THE SHARTER REPORT: DRAFT NIGHT REPORT CARD

Re-audited: corrected cap ledger for all 12 clubs, and every superlative re-checked against national fantasy ADP through August 31, 2026.

Twelve teams. One night. Ninety-one point seven million dollars of auction money set on fire, and a rookie draft that turned into a quarterback flea market by the third round.

I sat in that room from the first nomination to the last pick of the seventh. This is the corrected, re-audited version of my report: every cap figure below has been checked against the league ledger, and every value judgment below has been checked against national fantasy ADP as of August 31, 2026 — the FantasyPros/Footballguys consensus boards and the ESPN roster-rate data we sync nightly. In an auction keeper league, price only means something next to what the rest of the country thinks a player is worth. So that is the standard I am using.

Here is the whole night — the money, the superlatives, and a grade for every club.

THE HEADLINE: $10.5M FOR DRAKE MAYE

Toledo did not blink. $10.5M on the New England quarterback — a full $5.0M more than the next-highest price paid all night, and 42% of a team's entire cap in a single lot.

ADP context: Maye is going around QB4, inside the top 60 overall in August consensus drafts, and he is rostered in 99.3% of ESPN leagues. He is a legitimately elite asset. He is also, by the national board, roughly the 60th-most-valuable player in football — and Toledo paid him like he was the first.

After Maye, Toledo made exactly one more auction signing: Pat Bryant at the $0.3M floor. Two auction players, total. Everything else came from picks, and they went and traded for more of them. That is not a criticism. That is a strategy with a very short margin for error.

SUPERLATIVES (ADP-ADJUSTED)

BEST VALUE OF THE AUCTION — Dallas Goedert, $0.9M (Boston). This is the one the room missed. Goedert is inside the top 130 overall in August ADP, a top-eight fantasy tight end, and rostered in 89.5% of ESPN leagues — and Boston got him for less than three clubs paid for a kicker. Justin also took Dalton Kincaid's price down the same lane. Getting starting-caliber tight end production for sub-$1.0M in a league where the position is a black hole is the cleanest edge anyone bought.

Runner-up: Aaron Jones, $0.7M (West Hartford). Top-155 ADP, 80% rostered, and a direct hedge on his own $5.5M back. Honorable mention: Khalil Shakir at $0.8M (Chicago) is fine — but let's be honest about it. Shakir's August ADP sits around 140 overall at 71% rostered, in a Buffalo offense that has spread targets three ways for two years. That is a solid market-rate buy, not a heist. I overstated it the first time.

BIGGEST OVERPAY — Jordan Mason, $5.5M (West Hartford). The largest single position-player price of the night went to a running back whose August ADP is roughly 144 overall, rostered in 66% of leagues, in a Minnesota backfield he does not have to himself — which Pat effectively conceded by also buying Aaron Jones. That is $6.2M for one job that might be split three ways.

Runner-up: Kyle Monangai, $5.0M (Newark). ADP ~130, and I like the workload path more than most. But 60% of an auction budget on one back is a plan with no second act. Third: Keaton Mitchell, $2.5M (Philadelphia). ADP outside the top 200, 19.6% rostered. That is dynasty-brain pricing in a cap league.

BEST VALUE OF THE DRAFT — Patrick Mahomes, No. 22 overall (Louisville). Top-115 ADP, 86% rostered nationally, at the $0.2M rookie-scale number in the second round. Whatever tier you think he is in now, the market says starting NFL quarterback, and Dominic paid two hundred grand.

Right behind him: Jadarian Price, No. 3 (Boston) and Carnell Tate, No. 4 (Maine) — both inside the top 75 overall in August consensus, both at $0.2M. Those are the two best pure ADP-to-price gaps in the entire draft. Jeremiyah Love at 1.1 (Alaska) is the highest-ranked player who changed hands all night at ADP 17 overall; that is not a value, that is just the correct pick, and Mike made it.

MOST OVERDRAFTED — the quarterback carousel, Round 2. Bo Nix at No. 19 (ADP ~97) is defensible. Baker Mayfield at No. 20 (ADP ~191) by the same team, one pick later, is not. Cam Ward at 32 and Sam Darnold at 36 turned it into a hobby.

Also: Jonah Coleman at No. 8 (Chicago), acquired by trading up. Coleman's August ADP is around 204 overall at 17% rostered. Paying a 2027 first to move up for a player the national board treats as a late-round flier is the single hardest thing to defend on the whole sheet — and yes, that is my own commissioner. I said no hedging.

And to correct myself: Alvin Kamara at No. 79 (Toledo) is not a great pick. I called it the best value of the draft in the first edition and that was wrong. Kamara is outside the top 250 in August ADP with a rostership rate in the single digits. At $0.2M in the seventh round he costs nothing and he is a fine dart — that is all he is.

MOST DISCIPLINED NIGHT — Louisville. Eight auction signings for $6.7M, nothing above $2.0M. Gainwell, Bigsby, Kaleb Johnson, Brian Robinson — Dominic bought every contingent-workload back on the board and dared the injury gods to make him right. Twenty-six players, $23.5M committed, deepest bench in the league.

BEST SINGLE TRADE — Toledo–Maine. Toledo sent a 2027 fourth for Maine's remaining 2026 fifth, sixth and seventh (Nos. 55, 67, 79). Three swings tonight for one dart a year from now, from a team that had already spent its money and needed bodies. Exactly the right trade for exactly the right roster.

THE RUN NOBODY TALKS ABOUT — Kickers. Eleven kickers came off the board. Brandon Aubrey went $1.0M, Cameron Dicker $0.9M, Jake Bates $0.8M — real money for a position whose top option carries an ADP outside 240. If the scoring ballot passes, some of you paid auction dollars for a position you are about to devalue. Vote accordingly.

THE MONEY, BY THE NUMBERS (CORRECTED)

The first edition of this column ran bad cap math. Developmental-squad players carry a flat $3.0M team charge, not $3.0M apiece — I double-charged two clubs. Here is the audited ledger:

$91.7M committed across the auction.
Boston and Florida tied for the biggest auction spend at $11.1M — Boston bought six players with it, Florida five.
Toledo spent $10.8M and came away with two.
Four clubs are exactly capped out at $25.0M: Maine, Philadelphia, West Hartford and Florida. Zero room, no flexibility, no margin.
Chicago sits at $24.4M, not the $27.4M I printed — $21.4M in active salary plus the flat $3.0M dev-squad charge for Luther Burden III and Jalen Coker. Roughly $0.6M of room.
Alaska sits at $20.9M, not $26.9M — same dev-squad correction, for Theo Johnson and Tory Horton. Mike has $4.1M of room, second-most in the league.
Jersey City is the most flexible at $19.3M committed and $5.7M free.
Louisville has 26 rostered players. Maine has 17. Those two clubs are playing different sports.

Jersey City and Alaska leaving here with the two biggest bankrolls is the number I keep coming back to. That is October leverage, and neither of them has to do anything with it today.

TEAM CAPSULES AND GRADES

Jersey City Crop Dusters — Mike Donnelly — A-

Auction: five players, $5.9M. Draft: Stafford (2.6), Emmett Johnson, Caleb Douglas, Shrader, Falcons DEF, Malik Davis. Jonathan Taylor and Jahmyr Gibbs is the best backfield in the league by ADP — two backs inside the national top 20 — and Ja'Marr Chase on the IMPACT tag is the single most valuable contract in the NJFFL. $3.0M on Tyler Shough (ADP ~167) is the one number I would take back. Leaves with $19.3M committed and the most usable flexibility in the room. Talent plus money is how you win a title.

Boston Alliance — Justin Callow — A-

Auction: Pollard $4.2M, Pittman $2.5M, Murray $2.2M, Juwan Johnson $1.0M, Goedert $0.9M, Brashard Smith $0.3M. Draft: Jadarian Price (1.3), Kenyon Sadiq, Eagles DEF, Boswell, Mason Taylor, Carson Beck. Six auction wins, not one of them stupid, and every one of them sitting at or above its ADP value. Pollard (ADP 120) at $4.2M is market. Pittman (88) at $2.5M is under it. Goedert is the buy of the night. Kyren Williams on the IMPACT tag anchors the deepest backfield in the league. Best balance of any roster in the room.

Philadelphia Phreaks — Joe Christiano — B+

Auction: Pitts $4.5M, Keaton Mitchell $2.5M, Godwin $1.0M, Kincaid $0.7M, Ray Davis $0.3M. Draft: Makai Lemon (1.6), KC Concepcion (1.9), Kaelon Black, C.J. Stroud, Jaguars DEF, Pineiro. Hurts, Cook, Irving and Hampton is a genuine three-deep backfield behind a top-five quarterback, and Metcalf/London/DeVonta Smith means no bad matchups. Pitts at $4.5M is right at his ADP (78) and Stroud in the third at rookie scale is theft. But $5.2M in tight ends plus $2.5M on an ADP-200 running back is why they are capped out at exactly $25.0M with 21 players.

Louisville Lightning — Dominic DiYanni — A-

Auction: eight players, $6.7M, nothing above $2.0M. Draft: Mike Washington (1.12), Mahomes (2.10), Cyrus Allen, Kaytron Allen, Geno Smith, Lions DEF, Reichard, Penix. Bijan on a franchise tag, Mahomes for pocket change, Trey McBride at tight end, and four contingent-workload backs bought below market. Twenty-six players at $23.5M. The most injury-proof, trade-ready roster in the league, built without ever winning a headline lot. This is how you do it.

Florida Finatics — Joe Borell — B

Auction: MarShawn Lloyd $4.0M, Love $3.5M, Purdy $2.2M, Dicker $0.9M, Sampson $0.5M. Draft: Stribling (1.5), Chris Bell (1.11), Goff, Vikings DEF, Jennings, Bernard, Branch. $5.7M on two starting quarterbacks and then a third in the second round. Achane and Judkins is an elite young backfield and JSN/Jefferson is a top-two receiver room. Lloyd at $4.0M against an ADP of 122 in a backfield that is not clearly his decides this grade. Capped out at $25.0M.

Toledo Terriers — Mike and Ron Klepacky — B

Auction: Maye $10.5M, Pat Bryant $0.3M. Draft: Denzel Boston (1.10), Malachi Fields, Ted Hurst, Justice Hill, Adam Randall, Demond Claiborne, Kamara, Mevis, Giants DEF. Henry, Barkley, St. Brown and Bowers is a monster starting five. The Maine trade was the smartest read of one's own roster all night. But $24.8M on 19 players with $10.5M in one seat has no capacity to absorb a single injury, and the late bulk buy was volume, not value — none of those seventh-round backs crack the national top 250.

Chicago Icemen — Bryan Perez — B-

Auction: Chris Rodriguez $1.9M, Ferguson $1.3M, Spears $1.1M, Shakir $0.8M. Draft: Jonah Coleman (1.8, via trade), Zavion Thomas, Omar Cooper, Patriots DEF, McPherson, Bagent. Corrected: Chicago is at $24.4M, not $27.4M — my error, and it changes the read. The commissioner is not the most cap-strapped team in the league; he is mid-pack with about $0.6M and 20 players. Caleb Williams on the franchise tag with Henderson, Javonte and Stevenson behind him is a real roster. The problem is still Coleman: an ADP-204 back is not worth a 2027 first and eleven spots.

West Hartford Wolverines — Pat Gabriele — B-

Auction: Mason $5.5M, Kittle $2.0M, Aaron Jones $0.7M, Adonai Mitchell $0.4M, Jaydon Blue $0.4M, McMillan $0.2M. Draft: Ja'Kobi Lane, Texans DEF, Daniel Jones, Cam Little, Nailor, Vidal, Hunter Henry. Kittle at $2.0M (ADP 124) is the best tight end price of the night and McCaffrey plus Walker is a real floor. But $6.2M across two Minnesota backs for one job is the definition of paying twice, and it is why they are capped out at $25.0M.

Montclair Heights Moonwalkers — John Perez — C+

Auction: Charbonnet $3.5M, Rams DEF $1.5M, Aubrey $1.0M, Jeudy $0.6M, Okonkwo $0.5M, Engram $0.4M, Braelon Allen $0.2M. Draft: Nix, Mayfield, Ward, Darnold, Fairbairn, Bateman, Douglas. Jeanty and Breece Hall is a good backfield and Jeudy at $0.6M is under market. But four quarterbacks in a one-quarterback league, three of them with ADPs north of 190, is a third of the draft spent on inventory that cannot start. Trading No. 8 for No. 19 and a 2027 first was the right side of the Chicago deal — it just did not turn into anything tonight.

Newark Immigrants — John Pappa Perez — C+

Auction: Monangai $5.0M, Broncos DEF $1.0M, Bates $0.8M, Ayomanor $0.6M, Coleman $0.5M, TeSlaa $0.4M. Draft: Jordyn Tyson (1.2), Antonio Williams, Ty Simpson, Rodgers, Stowers, Cooper Kupp, Butker. Josh Allen is a weekly cheat code and Kupp in the sixth for $0.2M is a fine dart on a Seattle role. But $6.8M on a back, a defense and a kicker is 82% of an auction budget on three positions, and the receiver room behind Tyson is lottery tickets.

Alaska Lookouts — Mike Gabes — B-

Auction: Worthy $3.9M, Tre' Harris $1.0M, Franklin $0.9M, Brooks $0.2M. Draft: Jeremiyah Love (1.1), Singleton, Tracy, Bryce Young, Loop, Steelers DEF, Gordon, Klare. Corrected: Alaska is at $20.9M, not $26.9M. That changes the direction of this grade entirely — Mike has $4.1M and 25 players, the second-most flexible team in the league. Lamar at $2.3M and Worthy at $3.9M (ADP 110) are both fair, and Jeremiyah Love at 1.1 is the highest-ADP asset that moved all night. The back room is six $0.2M darts. With that much money left, he can go buy a real one.

Maine Machine — Jared Luciani — C

Auction: Kelce $2.0M, Deebo $1.4M, Seahawks DEF $1.4M, Najee $1.0M. Draft: Carnell Tate (1.4), Fernando Mendoza (1.7), Myers, Rachaad White. Tate at 1.4 is a top-75 ADP asset at rookie scale and Travis Hunter recovered onto the dev squad was the shrewdest paperwork of the offseason. But Jared sold his fifth, sixth and seventh to Toledo and walked out with 17 players and $25.0M committed — capped out and thinnest in the league. He is one hamstring from starting somebody he has never heard of.

WHAT I'LL BE WATCHING

Toledo's margin. Nineteen players, one enormous contract. If Maye is what they think, none of this matters. If he misses four games, all of it matters at once.
The four capped-out clubs. Maine, Philadelphia, West Hartford and Florida have zero room. The first injury of September is a trade, not a pickup.
The quarterback market in October. Montclair has four, Florida has three. Somebody is going to need one by Week 6, and those two will name a price.
Jersey City and Alaska. The two biggest bankrolls in the league, $9.8M of combined room. Watch them buy the first casualty.
The kicker ballot. Eleven kickers off the board, several at real money. If scoring changes pass, that is retroactive value destruction and I promise it gets brought up.

Corrections: this column originally listed Chicago at $27.4M and Alaska at $26.9M in committed cap — both figures double-counted the flat developmental-squad charge, and both are corrected above. It also named Khalil Shakir the best value of the auction and Alvin Kamara the best value of the draft; against August 2026 national ADP, neither claim held up, and both have been revised. Adam Sharter regrets the errors, which is not something he says often.

— Adam Sharter has covered the NJFFL since the Bush administration and is now wrong on the record exactly twice.