Disclaimer: Before reading this and being shocked, know this; this constitution is meant to be in-depth. This document covers every possible angle there may be. However, most of this may likely not directly effect your team. Try skimming over it at first. The only things I urge you to read in-depth are the Intro, the Auction Draft and the contracts. This is meant to be an in-depth league not a confusing league. Please see that we posted examples in the rules after some of the more confusing aspects. Everyone invited has a deep knowledge of the actual NFL and FF. With that knowledge, this league should not be too confusing. Once the draft and early FA is completed, the week-to-week activities of the league are similar to a regular league. Extra time alloted each week by owners is not necessary to compete as we are aware we all have other things to do.
Please do not be hesitant to ask any questions about these rules.
Please click the link towards the bottom on tips for an auction draft.
Please click the link towards the bottom on tips for an auction draft.
Here is a Dynasty League for Dummies quick list of basic rules:
Auction Draft
Player Contracts
Salary Cap
Keep everyone under contract.
Its basically a Madden dynasty mixed with fantasy football.
Here is the official Constitution:
CLEVELAND'S ROCKS FANTASY FOOTBALL CONSTITUTION
1. Introduction
A. Standard Know-it-all Things
1). The league is headed by the Commish (James) and his two deputy Commishes (JP and Kevin). This group is collectively known as the Triangle of Trust
2). The best way to contact me for things where you need to contract me is through posting in the league forum, texting, AIM, Facebook, and e-mail all in that order
3). Everyone needs to go into their ESPN settings and allow the Commish to make rosters additions and drops, as this is how waivers will be executed (seen below)
4). League entry free is $25 and will expand to $50 in year 2 and potentially can rise in future years based upon league vote
a). Pay me AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
b). People who go to Cincinnati/know JP pay him and JP pay me as soon as possible
c). League pay-out is $200 to 1st place, $50 to 2nd place, $25 to the regular season winner, and $25 to the winner of the blog betting system
5). This is a link to the ESPN site that we will use:
6). This is the link the league’s blog:
7). The league salaries, payroll, team cap room, and league transactions will be held in an excel file that hopefully will be sent out weekly with updates
a). This is a tentative timeline in which the file will go out (both e-mailed to the league and posted in the league forum), but there will be cases in which a file does not go out for a week or weeks at a time
b). The excel file is final. If a team has any issues with anything on the file being incorrect, contact the Commish immediately, and it is up to his and the Triangle of Trusts opinions as to what is ultimately correct
c). If an error is in the excel sheet for over 3 weeks it becomes final regardless of whether or not the error comes to light afterwards
d). If you do not have excel or access to excel, I strongly suggest finding a way how to use it, because the excel file will be a key tool in using the league
e). Although the excel file is something that can help you keep track of finances and opponents rosters, you should keep track of all your finances in a separate place as well
8). The league salary cap for 2011 is $250
a). The salary cap may increase if needed in upcoming years based on league vote and the Triangle of Trust’s approval
2. Draft
A. The Night of the Draft
1). The Current date of the draft is September 5th, 2011 at 7:00 PM IF YOU CANNOT MAKE THIS DRAFT DATE/TIME IMMEDIATELY LET THE COMMISH KNOW. THE DRAFT MUST TAKE PLACE BETWEEN SEPTEBER 5th AND SEPTEMBER 8th AND MUST START AFTER 7:00 PM DUE TO THE NEEDS OF LEAGUE MEMBERS
a). Please if possible arrive at the draft at 6:30 PM
b). The main place where the draft will be held is in my apartment in Athens
c). If you can’t make it to my apartment (I’m guessing only the people who live there will make it) please figure out how to use iChat and AIM chat, as those are the best ways to have a large chat with everyone in it
d). If you cannot use iChat or AIM for some reason, make sure you can use your phone all night
e). This is an auction draft, so expect the draft to last all night as it might last until 2 or 3 AM if we go slow, so prepare your schedules accordingly
f). The draft nomination order will be randomized by drawing names out of a hat on the night of draft
g).
B. The Draft Itself
1). Draft salary cap is $250
a). This salary cap includes a Free Agent Bidding Budget (FABB) for bidding on weekly Free Agents during the season
b). Therefore if a team spends all $250 on draft night, they will be unable to add any players during the season unless they drop a player in a corresponding transaction
c). Teams cannot exceed the $250 cap at any point during the draft
d). Teams cannot cut players on draft night in order to free up cap space in order to draft another player
2). Bids will be placed by saying “I’m bidding on Player X for Total Dollar Amount of the Contract over Total Years”
a). EX: Greg Jennings for $75 over 3 years
3). All bids must be whole numbers and must start at least at $1 over 1 year
4). The winning bid will be the highest total dollar amount and not the highest amount per year
a). EX: An offer to Jamaal Charles of $50 over 1 year will beat an offer of $40 over 2 years but not an offer of $12 over 5 years
b). If two offers are tied for the highest totally dollar amount the shorter offer in term of years will win the player
c). If two teams tie on an offer to a player in both total dollar amount and length, the team that made the first bid for the players services will win the player
5). Players who receiver zero bids will be won at their starting nomination price to the team that originally nominated the player
a). This clause creates strategy in who each team nominates
6). Teams do not have to fill their entire 25 man roster on draft night and can waive their player nominating rights to the next team in the draft order
a). If a waives their rights then THAT TEAM’S DRAFT IS OVER and they cannot bid on any more players. Period
b). The only time an owner would want to waiver their right to nominating a player is if they are completely done drafting
7). Drafted players can have their contracts pro-rated after the draft ends by contacting the Commish about what players they want to pro-rate and at what rates the contract will be pro-rated at (see Contract section below on how pro-rating works)
a). If a team decides to pro-rate a player(s) contract, the owner must submit their pro-rated contract to the Commish before 12:01 AM on the day of the first NFL regular season game
b). Any submissions of contracts after this time are null and void
c). Contracts that are not pro-rated will then be a standard amount for the length of the contract
d). EX: RB Marion Barber is won for $17 for 3 years, he will be paid $6 in year 1, $6 in year 2, and $5 in year 3 instead of earning $5.67 per year
8). Teams may only change their contract offer to a player by bidding higher then the previous bid
a). Therefore teams can bid $1 over 1 year, another team can bid $2 over 1 year, and then the original bidding team can bid $15 over 3 years
b). Teams may also outbid themselves if they want to change the length of a contract
c). Once a player has been won by a team, the contract is final and cannot under any circumstances be changed (unless it is pro-rated as seen above)
9). Trading is open on draft night beginning once the first player is nominated
10). Auction bidding ends with the Commish saying “going once, going twice, sold”
a). The Commish has the final say on when all bids end. Period.
3. Rosters
A. Starters
1). QB
2). RB
3). RB
4). RB/WR FLEX
5). WR
6). WR
7). TE
8). LB
9). LB
10). DL
11). DL
12). DB
13). DB
14). Team D/ST
15). K
B. Reserves
1). Each team has 10 standard bench spots
a). A minimum of 3 bench spots must be filled by a LB, DL, DB or be unoccupied
2). Each team has 3 IR slots for players on IR or players OUT for that week
a). In order to make a transaction for the following week players must not be in an IR slot unless they are on IR or are listed by ESPN as OUT
4. Contracts
A. Value & Length
1). Contracts must be between 1 and 5 years and each year must be a whole dollar amount
a). EX: Peyton Manning makes $90 over 3 years at $30 each year
2). Contracts signed during the season must be for at least the rest of the current fantasy season
a). EX: Darren Sharper is signed for $3 for 1 year (the rest of the season) during Week 7
3). Players signed after the FASA (Free Agent Silent Auction) period are automatically signed for $1 for 1 week and cannot be signed to any deal at a higher value or longer length.
a). These players must be released back into the Free Agent Pool after their one week contracts expire.
b). The $1 for 1 week contracts are not rounded up upon release, meaning released players will be owed $0 for the remainder of the year
B. Waivers
1). All players who are cut who have a yearly contract are automatically placed on waivers and are free to be claimed by any team for 48 hours.
a). In order to claim a player owners must inform the Commish before the 48-hour period expires
b). If a claim is placed on a player prior to the end of the 48-hour period but is not received by the Commish until afterwards, the claim is still valid
c). If a claim is placed after the 48-hour period, the claim is voided
d). If multiple teams claim a contract, priority goes by reverse record meaning the team with the worst record has first priority, the season worst with season priority, and so on
2). If a team claims a player on waivers, the claiming team absorbs the entire contract for the player while the releasing team does not have to pay any portion of the remainder of the contract
3). Players who are released and on waivers are no longer the property of the cutting team and cannot be traded, and essentially their contract is in a space between being owned and being released
4). Cut players who clear waivers are subsequently released into the Free Agent pool the for the following period
5). Players who are cut following a weekly contract are not subject to being claimed on waivers and are placed directly into the Free Agent pool
6). Players who are not released but are rostered may be placed on waivers and subject to the same process as above
a). In order to place a currently rostered player on waivers a message must be posted in the league forum and the Commish must be informed of the move
b). The 48-hour waiver period starts as of the time of the post inside the league forum
C. Caps Penalties for Releases
1). 50% of the contract for the current year
2). 35% of the contract for the following year
3). 25% of the contract for year 3
4). 15% of the contract for year 4
5). 10% of the contract for year 5
a). Cap penalties for all yearly contracts are rounded up to the nearest dollar
6). Players released after final Week of the regular season for non-playoff teams and teams eliminated from the playoffs are subjected to a different set of cap penalties
a). 50% of the contract for the current year
b). 50% of the contract for the following year
c). 35% of the contract for year 3
d). 25% of the contract for year 4
e). 15% of the contract for year 5
f). This different set of cap penalties is done solely to prevent end of the season cuts from starting prior to the end of the fantasy season
D Releasing and Re-signing
1). Players who are released and then re-signed by the same team will be given a new contract
2). These players will then have two contracts with the same team, thus avoiding any type of double jeopardy with player contracts and players essentially playing for free
E. Pro-rating
1). Player contracts may be pro-rated (not be all the same equal amount each year) but must follow certain a set of rules
a). Pro-rated contracts must pay on either a downward or upward trend, and cannot reverse their trend (AKA no rollercoaster contracts)
b). Contracts must follow the 66-33 rule, which says that contracts with a downward trend must have the middle year of a contract must be at least 66% of the first year and the final year of the contract must be 33% of the first year, while contracts with an upward trend must have the middle year of a contract be at least 66% of the last year and the final year of the contract must be 33% of the last year
c). EX: If Cedric Benson has the contract of $18 for 3 years, he can be paid out $9 in year 1, $6 in year 2, and $3 in year 3 with $6 is 66% year 1 and $3 being 33% of year 2
d). EX II: Benson can also have his contract pro-rated upwards, earning $3 in year 1, $6 in year 2, and $9 in year 3 which will still satisfy the 66-33 rule
e). Contracts do not have to be exactly 66 or 33 percent, so Benson could have his contract at $8-$7-$3 or $3-$7-$8 as well
2). All pro-rated contracts must be submitted to the Commish for approval and are the responsibility of the owner to fall under all pro-rated rules
a). If contracts fail to meet league rules, the will be voided and the player will be given a standard equal dollar amount per year contract
5. Free Agents
A. In-Season Free Agents
1). Weekly Free Agents will be bid upon through a weekly Free Agent Silent Auction (FASA) system.
2). In order to bid on Free Agents through the FASA system, the bidding team must have an open roster spot(s) and open salary cap space in order for their bid to be accepted
a). If teams do not have open cap space, they may submit a corresponding move in their FASA bids
b). EX: Team Gary Baxter’s Legs currently has $248 in contracts. They send the FASA bid as follows: RB Ryan Moats $15 for 3 year, if accepted cut WR James Jones $10 for 2 years.
c). Team Gary Baxter’s Legs would then have signed Moats for $5 for the current year and owe Jones $5 for the current year leaving them at the same $248 in total contracts owed as they started
d). The winning contract is the one with the highest total dollar amount, as is customary in the initial league draft and the offseason Free Agency draft
e). Players bid on in the FASA cannot have their contracts pro-rated, therefore all contracts for the same dollar amount each year or in the case of an uneven total dollar amount the highest values in the earliest portion of the contracts
3). Each team must submit their FASA bids to their designated bid receiver (not all will go to the Commish) by Tuesday night at midnight
a). All bids received past the deadline by the bid receiver are null and void with no exceptions
b). Each bid receiver will send their picks to a different bid receiver in this same time frame under these same guidelines
c). Bid receivers will then send all bids to the Commish on Wednesday and results will be posted and transacted before Thursday at midnight
d). Each bid receiver will inform the teams who submit their bids to them as to what method of submitting the bids works best for them, although it is assumed the e-mail, Facebook message, and texting are the three best and most reliable
4). Players who are released any time after Monday at midnight are not subject to be bid upon in any form until the following week and are thus unavailable for the following week of play unless claimed through waivers
5). Players who make it through the FASA portion of weekly Free Agency without being bid on will be available to be signed to weekly contracts sometime between Thursday at midnight and Saturday at midnight
a). In order to avoid giving the Commish an unfair advantage in signing these players, the Commish must wait 6 hours or until at least 1 player is signed to a weekly contract before signing someone himself
b). Players signed after the FASA portion can only receive a $1 for 1 week contract, no other contracts are available for the players
c). All players signed during this period must be released before Monday at midnight the following week in order to make them available to be signed during that week
d). This process will not be sped up if there is a Thursday night game, meaning that all players who make it through the FASA period any play on Thursday night are unavailable to be rostered until the following week.
B. Off Season Free Agency
1). All players who have their team contracts expire at the end of the year become Free Agents after the completion of the Bell Cup and will be available to be bid upon on a selected draft date during the off-season
2). Teams who have Free Agents may submit offers to their players prior to the opening of league Free Agency two different methods, as seen below
3). Teams may submit a contract to an offensive and defensive player (kickers and team D/STs are considered offensive) prior to the opening of Free Agency, thus making these players Restricted Free Agents
a). When Free Agency opens all teams will be informed as to what players are Restricted Free Agents
b). All teams may bid on Restricted Free Agents, with the original team being able to match any contract offers that exceed the contract that they initially offered their player
c). Teams may no longer match a player’s offered contract if they exceed the future year’s salary cap unless they also have a corresponding roster move to get under the cap
d). Teams are not obligated to match a contract, and can decline matching thus making the offered contract by another team the leading bid for the players services
4). Teams may also Franchise players by placing the “Franchise” tag on a player prior to the release of all Free Agents
a). Franchised players will make the average salary of the top 12 players at his position, which is rounded up if a fraction
b). In the case that a player qualifies at multiple positions, the player would receive the higher of the 2 Franchised salaries
c). Players who are Franchised can be offered either 1, 2, or 3 year contracts
d). Franchised players do not have to be current Free Agents, thus making anyone on a roster eligible to be Franchised
e). Players who are in the top 12 salaries at their position cannot be Franchised and thus given a lower salary
f). Players who have current contracts lasting over 3 years cannot be Franchised
5). Players cannot be Franchise tagged and Restricted Free Agents during the same off-season
6). Players that have been selected in the Rookie draft are not available to be signed through Free Agency
6. Trading
A Trading Itself
1). Trading is open throughout the year except from the Sunday of Week 13 at 12:01 AM (which is subject to change based on league approval) and the finalization of the championship score sometime during the final week of NFL regular season
2). Full and complete details of a trade must be submitted at the exact same time as the trade
3). Players-to-be-named-later are illegal and cannot be part of any trade
a). Simultaneously renting is illegal, and any team caught renting or receiving rented players shall be punished with the loss of draft pick(s) and/or salary cap reductions
4). Trades may consist of any combination of players, contracts, draft picks, and cash
a). All portions of the trade must be completed under the league salary immediately or have an immediate corresponding transaction, such as another trade or a release submitted simultaneously with the initial trade
b). Draft picks can only be traded up to 3 years in advance, so in the 2011 season only 2011, 2012, and 2013 picks may be traded
c). Future and current year cash may also be traded but it falls subject to the same 3 year in advancement only rule as draft picks
d). The contracts of ex-players may be traded but must be traded as one whole contract and not in portions, thus an ex-player’s contract that has 4 years left on it must be traded in whole and not just the first 2 year years
e). EX: This trade encompasses all possibilities of player, contract, draft pick, and cash trades: During the 2011 season Gary Baxter’s Legs trades WR Donald Driver making $6 in 2011 and $8 in 2012 and $2 in cap space in 2013 to Dockett’s Shower Scene for a $8 in 2011 cap space, $2 in 2012 cap space, the released contract of Johnny Knox making $4 in 2011 and $2 in 2012, and two 2013 conditional 2nd and 3rd round draft picks rising to 1st and 3rd round picks if Dockett’s Shower Scene makes the playoffs in 2011
f). If the any portion of the trade above involved transactions happening in 2014 the trade would be voided
5). Trades are vetoed by the league if they have one of the two following scenarios
a). 2 out of the 3 people in the Triangle of Trust vote against a trade
b). A minimum of 5 people in the league including a member of the Triangle of Trust vote against the trade
c). 7 members of the league vote against a trade
7. Rookie Draft
A The Draft Itself
1). The draft will be based on reverse record of the teams finishing 7th through 12th in the standing and the reverse finishing order of teams 1st through 6th in the playoff standings, which the teams scoring the lower total amount in elimination weeks having the higher draft pick
a). Any additional tie-breakers needed will be based upon league standings tie-breakers (seen below)
2). The rookie draft will take place before the Free Agent period begins and all players not drafted in the Rookie Draft will then be available to be signed during the Free Agency period
3). The draft is not a snake draft, and therefore the team with the worst record will have the first overall pick in the 1st round (#1 overall) and the first pick in the 2nd round (#13 overall) and so on
4). Players will be given a set contract for 3 years based on the spot they are drafted, with the total amount potentially changing each year based on the salary cap
a). 2011’s set contracts will be announced sometime after the season ends but before the draft of the Rookie draft
5). Teams may only draft a player if they room on their roster and are sufficiently under the league salary cap
a). Teams may draft players and then have a corresponding release immediately as the draft happens
6). All teams have 4 rounds worth of draft picks each year
a). Teams may waive their right to draft a player, thus ending their draft
b). The draft ends once all teams have waived their rights to draft players
c). Until teams waive their right to draft players, they can draft until their roster is full and go beyond their 4 assigned draft picks
8. Standings, Tie-Breakers, & the Schedule
A. Standings & Tie-Breakers
1). The league will be split into 4 divisions of 3 based on some basis such as one division all living in Athens
a). The 4 divisions will then be split into two leagues just like the NFL has it
2). Overall regular season standings are based upon win-loss-tie records, with ties remaining
a). The tie breaker for best regular season record is 1st regular season total points, 2nd head-to-head record, 3rd in conference record 4th remaining cap space, and 5th a coin flip
b). Post season tie-breakers are based upon 1st regular season total points, 2nd bench points, 3rd in-division record, 4th head-to-head record, 5th remaining cap space, and 6th a coin flip
c). Tie-breakers for division winners are based on 1st in-division record, 2nd head-to-head record, 3rd regular season total points, 4th remaining cap space, and 5th a coin flip
d). For playoff entry tie-breakers 1 win, 1 loss, and 0 ties is a better record then 0 wins, 0 losses, and 2 ties
3). The regular season ends at the end of Week 13 and playoffs begin starting in Week 14
4). Playoff format consists of each leagues division winner plus one wildcard from each league will make up the 6 total playoff teams
a). The best record from each league will have a first round bye
b). Each league’s non-byed division winner players their league’s wild card winner
c). Each league’s first place team would then play the winner of their own leagues first week playoff game
d). EX: Team A League 1 Team A League 2
Team B League 1 Team B League 2
Team C League 1 Team C League 2
A1 and A2 have first round byes with B1 playing C1 and B2 playing C2
Team A1 plays the winner of B1 and C1 and Team A2 plays the winner of B2 and C2
e). The league’s championship game will be Week 16 with Week 17 serving as a final week for ESPN to confirm scores before our fantasy off-season beings
f). If the championship game ends in a tie, the tie-breakers are based on 1st bench points, 2nd combined playoff victory points, 3rd regular season points, 4th head-to-head points, and 5th a coin flip
B. Scheduling
1). Each team plays their entire league once (5 games), their entire league twice (4 more games) and the rest of the league is a randomized schedule (4 more games)
9. Scoring
A. Passing
1). 1 pt for every 25 yards
2). -2 pts per INT
3). 4 pts per TD
4). 2 pts per 2pt Conversion
B. Receiving
1). 1 pt for every 10 yards
2). 0.5 pts per catch
3). 6 pts per TD
4). 2 pts per 2pt Conversion
C. Rushing
1). 1 pt for every 10 yards
2). 0.5 pts per catch
3). 6 pts per TD
4). 2 pts per 2pt Conversion
D Kicking
1). 1 pt per PAT
2). 3 pts per FG (0-39)
3). 4 pts per FG (40-49)
4). 5 pts per FG (50+)
5). -1 pt for each missed FG or PAT
E Miscellaneous
1). 6 pts for a Kick Return TD
2). 6 pts for a Punk Return TD
3). 6 pts for a Fumble Return TD
4). -2 pts for a Fumble Lost
F. Defensive Players
1). 0.5 pts per Tackle
2). 1.5 pts per Tackle for Loss
3). 1.5 pts per Pass Defended
4). 3 pts per Sack
5). 3 pts per INT
6). 3 pts per Forced Fumble
7). 3 pts per Recovered Fumble
8). 6 pts per Block
9). 6 pts per Safety
10). 6 pts per TD
G. Team Defense & Special Teams
1). 1 pt per Sack
2). 2 pts per INT
3). 2 pts per Forced Fumble
4). 3 pts per Block
5). 3 pts per Safety
6). 6 pts per TD
7). 10 pts for 0 Points Allowed
8). 7 pts for 1-6 Points Allowed
9). 4 pts for 7-13 Points Allowed
10). 1 pt for 14-17 Points Allowed
11). 0 pts for 18-21 Points Allowed
12). -1 pts for 22-27 Points Allowed
13). -4 pts for 28-34 Points Allowed
14). -7 pts for 35-45 Points Allowed
15). -10 pts for 46+ Points Allowed
H. All points are rounded down in all cases, so if a player throws for 99 yards he will only receive 3 points
I. Correspondingly fractional points will not exist
10. Miscellaneous
A. If any sort of loop-hole in any rules appear, the Commish and/or Triangle of Trust reserves the right to amend the constitution
B. PLEASE EVERYONE IN THE LEAGUE READ THIS ARTICLE ON DIFFERENT WAYS TO APPROACH AN AUCTION DRAFT:
C. If a team owner disappears from the league (is inactive for over 3 weeks without answering to e-mails, texts, talking to the Triangle of Trust, and/or making roster changes) without giving a reason for while they are inactive the Triangle of Trust will take over control and daily operations of the team
D. If you have any other issues/thoughts/problems with the league let the Commish or anyone in the Triangle of Trust know as soon as possible
E. This is a list of the 12 members of the league
Cleveland’s Rocks as a whole has an email and will likely be sending out the weekly excel sheets and updates. Its email is ClevelandsRocks@gmail.com
NAME E-MAIL
1). James Vecchio (Commish) jv103308@ohio.edu
2). Kevin Eichenbaum (ToT) ke322907@ohio.edu
3). JP Hummer (ToT) hummerjp@mail.uc.edu
4). Chip Buckley
5). Joe Vecchio joeshmoe182@yahoo.com
6). Jon Frustere JFruster7@gmail.com
7). Andy Shepard
8). Joe Stanek Jhstanek@gmail.com
9). Adam Niemeyer asniemeyer@gmail.com
10). TJ Hrabek
11). Connor Ginley
12). Nick McCreary
(We will have a list of phone #'s I just don't want to post them on the website)
(We will have a list of phone #'s I just don't want to post them on the website)
