Before we begin today’s main story, a notice from the editorial office:
Next week, the KC Guyz will publish another deep dive into franchise branding.
Owners are encouraged to ensure all team names, logos, and player nicknames are current before our reporting begins.
Honoring the Legacy of Leadership, Continued
In our 2023 Week 1 newsletter, we looked back at the commissioners who helped shape the KC Guyz.
Mobley founded the league.
Lamb expanded the league to 14-owners.
O’Neil upgraded the league to Sleeper.
Our administration added newsletters and podcasts.
Each commissioner left an impact. Today, we honor the commissioner of the 2025 season.
Trey Kennedy | Commissioner 2025
Kennedy entered office at a time when the KC Guyz looked very different from the league Mobley originally founded. What began as a group largely composed of single guys had become a league increasingly filled with husbands, fathers, mortgages, children, and calendars that require far more coordination than they did six years ago.
Kennedy’s answer was simple: Simplify.
Under his administration, divisions were eliminated. Kicker scoring was simplified. And several offseason traditions, including the Combine, Rules Meeting, and Lake Weekend, were consolidated into a single, manageable calendar event.
The Kennedy Doctrine
But while Kennedy was willing to simplify the league, he was far less interested in simplifying the game itself. He made great efforts to keep the fantasy football a 3 phase game.
Defenses received an almost unheard-of 15-point bonus for a shutout. Kicker point yardage was abandoned as a compromise to those who moved to remove the “foot” from football.
The Kennedy Doctrine was becoming clear: Make the league simpler and respect all 3 Phases.
His contributions extended beyond the rulebook. As one of the league’s leaders of trash talk, Kennedy became the first commissioner to subject himself to a full-scale mudslinging campaign during election season. His good sported nature gave the KC Guyz several extraordinary weeks of attack ads and campaign propaganda.
And finally, no retrospective on the Kennedy administration would be complete without mentioning the event that may forever define his term: ushering in the creation of the league’s traveling championship trophy.
Thank you, Commissioner Kennedy, for your service to the league.
A 3-Phase Game
Every year, the same arguments return to remove kickers and defenses. This publication remains opposed. After all, we already investigated the relationship between luck and skill in fantasy football. Today, we turn our attention to something different: Which owners are actually good at the forgotten two phases?
Defense Wins Championships
The chart below shows the all-time average points by each owner’s starting defense.
At the top sits John Gilmore. This makes sense, as Gilmore also leads the KC Guyz in waiver-wire transactions. It’s worth noting the next 3 on this list are previous champions and all 4 prior champions appear in the top half.
Get a Kick Outta That
Then we arrive at kickers.
Since his sophomore season, Zisman has usually been the first owner to draft a kicker. For years, this strategy has been met with skepticism. Zisman calls it his competitive advantage.
The numbers now show his kickers have produced roughly a one-point weekly advantage over the league average.
The Bottom Line
Fantasy football continues to evolve with changing rules and formats. But the Kennedy Doctrine left behind an important reminder: our league excels with simplicity and football remains a three phase game.
