Dynasty Fantasy Football Glossary: Every Term Explained

Dynasty has its own vocabulary layered on top of standard fantasy terms. Here's every term you're likely to run into, organized by category so you can actually find what you need.

Positions & Roles

QB1/RB1/WR1/TE1 — Shorthand for a player ranked in the top 12 at his position; RB2/WR2/QB2 refers to ranks 13-24, and so on down the tiers.

FLEX — A lineup slot that can be filled by an RB, WR, or TE, rewarding roster depth over positional balance.

Superflex — An expanded FLEX slot that also accepts a quarterback, which is what drives QB value dramatically higher in Superflex leagues.

Bench / Taxi Squad — Bench spots hold any rostered player not in your starting lineup; a taxi squad is a separate set of spots (often 3-4) reserved specifically for rookies who haven't yet been active on an NFL roster, letting you stash them without using a regular bench spot.

Draft & Rookie Terms

ADP (Average Draft Position) — Where a player is actually being selected on average across real drafts, filtered to human picks only. Useful for finding value gaps between where a player "should" go and where the market is actually taking him.

Startup Draft — The initial draft that creates a brand-new dynasty league, typically 25-30 rounds since rosters run much deeper than redraft.

Rookie Draft — The annual draft (usually 3-5 rounds) where incoming NFL rookies are added to existing dynasty rosters.

Devy (Developmental) — A player still in college, rostered speculatively in leagues that allow it, ahead of his actual draft eligibility.

Trade & Value Terms

Buy Low / Sell High — Trading for a player whose value is temporarily depressed relative to his real outlook (buy low), or trading away a player whose value has peaked and is likely to decline (sell high).

Trade Value Chart — A ranked point system assigning relative value to every player and pick, used as a baseline for judging whether a proposed trade is fair.

FAIR / CLOSE / LOPSIDED — Common trade-grade labels based on how close the total value is on each side of a deal — typically within about 10% counts as fair, a wider gap moves toward lopsided.

Waiver Adjustment — A value tweak applied to uneven trades (like 2-for-1s) that accounts for the fact that consolidating value into fewer roster spots has worth of its own, beyond the raw player values.

Scoring & League Structure

PPR / Half-PPR / Standard — Scoring formats that award a full point, half point, or no points per reception, respectively — this single setting reshapes which players are valuable more than almost anything else.

TE Premium (TEP) — A scoring bonus (commonly 0.5-2 points) applied specifically to tight end receptions, meant to offset how thin the position usually is.

FAAB (Free Agent Acquisition Budget) — A season-long budget every manager gets to bid on free agents, replacing simple waiver-priority order.

Contender Ranking / Power Ranking — A league-wide score, usually 0-100, estimating how built-to-win each team's roster currently is.

Roster Management Terms

Handcuff — A backup running back rostered specifically as insurance in case the starter ahead of him gets hurt.

Age Cliff / Aging Curve — The point in a player's career, which varies significantly by position, where production reliably starts declining — earliest and steepest at running back, latest and gentlest at quarterback.

Rebuild vs. Win-Now — The two broad team strategies in dynasty: selling proven veterans for youth and picks (rebuild) versus trading picks and prospects for immediate production (win-now).

FAQ

Is dynasty terminology different across platforms like Sleeper, MFL, and Fleaflicker?

The core vocabulary (ADP, PPR, FAAB, Superflex, etc.) is universal — platforms mostly differ in interface, not terminology.

What's the difference between a keeper league and a dynasty league?

A keeper league retains only a set number of players year to year; a true dynasty league retains the entire roster indefinitely, which is why long-term value and age matter so much more in dynasty.

Do I need to know every term on this list to play dynasty well?

No — but ADP, PPR/TEP, FAAB, and buy-low/sell-high come up constantly and are worth knowing cold before your first trade or draft.