When is fantasy football trade deadline this year? Here are 2024 dates for Yahoo!, ESPN, Sleeper leagues

Navigating the trading block is one of the most exciting aspects of fantasy football. Negotiating deals, sending trade offers, and ultimately revamping your roster are all fundamental pieces of the fantasy football experience. Unfortunately, the time to make trades in your league is likely coming to a close.

The NFL trade deadline recently passed, and the fantasy trade deadline isn’t far behind. In a few short weeks, fantasy managers will be left with just the waiver wire to shake up their roster. If you’re looking to make a significant trade, it’s best to get the wheels in motion now before the deadline passes.

The trade deadline isn’t consistent between platforms, but we’ll be taking a look at the deadline on three of the major platforms: ESPN, Yahoo!, and Sleeper. We’ll also be going over trade tactics and trade targets that fantasy managers should consider as the trade deadline approaches.

WEEK 11 FANTASY FOOTBALL RANKINGS
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/ST | Kickers

Fantasy football trade deadline 2024When is the ESPN fantasy football trade deadline?At this time, there is no default trade deadline for ESPN leagues. Last year, the trade deadline fell on Nov. 29 at Noon ET. Fantasy managers should plan for it to fall in the same timeframe this year, which would be during Week 12 of the NFL season. To get exact confirmation of your league’s trade deadline, check out the “Trades” section in the “League info” tab on the ESPN fantasy app.

Yahoo! fantasy football trade deadlineThe default trade deadline for all Yahoo! leagues is Saturday, Nov. 16. The trade deadline is fast approaching for Yahoo! leagues, and managers who are looking to make a change, need to act swiftly.

Sleeper fantasy football trade deadlineSleeper does not provide a default trade deadline, and commissioners are left to choose a time between Week 9 and Week 13. Your league’s trade deadline can be found within the “General Settings” section of the League Settings page.

WEEK 11 WAIVER WIRE ADVICE
Full Waiver Wire Recommendations | How to Spend FAAB | Top Waiver Targets

What are some fantasy football trade deadline tips?Make trades that fit your team’s needsAt this point in the season, teams are either in win-now mode or are gearing up for a playoff push. Your trades should fall in line with whichever mentality your team requires. If your team is desperately in need of wins, you should be looking to acquire players who have favorable schedules in the coming weeks and have already had their bye week. If you’re a shoo-in for the playoffs, consider adding players who have a cake-walk schedule during your league’s playoff weeks.

Don’t be afraid to sacrifice depth piecesWhen the playoffs are in full swing, having a group of viable bench players is almost completely irrelevant. There are no bye weeks after Week 14, and if one of your superstars goes down with an injury, your team will likely have a hard time winning anyway. If you are presented with an opportunity to package a fringe starter with another player to acquire an elite asset, go ahead and do it. Your team needs to be firing on all cylinders to win a championship, and having a strong bench won’t help in your quest to achieve greatness.

Pick your trading partner wiselyNothing is more frustrating than going deep into trade negotiations only for the trade to ultimately fall through. The best way to avoid this is by strategically picking the manager in your league to trade with. Evaluate your roster, decide which players you can give up, and seek out a manager whose team will benefit from the addition of the players you’ve identified. If trades are clearly mutually beneficial, making a deal at the deadline can be quite easy.

Don’t send insulting trade offersWhile the main objective of any trade is to come out on the winning side of negotiations, you want to be careful not to send too lopsided of a proposal to kick off trade talks. If the other manager sees your proposal as laughable, they may not even want to engage in active discussions. It’s fine to aim high, but make sure you’re not insulting the other managers’ intelligence. 

Who are the top candidates to buy and sell at the trade deadline?Buy: Kyler Murray, QB, Arizona CardinalsKyler Murray was featured among our Week 11 trade targets thanks to his incredibly favorable fantasy playoff schedule. From Weeks 15-17, Murray and the Cardinals will take on the Rams, Panthers, and Patriots. These are three defenses that Murray can have tremendous success against, and he could quite easily be a top-3 quarterback during this stretch.

Sell: CeeDee Lamb, WR, Dallas CowboysWe received confirmation this week that Dak Prescott is indeed out for the season and some combination of Cooper Rush and Trey Lance will be under center in Dallas for the rest of the year. This isn’t a complete disaster for Lamb, but he’ll be a far cry from the elite receiver he was drafted to be. The floor with Lamb is lower than it’s ever been, and he could cost you a matchup in the playoffs if your team heavily relies on his production.

Buy: Isaiah Pacheco, RB, Kansas City ChiefsIsaiah Pacheco was officially designated to return to practice this week, meaning he’ll soon reclaim his role as the Chiefs’ RB1. In Pacheco’s absence, Kareem Hunt has seen an elite workload, ranking 4th in weighted opportunities per game. As soon as Pacheco is healthy, he’ll likely displace Hunt, assume a bell cow role, and become a weekly starter in fantasy lineups.

Sell: J.K. Dobbins, RB, Los Angeles ChargersThrough the middle part of the year, J.K. Dobbins’ fantasy value had been largely driven by his elite workload. Gus Edwards returned from injury in Week 10 and immediately siphoned meaningful work (10 carries) away from Dobbins. If Edwards continues to steal touches, Dobbins could quite easily fall out of consideration as a fantasy starter. Find a replacement before it’s too late.

Buy: George Pickens, WR, Pittsburgh SteelersGeorge Pickens has one of the easiest schedules for wide receivers throughout the fantasy playoffs. Games with the Eagles, Ravens, and Chiefs spell pass-heavy game scripts galore for the Steelers. Pickens is the clear alpha in Pittsburgh, and he should be able to make the most of this favorable schedule.

Sell: Najee Harris, RB, Pittsburgh SteelersWhile fantasy managers should be looking to acquire George Pickens, they should consider selling his teammate, Najee Harris. The aforementioned 3-game stretch is an absolute gauntlet for running backs. Baltimore (25th), Philadelphia (30th), and Kansas City (32nd) all rank at the bottom of the league in terms of fantasy points allowed to running backs. If your team would likely rely on Harris during the playoffs, consider making a move.