Presenting The Deadspin Fantasy Football Almanac: An Unofficial Record Book For 1970-2011

Last week, Drew suggested someone compile a record book for fantasy football. Here's a start: I looked at NFL player stats since the AFL-NFL merger (1970) and came up with some retroactive awards.

No fantasy scoring system is more valid than any other, but I used the following, from Pro Football Reference's fantasy stats page: 1 point per 25 yards passing, 1 point per 10 yards rushing/receiving, 6 points per touchdown, and -2 points per interception. The raw stats are also based on PFR's numbers.

The Brady Award: Given to the quarterback with the highest point total. Named after Tom Brady for his record-breaking 2007 performance.

Year	Name	Points
1970	John Brodie	257
1971	Greg Landry	230
1972	Greg Landry	263
1973	Roman Gabriel	250
1974	Ken Anderson	238
1975	Fran Tarkenton	267
1976	Bert Jones	284
1977	Roger Staubach	230
1978	Roger Staubach	270
1979	Steve Grogan	308
1980	Dan Fouts	334
1981	Dan Fouts	362
1982	Joe Montana	202
1983	Lynn Dickey	332
1984	Dan Marino	457
1985	Joe Montana	315
1986	Dan Marino	408
1987	Joe Montana	302
1988	Randall Cunningham	363
1989	Don Majowski	361
1990	Randall Cunningham	417
1991	Jim Kelly	328
1992	Steve Young	352
1993	Steve Young	356
1994	Steve Young	420
1995	Brett Favre	415
1996	Brett Favre	390
1997	Brett Favre	357
1998	Steve Young	440
1999	Kurt Warner	409
2000	Daunte Culpepper	412
2001	Kurt Warner	371
2002	Rich Gannon	357
2003	Daunte Culpepper	333
2004	Peyton Manning	460
2005	Carson Palmer	332
2006	Peyton Manning	371
2007	Tom Brady	498
2008	Drew Brees	373
2009	Aaron Rodgers	405
2010	Tom Brady	373
2011	Aaron Rodgers	487

The Emmitt Smith Award: Given to the running back with the highest point totals. Named after Emmitt Smith, who won the award four years in a row.

Year	Name	Points
1970	Ron Johnson	223
1971	Steve Owens	199
1972	Ron Johnson	247
1973	O.J. Simpson	279
1974	Otis Armstrong	253
1975	OJ Simpson	362
1976	Chuck Foreman	256
1977	Walter Payton	308
1978	Walter Payton	254
1979	Walter Payton	296
1980	Billy Sims	288
1981	Billy Sims	279
1982	Marcus Allen	196
1983	Eric Dickerson	341
1984	James Wilder	308
1985	Marcus Allen	316
1986	Eric Dickerson	275
1987	Charles White	216
1988	Eric Dickerson	294
1989	Dalton Hilliard	293
1990	Barry Sanders	274
1991	Barry Sanders	288
1992	Emmitt Smith	319
1993	Emmitt Smith	250
1994	Emmitt Smith	315
1995	Emmitt Smith	365
1996	Terry Allen	281
1997	Barry Sanders	320
1998	Terrell Davis	361
1999	Edgerrin James	316
2000	Marshall Faulk	375
2001	Marshall Faulk	341
2002	Priest Holmes	373
2003	Priest Holmes	373
2004	Shaun Alexander	307
2005	Shaun Alexander	364
2006	LaDanian Tomlinson	431
2007	LaDanian Tomlinson	310
2008	DeAngelo Williams	284
2009	Chris Johnson	347
2010	Arian Foster	330
2011	Ray Rice	303

The Rice Award: Given to the wide receiver with the highest point total. Named after Jerry Rice, who won the award eight times in 10 years.

Year	Name	Points
1970	Dick Gordon/Gene Washington	182
1971	Paul Warfield	177
1972	Gene Washington	164
1973	Harold Carmichael	170
1974	Cliff Branch	187
1975	Mel Gray	159
1976	Cliff Branch	184
1977	Nat Moore	163
1978	John Jefferson	179
1979	Steve Largent	178
1980	John Jefferson	214
1981	Alfred Jenkins	214
1982	Wes Chandler	160
1983	Mike Quick	219
1984	Mark Clayton	248
1985	Louis Lipps	193
1986	Jerry Rice	261
1987	Jerry Rice	251
1988	Henry Ellard	202
1989	Jerry Rice	254
1990	Jerry Rice	228
1991	Jerry Rice	205
1992	Sterling Sharpe	225
1993	Jerry Rice	253
1994	Jerry Rice	249
1995	Jerry Rice	292
1996	Michael Jackson	204
1997	Rob Moore	206
1998	Randy Moss	234
1999	Marvin Harrison	239
2000	Randy Moss	234
2001	Marvin Harrison	243
2002	Marvin Harrison	239
2003	Randy Moss	267
2004	Muhsin Muhammad	238
2005	Steve Smith	237
2006	Marvin Harrison	209
2007	Randy Moss	287
2008	Larry Fitzgerald	215
2009	Andre Johnson	212
2010	Brandon Lloyd	209
2011	Calvin Johnson	265

The Christensen Award: Given to the tight end with the most points. Named after Todd Christensen, who won the award four years in a row.

Year	Name	Points
1970	Jerry Smith	114
1971	Bob Tucker	103
1972	Ted Kwalick	130
1973	Charlie Young	130
1974	Rich Caster	117
1975	Rich Caster	106
1976	Dave Casper	130
1977	Walter White	97
1978	Dave Casper	140
1979	Ozzie Newsome	133
1980	Kellen Winslow	183
1981	Kellen Winslow	168
1982	Kellen Winslow	108
1983	Todd Christensen	197
1984	Todd Christensen	143
1985	Todd Christensen	135
1986	Todd Christensen	163
1987	Mark Bavaro	135
1988	Keith Jackson	123
1989	Rodney Holman	128
1990	Ernest Givens Brent Jones	105
1991	Ernest Givens Marv Cook	99
1992	Ernest Givens Jay Novacek	99
1993	Shannon Sharpe	154
1994	Ben Coates	159
1995	Ben Coates	128
1996	Shannon Sharpe	166
1997	Shannon Sharpe	129
1998	Shannon Sharpe	137
1999	Wesly Walls	154
2000	Tony Gonzalez	174
2001	Tony Gonzalez	130
2002	Todd Heap	123
2003	Tony Gonzalez	152
2004	Antonio Gates	174
2005	Antonio Gates	170
2006	Antonio Gates	146
2007	Jason Witten	157
2008	Tony Gonzalez	166
2009	Vernon Davis	175
2010	Jason Witten	154
2011	Rob Gronkowski	241

The Tomlinson Award: Given to the player who has the highest value with respect to his position. The award is named after LaDanian Tomlinson for his 2007 2006 season. Value is measured in VBD, which stands for "Value Based Drafting." VBD takes the player's point total and subtracts the point total of the baseline starter at that position. PFR's VBD calculation uses the 12th best QBs and TEs, the 24th best RB, and the 30th best WR as the baseline starters. It also adjusts the totals for years with shorter schedules. While the exact value of VBD can vary depending on the baseline level, the important thing is that it allows us to compare across positions. It's the best stat for a basic MVP award.

Year	Name	VBD
1970	Ron Johnson	136
1971	Paul Warfield	121
1972	Ron Johnson	137
1973	OJ Simpson	177
1974	Otis Armstrong	170
1975	OJ Simpson	282
1976	Chuck Foreman	152
1977	Walter Payton	217
1978	Walter Payton	112
1979	Walter Payton	150
1980	Billy Sims	161
1981	Billy Sims	133
1982	Marcus Allen	208
1983	Eric Dickerson	191
1984	Dan Marino	245
1985	Marcus Allen	165
1986	Dan Marino	212
1987	Jerry Rice	215
1988	Randall Cunningham	155
1989	Dalton Hilliard	173
1990	Randall Cunningham	204
1991	Barry Sanders	166
1992	Emmitt Smith	209
1993	Steve Young	152
1994	Steve Young	209
1995	Emmitt Smith	225
1996	Brett Favre	197
1997	Barry Sanders	185
1998	Terrell Davis	233
1999	Edgerrin James	188
2000	Marshall Faulk	216
2001	Marshall Faulk	206
2002	Priest Holmes	220
2003	Priest Holmes	231
2004	Peyton Manning	199
2005	Shaun Alexander	221
2006	LaDanian Tomlinson	270
2007	Tom Brady	241
2008	DeAngelo Williams	135
2009	Chris Johnson	197
2010	Arian Foster	192
2011	Aaron Rodgers	215

The Beuerlein Award: Given to the player who provided the most value with respect to where fantasy owners drafted him. I used My Fantasy League's average draft position (ADP) records, which date back to 1999, to estimate the draft spot, and VBD to estimate value. The award is named after Steve Beuerlein, the first winner.

Year	Name	ADP	VBD
1999	Steve Beuerlein	98	168
2000	Jeff Garcia	125	167
2001	Priest Holmes	61	142
2002	Priest Holmes	10	220
2003	Priest Holmes	5	231
2004	Peyton Manning	13	199
2005	Larry Johnson	78	192
2006	LaDanian Tomlinson	3	270
2007	Tom Brady	23	241
2008	DeAngelo Willians	88	135
2009	Chris Johnson	12	197
2010	Arian Foster	59	192
2011	Rob Gronkowski	104	143

The Goodell Award: Given to the player who was the biggest bust by the same logic as that of the Beuerlein Award. Named after Roger Goodell, for obvious reasons.

Year	Name	ADP	Total Points
1999	Terrell Davis	3	36
2000	Terrell Davis	7	41
2001	Fred Taylor	6	13
2002	Kurt Warner	6	57
2003	Corey Dillon	20	73
2004	Marshall Faulk	20	132
2005	Daunte Culpepper	10	95
2006	LaMont Jordan	13	63
2007	Laurence Maroney	13	131
2008	Braylon Edwards	21	105
2009	Michael Turner	4	151
2010	Randy Moss	15	69
2011	Jamaal Charles	6	15

To get some context for the awards and point totals, here are some graphs that show how fantasy point totals have changed over time.

That 12th overall wide receiver line is nearly flat over the last decade: For all of the unpredictability and variance of individual players, the patterns remain the same.

Here are some more hypothetical awards for which data exist but I don't have easy access:

The Eckstein Award: Given to the player on the greatest number of rosters of teams that win their fantasy championship. Because each league is independent, being on a bunch of winning teams in fantasy football is more indicative of value than being on a winning team in real football. Named after David Eckstein, a baseball player whose presence on championship teams was used as evidence of his value.

The Cannon Award: Given to the player with the best single-game point total on the season. Named after Billy Cannon.

The Vick Award: Given to the player with the best single-game point total in a Monday Night Football game. Named after Michael Vick.

The Kicker Award: Given to the highest-scoring kicker. Named after Kicker.

The Flatline Award: Given to the player who has the least week-to-week variance in point totals.

The Variance Award: Given to the player who has the highest week-to-week variance.

The Horseshit Award: Given to the play whose outcome changed the result of the greatest number of fantasy matchups.

The Hall of Fame: A lifetime fantasy achievement award. Chase Stuart at Football Perspective added up career totals for NFL players since 1950. Jerry Rice was the best by a long shot.

Any other ideas? Let me know in the discussion.

Image by Jim Cooke.