A. FORMING A FRANCHISE

A FRANCHISE CAN BE OFFERED TO ANYONE INTERESTED AFTER APPROVAL FROM THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. THE FRANCHISE CAN BE WITHDRAWN AS WELL BY THE SAME GOVERNING BODY. A FORM CAN BE GIVEN FOR THE OWNER TO FILL OUT WITH ALL NECESSARY INFORMATION.

B. OWNER’S RESPONSIBILITY

THE OWNER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE TEAM NAME, ALL OFF-SEASON RESEARCH, AND THE DRAFTING OF HIS/HER TEAM. A FEE IS REQUIRED AT THE DRAFT DAY TO PAY FOR THE WINNER’S PLAQUE AT THE END OF THE SEASON AND THE COMPUTER WEBSITE. ALL MONEY IS USED ON THE PLAQUE/WEBSITE . THE COMMISSIONER WILL KEEP THE OFFICIAL TOTALS; HOWEVER, BE ADVISED THAT THE COMMISSIONER CAN MAKE MISTAKES AND THE OWNER SHOULD FOLLOW HIS/HER OWN TOTALS. THE OWNER IS ALSO RESPONSIBLE FOR LINEUPS BEING CALLED IN ON TIME.

C. FEES

AS OF 6/2001, THE FEE FOR THE PLAQUE EACH SEASON IS $3.00 PER FRANCHISE. THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE THE FEE FOR THE WEBSITE WHICH AS OF 6/2005 IS $17.00. THIS FEE CAN BE INCREASED BY A MAJORITY OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.

A. RESPONSIBILITIES

1. COORDINATING LOTTERY/DRAFT DAY

2. KEEP LEAGUE STATISTICS AND RECORDS

3. LOGGING TRADE TRANSACTIONS

4. LOGGING WEEKLY LINEUPS

5. SERVING AS LEAGUE TREASURER

6. CALLING IN LINEUP AND DROP/ADD TO TWO OTHER OWNERS

B. TERM OF OFFICE

AS VOTED BY THE ORIGINAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, THE LENGTH OF OFFICE OF THE COMMISSIONER IS UNTIL HE/SHE NO LONGER WANTS THE OFFICE.

A. SEASON LENGTH

THE SEASON SHALL LAST THE SAME AMOUNT OF WEEKS AS THE CURRENT NFL SEASON.

B. DRAFT/ ROSTER

1. DRAFT AND DRAFT LOTTERY

TWO WEEKS BEFORE THE SCHEDULED DRAFT DAY, THE COMMISSIONER AND ANY OF THE OTHER OWNERS WHO WISH TO PARTICIPATE WILL DRAW FOR DRAFT ORDER IN THE DRAFT LOTTERY. THIS WILL BE DONE USING MINIATURE FOOTBALL HELMETS NUMBERED TO THE AMOUNT EQUAL TO THE PARTICIPATING OWNERS. THE FIRST HELMETS DRAWN WILL DECIDE THE ORDER THAT THE OWNERS WILL BE ABLE TO SELECT A HELMET. THE NEXT HELMETS WILL DECIDE THE OWNERS’ DRAFT ORDER FOR THE FIRST ROUND. SUBSEQUENT HELMETS DRAWN WILL DETERMINE THE ODD NUMBERED ROUNDS. THE EVEN NUMBERED ROUNDS WILL CONSIST OF REVERSING THE ORDER OF THE PREVIOUS ROUND (EX. 2^ND ROUND WILL BE THE FIRST ROUND IN REVERSE ORDER WITH 1^ST GOING LAST).

ON A DAY CHOSEN BY THE COMMISSIONER, THE DRAFT WILL TAKE PLACE AT ONE OF THREE LOCATIONS. THESE LOCATIONS WERE CHOSEN BECAUSE OF THEIR CENTRAL LOCATION AND BECAUSE A MAJORITY OF OWNERS LIVE WITHIN AN HOUR OF THESE HOUSES. ANY TEAM NOT REPRESENTED AT THE DRAFT MUST MAKE ITS SELECTIONS FROM THE PLAYERS REMAINING AFTER THE DRAFT. AN OWNER CAN SEND A SUBSTITUTE , BUT THE DECISIONS MADE BY THE SUBSTITUTE WILL BE CONSIDERED FINAL. THE DATE OF THE FFL DRAFT MUST TAKE PLACE WITHIN TWO WEEKS OF THE NFL OPENER.

THE DRAFT WILL CONSIST OF 17 ROUNDS, WITH THE ORDER HAVING BEEN ESTABLISHED EARLIER AT THE DRAFT LOTTERY.  A FOUR MINUTE TIME LIMIT HAS BEEN SET FOR EACH SELECTION( THE TIME BEGINNING FOR THE NEXT OWNER WHEN THE CHOICE HAS BEEN ENTERED INTO THE COMPUTER). IF AN OWNER GOES OVER THE TIME LIMIT, HE/SHE WILL WAIT UNTIL THE PERSON IMMEDIATELY AFTER THEM HAS CHOSEN AND THEN IT WILL BE THEIR TURN AGAIN.

2.ROSTER

EACH ROSTER WILL CONSIST OF THE FOLLOWING:

3 QB

4 RB

6 PC*

2 K

2 DEF

(*PC = PASS CATCHERS--- WR OR TE)

OF WHICH THE FOLLOWING OPTIONS CAN START:

1 QB       OR      1 QB

2 RB                  1 RB

 3 PC                  4 PC

1 K                    1 K

1 DEF               1 DEF

3.DUAL POSITION PLAYERS

SOMETIMES THERE WILL BE PLAYERS LISTED IN TWO POSITIONS                (EX. RB/WR) THAT ARE DRAFTED. WHEN A DUAL POSITION PLAYER IS DRAFTED, THE OWNER WILL SPECIFY AT WHICH POSITION THE PLAYER WILL BE USED FOR THE ENTIRE SEASON. HE CANNOT BE SWITCHED FOR ANY REASON AFTER THAT.

C. HEAD TO HEAD SCHEDULE

AS PART OF THE COMPETITON AND TO KEEP THE LOWER PLACED TEAMS INTERESTED, A HEAD TO HEAD SCHEDULE HAS BEEN SET UP. THE SCHEDULED GAMES WILL NOT GO PAST WEEK 15 (AS TO ALLOW FOR PLAYOFFS IN WK 16 & 17) AND IT IS TO BE UNDERSTOOD THAT THIS IS A SECONDARY AWARD AND SHOULD NOT BE CONFUSED WITH DETERMINING THE CHAMPION OF THE LEAGUE.

A. DROP/ ADD

BEGINNING AT THE END OF WEEK 3 AND EVERY 3 WEEKS THEREAFTER UNTIL WEEK 12, OWNERS ARE ALLOWED TO DROP AND ADD AN UNLIMITED AMOUNT OF PLAYERS PROVIDED THAT THE ORIGINAL NUMBER OF PLAYERS AT EACH POSITION IN THE ROSTER REMAINS THE SAME. THE ORDER AND PROCEDURE ARE AS FOLLOWS:

ON THE GIVEN WEEK FOR D/A, ALL FRANCHISES WILL CALL/EMAIL THEIR DROPS IN TO THE DESIGNATED PERSON OR COMMISSIONER. THIS CAN BE IN ANY ORDER. THIS MUST BE DONE BY TUESDAY OF THE GIVEN WEEK (FAILURE TO CALL/EMAIL THEM IN BY THIS DAY ELIMINATES THAT FRANCHISE FROM PARTICIPATING IN D/A THAT WEEK). THE TEAMS WILL THEN ADD PLAYERS IN REVERSE ORDER OF THEIR STANDINGS AS OF THE END OF THE GIVEN WEEK (EX. PLAYER IN LAST IN WEEK 3 WILL ADD FIRST). THERE IS NO LIMIT EXCEPT THE NUMBER OF ADDS CANNOT EXCEED THE DROPS (SEE TRADES FOR THE ONLY EXCEPTION TO THE ABOVE RULE). ALL ADDS MUST BE COMPLETED BY THURSDAY OF THE GIVEN WEEK. IT IS STRONGLY SUGGESTED TO ALL OWNERS THAT THEIR ADDS BE MADE QUICKLY IN THE NAME OF GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP TO THE REST OF THE OWNERS. IT IS THE OWNER’S RESPONSIBILITY TO CALL IN THEIR DROP/ADDS.

B. INJURIES

IF A PLAYER IS INJURED DURING THE SEASON, THE ONLY WAY TO REMOVE HIM FROM THE ROSTER IS THROUGH REGULAR DROP AND ADD. TO CHOOSE WHETHER TO START AN INJURED PERSON, THE OWNER CAN MAKE HIS/HER BEST ESTIMATE .

C. TRADES

TRADES ARE ALLOWED AND ENCOURAGED IN THE FFL AND CAN TAKE PLACE AT ANY TIME UP UNTIL THE START OF WEEK 14. THERE ARE A FEW STIPULATIONS, HOWEVER:

1. TRADES MUST BE GIVEN TO THE COMMISSIONER BEFORE THEY ARE CONSIDERED OFFICIAL.

2. OWNERS MUST KEEP THE SAME NO. OF PLAYERS AT EACH POSITION ACCORDING TO THE ORIGINAL ROSTER.

3. ON TRADES INVOLVING DIFFERENT POSITIONS, OWNERS MUST DROP EXTRA PLAYERS IN A GIVEN POSITION FIRST. THEN WHEN THE DROP & ADD OCCURS THEY CAN FILL THE POSITION (EXAMPLE-- YOU TRADE A QB FOR A WR. YOU HAVE 2 QB’S AND 5 WR’S. YOU MUST DROP A WR IMMEDIATELY AND PICK UP ANOTHER QB WHEN D/A OCCURS NEXT.

4. YOU CAN TRADE D/A ORDER FOR PLAYERS AND DRAFT ORDER FOR PLAYERS.

A. LINEUP RULES

LINEUPS ARE DUE TO THE COMMISSIONER VIA THE WEBSITE/PHONE BY FIVE MINUTES BEFORE THE FIRST GAME ON SUNDAY. IF GIVEN NO LINEUP CHANGES, THE COMMISSIONER WILL USE THE LAST LINEUP TURNED IN. LINEUPS CAN BE AMENDED UNTIL FIVE MINUTES OF THE KICKOFF OF THE FIRST GAME THAT SUNDAY.

B. EARLY WEEK GAMES

ON WEEKS OF THURSDAY OR SATURDAY GAMES, OWNERS ONLY HAVE TO TURN IN THE NAMES OF PLAYERS INVOLVED THAT WILL BE STARTERS OR EMERGENCY PLAYERS. FAILURE TO REPORT THEM BY FIVE MINUTES PRIOR TO THE KICKOFF OF THEIR GAME WILL ELIMINATE THEM FROM COMPETITION THAT WEEK.

A. COMBINED/OFFENSIVE

THE COMBINED SCORING METHOD (POINTS GIVEN FOR TDS AND FGS DEPENDENT UPON LENGTH OF SCORE) WILL BE USED IN THE FFL. THE FOLLOWING ARE THE BASIC PTS TO BE AWARDED:

TYPE            PTS.                                        TYPE        PTS.

FG                 3 PTS.                                    R TD         6 PTS.

FG+50           6 PTS.                                    R +50       12 PTS.

PAT               1 PT.                                      R + 80      15 PTS.

2 PT. CONVERSION                                  P TD         3 PTS.

RUN              2 PTS.                                    P + 50       6 PTS.

PASS             1 PT QB                                P + 80       9 PTS.

B. DEFENSIVE

A BREAKDOWN OF DEFENSIVE SCORING FOLLOWS:

PTS. ALLOWED

0 PTS ---10 PTS.                        DEF. TD ( INT, FUM, PUNT RET)--- 6 PTS.

1 - 10 PTS --- 6 PTS.                 SAFETY  --- 4 PTS.

11 - 20 PTS  --- 3 PTS.

21 + PTS. ---  0 PTS.

THE FOLLOWING IS THE DESIGNATION OF WHICH TEAM IS OFFENSE/DEFENSE ON SPECIAL TEAMS ACTIVITIES:

KICKOFF

DEF= KICKOFF TEAM NO DEF. TOUCHDOWN OCCURS ON

OFF = KICK RETURN TEAM KICKOFF

PUNT

DEF = PUNT RETURN TEAM DEF. TOUCHDOWN CAN OCCUR

OFF = PUNT TEAM

FIELD GOAL

DEF = DEFENSE DEF. TOUCHDOWN CAN OCCUR

OFF = OFFENSE

C. SPECIAL SCORING PLAYS

ANY PLAY THAT OCCURS DURING THE SEASON THAT IS NOT COVERED BY THE RULEBOOK WILL BE SCORED WITH THE DEFINITION OF OFFENSE AND DEFENSE GIVEN BY THE NFL. IF A PLAY OCCURS THAT DISAGREES WITH OUR SCORING RULES OR CANNOT BE ADEQUATELY DEFINED, THE PLAY WILL BE ADDRESSED DURING THE OFFSEASON OF THE FOLLOWING YEAR BY THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AND NO POINTS WILL BE AWARDED TO ANY PLAYERS INVOLVED WITH THE PLAY AT THE TIME.   A DETERMINATION OF SOME POINTS WILL TRY TO BE ESTABLISHED FAIRLY FOR SUCH A PLAY AT THE TIME THE PLAY OCCURS.

ANY STARTING OFFENSIVE PLAYER  THAT SCORES WHILE ON DEFENSE OR SPECIAL TEAMS WILL RECEIVE  THOSE POINTS FOR HIS TEAM .(EX. WR ALSO RETURNS PUNTS AND RUNS ONE BACK FOR TD GETS 6 FOR PUNT RETURN).

D. BRAINLESS BONER AWARD AVG.

EACH WEEK, RECOGNITION IS GIVEN TO THE OWNER WHO PICKED THE WORST LINEUP. THIS IS DETERMINED BY TAKING THE TOTAL PTS. SCORED FOR THE STARTERS AND DIVIDING THAT BY THE TOTAL POSSIBLE PTS BY THE BEST PLAYERS AT EACH POSITION.

THE CHAMPION OF THE FFL IS DETERMINED VERY SIMPLY. WINS AND LOSSES ARE GREAT, BUT HOW MANY PTS DID YOU SCORE? THE OVERALL LEADER IN PTS. AT THE END OF THE NFL REGULAR SEASON IS THE CHAMPION. IN THE EVENT OF A TIE, THERE WILL BE CO-CHAMPIONS.

THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE IS MADE UP OF ANY ORIGINAL MEMBERS  OF THE FFL SINCE 1990. THE FUNCTION OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE WILL BE THE INTERPRETATIONS OF THE RULES AND ANY RULES ADDITIONS THAT MIGHT BE NEEDED.ALL OWNERS OF THE FFL CAN SUGGEST RULE CHANGES AND ENHANCEMENTS BUT THE COMMITTEE WILL MAKE ALL FINAL DECISIONS.