With a new DFS site comes new pricing and scoring rules. The quicker you can get a handle and adapt, the bigger an advantage you will have over the field. With that in mind, I want to take a look at Yahoo, which will debut its NFL contests in Week 1.
The scoring is closer to FanDuel than DraftKings based on the half-point-PPR and lack of milestone bonuses. Roster composition is closer to DK, though, since a flex is used instead of a kicker.
Looking at salary structure will really determine how we should attack Yahoo DFS. I looked at how elite and punt players were priced on each site relative to the total cap. These figures are based off of Week 1 pricing, so there will be some variance through the season, but I don’t think it will be too extreme:
(Table shows percentage of total cap each type costs)
| Type | DraftKings | FanDuel | Yahoo |
| Punt QB | 10% | 8.33% | 10% |
| Elite QB | 17.2% | 16.2% | 24% |
| Type | DraftKings | FanDuel | Yahoo |
| Punt RB | 6% | 7.5% | 5% |
| Elite RB | 15.8% | 15.3% | 18% |
| Type | DraftKings | FanDuel | Yahoo |
| Punt WR | 6% | 7.5% | 5% |
| Elite WR | 18.6% | 16.2% | 20.5% |
| Type | DraftKings | FanDuel | Yahoo |
| Punt TE | 6% | 7.5% | 5% |
| Elite TE | 11.2% | 11.5% | 10.5% |
With the most expensive elite players and cheapest punt players in three categories, it sure seems like Yahoo is begging you to go with a stars and scrubs type approach.
Just looking at the table, going cheaper at wide receiver may generally be the way to go. The most expensive WRs on Yahoo are actually more expensive relative to cap than they are on DraftKings, despite the fact that DraftKings awards 0.5 more points for every reception and a bonus for 100 yards receiving! That’s not going to be good for the ol’ bargain rating.
The QB position at Yahoo really seems overpriced in general. This seems like it can’t even be true, so I double-checked and 22 (TWENTY-TWO) quarterbacks are priced above 16.2% of the cap, which is what Aaron Rodgers will cost you on FanDuel. If there is a cheap QB that a lot of people seem to be on one week, Yahoo will almost certainly be the best place to use that player.
If you were wondering about the other positions, in Week 1, Yahoo has four WRs priced above the most expensive WR on FanDuel relative to cap. Coincidentally, it’s exactly the same at RB, with four RBs on Yahoo again priced over the ceiling at FanDuel.
If running backs and wide receivers on DraftKings and FanDuel are Wal-Mart, then in Yahoo, they are Best Buy. You can definitely find a better deal somewhere else, but it’s not egregious. Their QBs are on cruise ship pricing right now though – $7.50 for a beer. If there’s one position in any of the three DFS sites that we support where you can gain a MASSIVE advantage with the right value play, it’s QB on Yahoo.
Looking back on how Yahoo handled MLB, I remember there seemed to be some pretty major price changes as the season progressed. Be on the lookout for QB pricing to come down at some point – until then, see if you can use this DFS market knowledge to your advantage!
