Each team may persist a single player, known as a keeper, from one season to the next, under the following rules:
A player may only be a keeper if the player is a part of your team’s final roster from the previous season.
A keeper must be drafted two rounds higher than the previous year’s draft position.
If said player was undrafted the previous season, player should be drafted in round 15.
A player drafted in the 1st or 2nd round may not be used as a keeper the following year.
A keeper may only be draft for 3 seasons following the initial draft for a total of 4 seasons.
The "count" for number of seasons a keeper has been held is reset when ownership changes by either waivers/free agency, or re-draft in a new season. The count does not reset when a keeper is traded. In the event of a trade, the current count transfers with the player to the new owner. Some specific examples follow:
A keeper dropped and subsequently picked up from waivers or free agency by a new owner may be used for the current season and kept for 3 additional seasons by the new owner.
A keeper previously kept for two seasons (owned three seasons) may be traded to a new owner and kept by the new owner for one additional season
A keeper returns to the full draft pool after the third season kept, or if not owned at the end of any season.
In 2011 the league voted and approved the inclusion on a single keeper per team.
The issue that was originally raised in 2013 was actually whether there should be 2 keepers, and some people did prefer that to 1 keeper. The basic reasoning was that 1 keeper isn't really sufficient for keepers to make a significant difference on strategy / FF experience. Below, is a summary of keeper characteristics that Dom wrote in 2013.
“As a service to the MSP community, I list below some things typically cited as characteristics (benefits?) associated with keepers. There are a lot of different possible keeper rules. In general, I believe the characteristics below increase in strength with (1) a greater number of keepers and (2) more favorable keeper rules (e.g. lesser draft position cost to keep a player).
Realism - having keepers more closely models actual football where teams have the same players for multiple seasons
Franchise/Dynasty - allows owners to potentially "build" a winning team over time by skillfully choosing young talent that can be kept for multiple years
Player Favorites - owners can hold on to players they love
League Continuity - in leagues with little to no owner turnover (e.g. MSP), keepers add to the richness of the experience (trash talk, long-term performance of owners, etc).
Excitement - adds a new twist on the standard fantasy football action
Draft Strategy - there is an added element of strategy involved in the draft as owners must consider their current keepers and/or draft prospects that might be future keepers
Late Season Engagement - late season trades are more meaningful/important as a losing owner might trade a stud to an owner making a playoff run in exchange for a future prospect
My feeling is that the keeper decision boils down to how much of a fresh start you want year-to-year versus the value you see in the above characteristics.”
In 2014, the discussion on keepers was re-opened, twice. It was clear that the majority of the league preferred no keepers (July 27, 2013 and 6-2 vote July 30, 2014). Then, the vote went 5-2 in favor of keepers (Aug 20, 2014). These past votes may not have stuck because they lacked a formal or "official" quality for various reasons.
In 2015, the issue was re-visited once again and the league continued with a single keeper. Full discussion is available on the historical Yahoo message boards.
In 2017, it was necessary to address the issue of keeper eligibility when a when ownership changes by either waivers/free agency, or re-draft in a new season. There were many complexities with the possible options. The current rule was established through lengthy discussion a two-tiered voting process. 10 of 12 members participated in the final vote. Full discussion is available on the historical Yahoo message boards.