League Rules

General Rules

Couple of things to start with - If you don't follow the NFL, you're probably wasting both your time and ours. This league is designed to work for those who know and love football. All results are based SOLELY on real life football stats. I will use QuickStats.com as the sole source of data and anything posted there will stand! The rules are of the following:

There are no fees for participation in these leagues.
The Waiting List posted on this site is used to fill opening as they arise regardless of which league the opening occurs. By filling out the Registration Form, you are applying to join whichever league an opening occurs in.
All managers are expected to conduct themselves in a civilized manner. We do allow managers to have fun and joke around, but there are some limits ;-) Remember that this league can (and usually does) consist of minors and/or female managers!
Any manager found using the site for purposes other than its intent (i.e. Spamming the mailing lists, posting inappropriate items in the message forum, etc) will be removed and banned from the league.
Managers are only allowed to manage 1 team. (This includes times when more than 1 league is being run)
Any managers found to be engaging in acts of collusion will be banned from the leagues.
It is the manager's responsibility to keep all of his/her contact information (including subscriptions to the league mailing lists) up-to-date with current information.
Managers are expected to actively participate in the management of their teams and in all league activities. The Annual Drafts are a vital part of the success/failure of your team. Failure to actively participate could result in your removal from the league.
This site is hosted and thus the league does not guarantee uptime. Should an issue arise with the site, the league commissioner will rectify the issue(s) in the quickest & most suitable manner possible. Remember that this is a FREE LEAGUE and is only run by 1 person for the entertainment of many.

The Basics

Each team will consist of at least 14 'players' (including Defensive Team) and no more than 22.
The Seasonal Draft will consist of 16 Rounds. The Order will be determined by prior season FINAL Division Rankings and will reverse each round.
The starting line-up will consist of 1 quarterback, 2 Rushers, 3 Receivers (Tight Ends are not required but are considered Receivers if on your roster), 1 kicker, 2 Defensive Linemen, 2 Linebackers, 2 Defensive Backs and a defensive team.
Each season you keep 6 players from the prior season and the rest are drafted. You MUST keep at least 2 offensive players and at least 2 defensive players/teams. Keepers are limited to only starting lineup players (so position limits are: No more than 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 R, 1 K, 2 DL, 2 LB, 2 DB or 1 Defensive Team)
Starting line-ups are due any time before opening kickoff of the first NFL game of the week or your prior week's line up will be used. It is your responsibility to get this in and be aware of team's with BYE weeks. Failure to submit lineups for 2 consecutive weeks (without contacting the commissioner) could result in removal from the league.
Each Conference runs totally separate from the other until the Championship game. No trading with the other conference.

Scoring

Bonuses

Quarterback Position-
- Bonus point for 300 yard passing in a game (and 1 point for each 100 yards after that).
- 1 point for a pass of 50 yards or more resulting in a touchdown.
Running Back Positions-
- 1 point for each 100 yards of rushing per individual player.
- 1 point for rushing for a touchdown of fifty yards or more.
Receiver Positions-
- 1 point for each 100 yards of receiving per individual player.
- 1 point for catching a touchdown pass of 50 yards or more.
Kickers-
- 1 point for each field goal of 50 yards or more.
Team Defense-
- Earn 1 point for each touchdown scored.
Defensive Linemen-
- Earn 1 point for each safety.
- Earn 1 point for scoring a defensive touchdown.
- 1 Point for each 10 tackles per individual player.
Defensive Backs-
- Earn 1 point for each safety.
- Earn 1 point for scoring a defensive touchdown.
- 1 Point for each 10 tackles per individual player.
Linebackers-
- Earn 1 point for each safety.
- Earn 1 point for scoring a defensive touchdown.
- 1 Point for each 10 tackles per individual player.

Scoring Rules

Players can only score points at the position they are starting (Example: Quarterbacks only score for passing yards (rushing yards mean nothing), Running Backs who catch touchdowns do not help you if they are starting at a Running Back position - only rushing touchdowns count.)

Penalties

Empty Lineup Slots and Bye Weeks are treating in the same manner. The penalties are as follows:

3 point penalty for each open lineup spot or BYE Week player started.
If the empty spot/bye week happens in a position that has an 'Average' category (i.e. Yds/Carry, Yds/Rcpt), then that category is forfeited.
If all players in the position are empty or have BYE Week players, then the entire position is forfeited. If there are a mix of valid players and BYE Week/Open slots, then scoring will happen as it normally does (with the above rules applied)

Roster Management Rules

BYE WEEK Starters/Empty Lineup spots -
- If the all players in a single position are in BYE Weeks, you forfeit ALL points at that position. (Examples: If both your Running Backs are in a BYE Week, you can not earn any points at that position. If your Kicker [only 1 starter at that position] is in a BYE Week, then you can earn no points at the kicking position.)
- If you have any starter in a position with an 'average' category (Example: Yards/Carry), then you forfeit that 'average' category.
- A penalty of 3 points per BYE WEEK starter will be applied to your final score.
Starting Lineup Positions -
- Only positions listed on Quickstats.com or nfl.com are accepted positions in this league. If a player is listed on one of those sites for a position that does not appears as eligible in the lineup form, then you need to e-mail your request to add the position to the player file to the league commissioner.
- Offensive players can play any position (except Kicker & Team Defense) you would like (Examples: You can have an HB as 1 of your receivers, or have Michael Vick as one of your running backs.)
- Defensive Players MUST play their assigned positions as recognized by the league.
- Players can play only 1 position per lineup.
Team Transactions (Trades, Free Agent Claims, etc.) -
- No trading of draft picks will be allowed.
- Trades are limited to no more than 3 players per team at a time.
- You can make as many trades and/or Free Agent Claims as you'd wish.
- You can only trade to teams in your conference.
- Trades MUST be submitted via e-mail. Both teams MUST email the trade to the commissioner before it will be official. The trade is not official until the changes are reflected on your roster.
- Trades are subject to commissioner review. Although we have never declined a trade, any trade that appears grossly unfair will not be allowed.
- There will be no trading after the week 8 lineup deadline.
- Free Agents Claims are processed on a first come-first serve basis. They must be submitted via the Free Agent Claim Form. The claim becomes OFFICIAL when the player appears on your roster. You can then use that player in your lineup.
- Players released cannot be re-claimed by the releasing team for at least 24 hours after their release.

Tie Breakers

Below are the tiebreakers for deciding conference rankings (after Conference Win-Loss-Tie) for the playoffs. During the playoffs, the highest seed will win any ties.

Head-to-Head Record
Divisional Record
Total Points
Most Net Points in Divisional Games
Strength of Schedule
Total Bonus Points
Coin Toss

In the event of a 3-way (or more) tie, the Head-to-Head Record would only apply if a team has swept all the others tied.

Website Outages

Although it is rare to have our website down (thanks to a great host), this does not relieve the manager of the responsibility to submit lineups. If, for any reason, you cannot submit your lineup through the website - you should email your lineup to the commissioner.
You can email the commissioner at any time with website issues.
If you are attempting to process a transaction (Free Agent Claim, release, etc.) and are unable to do so through the appropriate forms, you can send it to the commissioner. Please be aware that these will be processed as promptly as possible, BUT if another transaction is processed through the website prior to the commissioner being able to process your request then the online transaction will remain and your transaction will not be able to be processed.

Team Name Changes

ALL Team Name Changes require a team logo.
Team Names cannot replicate any major sports affiliation names (i.e. MLB, NBA, NHL, etc).
Team Logos cannot replicate any major sports affiliation names (i.e. MLB, NBA, NHL, etc).
Team Name changes are only processed at the following periods:
- Offseason Name Changes
  - These are generally processed about 1 week prior to the first seasonal draft. This is the only time offseason name changes will be processed.
  - Any requests submitted prior to this deadline will be processed at the deadline.
- New Managers
  - New managers have 2 weeks to submit a Team Name change request. After that time, they will need to wait until the following off season.
- All Name Changes are processed following the League Draft (unless the new manager is hired during the season. Then they are processed as quickly as possible)