SECTION 1. The League, Teams and Draft

Entry Fee

ARTICLE 1. a. All Franchise owners shall pay the $100 to the treasurer on the day of or before the annual draft. $80 of this fee goes toward league dues, with the remaining $20 making up the pre-payment of the owner's free agent bidding allotment. (See Section 4. Article 4.)

b. Failure to pay the entry fee will result in the owner's roster being frozen with no roster moves or lineup submissions allowed until the fee is paid.

c. 1st Place 39%, 2nd Place 20%, 3rd Place 10%, 4th Place 9%, 5th Place 8%, Consolation Winner 5%, Points Leader 3%, Division Champions 2% (each). $30 will be withheld to cover league expenses.

d. $30 will be paid to the commissioner to help cover league expenses.

Team Names

ARTICLE 2. a. Team names may only be changed during the off-season.

b. In the event of an objection team names must be approved by a majority vote of the franchise owners.

Draft

ARTICLE 3. a. The draft shall last 17 rounds.

b. Pick selection order shall be determined via a an unweighted random drawing, and the order shall be reversed for the even-numbered rounds.

c. The draft lottery random draw provides teams with the order in which they choose available draft slots.

d. In the event that new teams are added to the league after the random draw they will choose their draft slots last.

e. Owners will have 48 hours from the time of first notification to choose their draft position. If the owner has not responded before the 48 hour deadline has passed the selection will move to the next owner. The owner who was passed will be moved to the end of the selection process. Owners may pre-select their draft slot by informing the Commissioner of enough preferences to fill their choice.

f. Each franchise owner shall select: two quarterbacks, four running backs, four wide receivers, two tight ends, two kickers and two defense/special teams. In addition, owners will have one slot to fill however they wish. These requirements represent the roster required for the entire season.

g. Positions, for the purposes of the league, are defined based on the player data at NFL.com.

Franchises

ARTICLE 4. a. Each owner controls a fantasy franchise within the league. In the event an owner leaving the league the replacement owner takes over that franchise, including the completion of all trades and remaining MFFL dollars balance.

SECTION 2. Ethics

Losing Intentionally

ARTICLE 1. a. Losing intentionally is prohibited and could be grounds for dismissal from the league or reduction of draft picks.

b. If a team is found by majority vote of the Rules Council to be attempting to intentionally lose a game the Rules Council reserves the right to change their lineup as it sees fit. This does not apply to teams that fail to submit a lineup. (See Section 3. Article 1. d.)

Collusion

ARTICLE 2. a. Collusion is not permitted. Each owner will try to win through the efforts of his or her team only. Collusion is demonstrated by any transaction or series of transactions that works to the exclusive benefit of one team and the detriment of the other, or any series of transactions that amount to two or more teams pooling their rosters.

b. A transaction done solely to aid another team who plays a rival does not constitute showing a benefit, and is a clear example of collusion.

c. Borrowing players (making a trade with the intention of reversing the trade at a later date) is a form of collusion and is prohibited.

d. Releasing players without benefiting your team can be ruled as collusion and may be disallowed by the MFFL Rules Council.

Participation

ARTICLE 3. a. Once you make a commitment to play in the league your participation is expected. Failure to participate may result in action by the Rules Council. This action may include dismissal from the league. (See also Section 3. Article 1. d.)

b. Participation is defined, at a minimum, as submitting lineups each week.

SECTION 3. Lineups and Scoring

Lineups

ARTICLE 1. a. Each owner shall submit a starting lineup of one quarterback, two running backs, two wide receivers, one tight end, one kicker and one defense/special team for each week’s game.

b. Players must be inserted into lineups before their game begins. Once a player’s game starts he is locked in or out of that week’s lineup. Players whose games have not yet begun may still be changed.

c. If no lineup is submitted, it will be assumed to be the same as the previous lineup. (See Section 3. Article 1. e. and f.)

d. The following penalties will be assessed for failure to submit a lineup: First infraction, warning. Second infraction, warning and 6 point penalty. Third infraction, warning and 12 point penalty. Fourth infraction, 18 point penalty and if so voted by the Rules Council removal from the league, either immediately or following the season.

e. Failure to submit a lineup for the first week of the season will result in action by the Rules Council. This action may include immediate removal from the league.

f. Teams that fail to submit a lineup for a playoff contest will forfeit the game.

g. Teams may not start players who are on bye. If a player that does not have a game is started and another player on the owner's roster scores less than zero (0) points, the player with negative points will be inserted into the lineup.

Scoring

ARTICLE 2. a. Scoring, regardless of position is as follows:

  • Passing Touchdown, 4
  • Rushing/Receiving Touchdown, 6
  • Two Point Conversion, 2
  • Interception Thrown, -1
  • Fumble, -1
  • Field Goal, 3
  • Extra Point, 1
  • Field Goal Missed (1-29 Yards), -1
  • Extra Point Missed, -1

Position specific scoring:

  • Quarterback
    • 250 Yards Passing/Rushing/Receiving, 1
    • Each Additional 20 Yards, 1
  • Running Back
    • 80 Yards Rushing/Receiving/Passing, 1
    • Each Additional 20 Yards, 1
  • Wide Receiver
    • 80 Yards Receiving/Rushing/Passing, 1
    • Each Additional 20 Yards, 1
  • Tight End
    • 50 Yards Receiving/Rushing/Passing, 1
    • Each Additional 20 Yards, 1

b. Players are eligible to receive points when they line up at other positions. For example, if a running back lined up at quarterback and threw a touchdown pass he would be credited with four points. Scoring by defensive players inserted on offense will not be counted.

c. The Defense/Special Teams “player,” unlike the field players, is an entire NFL team. Scoring for Defense/Special Teams is as follows:

  • Touchdown, 6
  • Safety, 2
  • Interception, 1
  • Fumble Recovery, 1
  • Blocked Punt/Field Goal, 1
  • Punt/Kickoff Return Allowed, -2

Defenses will be awarded bonus points for yards allowed and points allowed according to the following scale:

  • Yards Allowed
    • 0-100, 4
    • 101-150, 3
    • 151-200, 2
    • 201-250, 1
    • 251-350, 0
    • 351-400, -1
    • 401-450, -2
    • 451-500, -3
    • 501+, -4
  • Points Allowed
    • 0, 5
    • 1-5, 4
    • 6-10, 3
    • 11-15, 2
    • 16-20, 1
    • 21-30, 0
    • 31-35, -1
    • 36-40, -2
    • 41-45, -3
    • 46-50, -4
    • 51+, -5
Scoring Irregularities

Section 3. ARTICLE 3. a. Offensive Scoring includes all offensive positions (e.g., a Kicker can be credited for a passing TD and yardage from a fake field goal).

b. Yardage from any Offensive player lateral during a rushing play is considered rushing yardage. Yardage from any Offensive player lateral during a passing play is considered reception yardage. Yardage gained after recovery of a fumble is considered rushing yardage.

c. Scoring by an Offensive player as a result of recovery of a ball in the end zone is considered a rushing TD.

d. A player can complete a pass to himself, and gets credit for both passing and receiving stats as a result.

e. Special Teams play is not counted as Offensive Scoring for any individual player.

f. If a kick actually takes place (including a blocked kick) it is a special teams play. Otherwise the team that snaps the ball is the offense for the entire play, and the team that did not snap the ball is the defense for the entire play. Aborted or fake field goal and punt attempts are not special teams plays since no kick actually occurred.

g. 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 Adjustments

ARTICLE 4. a. On occasion the NFL will make scoring corrections at some point after the end of a week's games. 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.

b. In the event of a dispute scores at NFL.com are considered the definitive league source.

SECTION 4. Trades and Transactions

Trades

ARTICLE 1. a. If two or more franchise owners wish to trade players, draft picks, or league dollars, they may do so.

b. A trade becomes official when accepted on the web site as proposed and is reviewed by the commissioner. If the trade is proposed outside the website it becomes official when the commissioner manually enters it into the database.

c. No trades shall be permitted after the kickoff of the first NFL games at 1:00pm Eastern Standard Time on Sunday, November 7.

d. Draft picks may be traded for a period of three (3) years into the future. Any teams trading future draft picks must pay the entry fee for each future year in which a pick is being traded.

This advance payment is non-refundable, and will be added to the prize pool if the owner does not return for the season in question. Agreeing to such a trade constitutes a binding contract to make said payment. In the event the entry fee for any given year changes, the owner must pay any difference prior to or on the day of the draft.

e. If you accept a trade in error you have exactly five (5) minutes from the trade timestamp to notify both the Commissioner (Todd) and Assistant Commissioner (Jack) of your error. If more than five minutes have passed before this notice your trade is considered official. This notification may take place via private message, email or phone.

f. Trades offered on the website are considered valid offers until they are revoked, rejected or their expiration date is reached. Owners are responsible for removing offers they have made.

g. Trades must be consummated on the web site to be official. Agreement by any other medium is not binding.

Veto of Trade

ARTICLE 2. a. A trade that’s agreed upon and intended purpose is to strengthen one team at the expense of the other can be overturned by the league commissioner or a majority vote of the MFFL Rules Council (see also Section 2. Ethics).

b. For trades involving the commissioner the assistant commissioner will act with the commissioner’s power.

c. For trades that involve both the Commissioner and the Assistant Commissioner the Rules Committee member will act with the commissioner’s power.

d. If for any reason the Commissioner, Assistant Commissioner or Rules Council member are unable to act on a trade, responsibilty moves to the next available league officer, with the League Treasurer next to act, followed by the previous year’s Rules Council member.

e. A veto may be overturned by a majority vote of league owners.

Free Agents ARTICLE 3. a. If a player isn’t on a fantasy team, he is considered to be a free agent available on the waiver wire.

b. Unless a roster slot is unoccupied, for each player obtained via waivers a player must be released. This player will then be eligible to be picked up by other teams the following week.

c. All franchise owners must be informed that a player has been waived before any team can acquire the player. This notification will take place via the Transactions section of the league web site.

d. Signed free agents must stay on the roster until the kickoff of that week’s games.

e. Waiver moves are allowed throughout the entire season, including the playoffs.

f. Players who are released during the playoffs are ineligible for pickup.

g. Teams that have been eliminated from competition cannot sign or release players.

h. The MFFL Rules Council reserves the right to void any transaction that is deemed an attempt to undermine the competitive balance of the league. (See Section 2. Article 2.)

Free Agent Bidding ARTICLE 4. a. Each team has $20 in free agent cap space per season.

b. During each bidding period teams bid on free agents using their league currency, and assign players to drop if needed.

c. The bidding periods are: End of last game of the week through midnight Wednesday, then midnight each evening preceding the first game of the week. The time between the last bidding period and kickoff of the first game of the week is a first-come, first-served time.

d. During each bidding period teams bid on free agents using their league currency, and assign players to drop if needed.

e. Bids are sent in private to the Commissioner via the Waiver Wire section of your team page. This is the only accepted submission method for waiver wire claims.

f. Bids may be cancelled only before the end of the bidding period in which they are placed. Once the deadline is passed the transaction is considered to have taken effect, even if it has not been processed.

g. Whoever bids the most gets a player. In the event of equal bids the player will be awarded to the team with the worst record using standard league wildcard tie-breaking methods.

h. Minimum bid for any free agent claim is 25¢, with 5¢ increments. (i.e., 55¢ is a legal bid. 57¢ is not. 20¢ is also illegal.) Owners with no bidding cap allotment remaining may not make any free agent pickups. Amounts of bids that are successful are deducted from your cap space and added to the league prize pool.

i. Free agent cap space is a commodity and is tradable.

j. $10 of your $20 cap is non-refundable. This portion of the cap will be added to the prize pool regardless of use. $5 of the remaining cap may be rolled over to the following season if desired. Any balance remaining will be credited to the owner.

k. Teams submitting an invalid transaction (failure to list player to release, player being claimed is already on a roster, not yet eligible for pickup or other reasons) will have the transaction voided and must resubmit their transaction.

Section 5. Schedule, Playoffs and Tiebreakers

Schedule, Divisional

ARTICLE 1. a. The schedule and conference/division alignments shall be prepared by the league commissioner.

b. Teams shall play a 14 or week regular season, with weeks 15, 16 and 17 of the NFL regular season reserved for a single-elimination playoff tournament for the three division winners plus the next two best finishing teams (see ARTICLE 3.), regardless of their division.

c. The three division champions will receive first round playoff byes. Teams that do not reach the playoffs will compete in a consolation tournament during these weeks.

Tiebreaking, Division ARTICLE 2.

If, at the end of the regular season, two or more clubs finish with identical won-lost-tied percentages, the following steps will be taken until a division champion is determined:

  • 1. Head-to-head record
  • 2. Division record
  • 3. Points scored
  • 4. Points scored in division
  • 5. Points scored against teams in tie
  • 6. Rock-Paper-Scissors game between parties involved
Tiebreaking, Wildcard

ARTICLE 3. If it is necessary to break ties to determine the two Wild-Card clubs, the following steps will be taken:

  • 1. Head-to-head record
  • 2. Points scored
  • 3. Division record
  • 4. Points scored in division
  • 5. Points scored against teams in tie
  • 6. Rock-Paper-Scissors game between parties involved
  • Tiebreaking, Playoffs

    ARTICLE 3. a. For playoff games, coaches will submit a tiebreaker order of their non-starters. If no list is submitted, that team will be considered to have no tiebreaker players.

    b. In the event the teams tie, the overtime players are compared against each other one at a time until a winner emerges, with all points being added to the score.

    Section 6. Rules and Rules Council

    Revision of Rules

    ARTICLE 1. a. Anyone can write a proposal for changing or adding rules, however a call for votes on rule changes may only be issued by the office of the commissioner via email, blog post or telephone notification.

    b. This call for votes may contain more than one proposal. Each proposal will be tagged with a resolution number (i.e. M.R.3).

    c. Proposals may be linked, so that a vote for one only takes effect if the other passes or fails.

    d. Proposals for changing rules must be submitted to the MFFL Rules Council for vetting against current league rules prior to being opened up to a vote. This vetting process is intended to eliminate any conflicts between the new rule and current rules. It is not intended as a judgement on the new proposal. This process will ensure that new rules written has the best possible chance of being enacted.

    e. When a rule change is formally proposed by the commissioner a voting deadline of not less than one (1) week will be attached to the notice. At the expiration of the deadline, or when votes from every owner are received, votes will be tallied and the measure will pass or fail based on those results.

    f. During the off-season, once a call for votes is issued a resolution is adopted by reaching a majority of the owner votes received. A resolution that fails to reach a majority of the votes is not adopted.

    g. Tied votes will be broken by the league commissioner.

    h. Rules may be changed during the season only by unanimous vote of all the franchise owners.

    i. For the purposes of modification of rules the season is designated to begin on the day of the MFFL Draft and end at the conclusion of the Championship Game.

    j. Rules may only be changed retroactively by a unanimous vote of all franchise owners, and then under only the most extraordinary circumstances.

    k. When a rule change is formally proposed by the commissioner a voting deadline of not less than one (1) week will be attached to the notice. At the expiration of the deadline, or when votes from every owner are received, votes will be tallied and the measure will pass or fail based on those results.

    Rules Council

    ARTICLE 2. a. The Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner will sit on the Rules Council each season, as will one additional league officer, chosen from anyone who volunteers for the duty.

    b. The owner who serves on the Rules Council in a given year is ineligible to serve the following year.

    Rules Council Duties

    ARTICLE 3. The primary duties of the Rules Council are to interpret the MFFL Rules and to protect the best interests of the league.

    b. In the event of a situation that is not explicitly covered by these rules the MFFL Rules Council will take action as it sees fit to preserve the best interests of the league.

    Treasurer

    ARTICLE 4. The league treasurer is responsible for collecting entry fees and distributing prize money.