The purpose of the bylaws in this League Constitution are to ensure a fair and fun dynasty league for all managers and promote the long-term viability of the league. If a rule is not explicitly stated, interpretations will consider these criteria and new rules will be voted on and subsequently documented in these bylaws. If this Constitution disagrees with league site settings, site settings will prevail until corrected.

• The league is hosted on Sleeper

• Each regular season will consist of 12 teams playing a 14 game regular season head to head schedule that is generated by Footballguys.com, followed by 3 weeks of single elimination playoffs

• There are 2 divisions, meaning you will play against your division opponents once, opposing division once, and then two additional division games

• Teams will have 26 roster spots plus five IR spots and three taxi squad spots

• Free agents are acquired by Blind Bid Auction running each morning at 6 AM, with players free agents on Thursdays, Sundays, and Mondays. After playing in a game, players are locked until the first waiver run of the week (6 AM on Thursday).

• Trade deadline is Week 12.
  NOTE: You cannot trade future draft picks without paying for that season prior.

• The league is designed to run for decades with smooth manager transitions if necessary. Rules can be modified by league vote to achieve overarching goals.

The league uses fractional scoring with the following point values:

• 0.1 points per rushing or receiving yard (10 yards = 1 point)

• 6 points per rushing or receiving touchdown

• -2 points per fumble lost

• 0.04 points per passing yard (25 yards = 1 point)

• 0.25 per passing first-down

• 4 points per passing touchdown

• -2 points per interception thrown

• 2 points per two-point conversion (rushing, receiving or passing)

• 6 points per punt return TD or kickoff return TD

• 2 points per interception (Travis Hunter)

The season fee is $100, due following Super Bowl Weekend. Owners who fail to pay by this time or in advance of it may forfeit their right to draft; their team will be drafted for them.

There is also an optional slush fund which is a $10 buy in per year. The first team that repeats as champion will claim the slush fund, and it will reset to 0. Teams that have not paid into the slush fund each year may do so at the beginning of any year, paying the total that each team has paid thus far. For example, after 10 years, a team could pay $100 to be eligible to win the slush fund. The exception to this is a team that is the defending champion; defending champions that are not part of the slush fund cannot pay to join it that season.

The following are important league dates:

• Immediately following the conclusion of the Super Bowl, waivers switch to twice weekly (Monday and Thursday mornings) with no free agency

• The AGM is held annually at 6 PM on the Thursday of the Super Bowl bye week (the week between the conference championships and the Super Bowl). The rookie draft is held annually at 7 PM on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend

• The regular Monday morning waiver run is skipped after the rookie draft

• Rosters are expanded by 4 slots at the rookie draft

• Rosters are reduced by 4 slots the Thursday one week before the NFL Thursday night opening game (this is “Cut Down Day”)  FAAB budgets reset on Cut Down Day

• The Monday after Cut Down Day, waivers switch back to the in-season setup (run waivers every night, players are free agents Thursdays and Sundays). The taxi squad locks for the year at kickoff of the NFL Thursday night opening game. No players can be added to the taxi squad after this date until the following offseason.

The league trophy is awarded at the draft to the league champion, who gets to keep it for a year and brings it back to next year’s draft. Failure to bring the trophy to the draft results in public humiliation. Damaging the trophy results in full trophy cost ($300). Each winner has their name, team name, and the year they won inscribed on the trophy so their glory is permanent.

• League Champion: $800

• League Runner-up: $200

• Winner of Playoff Consolation Ladder*: Additional draft pick (2.13)

• Highest-Scoring Team in the Regular Season: $50

• Highest-Scoring Team Each Week (not including playoffs): $10

* the winner of the playoff consolation ladder is considered to be the team that scores the most points of the teams playing in the playoff consolation ladder on championship week.

The four-round rookie draft is held live, with the date and location announced each year with at least 2 months notice. The draft will be held in May, the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. While the draft will be held in a live venue whenever possible, it will be conducted on the Sleeper platform, so a wifi-enabled devices such as a smartphone, tablet, or laptop is required and allowances will be made for those who cannot attend in person due to real life obligations.

The draft order is determined as follows:

• The league champion automatically picks 12th and the runner up picks 11th.

• The winner of the 3rd place game will pick 9th, loser picks 10th.

• The winner of the 5th place game picks 7th, loser picks 8th.

• The 6 teams that do not make the playoffs pick 1st through 6th in order of fewest maximum potential points in the regular season (i.e., the team with the fewest maximum potential points picks 1st).
  
  The draft is a linear draft (i.e., the order of picks remains the same every round).

The Free Agent Acquisition Budget system (also known as a FAAB) allocates a budget of fake “money” to each team before the season for them to spend on free agent players on waivers. Waiver order is still tracked by Sleeper.

Waiver claims are awarded to the highest bidder. If there is a tie, the player will be awarded to the team with the highest waiver order. Each time a winning claim is processed, the bid amount is deducted from the remaining budget and the manager’s waiver order resets to 12.

Teams will be allocated $100 FAAB. FAAB will be reset each season.

All FAAB bids are final. No corrections will be made for mistaken bids. $0 bids are allowed.

FAAB can be traded for. Teams cannot exceed the maximum budget of $200 by trading for more FAAB; if they do so, their FAAB will reset to the maximum of $200. This is a limitation of the Sleeper platform.

The playoffs are default, meaning teams stay on their side of the bracket throughout the playoffs. No reseeding.

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Playoffs begin in Week 15 of the NFL season and conclude in Week 17.

The top 6 seeds make the playoffs, with seeding being determined first by regular season record and then by points scored. In the unlikely event two teams have the same number of points scored to two decimal points, head to head record between the two teams in question is the next tiebreaker. In the event the teams played twice that season and both won once, total points scored in those two head to head games is the next tiebreaker.

The #1 and #2 seeds (Division winners) will earn a bye week for the first round of the playoffs.

Trading is the lifeblood of a dynasty league. There is no trade review period and normally no vetoes shall be enacted, except in the case of collusion (including “player rentals” to cover bye weeks, aka team sharing, and trading players for something outside the league such as cash, favors, etc.) which is strictly forbidden. Any such trades will be vetoed and can be grounds for removal from the league. There must be 10 vetoes (the entire rest of the league) in order for a trade to be reversed.

Otherwise, managers are free to manage their teams how they see fit; it is not the job of the Commissioner nor the other managers to act as “fair trade police”.

All league trades are offered and accepted on the Sleeper platform. There are no fees for trades and no limit to the number of trades.

Once a trade has been proposed and accepted via the Sleeper platform, it cannot be rescinded except for manager error. If a trade was offered or accepted in error, the manager making the error must notify the Commissioner and the manager of the other team immediately (i.e. within 5 minutes of the trade’s acceptance) to request that the trade be voided. Trades will only be revoked because of legitimate manager error that is reported in a timely manner; managers may not request that a trade be voided due to buyer’s remorse, seller’s remorse, or failure to perform due diligence before proposing or accepting a trade. The Commissioner reserves the right to allow a trade to stand if a manager’s claim of error is not deemed to be credible.

Conditional trades involving players or draft picks are not permitted. Teams may not engage in “delayed” or “two part” trades where players are agreed to be traded but one or more players are withheld from being traded for one week or more. The Commissioner may retroactively void a trade if there is clear and convincing evidence that the trade in question was part of such an agreement.

Teams may not impose “post-trade conditions” where a team trades a player subject to a requirement that the other team perform or refrain from performing a specified action relating to the player after the trade is completed. Conditional trades based on future team record, finish in the standings, or player performance are not allowed due to the Sleeper platform not being able to track them.

Managers shall use their best efforts to respond promptly (within 24 hours) to trade offers from other managers. Managers are encouraged to check for trade offers every time they log on to Sleeper and managers should reject a trade they deem unacceptable, although counter-offers are encouraged if there is interest in a trade being completed. The best way to avoid any issues is to not formally submit a trade on Sleeper until both parties have agreed on the trade through outside discussions. You can use Sleeper to send direct messages to other members of the league so everyone will be able to communicate even if you don’t personally know everyone in the league. Each member of the league also has their Snapchats, and the phone numbers of each member of the league are pinned to the Sleeper chat for text messaging.

The Commissioner may, under extremely rare circumstances, decide that a trade is either anti-competitive, or not in the best long-term interest of the league. An example of such a trade: a single player with a Keep Trade Cut (KTC) value of 2,000 (i.e., a backup player) is traded for multiple players with a combined KTC value of 40,000 (i.e., four or five of the top valued players in all of dynasty). In this case, the Commissioner may decide to disallow the trade. The rationale for this trade veto will be documented on this site (on the yearly page, under the appropriate Trades section), as well as a Sleeper message immediately following the veto. The managers that completed the trade may be subject to removal from the league if the trade is suspected to be intentional collusion to improve one team (i.e., “king-making”).

Occasionally, rapidly changing information is not available to both sides of a trade, particularly when the trade was opened before the news was known. In this case, it is recommended that both sides of the trade inform each other of the material information that has changed before acting on the trade. While trading on rapidly changing information can benefit a manager in the short term, it’s a bush-league move, and that manager will surely be shunned.

League rosters will consist of no more than 26 players during the fantasy season: 11 starters and 15 bench spots, plus 5 IR spots and a taxi squad consisting of 3 slots.

At the rookie draft, rosters will expand by 4 bench spots. These spots will be removed on cut down day, which is the Thursday one week before the NFL opener (two days after the NFL’s final cuts to 53-man rosters).Teams are required to submit a full starting lineup of active players each week. While managers have full control over the players they choose to start, obvious attempts to purposely lose games (such as by starting players that generally do not score fantasy points such as fullbacks and backup QBs) is not allowed. Each manager shall make their best attempt to win each week with the players available to them to maintain the competitive integrity of the league and avoid giving some teams “free wins”. See tanking for more information.

A starting lineup shall consist of 11 players:

• 1 Quarterback (QB)

• 2 Running Backs (RB)

• 3 Wide Receivers (WR)

• 1 Tight End (TE)

• 3 Flex (RB/WR/TE)

• 1 Superflex (QB/RB/WR/TE)

Player positions are determined by Sleeper. There are no limits to the number of players a manager can have at a single position (and there never will be). Managers should be aware that the Sleeper may change a player’s position at any time pursuant to that player’s NFL team changing their position, for example switching a player who was previously a wide receiver (WR) to that of a running back (RB). These changes shall not be overruled by the League under any circumstances. These changes become effective when they are made by Sleeper.

Managers are responsible for assessing the possibility that a given player may change positions before drafting or acquiring the player.

Players are not locked into a team’s starting lineup until the game in which the player is participating has kicked off, at which point they may not be removed. Bench players are locked into place once the game in which the player is participating has kicked off.

Managers who know they will be unavailable to set their team’s lineup shall make their best efforts to inform the Commissioner and designate another manager or the Commissioner to set or change their team’s lineup. Should a lineup not be set by a team, barring extreme circumstances, the incomplete lineup will stand. In this case, the Commissioner reserves the right to submit an alternate competitive lineup if deemed necessary in order to maintain league integrity (for example, no team starting 5 injured players will be allowed). Repeated failure to set complete or legitimate lineups even after warnings have been issued may result in removal from the league

Each team has three taxi squad slots. These slots act as roster spots for developmental players. Only rookies are eligible to be placed into the taxi squad slots, and they can be freely moved between the active roster, taxi squad, and IR slot (if applicable) until the taxi squad locks.

The taxi squad locks at kickoff of the first regular season NFL game. After that point, no players can be added to the taxi squad until the next offseason. Players can be moved from the taxi squad to the active roster at any point after the taxi squad locks, but after that can never be added back to the taxi squad.

Players that are on the taxi squad when it locks can be kept on the taxi squad indefinitely. But once removed they can never be put back on.

While dynasty is a long-term form of gameplay where managers will have multi-year strategies, rules changes can improve the league experience and are also necessary at times to create a consistent play experience for all managers.

Any manager can propose a rule change for discussion to the Commissioner. The Commissioner will use his best judgement as to whether to bring the potential rule change forward for further discussion.

All potential rule changes must be discussed at the yearly AGM (Annual General Meeting). Each year the AGM is held on the Thursday of the Super Bowl bye week. After the conclusion of the AGM, the Commissioner will post a recap of the discussion for posterity, and for the benefit of any manager not able to attend.

After the conclusion of the AGM, rules changes are voted on by all members of the league. Rules changes are never adopted midseason except in emergency situations, and only then by unanimous vote. For rules changes adopted in the offseason, an 6/12 majority is required. All rules changes adopted in the offseason apply to the upcoming season and all seasons going forward unless otherwise specified before the vote or the rule affects player or draft pick value (see below).

In the case of clarifications to existing rule changes or other situations that may arise where there is no default option, a simple majority vote will be conducted.

Various rules will go through a transition period before being implemented in the league. Those will be discussed when these rules are implemented. Other than these, all rules will be implemented the following season.

This transition period can be waived by unanimous league vote.

Every week after all NFL games are played and all fantasy scores are calculated, the Elias Sports Bureau reviews all NFL games for the purposes of locating and calculating any necessary corrections to the official team and player statistics compiled during each game.

These corrections will be applied to league scores when they are released by Elias and the NFL, which is usually on Wednesday morning.

Managers should be aware that the outcome of a game that was tied or won by a small margin may change after the Elias Sports Bureau’s scoring corrections are applied. Sleeper will apply the official scoring corrections without exception, and managers may not appeal the changed scoring, the changed outcome of a game, or request that the official scoring corrections be disregarded.

A manager may retire from the league in good standing. Retirement must be announced before the conclusion of Week 18 of the NFL season to retire in good standing. Upon announcement of a manager’s retirement, a replacement manager will be sought and they will be responsible for the upcoming season’s league fee if it has not already been paid by the retiring manager. Once a manager announces their retirement, they may not make any trades for the remainder of the season. A retirement announcement is irrevocable, but a manager who retires in good standing may be considered for reinstatement to the league after an absence of at least one full season.

Aside from retirement, orphan teams can be created through the following circumstances:

• Quitting manager: if a manager publicly declares they are quitting the league

• Abandoning manager: a team is considered abandoned during the season if a manager fails to set a lineup for two consecutive games with no explanation or contact with the Commissioner.

• Removal of a manager for failure to pay league fees

• Removal of a manager for cheating or anti-competitive conduct

• Removal of a manager or multiple managers for collusion between teams

• Removal of a manager or managers for repeated failure to return messages or respond to trade offers in a timely manner (just be active)

• Removal of a manager for conduct detrimental to the league

If a team is orphaned during the season, the Commissioner will set that team’s roster for the remainder of that season by using highest projected points. The orphan team’s roster is locked and no waiver additions or trades will be made. The stated preference is that the Commissioner setting the orphan team’s roster not be scheduled to play that orphan team during the season. In the event the Commissioner’s team does play the orphan team during the season, another league member shall set the orphan team’s lineup for that game. Payouts won by a team orphaned during a regular season will be put into the following year’s pool to be distributed as extra prize winnings. These extra winnings would be divided evenly among the champion and runner up in the following year. If a replacement manager is found during the season, they will not pay additional fees and will manage the team as normal.

Anti-competitive conduct is defined as managers or teams engaging in conduct that prevents, reduces or otherwise negatively affects the natural competition and well-being of the league.

The following anticompetitive actions are strictly prohibited. Violations of these rules will be reviewed by the Commissioner and the Commissioner may give a manager or managers a warning. Repeated warnings or particularly egregious offenses may result in removal from the league.

Tanking: While rebuilding by trading away established players for younger players and/or picks is a viable and accepted strategy, managers are expected to use their best efforts to set their best available lineup every week of competition, even if they are well out of playoff contention. Failing to submit a reasonable starting lineup either intentionally or through indifference is not acceptable. It is understood that managers may play hunches on who to start and won’t always start the player who scores the most points.

However, a manager who knowingly and purposefully benches star players or obvious starting players in favor of players who are marginal, clearly injured, benched, suspended, or on their bye weeks shall be given a warning a first offense. A second offense may result in that manager’s removal from the league.

Anti-Competitive Trades: Managers may not make trades that result in worsening their own team in order to stock another team playing a third team they want or need to lose. Managers may not make trades if they do not intend to return to the league for the next season. If a manager does not intend to return to the league, they should announce their retirement publicly and play out the season using their best efforts; the incoming replacement manager should be permitted to inherit an intact team and make their own trades and roster decisions. The Commissioner may retroactively void a trade if there is clear and convincing evidence that the trade was prohibited on anti-competitive grounds that were not apparent at the time of the trade.

Collusion: Collusion is defined as two or more managers making arrangements and/or acting in concert to influence the results of league activities such as game outcomes, draft standing, or player availability. Any unsportsmanlike conduct coordinated between two or more managers is considered to be collusion, as is teams trading to consolidate better players on one team, trading players or picks for assets outside the league such as cash, and/or agreeing to share payouts by acting in concert. Trading a player with the condition that he be traded back would be considered collusion (“player sharing”), and is prohibited. Managers engaging in collusion are subject to warnings and/or immediate removal from the league.

Dumping: A manager who mass cuts obviously valuable players from his or her team without reason (“rage dropping”) will be warned, and players will be re-added to the original team. If a manager continues to dump players after a warning, the manager shall be removed from the league. It is understood that teams can and will drop “borderline” players from their rosters, but dropping obvious fantasy starters or large amounts of average players out of anger, in an attempt to increase draft position, to make players available to others by way of collusion, or sabotage the integrity of the league shall not be tolerated. Don’t be that guy (or girl).

Indifference: A manager who fails to submit a starting lineup or fails to replace inactive players who are injured, benched, suspended or on their bye week may be subject to warning. A manager who fails to set a starting lineup due to indifference twice in the same season may be subject to removal from the league.