Of course, single season leagues don't have to deal with this issue (though it may feel like it, as fantasy owners out of the running tend to get lazy). However, if you are in any sort of keeper or continuous league which rewards low finishes in the standings (with higher draft picks, for example), you may very well experience tanking issues. By this point in the season, the teams lowest in the standings are out of the playoffs, and probably spending more time on Party Poker than with their fantasy rosters.
So, how can you stop players from tanking? The answer is simple and actually quite a bit of fun: penalize last place finishers! If you're in a continuous league or keeper league, it's likely that the other league members are family members or friends, so have some fun with each other by making last place a disgrace. Here are a few ideas to consider.
"The Sacko"
If you've ever watched The League - an FX comedy series about an extremely intense fantasy league and how it affects the lives of the characters - you're familiar with the concept of the Sacko. Basically, it is a last place trophy symbolizing disgrace and humiliation. Find a symbolic object or token that can be your league's Sacko. Additionally, consider having penalties or duties for the Sacko recipient. In The League, these penalties are unspecified, but at times it seems almost as if the Sacko holder is a slave to the current league champion. This may be drastic, but it's certainly food for thought.
Penalties
Working out a specific penalty system is probably the easiest way to prevent tanking. For example, if your league has an entry fee for each season, and the prize money goes to the winner, consider organizing a system in which the loser pays the winner half of an additional entry fee. Other leagues operate with the last place finisher buying dinner for the champion, or even for the whole league (depends how intense your league is). These types of penalties provide excellent incentives to compete until the last set of downs.
Change The Draft
Tanking occurs because players hope to earn strong draft positions with weak fantasy records - so just change your draft rules! For example, consider a system like that used in the NBA - a draft lottery where the worst record has a better chance of a #1 pick, but no guarantee. Alternatively, do away with previous season influence altogether and determine draft orders randomly. This can lead to a bit of unbalance, but it should put an end to tanking problems.
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