We have a lot of fantasy knowledge, opinions and experience here at the Fantasy Index. What if we had a fantasy league where we might be able to watch these assorted assets brought to bear? One in which even the Fantasy Index faithful could win a spot?

Do I have news for you: The inaugural run of the Fantasy Index Invitational now has a 12-man crew, one replete with dead-eyed redraft killers and industry household names alike. Oh, and our reigning FI Blackout champion as the proverbial cherry on top.

THE PLAYERS

Here's a rundown of the 2025 combatants participants, in our freshly randomized draft order:

1. Andrew S., FI
The greenest of our field of recruits, Andrew is a Briton that is still picking up some of the finer points of American football. While he might be short on fantasy war stories, Andrew is armed with the great equalizer: The Fantasy Index Super Fanatic Updates package, allowing him to be both a proxy for his fellow FI customers and giving him a chance to exploit the biases of the rest of the field. I think we've all been humbled by an 'auto-drafter' or two; with our weapons-grade draft cheat sheet at his side Andrew may just prove to be the SkyNet of auto-drafters.

2. "TPats"
While he may be the youngest player in the field, let neither his youth nor his Patriots' fandom fool you: Tyler, a.k.a. TPats is a veteran redraft player with a knack for astute start/sit calls, likely owing to his propensity for prop betting. After a handful of deep playoff runs in recent years against top end competition, TPats is hungry to break through here.

3. Todd Zola, FI
When our resident baseball czar heard that a house football league was in the works, Todd was quick to toss his hat in the ring: "If you have room/desire for a baseball guy that's been playing football a bit longer than baseball but doesn't have the bandwidth to write about it, I... um... know someone (cough cough)."

Step right up, Mr. Z, step right up!

4. Tom Mignone, 2024 FI Blackout Winner
After flexing the kind of matchup-exploiting prowess it takes to ascend to the Blackout mountaintop last fall, Tom was sporting enough to give it a go in this first iteration of the Invitational. Upon accepting the invite, Tom was modest about his outlook: "While I'll be out of my depth playing against this group, I'll give it a try." Don't sell yourself short Tom!

5. Andy Richardson, FI
Finally, a man who needs little introduction. From Jerry Rice to Sidney Rice to Rashee Rice, Andy Richardson has written, ranked and projected his way through 23 seasons with Fantasy Index.

He said he would help us out by participating as long as we didn't start the draft too late at night. We won't Andy, we promise!

6. "Sweet Lou"
Affectionately given the same nickname as the former Mariners' skipper by yours truly, Luis, a.k.a. Sweet Lou is a well-seasoned redraft player that finally got bored of whomping exclusively on his high school buddies and set out two years ago in search of bigger game, delivering him to our doorstep. Lou's a fellow Texan, a fellow that roots for the Texans, and the worst kind of guy to lose to jn fantasy: A nice guy.

7. "Moss"
Our reigning champ as much as a brand-new league can have one, Moss is the sitting champion of the quasi-defunct spiritual successor to the Invitational. Full transparency: I'm pretty sick of seeing this guy win. I really hope he does not win this thing.

(But he could definitely win this thing.)

8. Luke Wilson, FI
Back for my third trip around the FI sun, I've been trapped in the TPats tier of 'always the bridesmaid' in our recent redraft circles. But I got all my bad luck out in our main redraft league last year, so I am surely due for a lucky bounce or two here. Right? Right?!

9. "Boards"
Yet another familiar face in a gauntlet full of them, Boards has heaps of fantasy experience in both the standard snake and auction draft formats. He'll be keen for a rematch with Moss in the big dance if the stars align.

10. Ian Allan, FI
Some call him the Tom Brady of fantasy sports journalism. Others, the Cal Ripken Jr. One guy called him Ian the Intern. Ian has agreed to make just enough room in his busy schedule of churning out fresh fantasy rankings, team notes and articles to knock a few heads together in the new house league.

Heard he's got some fancy spreadsheet to help him do it, too. Voodoo, voodoo I say!

11. Pat Fitzmaurice, FantasyPros
On loan to us for 2025 is the wonderful Pat Fitzmaurice, managing editor at FantasyPros and a real nice fella, which must be a Wisconsin thing. He's a big Packers fan, which I'm told is in fact a Wisconsin thing.

12. Ben Prator, FI
You know who has two thumbs and is not a big Packers fan? This guy! When he's not running the annual FI Blackout contest, heading up mock draft content for us, or parenting, Ben occasionally opens one eye to watch what his beloved Chicago Bears are doing on a brisk Sunday morning in fall. But only ever one eye, and never for more than a few seconds.

Ben was less than thrilled with the draft slot the fantasy gods gifted him here. "Nothing like spending a bunch of time making detailed rankings to demonstrate how badly I'm getting my [rear end] kicked by like 100 years of fantasy experience in the second half of the board." That's the spirit, Ben!

THE FORMAT

• 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 2 FLEX, 1 K, 1 DST
• Half-PPR
• 4-pt passing touchdowns
• 0.04 points per passing yard
• (-2) points for interceptions
• (-1) for player fumbles
• (-1) for player fumbles lost
• No 'Travis Hunter' scoring, i.e. letting offensive players earn points for things like fumble recoveries, interceptions, etc.

It was interesting to see a pretty wide variety of opinions on what the scoring/lineup size should look like for this. There was ample support for going 3WR, for going full PPR, and especially for tossing out kickers and defenses altogether - a new-age way of removing some perceived 'randomness' from the scoring that is growing in popularity in some corners of the fantasy landscape.

We're set to get this draft underway in a few days' time, with a 'draftboard sneak peek' of the first few rounds not long after that on YouTube. Before we do, what do you think FI's 'house' scoring/format should be? Feel free to make any suggestions in the comments below, before the green flap drops. Speak now or forever hold your peace!

And keep in mind: Next year will feature more bids to the Invitational from our Blackout contest's top performers, so keep your eyes peeled for any hints from Ben about his preferred forms of bribery when it comes to your weekly submissions.

—Luke Wilson