inca911
Footballguy
Every year there are posts looking for help in resolving a rules dispute. So, in case the rules of your league aren't very good, here's a set of rules which might be useful in avoiding disputes this upcoming year. We've used these rules for 10+ years so most scenarios have been addressed. Questions/Comments are welcome.
FANTASY FOOTBALL LEAGUE RULES v6
League Fees:
The League Entry Fee is $75. The league fees will be used to pay for an online site chosen by the commissioner to host the league (e.g., www.fanball.com), and the remainder of the fees will be awarded back to the winning league participants (see "Payouts" below). There are no additional charges for any player add/drops or trades that occur within the league.
Team Roster:
Each week, team owners will select players from their roster to fill the following positions:
QB
RB
RB/WR/TE
WR/TE
WR/TE
WR/TE
Defense + Special Teams (DST)
K
The Draft (Auction):
Players will be selected via auction. Each team will be allocated a $200 Salary Cap for the auction and each team must fill a complete roster of 15 players. Following a randomly determined auction order, an owner may nominate a player for auction by stating an opening auction bid for the player. Following the same order, another owner may increase the bid. Once an owner refuses to bid, they may not bid again on that player. The highest final bid gets the player. This process continues until all roster spots are filled for all teams. The minimum salary for a player is $1, and all bids must be in dollar increments only. As each owner must have a full roster at the end of the auction, no bid will be allowed that creates a situation where all roster spots cannot be filled with at least minimum salaried players ($1).
Keeper Option:
An owner may choose to keep one player who was on his team roster at the end of the fantasy football season by paying an auction dollar cost at the beginning of next year’s auction. A player who was not purchased at auction last year has a base value of $1. A player who was dropped during the year still has a base value equal to his auction price. Team owners declare their keeper player (up to 1 per team is allowed) at the beginning of next year’s auction. The cost to keep a player is:
RBs Greater of last years auction price + $15, or $30 minimum
QB/WR/TEs Greater of last years auction price + $10, or $20 minimum
K/DST Last year's auction price + $1
General Scoring Principles:
Player scoring has a lower limit of zero points. Rushing yards, receiving yards, passing yards, and receptions will use decimal scoring (e.g., 0.9 points per 9 rushing yards, 0.5 points for each reception). In the event of any scoring scenarios not accounted for in the rules defined below, the league agrees to abide by the statistical decisions made by the NFL reflected in the boxscores on NFL.com. Scoring may be corrected if all of the following criteria are met:
1. The NFL officially changes the statistics
2. The issue is brought to the commissioner's attention prior the kickoff of the week following the correction.
Offensive Scoring (includes Kickers):
Note that Offensive Scoring includes all offensive positions (e.g., a Kicker can be credited for a rushing 2-point conversion or a passing TD). Yardage from any Offensive player lateral is considered rushing yardage, as is yardage gained after an Offensive player fumble recovery. A player can complete a pass to himself and gets credit for both passing and receiving stats as a result (1998 Brad Johnson Rule). Special teams play is not Offensive Scoring for any player.
Passing Yards (decimal)...1 point for every 20 yards(0.05 points per yard)
Passing TD ...4 points
Rushing or Receiving Yards (decimal)...1 point for every 10 yards(0.1 points per yard)
Rushing or Receiving TD...6 points
Receptions (decimal)...0.5 points per reception
Passing Two Point Conversion...1 point
Rushing Two Point Conversion...2 points
Receiving Two Point Conversion...2 points
Field Goal: < 40 yards...3 points
Field Goal: 40 - 49 yards...4 points
Field Goal: >= 50 yards...5 points
Extra Point ...1 point
Passing Interception...-1 point
Fumble Lost...-1 point
Player scores TD after changes in possession (2003 Keenan McCardell Rule)...4 points
Defensive and Special Team Scoring:
Defensive or Special Team TD...4 points
Interception...2 points
Fumble recovery from opponent offense...2 points
Safety...4 points
Sack...1 point
Total Points Allowed:
0 PA = 6 points
1 - 6 PA = 4 points
7 - 13 PA = 2 points
Total Yards Allowed:
0 - 99 YDSs = 10 points
100 - 149 YDSs = 8 points
150 - 199 YDSs = 6 points
200 - 249 YDSs = 4 points
250 - 299 YDSs = 2 points
Fumble recovery from opponent offense, then lost back to opponent offense (2003 Keenan McCardell Rule)...-2 points (this acts to zero out the points awarded for a fumble recovery, that is then lost again)
Note that “Defense” and “Offense” are based on ball possession at the start of the play and do not change during a play as a result of change in possession (e.g., the Bears Offense fumbles, the Falcons Defense recovers, the Falcons Defense re-fumbles, the Bears Offense recovers).
Fielding Teams:
The lineup deadline is 5 minutes before game time for each player. Owners are responsible to set their own lineups. If the host site is unavailable or inaccessible, lineup changes may be submitted to the league commissioner or backup commissioner via email or phone message before the lineup deadline. If no lineup changes are submitted, the lineup in the system will be used, regardless of players being injured or on BYE. There is no injured reserve. There is no penalty for starting a BYE player. Failure to select any player in a position will result in zero points for that position. If multiple players are indicated as starters for a position(s), the players will be started in alphabetical order by last name (e.g., For a flex RB/WR/TE position, Corey Bradford would start ahead of Ahman Green). Any other type of illegal lineup will result in zero points scored for the player at the position(s) in question.
League Play:
League play is one head-to-head matchup per week. Each team will play every other team at least once during the regular season. The commissioner will randomly determine additional matchups in the presence of at least two other witnesses, typically at the end of the auction. Ties are allowed during the regular season. Note that for an 8 team league, each team will play every other team twice during the 14 week regular season.
Player Add/Drops:
Free agent pickups and add/drops are unlimited and first-come, first-served from the conclusion of the auction until kickoff of the first game of the season. After kickoff of the first game, player adds and drops will be done through a waiver process. The initial waiver order will be the same as the initial auction order. Once an owner acquires a player from waivers, that owner goes to the bottom of the waiver order. The waiver order resets after each week's games, and priority is based on total points scored for the season (team with fewest total points scored has priority).
Each week, the waivers process starts the day after the last game of the previous week (typically this is the Tuesday after Monday Night Football). ALL available players (including dropped players) remain on waivers for at least one day (typically this day is the Tuesday after MNF) to ensure everyone has an opportunity to see and claim a player they might have interest in acquiring. The waivers process then is executed after the one day review period (typically on Wednesday morning). Players who have gone through the waivers process are considered Free Agents. Free Agent pickups are unlimited and first-come, first-served starting immediately after the waiver wire is processed. Claiming a Free Agent does not change the waiver wire order. Players who are dropped as part of the waiver process then go on waivers for one day, and so on.
Adds / Drops will be allowed throughout the playoffs. However, once a team loses, that team may not drop any players for the rest of the year. Any timed adds / drops that appear to be "collusion" between teams are subject to review by the commissioner.
Trades:
The league agrees to the following general philosophy regarding trades: Trades should always be allowed unless collusion is suspected. Collusion is defined as "a trade in which one of the owners knowingly and purposefully aids another owner without benefit to his own team." The commissioner has authority to reverse trades where collusion has occurred. The co-commissioner has authority to reverse trades involving the commissioner where collusion has occurred. If a member of the league feels that collusion has occurred between the commissioner and co-commissioner, the trade will be put to a majority vote (owners may abstain from voting). A tie vote still approves the trade. No trades are allowed after the completion of Week 13 (for an 8 team, week 15 playoff start), or Week 12 (for a 10 team, week 14 playoff start).
Playoffs Berths, Seeding and Tiebreakers:
Playoff berths and seeding are based on the following criteria and tiebreakers:
1. Overall record
2. Most points scored (i.e., total active player points for all weeks)
3. Most points against (i.e., total points scored by opponents against the owner)
4. Head-to-head record
5. Coin Flip
Tiebreakers for the playoff games are as follows:
1. Highest scoring non-starter
2. Second-highest scoring non-starter
3. Next-highest scoring non-starter (and so on until the tie is broken)
4. Coin flip
8 Team Playoffs:
Top 4 teams from the regular season qualify for the Fantasy Bowl, the remainder qualify for the Toilet Bowl. Play will be in a bracket form, single-elimination, and follow regular season rules:
Round #1 (Week 15):
Fantasy Bowl: #1 plays #4, #2 plays #3
Toilet Bowl: #5 plays #8, #6 plays #7
Round #2 (Week 16 Finals):
Fantasy Bowl: Two Fantasy Bowl Week 15 winners play.
Toilet Bowl: Two Toilet Bowl Week 15 winners play.
10 Team Playoffs:
Top 6 teams from the regular season qualify for the Fantasy Bowl, the remainder qualify for the Toilet Bowl. Play will be in a bracket form, single-elimination, and follow regular season rules:
Round #1 (Week 14):
Fantasy Bowl: #1 BYE, #2 BYE, #3 plays #6, #4 plays #5
Toilet Bowl: #7 plays #10, #8 plays #9
Round #2 (Week 15):
Fantasy Bowl: #1 plays worst (highest number) seeded team, #2 plays remaining team.
Toilet Bowl Championship: Two Toilet Bowl Week 14 winners play.
Round #3 (Week 16 Finals):
Fantasy Bowl Championship: Two Fantasy Bowl Week 15 winners play.
12 Team Playoffs
Top 6 teams from the regular season qualify for the Fantasy Bowl, the remainder qualify for the Toilet Bowl. Play will be in a bracket form, single-elimination, and follow regular season rules:
Round #1 (Week 14):
Fantasy Bowl: #1 BYE, #2 BYE, #3 plays #6, #4 plays #5
Toilet Bowl: #7 BYE, #8 BYE, #9 plays #12, #10 plays #11
Round #2 (Week 15):
Fantasy Bowl: #1 plays worst (highest number) seeded team, #2 plays remaining team.
Toilet Bowl: #7 plays worst (highest number) seeded team, #8 plays remaining team.
Round #3 (Week 16 Finals):
Fantasy Bowl Championship: Two Fantasy Bowl Week 15 winners play.
Toilet Bowl Championship: Two Toilet Bowl Week 15 winners play.
Payouts:
The theory is to pay a larger percentage of the pot to the regular season winners. Therefore, 75% of the pot will be paid for the Regular Season, and 25% of the pot will be paid for Postseason.
For example, based on a $500 total regular season pot the payout would be:
$200 to regular season 1st place (40%)
$100 to regular season 2nd place (20%)
$75 to regular season 3rd place (15%)
For the Fantasy and Toilet Bowls:
$75 to the Fantasy Bowl winner (15%)
$50 to the Toilet Bowl winner (10%)
Week 17:
Week 17 will be a free-for-all. You may select ANY players to be on your "Dream Team". Select players according to regular season roster requirements. A player may play on more than one team for this week. Each player selects one additional tiebreaker player. Everyone has already contributed an additional $5 (from the initial league fee) for this contest and 100% will go to the winner, less any other league fees that may have been incurred during the season. E-mail or call in your line-ups to the commissioner by 10:00 am on the day of the first Week 17 game. The commissioner will provide his lineup to the co-commissioner by the same deadline.
Tiebreakers for the Week 17 contest are as follows:
1. Highest scoring tiebreaker player (an owner providing no tiebreaker loses this tie)
2. Coin flip
Post Season Challenge Option:
Owners may elect to play in a post-season contest. Each owner selects a roster comprised of ANY players according to regular season roster requirements, but using only one player per team maximum. Owners also include the Super Bowl winner, and the final Super Bowl score. Scoring during the playoffs will be calculated based on the regular season scoring rules. Player scoring is added up throughout the postseason. The owner with the highest total score for all games throughout the playoffs wins. No entry fees are collected in advance for this contest. Entry fees (which are TBD) are due when post-season lineups are submitted. Post-season lineups are due to the commissioner 30 minutes prior to the kickoff of the first post-season game. The commissioner will provide his lineup to the co-commissioner by the same deadline.
Tiebreakers for the Post Season Challenge are as follows:
1. Super Bowl Winner (an owner providing no tiebreaker loses this tie)
2. Closest to Total Super Bowl Points Scored (an owner providing no points loses this tie)
3. Closest to Winning Teams Points Scored (an owner providing no points loses this tie)
4. Coin Flip
FANTASY FOOTBALL LEAGUE RULES v6
League Fees:
The League Entry Fee is $75. The league fees will be used to pay for an online site chosen by the commissioner to host the league (e.g., www.fanball.com), and the remainder of the fees will be awarded back to the winning league participants (see "Payouts" below). There are no additional charges for any player add/drops or trades that occur within the league.
Team Roster:
Each week, team owners will select players from their roster to fill the following positions:
QB
RB
RB/WR/TE
WR/TE
WR/TE
WR/TE
Defense + Special Teams (DST)
K
The Draft (Auction):
Players will be selected via auction. Each team will be allocated a $200 Salary Cap for the auction and each team must fill a complete roster of 15 players. Following a randomly determined auction order, an owner may nominate a player for auction by stating an opening auction bid for the player. Following the same order, another owner may increase the bid. Once an owner refuses to bid, they may not bid again on that player. The highest final bid gets the player. This process continues until all roster spots are filled for all teams. The minimum salary for a player is $1, and all bids must be in dollar increments only. As each owner must have a full roster at the end of the auction, no bid will be allowed that creates a situation where all roster spots cannot be filled with at least minimum salaried players ($1).
Keeper Option:
An owner may choose to keep one player who was on his team roster at the end of the fantasy football season by paying an auction dollar cost at the beginning of next year’s auction. A player who was not purchased at auction last year has a base value of $1. A player who was dropped during the year still has a base value equal to his auction price. Team owners declare their keeper player (up to 1 per team is allowed) at the beginning of next year’s auction. The cost to keep a player is:
RBs Greater of last years auction price + $15, or $30 minimum
QB/WR/TEs Greater of last years auction price + $10, or $20 minimum
K/DST Last year's auction price + $1
General Scoring Principles:
Player scoring has a lower limit of zero points. Rushing yards, receiving yards, passing yards, and receptions will use decimal scoring (e.g., 0.9 points per 9 rushing yards, 0.5 points for each reception). In the event of any scoring scenarios not accounted for in the rules defined below, the league agrees to abide by the statistical decisions made by the NFL reflected in the boxscores on NFL.com. Scoring may be corrected if all of the following criteria are met:
1. The NFL officially changes the statistics
2. The issue is brought to the commissioner's attention prior the kickoff of the week following the correction.
Offensive Scoring (includes Kickers):
Note that Offensive Scoring includes all offensive positions (e.g., a Kicker can be credited for a rushing 2-point conversion or a passing TD). Yardage from any Offensive player lateral is considered rushing yardage, as is yardage gained after an Offensive player fumble recovery. A player can complete a pass to himself and gets credit for both passing and receiving stats as a result (1998 Brad Johnson Rule). Special teams play is not Offensive Scoring for any player.
Passing Yards (decimal)...1 point for every 20 yards(0.05 points per yard)
Passing TD ...4 points
Rushing or Receiving Yards (decimal)...1 point for every 10 yards(0.1 points per yard)
Rushing or Receiving TD...6 points
Receptions (decimal)...0.5 points per reception
Passing Two Point Conversion...1 point
Rushing Two Point Conversion...2 points
Receiving Two Point Conversion...2 points
Field Goal: < 40 yards...3 points
Field Goal: 40 - 49 yards...4 points
Field Goal: >= 50 yards...5 points
Extra Point ...1 point
Passing Interception...-1 point
Fumble Lost...-1 point
Player scores TD after changes in possession (2003 Keenan McCardell Rule)...4 points
Defensive and Special Team Scoring:
Defensive or Special Team TD...4 points
Interception...2 points
Fumble recovery from opponent offense...2 points
Safety...4 points
Sack...1 point
Total Points Allowed:
0 PA = 6 points
1 - 6 PA = 4 points
7 - 13 PA = 2 points
Total Yards Allowed:
0 - 99 YDSs = 10 points
100 - 149 YDSs = 8 points
150 - 199 YDSs = 6 points
200 - 249 YDSs = 4 points
250 - 299 YDSs = 2 points
Fumble recovery from opponent offense, then lost back to opponent offense (2003 Keenan McCardell Rule)...-2 points (this acts to zero out the points awarded for a fumble recovery, that is then lost again)
Note that “Defense” and “Offense” are based on ball possession at the start of the play and do not change during a play as a result of change in possession (e.g., the Bears Offense fumbles, the Falcons Defense recovers, the Falcons Defense re-fumbles, the Bears Offense recovers).
Fielding Teams:
The lineup deadline is 5 minutes before game time for each player. Owners are responsible to set their own lineups. If the host site is unavailable or inaccessible, lineup changes may be submitted to the league commissioner or backup commissioner via email or phone message before the lineup deadline. If no lineup changes are submitted, the lineup in the system will be used, regardless of players being injured or on BYE. There is no injured reserve. There is no penalty for starting a BYE player. Failure to select any player in a position will result in zero points for that position. If multiple players are indicated as starters for a position(s), the players will be started in alphabetical order by last name (e.g., For a flex RB/WR/TE position, Corey Bradford would start ahead of Ahman Green). Any other type of illegal lineup will result in zero points scored for the player at the position(s) in question.
League Play:
League play is one head-to-head matchup per week. Each team will play every other team at least once during the regular season. The commissioner will randomly determine additional matchups in the presence of at least two other witnesses, typically at the end of the auction. Ties are allowed during the regular season. Note that for an 8 team league, each team will play every other team twice during the 14 week regular season.
Player Add/Drops:
Free agent pickups and add/drops are unlimited and first-come, first-served from the conclusion of the auction until kickoff of the first game of the season. After kickoff of the first game, player adds and drops will be done through a waiver process. The initial waiver order will be the same as the initial auction order. Once an owner acquires a player from waivers, that owner goes to the bottom of the waiver order. The waiver order resets after each week's games, and priority is based on total points scored for the season (team with fewest total points scored has priority).
Each week, the waivers process starts the day after the last game of the previous week (typically this is the Tuesday after Monday Night Football). ALL available players (including dropped players) remain on waivers for at least one day (typically this day is the Tuesday after MNF) to ensure everyone has an opportunity to see and claim a player they might have interest in acquiring. The waivers process then is executed after the one day review period (typically on Wednesday morning). Players who have gone through the waivers process are considered Free Agents. Free Agent pickups are unlimited and first-come, first-served starting immediately after the waiver wire is processed. Claiming a Free Agent does not change the waiver wire order. Players who are dropped as part of the waiver process then go on waivers for one day, and so on.
Adds / Drops will be allowed throughout the playoffs. However, once a team loses, that team may not drop any players for the rest of the year. Any timed adds / drops that appear to be "collusion" between teams are subject to review by the commissioner.
Trades:
The league agrees to the following general philosophy regarding trades: Trades should always be allowed unless collusion is suspected. Collusion is defined as "a trade in which one of the owners knowingly and purposefully aids another owner without benefit to his own team." The commissioner has authority to reverse trades where collusion has occurred. The co-commissioner has authority to reverse trades involving the commissioner where collusion has occurred. If a member of the league feels that collusion has occurred between the commissioner and co-commissioner, the trade will be put to a majority vote (owners may abstain from voting). A tie vote still approves the trade. No trades are allowed after the completion of Week 13 (for an 8 team, week 15 playoff start), or Week 12 (for a 10 team, week 14 playoff start).
Playoffs Berths, Seeding and Tiebreakers:
Playoff berths and seeding are based on the following criteria and tiebreakers:
1. Overall record
2. Most points scored (i.e., total active player points for all weeks)
3. Most points against (i.e., total points scored by opponents against the owner)
4. Head-to-head record
5. Coin Flip
Tiebreakers for the playoff games are as follows:
1. Highest scoring non-starter
2. Second-highest scoring non-starter
3. Next-highest scoring non-starter (and so on until the tie is broken)
4. Coin flip
8 Team Playoffs:
Top 4 teams from the regular season qualify for the Fantasy Bowl, the remainder qualify for the Toilet Bowl. Play will be in a bracket form, single-elimination, and follow regular season rules:
Round #1 (Week 15):
Fantasy Bowl: #1 plays #4, #2 plays #3
Toilet Bowl: #5 plays #8, #6 plays #7
Round #2 (Week 16 Finals):
Fantasy Bowl: Two Fantasy Bowl Week 15 winners play.
Toilet Bowl: Two Toilet Bowl Week 15 winners play.
10 Team Playoffs:
Top 6 teams from the regular season qualify for the Fantasy Bowl, the remainder qualify for the Toilet Bowl. Play will be in a bracket form, single-elimination, and follow regular season rules:
Round #1 (Week 14):
Fantasy Bowl: #1 BYE, #2 BYE, #3 plays #6, #4 plays #5
Toilet Bowl: #7 plays #10, #8 plays #9
Round #2 (Week 15):
Fantasy Bowl: #1 plays worst (highest number) seeded team, #2 plays remaining team.
Toilet Bowl Championship: Two Toilet Bowl Week 14 winners play.
Round #3 (Week 16 Finals):
Fantasy Bowl Championship: Two Fantasy Bowl Week 15 winners play.
12 Team Playoffs
Top 6 teams from the regular season qualify for the Fantasy Bowl, the remainder qualify for the Toilet Bowl. Play will be in a bracket form, single-elimination, and follow regular season rules:
Round #1 (Week 14):
Fantasy Bowl: #1 BYE, #2 BYE, #3 plays #6, #4 plays #5
Toilet Bowl: #7 BYE, #8 BYE, #9 plays #12, #10 plays #11
Round #2 (Week 15):
Fantasy Bowl: #1 plays worst (highest number) seeded team, #2 plays remaining team.
Toilet Bowl: #7 plays worst (highest number) seeded team, #8 plays remaining team.
Round #3 (Week 16 Finals):
Fantasy Bowl Championship: Two Fantasy Bowl Week 15 winners play.
Toilet Bowl Championship: Two Toilet Bowl Week 15 winners play.
Payouts:
The theory is to pay a larger percentage of the pot to the regular season winners. Therefore, 75% of the pot will be paid for the Regular Season, and 25% of the pot will be paid for Postseason.
For example, based on a $500 total regular season pot the payout would be:
$200 to regular season 1st place (40%)
$100 to regular season 2nd place (20%)
$75 to regular season 3rd place (15%)
For the Fantasy and Toilet Bowls:
$75 to the Fantasy Bowl winner (15%)
$50 to the Toilet Bowl winner (10%)
Week 17:
Week 17 will be a free-for-all. You may select ANY players to be on your "Dream Team". Select players according to regular season roster requirements. A player may play on more than one team for this week. Each player selects one additional tiebreaker player. Everyone has already contributed an additional $5 (from the initial league fee) for this contest and 100% will go to the winner, less any other league fees that may have been incurred during the season. E-mail or call in your line-ups to the commissioner by 10:00 am on the day of the first Week 17 game. The commissioner will provide his lineup to the co-commissioner by the same deadline.
Tiebreakers for the Week 17 contest are as follows:
1. Highest scoring tiebreaker player (an owner providing no tiebreaker loses this tie)
2. Coin flip
Post Season Challenge Option:
Owners may elect to play in a post-season contest. Each owner selects a roster comprised of ANY players according to regular season roster requirements, but using only one player per team maximum. Owners also include the Super Bowl winner, and the final Super Bowl score. Scoring during the playoffs will be calculated based on the regular season scoring rules. Player scoring is added up throughout the postseason. The owner with the highest total score for all games throughout the playoffs wins. No entry fees are collected in advance for this contest. Entry fees (which are TBD) are due when post-season lineups are submitted. Post-season lineups are due to the commissioner 30 minutes prior to the kickoff of the first post-season game. The commissioner will provide his lineup to the co-commissioner by the same deadline.
Tiebreakers for the Post Season Challenge are as follows:
1. Super Bowl Winner (an owner providing no tiebreaker loses this tie)
2. Closest to Total Super Bowl Points Scored (an owner providing no points loses this tie)
3. Closest to Winning Teams Points Scored (an owner providing no points loses this tie)
4. Coin Flip
Maybe this should be pinned and others can add their rule variations if they like.
