My husband Jeff has been in the 'Big Johnson Fantasy League' since 1991, so I know a thing or two about BOTH fantasy football and trophies! Here are my thoughts on how to immortalize your fantasy season without breaking the bank.
How to Choose the BEST Fantasy Football Trophy for Your League
Big Johnson League's draft.1. Crown the Champion. Regardless of the budget, awarding hardware to your league winner should be your #1 priority as commissioner. For champion keeper awards, consider doing a smaller version of a traveling trophy (discussed below). This will ensure a legacy over the years. For example, picture a repeat champ receiving multiple Lombardi-style awards and lining them up on their mantle. Here are a couple of my favorites:
NEW! Fantasy Football Champion Chain
Towering Fantasy Football Award
2. Build the Legacy. With a couple of ways to accomplish this, keep both short-term and long-term budget in mind.
- The Easy Way: If you want to stay simple, I suggest choosing a trophy that doesn’t have to be engraved each year. Instead engrave your league name and “Champion” on the front and you are all set. Have last year’s winner bring it back to the draft and award it to the new winner. Here are a couple of suggestions for this style of trophy:
Armchair Quarterback Football Trophy
Annual (perpetual) engraving on the Big Johnson League trophy.- A Little More Effort: With a little more effort, you can engrave the past winners on the sides of your traveling (perpetual) trophy. Most of our annual fantasy football trophies include an option for 3 additional side plates. Be sure to choose this add-on when placing your order. Place the trophy in your cart and type in the text you want on the front plate of your award. Our current best sellers are:
Monster Football Perpetual Trophy
BEST SELLER! Perpetual Replica Fantasy Football Champion Trophy
To get names added to the sides, add product #7170 to your cart and type in the previous winner's information in the engraving section. I suggest including the year, winner’s name and team name. Each side plate fits 6-8 years of engraving. Doing the math, you get 18-24 years of joy out of the trophy.
Please note: Each year there is a process to have the side plate engraved with a new winner. Simply unscrew the plate and mail it to us with engraving instructions and payment for $20. We will engrave and mail it back. Even if you forget to have it engraved for up to 4 years, the cost is still $20 total. Get specific instructions here.
For the biggest whiner in your league, award our popular Cry Baby Loser Trophy.3. Have Some Fun. Finally, if your league coffers allow, consider adding some spice to your draft with some funny joke trophies for your league loser. This is our favorite part of the fantasy football season, as some commissioners get super creative. We've seen it all; check out our Fantasy Football Joke Trophies for more ideas. Here are my favorites:
Best of luck in your draft! I hope the addition of fantasy football trophies adds hype to your league. May the trash-talking begin!
Cheers! Jessica
*Editor's note: this post was originally published in August 2015 and has been updated for content.