LAMAR Methodology

What is LAMAR?

LAMAR (League-Adjusted Measure Above Replacement) measures how many fantasy points a player scores above replacement level: the performance you'd expect from a freely available player at the same position.

A positive LAMAR means the player outperformed replacement level. A negative LAMAR means a replacement-level player would have scored more. The higher the LAMAR, the more valuable the player was to their fantasy team.

How Replacement Level Works

Replacement level is calculated per position, per week. For each NFL week, all players at a position are ranked by fantasy points. The player at a specific percentile rank (determined by league size) is the replacement-level player.

In a 12-team league, roughly 65% of RBs and WRs are "rostered" (above replacement). In a 10-team league, only about 58% are. This means replacement level is higher (better) in smaller leagues, because there are more good players available on waivers.

Research Mode vs. League-Specific LAMAR

In Research Mode, LAMAR uses standardized percentile thresholds calibrated from hundreds of real fantasy leagues. This gives you a good approximation of player value for typical league configurations.

When you import your league, LAMAR is calculated using your actual league's roster construction, scoring rules, and number of teams, giving you a precision metric tailored to your exact format.

Scoring Formats

Standard (Non-PPR)

No points for receptions. Running backs and tight ends who catch passes receive no bonus. This format favors volume rushers and big-play receivers.

Half PPR (0.5 Points Per Reception)

The most popular scoring format in modern fantasy football. Provides a moderate bonus for pass-catching, balancing the value between runners and receivers.

Full PPR (1.0 Points Per Reception)

Full point per reception significantly boosts the value of high-reception players: slot receivers, pass-catching backs, and tight ends who run routes frequently.

Matchup Research Tables

Matchup research measures how fantasy managers used a player across comparable leagues. A player enters a season population only after he was rostered in at least 2% of the leagues where his position was eligible. Once qualified, every relevant week remains in the seasonal and career rollup, including weeks with little or no roster exposure.

Starting Slots is position-specific for QB, RB, WR, and TE: the 10t/12t selector represents a league's equivalent number of startable slots at that position, including measured FLEX/SUPERFLEX usage. K, DEF, and IDP retain literal league team-count buckets.
Rostered % uses all eligible league-weeks, including NFL byes.
Start % uses NFL team-game weeks. Byes are excluded; injury and healthy-scratch weeks remain zero-start opportunities.
Healthy Start % uses only weeks in which the player appeared in the NFL game. It equals Start % for a player who appeared in every team game.
Win % is wins in starts: expected wins divided by expected starts. Expected W-L sums each week's start share times its conditional win or loss rate.
Champ is credited only for championship-game starts and uses only leagues with a recorded champion. Playoffs uses only leagues with identifiable playoff results and credits playoff starts.
Inactive Wks are missed NFL team-game weeks; byes are not inactive weeks.

Career totals aggregate qualifying research-season rows rather than an unrestricted NFL career. The research window excludes 1999–2002.

Data Sources

All NFL player statistics are sourced from NFLverse, the open-source NFL data project. Coverage includes:

1999-present: Full play-by-play data with advanced metrics (EPA, CPOE, target share)
1970-1998: Historical stats from supplementary data sources
1920-1969: Basic stats (passing yards, rushing yards, touchdowns)

All passing touchdowns are scored at 4 points (the most common setting). Defensive/special teams scoring follows standard ESPN/Yahoo conventions.