes, the fantasy football champion can showcase their winning season, all while drinking a beer or making obscene gestures to their fallen foes. It’s a win-win no matter how you look at it.
Vince Lombardi once said, “If winning isn’t everything, why do they keep score?” For the losers or last-place finishers in your league, these words ring true — even if they don’t want to believe it. To honor those who picked three kickers in the fantasy draft, forgot to set their starting lineups, or didn’t take advantage of weekly trends and opportunities, try a new of these fantasy football trophy ideas on for size.
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, as the saying goes. And if you’ve ever been to a thrift store, you know how true it is. If all else fails and you can’t come up with a fantasy football trophy idea of your own, hop on over to your nearest thrift store.
Within the confines of the store, you’ll find knickknacks, vases, and small pieces of furniture that are sure to make the perfect trophy for your league’s worst player. Or you can just give them a lump of coal or a case of Colt 45 or Molton XXX — just so long as they get the idea that they’re a bit of a laughingstock.
A classic fantasy football trophy idea is the toilet bowl. Ever since the season went into the crapper, this individual continued to grind. So why not commemorate it with the fixture that’s used to eating waste?
You don’t have to buy an actual toilet, but a toilet lid, a small-size toilet replica, or even a toilet handle should do the trick.
Fantasy football punishments have become popular for league losers, so if you can accompany it with a trophy, all the better. These don’t necessarily have to be trophies per se — a flag or t-shirt that says “I Suck at Fantasy Football” will work. Some other options might include football trading cards of the loser doing something stupid or the often controversial Sacko Trophy that should be displayed prominently by said loser.
Fantasy football isn’t the same without awards for the contributors of the league. Whether they’re bitching about player performance, have a great team name, or are just otherwise deserving of a fantasy football award, here are a few fantasy football trophy ideas for the rest of your league mates.
No fantasy football league is a true league without the ubiquitous armchair quarterback. This individual seems to know just what every NFL player and coach needs to do to succeed and becomes infuriated when their advice goes unheeded.
Loud, obnoxious, but almost always good-natured and humorous, the armchair quarterback trophy commemorates their contributions to the spirit of the game — even from the comfort of their living room.
You can find an actual armchair quarterback trophy on places like FantasyJocks, which provides a number of different styles for your tastes, budget, and needs.
The top score doesn’t always equate to a championship season, but noting that a league mate’s effort was above and beyond is a league-friendly gesture. You can go almost any direction with this trophy, but a photoshopped poster of the top scorer’s head on a famed NFL player is a great fantasy football trophy idea. Again, be creative, and you’ll find the ideal trophy option.
Fantasy football team names vary in terms of quality and creativity. But for the person who goes that extra mile, a trophy is in order. A t-shirt that personifies the team name is always a winner, or perhaps a license plate frame to let everyone know that their team name is the best in the league.
Whether you’re the league champ or a perennial loser, effort and the right tools can propel you to future glory in the fantasy football ranks. So if you’re struggling with whom to start, having trouble with waiver wire transactions, or just need to compare a few sleepers, let Wise Guys Edge help.
Using real-time data from Vegas bookies, Wise Guys Edge lets you compare up to five players at once to come to help you decide on a juggernaut lineup for the week. So if you want to hold that championship trophy at the end of the year, use all the tools afforded to you. It just might give you the edge you need.
