It's so complicated!
League format
The Hard Core Football League is a dynasty league with a salary cap and player contracts. Owners retain each player until such a time as the player is released or his contract expires. Player values are determined by preseason and regular season auctions.
Auction draft:
The Hard Core Football League uses an auction for player distribution. Each team is awarded a mythical $1000, with bids accepted in whole-dollar increments only. Teams will take turns bringing a player up to bid with a bid of at least $1. The highest bidder receives the player.
At no time during the auction may a team have fewer dollars than available roster spots. Teams may not bid on players from positions that they cannot fill. Players and monies cannot be traded, sold, or redistributed in any manner during the auction. At no time can a team bid on a player that cannot be placed on its roster. After the auction, any remaining unspent salary cap money is retained by the team and can be applied toward future use. Additional money is not granted to teams later in the season.
Different from most auction drafts, any monies remaining when a team's roster is filled remains with the team for the purpose of later use, such as bidding on free agents. A maximum of 50$ can be taken from year to year, example: an owner finished the year with 925$ in 2006, he can only take 50$ as a maximum to 2007 (where his cap would be 1050$).
Player contracts
Player contracts run 1-5 years, at the owner's choosing. Contracts always follow this format:
Year 1 = 100% of original auction value
Year 2 = year 1 + 10% of year 1
Year 3 = year 2 + 10% of year 2
Year 4 = year 3 + 10% of year 3
Year 5 = year 4 + 10% of year 4
Basically, the contracts will increase by 10% from the year before.
Example: Joe Blow is auctioned for $100 and signed to a five-year contract. His values are as follows.
Year 1 = $100
Year 2 = $110
Year 3 = $121
Year 4 = $134
Year 5 = $148
Note: All fractional values always round up to next dollar.
There will be penalty on releasing a player from his contract before the contract has expired, that is how the penalty on dropping players will be calculated:
Dropping a player after 1 week is 10% of current year's contract.
Dropping a player after 2 weeks is 20% of current year's contract.
Dropping a player after 3 weeks is 30% of current year's contract.
And so on, until week 10 where the penalty is 100% of the contract.
That goes for a player who was picked up lets say in week 3, if that player is dropped in week 4 the penalty would be only 10%. But if that player is dropped in week 10 the penalty would be 70%.
Basically you are paying the players per game.
If a player is signed for multiple year contract, the penalty for the current year will be calculated as mentioned above; and the penalty for future year will be 10% of the value of each year.
Example:
Player X is singed for 21$ for three years. He was singed during the draft which means if his owner decided to drop him after week 13, the owner would be paying him the 21$ + 10% (24$) + 10% (27$). The total penalty would be 21+3+3=27$.
Player Y is signed for 1$ for 4 years, he was singed in week 3 and it is week 7 of the season. His owner wishes to drop him. The penalty for the current year is 1$*.4=1$.
The penalty for the future years' contracts is 1$(year 2) + 1$(year 3) + 1$(year 4). That is a total of 4$.
Within three days of the conclusion of an auction, owners must assign a contract length to each newly acquired player. The decision about how long to apply each person's salary is wholly up to each owner.
Trades cannot be made that involve a player that does not have a contract (for example, a player that has just been drafted, but not yet signed to a contract).
Free agent bidding
Free agents are available from the end of the free agent auction to the end of the regular season using the manual blind bid system.
During the regular season, owners can make their own transactions from the league web site. All players acquired this way automatically have a contract consisting of one year and $1. If you pick up a player that has previously been on your roster, you'll pick up his original contract amount. This avoids the following loophole: An owner could drop a $5 guy for one minute, and then re-sign him to a $1 contract. That's bad.
During the regular season, transactions are handled two ways. After Monday's game, teams can blind bid for any available player by using Fanball Commissioner's Blind Bid Claim System. Each Thu at 12:00 pm, the commissioner will process transactions. Your bid can include multiple requests as long as you indicate the order of preference for your selections. The commissioner will make every effort to understand your bid request. If he cannot do so, the commissioner is not responsible for the resulting actions.
Players are awarded to the team with the highest total contract value across all years of the proposed contract.
Example: three sample bids for free agent Joe Blow.
Bid #1: "Three year contract starting at $5" (Year 1=$5; Year 2=$6 Year 3=$7; Total: $18)
Bid #2: "One year contract for $17" (Year 1=$17; Total: $17)
Bid #3: "Two year contract starting at $9" (Year 1: $9; Year 2: $10 Total: $19.
Bid #3 wins Joe Blow because it has the highest total contract value.
In case there is a tie between two bids, the bid with the higher number of years will win the bid. If still there is a tie, then the team with the worst record will win the bid.
Then, beginning Thu at 14:00am (EST), players make their own transactions on the web site. All players acquired this way automatically have a contract consisting of one year and $1.
DO NOT PICK UP A PLAYER PRIOR TO Thu 14:00 EST !
Any team that picks up a player prior to Thu at 14:00 (EST), will face the following punishment: The picked-up player will be released, and the owner will not be permitted to pick up that player during that week.
Teams that have been eliminated from the playoffs may still make roster moves.
Teams do not receive additional salary cap room to deal with free agents. There is not a separate pool of money for bidding on free agents. Teams will need to remain under the $1000 salary cap while acquiring free agents.
Injured Reserve
Owners may place 3 players on injured reserve, but only in the event that the player is actually placed on his NFL team's injured reserve.
Owners still have to pay the injured player.
Franchise Tag
During the offseason, a team may choose to retain one of its free agent players by using an available franchise tag. If the team chooses to do so, the player automatically signs a three-year agreement with the player at the terms listed below.
Year 1: When you franchise a player, you'll pay either the average of the top-ten players at his position, or his previous year salary plus 20%. (which ever is the highest)
Year 2: Take Year 1's amount, add an additional 10%.
Year 3: Take Year 2's amount, add an additional 10%.
The decision to apply the franchise tag must be made by June 31st.
Restricted free agents
Prior to June 31st each offseason, upon dropping a player, owners can designate ONE soon-to-be free agent to be a Restricted Free Agent. The player will be released to the free agent pool, but if this player is bid upon at the free agent auction, the team holding the RFA's rights can match the highest auction bid for that player and retain his services. Upon the conclusion of bidding, the RFA rights-holder must immediately declare his intention to match the auction price and contract years. The rights-holder may not violate any rules (such as salary cap or roster requirements, for example) in retaining the RFA. If the player is not bid upon at the free agent auction, the RFA rights-holder relinquishes any rights to the player.
The decision to tag a player as an RFA must be made by June 31st.
Holdouts
At the end of the regular season, the 16 owners will nominate 10 NFL players to holdout on their contracts, and then rank them from 1 to 10 (with 1 being the highest ranking). The commish will calculate the numbers and averages all the rankings. Then he will announce the 10 (only 10 players) highest ranking players to holdout for the next season. The way the results were calculated should be put on the message board for all owners to see.
Holdout player should meet two conditions:
1-The player should be under a valid contract.
2- And should not be a top ten paid player at his position.
Holdout players will demand a 100% increase of salary from the year before, or be paid as a first round top pick (60$). The holdout player will get the higher demand of the two demands. If the owner chooses to retain the services of the player at his new price, he may extend the contract up to five years.
Owners can choose not to pay the players their new prices; in that case they have to release the players to the free agent pool. In that event, the owner cannot designate the player as a franchise or restricted free agent.
If a player is deemed to be a holdout player, the team needs to decide by March 31 if the player will be signed to a new contract or released.
Owners can re-structure big contracts on their rosters.
Conditions:
1- An owner can not give a player less than what he paid him the year before.
2- The length of the contract should be extended by two more years. (Which means a player under 4 year contract can not restructure his contract since the league maximum contract years is five)
3- An owner can re-structure only one VALID contract, means a player under contract (not a free agent).
Here is an example:
A player X signed for 21$ for 3 years. 2006 = 21$, 2007 = 24$, 2008= 27$.
If the owner wants to take advantage of such rule, he would restructure his contact this way: 2007 = 21$, 2008 = 24$, 2009 = 27$, 2010 = 30$, 2011 = 33$.
Retirements
If a player retires from the NFL, his owner can choose to either:
a) Immediately void his contract, eliminating all salary cap burden for the player, and relinquishing any future rights to the player.
b) Immediately pay 10% (rounded up) of the player's current-year contract to retain the rights to that player throughout the length of the player's current contract. The 10% is applied to the current year only, but the owner retains the rights to the player for the duration of the contract. Example: Owner A has Player X under contract in 2003, 2004, and 2005. During the 2003 season, Player X retires (quitter!), and Owner A chooses to pay 10% (rounded up) of his current year contract, and retains the right to obtain Player X in 2003-2005 should that player choose to return to the NFL. If that occurs, the player will return under his previous contract.
Salary Cap
Each team has a salary cap of $1000. At no time may a team's current-year roster exceed $1000.
Roster
Starters
1 Quarterback
1 Running back
2 Wide receivers
1 Tight end
1 Flex position: RB, WR, TE
1 Kicker
1 defense
Backups
5-10 backup players
Practice Squad
2 players
Owners may designate two players as being on their “practice squad.” These players must have a current-year salary of $0 (ZERO). These players can only become active (starter or bench) if a rostered player is dropped or if there is an open slot on their roster.
Practice squad players salary does NOT apply to each team’s salary cap, until they become active on the roster; then they will have to be paid the contract they were bid on and treated like any other player.
The practice squad is available after week one’s games. (first year)
There is no penalty on dropping Practice squad players.
A rostered player can NOT become a practice squad player.
There is No limit on adding/dropping "Practice squad players" per week or per year.
At the end of the season, the owner has a choice to either keep the PS players (in this event the owner will have to treat the PS player as a rostered player the year after), or he can drop the player into the FA pool.
During the off season, only rookies are allowed to be on the Practice squad.
Auction Draft Dates
Around early July, the league will hold a free agent auction.
Within 3 days of the conclusion of an auction, owners must declare the length of contract they are awarding to each player.
Season Changes
On April 1 of each year, the season advances, and teams must now be in compliance with the new year's salary cap. In many cases this will require teams to release players to the free agent market.
Trades
Teams are allowed to make any trade that does not violate the team's roster restrictions or current-year salary cap. Trades that violate future year salary caps are valid. In that event, owners will need to reconcile their roster during the offseason.
Trades are allowed from April 1 to kickoff of week 12.
Deadlines
Trading deadline begins at kickoff on Sunday of week 12. There is no free-agent transaction deadline.
Playoff format:
6 teams will make the playoffs.
The four division winners, plus 2 wild cards teams.
Timeline – Important dates
March 1st: Holdout players declared by commissioner
June 31st: Franchise players must be declared by owners
June 31st: RFA players must be declared by owners
July 15th: New season's salary cap implemented. Teams must be under the $1000 cap.
On or about late-July, the league will hold a free agent auction.
Rookie Draft (not in year 1):
Round 1
Pick 1 = 60$
Pick 2 = 55$
Pick 3 = 50$
Pick 4 = 45$
Pick 5 = 40$
Pick 6 = 35$
Pick 7 = 30$
Pick 8 = 25$
Pick 9 = 20$
Pick 10 = 15$
Pick 11 = 10$
Pick 12 = 9$
Pick 13 = 8$
Pick 14 = 7$
Pick 15 = 6$
Pick 16 = 5$
Round 2
Pick 1 to Pick 8 is 4$
Pick 9 to Pick 16 is 3$
Round 3
Pick 1 to Pick 8 is 2$
Pick 9 to Pick 16 is 1$
