The League of Extraordinary GM's Auction Dynasty - 16 team IDP Dynasty Auction Salary Cap Hybrid League
2018 MFL League Website
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The GM Experience - Create a legacy by effective roster management using rookie drafts, free agent auctions, contract lengths, salary cap issues, player holdouts & franchise tags... It's going to be tough to dominate your peers year after year. Are you ready for the challenge?
SUMMARY:
1) League Fees & Prize Money
a) The league fees will be $250 a year. 100% of year 1 fees and 50% of year 2 fees will be required when league forms.
b) Upon requesting a franchise, payment into leaguesafe is required in full before the commissioner will grant ownership.
c) After the first season, fees will be due on March 1st each year as defined in the league calendar.
d) Failure to meet the payment deadline will result in franchise will be declared orphaned and a new owner being sought.
e) Any concerns about not being able to meet the payment deadline should be communicated to the league commissioner ASAP. Commissioners decision in all circumstances will be considered final. Commissioners decision in all circumstances will be considered final.
f) 100% of fees (minus yearly costs of myfantasyleague.com) will be paid out.
g) 25% of Prize Pool. Year 1-4, will be held over to create a "Super Pool" in year 5, at which point, the prize pool will be more than double the previous year's 1-4 payouts. This creates a strong incentive for teams to build for now and for the future. It also creates another incentive for people to stay for full 5 years as they are forgoing paid money not to mention the chance at the Super Pool. This concept makes attracting new owners to the league much easier for abandoned teams. The 25% prize pool concept is ongoing meaning that in Years 6-9, 25% is held again for the Year 10 Super Pool and so on. The prize pool is estimated to be $8,000 in year 5!
h) If you make the playoffs, you are guaranteed to win something. The following percentages for the eligible prize pool each year, less MFL league site fees, are paid out after the aggregate super pool funds (above) are withheld:
1st - 50% of prize pool
2nd - 25% of prize pool
3rd - 10% of prize pool
4th - 7% of prize pool
5th - 5% of prize pool
6th - 3% of prize pool
2) Teams, Divisions, and Ownership of Teams
a) The League will consist of 16 teams divided into 4 divisions with 4 teams in each division.
b) Division names and realignment is per Common Rules. Team Names will consist of an NFL franchise team based in the city of the GM's choosing. For example, the Los Angeles Broncos.
c) The Paragon Fantasy Football Leagues (PFFL) commissioners will grant ownership to the 16 most qualified GM's expressing interest in owning a franchise. It would be nice to see all of our owners return year to year; however we know that things happen so if an owner should choose not to return, the commissioner will find a replacement GM using whatever means necessary to keep the league stable. When ownership of a franchise changes, the new GM will be given the right to rename the team, within the league guidelines. However, the new owner will keep the same players held by the previous owner. The new GM will also keep the drafting position held by the previous owner.
3) Rosters, Starting Lineups
a) 53 players will make up a complete roster. There are no restrictions regarding the number of players by position, or minimum number of players after initial auction. The only minimum requirement of a roster is the ability to fulfil the starting lineup requirements.
b) 21 players make up a valid starting Lineup, consisting of the following positions:
1 QB
2 RB
3 WR
1 TE
1 RB/WR Flex
1 WR/TE Flex
1 PK
2 DE
1 DT
3 LB
2 S
2 CB
1 DL/LB/DB Flex
4) Injured Reserve
a) Each team will have 10 injury reserve positions on their rosters.
b) Players declared to be on injured reserve by the official NFL injury report and Myfantasyleague.com (MFL) injury designations can fill these positions.
c) Players must remain on the injured reserve list for the remainder of the current fantasy season. The only exception to this is a scenario where a player is released from Injured Reserve and the MFL IR designation is lifted. In this case, the player cannot remain on IR. To align with what is happening in the NFL, the fantasy team owner must either activate the player or cut the player since he no longer has an IR designation. This is the only scenario where as commissioners we would allow an IR player to be activated since he is no longer eligible for IR.
d) Trading of players placed on the injured reserve list is allowed.
e) Owners can place players on injured reserve at any time during the current season. To move a player to injured reserve, the owner must use the leagues website to process the transaction.
f) Once a player is on the injured reserve list, the team may acquire a free agent to fill the empty spot on the main roster (in accordance with acquisition rules).
g) Once the player is place on IR, 50% of his salary counts towards the salary cap.
5) Regular Season
a) The league regular season will run from weeks 1-13, teams playing each other team in their division twice while filling in the rest of the schedule with randomly selected teams via league software. Each team can play up to 3 doubleheaders per season if the NFL scheduling of bye weeks allows. Doubleheaders cannot be played in Weeks 1-3 of the season. The doubleheaders and the division rival games are intended to keep the playoff picture undecided as long as possible & to maintain maximum league interest in all games played.
b) If the NFL regular season is ever extended through a new collective bargaining agreement, additional regular weeks shall be added such that the last playoff game shall end 1 week before the end of the regular NFL season.
6) Playoffs
a) The league playoffs will take place during weeks 14-16.
b) 6 teams qualify for the playoffs based on overall win loss records. Tie breaking methods are detailed on the league website and in the Paragon Common Rule Book.
c) Division winners are not guaranteed a spot in the playoffs as per the qualification rules which are detailed in the Paragon Common Rule Book.
d) Top 2 seeds are given a 1st round bye with the League Championship Game being held in Week 16.
7) Division Realignment
a) Division Realignment occurs each season on a promotion and relegation basis to assist in league parity.
b) Each new season, divisions are realigned based on last years standings using the same rules applied to determine rookie draft order as described in the Common Rule Book. It will be based on the previous years finishing position in the league standings with the exception of the winner and loser of the league championship, they will be determined at the no. 1 and 2 teams. The top 4 teams end up in Division 1, teams 5-8 in Division 2, teams 9-12 in Division 3, teams 13-16 in Division 4.
c) Divisions in this league are intended primarily to group teams of similar strengths, so that more games are played between equal teams each year, and so they are treated differently than many leagues.
d) Season 1 division alignment based on draft position. Refer to the Common Rule Book for greater explanation.
8) Salary Cap
a) Each team has an initial salary cap of $1000.
b) At no time during the regular season may a team's total roster salaries exceed the cap.
c) During the pre-season from the end of week 16 through March 1, owner's team salaries may exceed the salary cap due to off-season activity and pre-season transactions. This is done to allow trading of players given that impending free agents are still on the roster.
d) On March 1st each year, the league implements a salary cap increase of 5%.
e) Impending free agents are automatically dropped by commissioner and each team must meet the salary cap requirements at this date.
f) If a team is in violation of the cap, the commissioners will use their best judgment to cut players in order to take the team under the cap with the commissioner decisions being final. Please note that this may be the same, or different, from how the actual owner would decide, so it's strongly encouraged that each team manage their cap effectively and be in communication with the commissioners on or around March 1.
g) All players released because of salary cap issues will enter the free agent pool. From a technical perspective, the league settings will be a HARD salary cap for the entire year, except for the period from the end of Week 16 until March 1, when the new year begins.
h) If a player is waived prior to his contract expiring; the team incurs a salary cap penalty for the remaining years of the contract.
i) When cancelled, current year hit on the cap is 100%. All remaining cap hit is taken in the following year.
Therefore if there are:
2 years remaining on the contract, 50% is deducted in the 2nd year.
3 years remaining on the contract, 75% is deducted in the 2nd year.
4 years remaining on the contract, 100% is deducted in the 2nd year.
5 years remaining on the contract, 125% is deducted in the 2nd year.
j) As an example, the regular season just ended. You decide to cut Brian Westbrook, Salary $100 this year, who is on year 1 of a 5 year contract. The cap hit stays in effect for the remainder of the current year
(100% of $100). At March 1st the following year, year 2 of the contract is in effect. Since there were 5 years remaining when the cancellation took place, it's 125% of that $100 salary amount, in year 2. So your cap is reduced by $125 in year 2. In years 3, 4, and 5, there is no remaining cap hit.
k) Remember also that by cutting a player, the 20% inflation of wages does NOT occur, so there are pros and cons to cutting a player early in his contract. These rules are structured this way so that if a team's cap management is poor, the damage can be undone within 2 seasons versus over many years that would hurt their chances to be competitive. This will help create league parity and keep the league filled.
9) Contracts, Retaining Players and Contract Extensions
a) This is a full roster dynasty league, meaning that teams may keep all players if qualified, from season to season.
b) Once a team has acquired a player through either the rookie draft or free agent auction, the owners must then sign the player to a contract.
c) Player contracts range from 1 to 5 years and are at the owners choosing for all free agents signed. Note that if a rookie free agent is signed to any contract other than 3 years, they are not eligible for demotion to the DTS.
d) Team owners have 1 week from the conclusion of the free agent auction to assign players to a contract length.
e) All rookies acquired during the draft are signed to 3 year contracts regardless of how long they stay on the Dynasty Taxi Squad (DTS).
f) All rookie players placed on the DTS can therefore remain there for a maximum of 3 years. If activated prior to this, they will either play out their original rookie contract or be extended at the discretion of the team owner. Rookies are the only players that can be extended in the final year of their contract but only if they are extended within 24 hours of activation. After that period, any activated rookie is no different than any other player on the roster. . For example, if a rookie is drafted in 2010, then is left on the practice squad for 3 years, he can be activated as late as February 28th, 2013 and signed to a 5 year extension.
g) Players acquired with a 2-year contract or greater in the current season or off-season remain on the current owners' next season roster. Players whose contracts have expired in the current season or off-season do not remain on the owner's next season roster.
h) Team owners retain the rights to each player until the owner releases the player or the player's contract expires.
i) On March 1 of each year, players without at least one additional year left on their contract (they will show as 1 year on the site), are dropped from the roster and become free agents.
j) Existing players with more than 1 year remaining, have their contract years reduced by 1.
k) Player salaries increase by 20% over the previous year. Therefore, there is a compounding of salaries over multiple years, so be very careful in extending expensive contracts over long lengths of time. Using the below table as a guide, for every $1 in initial base salary, in year 5, that salary will be $2.07. Below is contract structure chart for players bidding or winning auctions.
Contract Length Each $1 in Salary, Inflated 20% Each Year
l) Owners can extend any player's contract from the announcement of holdouts following week 16, through the start of the first week 5 games the following year, with the exception of players in their last contract year, per M below.
m) Once August 15th passes, no player who is playing the final year of their contract (shows up as 1 in contract years on site) may be extended.
n) Any given player may only be extended by any team once before being allowed to test free agency. If the player is then acquired during FA by the same team, they are eligible for extension again. Note that applying franchise tags, transition tags, or signing a new contract at the end of a Stage 2 holdout, is not considered an extension.
o) When extending a contract, the current salary at the time is increased by 20% and becomes the new salary for the current year. The team owner can specify a salary in the extension post greater than a 20% increase, but it must be a MINIMUM of 20% above current. This effectively creates a "double" hit in terms of salary inflation, which is the price paid for extending a contract without letting the player test free agency.
p) The minimum salary for extending any player contract is $10. This is intended to make available a variety of inexpensive but promising free agents in the market each year. If you wish to retain a player but believe they are worth less than a $10 salary, let them hit free agency and win them through the free agent auction, signing them to the contract of your choosing. Example: Miles Austin was signed to a $5 contact and the team owner wishes to extend his contract. $5 x 120% = $6. This is therefore increased to $10 as per the minimum salary allowed for extending a player.
q) If an owner wants to extend a player's contract he must post the extension in the appropriate league message board and then verify that the commissioner makes the correct extension and salary increase. Please either use the words "Extend player X to Z years." or "extend player x by z years." If you say extend "by" then that numbers shall be added to the current number. If you say extend "to" then that number you specify shall replace the current contract length. The date of this change shall be from when the post was made. For example, if you post on 2/28 to extend to 4 years, realize that on 3/1, the contract will then decrease to 3 years.
r) The owner must provide the commissioner with the players name and the new contract length.
s) Once the commissioner has received all of the information necessary, the commissioner will perform the contract extension calculation and the new contract value updated on the league's website within a week.
t) If an owner fails to submit a contract extension by the deadline to the commissioner, the player will remain under the current contract.
u) Dynasty Taxi Squad (DTS) players may not be extended and still remain on the DTS. Extending their contract will automatically promote them them to the active roster.
10) Franchise & Transition Tags
a) Franchise Tags
1) During the off-season an owner may choose to retain 1 current season free agent by using a franchise tag.
2) The commissioner must be notified by team owners of all recipients of the Franchise Tag by March 1. This should be done through a new message board post, so it is visible to all other owners.
3) In order to qualify for the franchise tag, the player must be on the owner's roster during the season just completed and the player's contract will expire on March 1.
4) To be eligible to bid on a franchise tagged player, you must own a current or future 1st round draft selection.
5)If a team chooses to do so, the franchise player will then be bid on by eligible teams. You may only have an active high bid for each eligible 1st round pick you own.
6) The bidding will start at the average salary of the top 5 salaries in their perspective position.
7) Bidding will be done via a league message board post and all teams will have until 6pm PST March 21st to reply to this post and put the salary they are willing to offer.
8) The bidding will start at the average of last seasons top 5 highest paid players at the franchise tag player's position.
9) If any bids take place, the owner of the franchised player must match the winning bid or decline to match the offer by March 28th at 11:59 PM EDT.
10) Team owners declining to match the offer will accept the compensation of (1) one 1st round draft pick for the franchise tagged player. If the team owns multiple 1st round picks, the lowest pick will be paid as compensation. If a team wins two or more franchise tag auctions, the highest $ bid will have the first choice of available pick. Message board time-stamp would be the next tie breaker if both $ amounts were equal.
11) The team receiving the compensation may choose whether to accept the draft pick immediately or defer, meaning they will receive the following seasons 1st round draft pick. If choosing to defer to next season, the pick is received immediately. If the team owns multiple 1st round picks, the choice of future 1st round pick is made immediately after the deadline in rule 9).
12) The team receiving the franchised player automatically signs the player to a 3 year contract at the terms listed below.
13) Year 1: When the team franchises a player, the team will pay the average of the prior year's salary for the prior-seasons top 5 highest paid players at the franchise tag player's position, or the winning bid price whichever is higher. Years 2 & 3: The usual 20% inflation as per league rules.
14) A player is eligible to be re-franchise tagged for a 2nd time only. He cannot be franchise tagged for a 3rd time without having entered the free agent auction pool for a season.
b) Transition Tags:
1)During the off-season, an owner may choose to retain 2 of their current season free agents by using a transition tag.
2) In order to qualify for the transition tag, the player must be on the owner's current season roster and the player's contract will expire on March 1st.
3) If a team owner applies the transition tag to an applicable player, that player automatically signs a 1-year agreement with the team.
4) The transition tagged player will automatically become an Unrestricted Free Agent when his contract expires without exception. This condition still applies if the player is subsequently traded before the August 15th contract extension deadline meaning that this player cannot having his transition tag contract extended. This means that a transition tagged player is ineligible to receive a franchise tag the following season.
5) The team will pay the average salary of the top 10 highest paid players in his position for the prior year's salary, or the player's prior year salary plus 20%, whichever is higher.
11) Dynasty Taxi Squad Players (DTS)
a) Owners may designate 8 rookie players from their team to the Dynasty Taxi Squad (DTS) for development purposes. These players will be in addition to the 53 main roster players.
b) The players will have a salary determined either by their draft position or by the free agent auction price.
c) They will have contract years determined either by the fact that they were drafted (3 years), or by the length of the contract specified after winning the auction.
d) The players salaries will increase by 20% each year just as every player, and their contracts will decrease by a year each March 1.
e) Players on the DTS will count 25% towards the salary cap. This enables you to let rookies develop into their potential before deciding what to do with them.
f) The team owner is responsible for demoting/promoting any drafted rookies or rookies acquired in the free agent auction to the DTS via league software within 1 week from the conclusion of the Unrestricted Free Agent Auction. Any player on the DTS when demotions are closed/locked for the year must be given a 3 year contract. If a player is given a 1, 2, 4 or 5 year contract after being acquired in the free agent auction, they are ineligible.
g) Once this date has passed, no more demotions to the DTS will be allowed until the following year's drafts begin. For clarity, this means that any players gained through the waiver process is not eligible for the DTS.
h) Players on the DTS may be cut at any point, without salary cap penalty. Once a DTS player is dropped, an embargo period for one week will be enforced for all teams in the league where the player must remain a free agent.
Once the embargo period expires, the player can only be signed via a BB Waivers run, meaning that the player cannot be acquired during a FCFS waivers run.
The team dropping the DTS player cannot re-acquire that player during the first available BB waivers run after the embargo period expires. All other teams in the league will be eligible to sign the player. This will be akin to NFL waivers where a player is dropped and all 31 other teams in the league get a chance at the player before he clears waivers. Only then can the original team dropping the player sign him to a practice squad or put on IR etc. After the embargo period & the completed first available BB waivers run, if the player is still a free agent, the team who dropped the player is then eligible to sign them during the next BB waivers period.
Subsequent trades involving the team who dropped the DTS player and then re-acquire that player via trade will be scrutinized closely for collusion.
i) Once a player is activated from the DTS to the active roster, he is ineligible to return to the DTS. This includes if the player is traded to another franchise or waived and subsequently picked up by another team owner.
j) Within 48 hours of being activated from the DTS, any player regardless of the length of years left on their contract, is eligible to be extended.
k) As per Free Agency rules, any player on the DTS whose contract expires on March 1 will be dropped.
l) Team owners have the ability to activate and sign DTS players from other franchises in the league to their own active roster, as long as those players were not selected in the first round of their rookie draft.
m) The team owner activating/signing DTS players from opposing franchises will pay the price of 2 draft picks to the franchise losing the DTS Player; 1 draft pick from the same round the player was drafted, 1 draft pick from the round higher than the player was drafted. Example: The price for a DTS player drafted in the second round will be a 1st & 2nd round draft pick. A team that is claiming the DTS player may give up earlier round draft picks than what is technically required if they do not have the exact round of draft picks available. Example: A 4th and 5th round is required but the team doesn't have a 4th round, so it gives a 3rd and 5th round instead. The team owner activating/signing a 1st round DTS player from opposing franchises will pay the price of 2 x 1st round draft picks to the franchise losing the DTS Player
n) The price for DTS players selected in the Free Agent Auction/Waivers will be as if the player had been drafted in the 5th round (price is a 5th and 4th).
o) Only the next draft's set of picks may be used for activating/signing DTS players from opposing franchises (not two drafts out, for example).
p) Activating DTS players from opposing franchises may only occur after the Dynasty Taxi Squad is closed each year and before the start of the next years Rookie Draft. DTS activation shall also be suspended during the trade blackout between week 13 and the end of week 16.
q) To activate DTS players from opposing franchises, the team owner must create a new message board post to the league declaring the transaction, listing the teams/player/draft picks involved, so all owners are notified. Please note that if a team owns multiple picks in the same round, they need to specify which one they are surrendering (their choice) in the message board thread.
r) The Commissioner will execute the transaction as a trade if the picks are valid, if all league fees for the pick years are fully paid and if all salary/roster requirements are met.
s) The DTS activation trade will be declared null and void if all of the conditions in Sections 11m) to 11r) are not met.
t) Before the commissioner decides if the DTS activation claim is valid or invalid, the DTS player being claimed cannot be promoted to the active roster, nor can another team make a claim on the same copy of that player.
u) Any DTS eligible player acquired by a team must be demoted within 72 hours of that trade, or that player is no longer eligible for demotion. The exception to this is the rookie draft, during which demotions are not required until one week after the conclusion of the FA auction. Furthermore, if any player is utilized in an actual lineup for a game (scoring 0+ points), that player is no longer eligible for demotion to the DTS.
12) Holdouts
a) Holdout Immunity - Rookies are immune from holdouts for the first 2 years after they enter the league. A player signed to a 5 year contract has immunity from holdout for the first 2 contract years. A player signed to a 4 year contract has immunity from holdout for 1 contract year. Remember that holdout considerations occur BEFORE the start of the next year. So if Player A was signed to a 5 year extension in week 4 of 2013, he would not be eligible for a holdout for his performance in 2013 or in 2014.
b) Holdouts will be incorporated to bring top ranked players at their position into line with their peers. At the end of the complete fantasy season (week 16), any player whose end-of-year stats as per the league website place the player in the defined top tier at the players position is then subject to examination as a possible holdout candidate.
c) Position tiers are defined as follows:
Top 10: QB, TE, DT
Top 15: RB, DE, CB, S
Top 20: WR, LB
Excluded: PK
d) If a top tier player is making less than 1/2 of the average salary of the highest paid players based on the position tiers in Section 12 c), the player is considered a "Stage 1 holdout player".
e) A Stage 1 holdout player gets 50% of his holdout position salary (1/2 of the average of the highest paid players based on his position tier).
For example, if player A (RB) is currently on $10 contract and finishes in the top 15 for his position and the average of the top 15 highest paid players is $100, ½ of that is $50 so his Stage 1 holdout salary would become $50. Contract years do not change.
f) If a Stage 1 Holdout player is dropped prior to March 1st, the salary cap penalty would be based on the original contract. After March 1st, the Stage 1 Holdout salary comes into affect. The holdout player can be traded during the designated trading periods with the new team owner bearing the same responsibilities as the previous team owner. If the owner trades a holdout player, the new team gets the same rights/decisions/consequences as the prior team.
g) As per the rules stated in Section 9, a Stage 1 Holdout player is eligible to sign a contract extension, but unless the contract extension is made to be equal to the average of the highest paid players based on his position tier in year 1 of the contract, the player retains his holdout status.
h) If the player reaches the top tier at his position during the life of his current contract, the Stage 1 Holdout contracted player will be considered a Stage 2 Holdout Player.
i) To resolve a Stage 2 player holdout, the owner has 3 options which must be decided by March 1:
1. Accept the new contract demands for their holdout year. The owner may choose to accept the player's new contract demands. The player then signs a new contract with a year 1 salary equal to the average salary of the highest paid players based on the position tiers in Section 12 c) The length of the new contract is solely at the owner's discretion as per the league rules. After March 1st, the Stage 2 Holdout salary/contract comes into affect. The holdout player can be traded during the designated trading periods with the new team owner bearing the same responsibilities as the previous team owner.
2. Reject the new contract demands. The owner may choose to reject the player's new contract demands thus putting the player on the Dynasty Taxi Squad (under the salary of his current contract). In this case, all taxi squad rules apply to the roster size, salary cap, and lineup restrictions. Once the owner does this then the player is on the holdout squad for the remainder of the year (and may not be cut or activated). After the next season, the owner has until March 1 of the next year to activate him or drop him to UFA without salary cap penalty. If the owner trades a holdout player, the new team gets the same rights/decisions/consequences as the prior team. If a player demoted to the taxi squad makes the top tier again while demoted, then upon activation he must either be granted the Stage 2 Holdout Salary for that new year, or cut. If the player does not make the top tier while being placed on the taxi squad, he shall be activated back to the active roster under the terms of his stage 1 holdout salary (plus any 20% annual bumps since then), and shall no longer be a holdout candidate (either stage 1 OR stage 2) until his current contract has expired. If his contract is extended, however, he shall then be eligible to be a stage 1 holdout candidate again.
3. Waive the player. The owner may choose to release the player. An owner can release a holdout player up until March 1. There will not be any salary cap penalty when a team owner exercises this option.
j) If a player doesn't reach the top tier at his position between Stage 1 Holdout and Stage 2 Holdout, he maintains his status as a Stage 1 Holdout player, maintaining the agreed holdout salary plus the usual 20% yearly increase until his contract expires.
k) All holdouts (Stage 1 or 2) whereby the team owner fails to notify the commissioner of his intentions by the March 1st deadline will be deemed a rejection of that holdout. The commissioner will waive the player and the applicable rules regarding salary cap hit, depending on it being Stage 1 or Stage 2, will apply.
13) Retirements and Player Death
a) When a player retires from the NFL, the team owner can drop the player from the roster without penalty.
b) If that player later announces a return to the NFL, that team has retained the rights for the length of his original contract.
c) The team owner must decide within 1 week of the player becoming un-retired whether to acquire the player again for the same contract terms as the player had prior to retiring, or relinquish his rights to the player.
d) It is each team owner's individual responsibility to monitor their own retired players, and to notify the commissioner if they wish to reinstate any players in this scenario.
e) Once the 1 week period expires, the un-retired player is considered a free agent and may be acquired by another team as per the usual free agency processes.
f) If the player was retired for 2 seasons and then returns to the NFL, these two years are not reimbursed to the original contract.
Example: In 2010, Brett Favre is signed to a 5 year contract. In 2011 Brett Favre retires from the NFL. In 2013, Brett Favre returns to the NFL, therefore the team owner who signed him to a 5 year deal still retains the rights to the player who will be in the 4th year of his original 5 year contact.
g) If a player passes away whilst under contract, this player will be dropped from their contract without salary cap penalty.
14) Rookie Draft
a) Rookie draft picks will be granted to all teams for the current and following seasons.
b) The draft order is determined by potential points (non playoff teams), regular season finishing position (playoff teams) as per common rules, however the two teams that played in the league Superbowl will always gets the last (16th) and 2nd to last (15th) draft position. During the inaugural season, the rookie draft will be randomized, and 3RR will be utilized.
c) Tiebreaker rules (see Paragon Common Rule Book tie breakers section) apply for the rookie draft order.
d) The draft is mandatory and will consist of 5 rounds.
e) Roster sizes will be temporarily increased at the start of the draft and reduced 24 hours after the draft is completed.
f) The team owner will demote players selected in the draft to the taxi squad, either during the draft or shortly thereafter, before the commissioner reduces the overall roster size back to 53 to meet the roster requirements.
g) 24 hours after the draft is completed, if the owner does not have room on his practice squad for drafted players, the commissioner will drop the lowest drafted players, including current DTS players to bring rosters back to legal requirements.
Example: 24 hours after the 2010 draft, the commissioner returns the system roster size limits to 53. A team has 55 players on this active roster because he hasn't correctly demoted his draft picks. So if there is a 2010 5th round drafted player & a 2009 5th round drafted player, those two players will be dropped.
h) It is strongly urged that teams do their own demotions and make their own decisions to the commissioner is not required to take this action.
i) If a team owner doesn't wish to keep a player selected in the draft, he can be dropped at any time, EXCEPT during the draft.
j) The rookie draft will be a slow draft, using the league software, conducted 2 weeks following the conclusion of the NFL draft, or whenever the players are made available in the league software.
k) All rookie contracts will be for 3 years.
l) All rookie salaries will be assigned as follows:
m) The rookie starting salaries will be increased every 5 years by 25%, rounded up to the nearest dollar.
This more closely resembles the NFL, where GMs are forced to allocate large salaries to unproven players, and will add further strategy to the trading of draft picks given the risk and the draft pool quality each given year.
15) Unrestricted Free Agent Auction
a) Any undrafted rookies & unrestricted free agents will be available in the free agent auction.
b) The league will hold a free agent auction every year after the inaugural league season.
c) The free agent auction is not mandatory.
d) The same auction rules (3 players on the board at any time by each participating team) shall apply as defined in the Paragon Common Rule Book.
e) The auction is conducted on the MFL league website.
f) The free agent auction will be conducted approximately 2 weeks after the rookie draft has completed.
g) Players signed during the free agent auction may be signed for 1-5 years.
h) Designation of all contract lengths shall be required within 1 week of the closure of the free agent auction.
i) If no notice is received, all players will be considered to be playing on 1 year contracts.
j) During the auction, no players may be cut by any team. However, trading of players is allowed during the auction, including players recently acquired with a winning bid. Demoting of eligible players to the DTS is allowed during the auction. Once demoted, those DTS players are committed to a 3 year rookie contract, even if they are subsequently promoted.
16) Blind Bidding Waivers
a) After the annual free agent auction is completed, all free agents are handled by waiver process.
b) All free agents signed during the blind bidding waiver periods automatically receive 1 year contracts and expire the following March 1 unless they are signed to a contract extension (prior to August 15).
c) Between the end of the free agent auction and the start of the first week 1 game, free agent acquisitions can be made via blind bidding waiver periods as defined in the league calendar. (every 2 weeks).
d) Commencing Week 1 of the NFL regular season and ending at the commencement of Week 16 games, there will be 2 blind bidding waiver periods each week as defined in the league calendar. The 1st period starts from the kickoff of 1pm Sunday games and will end on Wednesday. The 2nd period starts on Wednesday and will end on Saturday. Please refer to the league calendar for details.
e) From the commencement of Week 16 games, there will be no free agent pick-ups until the free agent auction draft next season.
f) The salaries of the players acquired via the blind bidding waivers will be based on the winning dollar amount bid during the bid submission process.
g) The league will not grant additional money to teams for the free agent blind bidding process.
h) Teams will use their existing salary cap to acquire free agents.
i) Teams cannot exceed the salary cap while acquiring free agents.
j) The minimum bid for a free agent is $1 and all bids are in $1 or higher increments.
k) For teams that bid the same dollar value, the usual tie-breaks will be applied as per the Paragon Common Rule Book.
l) The commissioner will only accept free agent acquisition bids on the forms provided on the leagues website.
m) The commissioner will only accept email from the owner if the league website is down.
n) Each team will be able to buy an unlimited amount of free agents per week/year depending on the team's salary cap room and roster space.
o) Once the owner makes a bid request, the owner cannot rescind or replace it with another request after the bidding deadline.
p) Free agent blind bids are to be submitted as per the timeframes specified in the league calendar.
17) Trading
a) Trading will be allowed at all times except from 1 week prior to the playoffs, until the completion of the league championship game.
b) Trading will be allowed between teams that are paid in full for the current season.
c) You may trade a player you have placed on injured reserve.
d) Trades can involve players & draft picks with owners responsible for ensuring trades do not put their teams over the roster/salary cap limits.
e) To trade all your picks for one season you must have paid in full for the next two future seasons. Example: In 2013, to trade all of your 2014 draft picks you must have paid for the 2014 and 2015 seasons.
f) You may not trade in the off-season until you have paid for the upcoming year meaning that both teams must be paid up in full to complete a trade.
g) All contracts will attach to the player/players involved in trades. Same rules regarding extensions/Franchising apply unless otherwise specified.
h) Owners are responsible for responding to trade offers from other owners taking into account the Code of Conduct & Team Ownership Responsibilities specified in the Paragon Common Rule Book.
i) Some recommendations are as follows:
You should check your trade offers every time you log onto the league website.
If the offer is not acceptable, reject it immediately. Communication is the life blood of all fantasy leagues so it's a common courtesy to explain why.
Some owners may send you repeated trade offers, but if you explain that you are not interested at all in a player, then they likely will not keep offering the same trades.
18) Replacement Owners - Contract Amnesty
When a replacement owner takes over an orphaned team, they will have the option of applying a contract amnesty. Within 72 hours of joining the league, new owners will have to decide between three options (if no selection is made, option A is chosen by default):
Option a) Retain roster and team entirely as is.
Option b) Retain roster but void up to 3 contracts meaning the player is dropped and becomes a free agent without salary cap penalty. If a previous owner had made transactions that resulted in salary cap penalties, all salary cap penalties remain. The new owner can use any of their allotted 3 cuts to have a previous salary cap penalty removed.
Option c) Drop all players from the roster, voiding all contracts and start over in the next free agent auction, retaining only draft picks. In such a scenario, all salary cap penalties from all previous transactions are removed.
19) Timeline of Important Dates
Where possible all below dates will be specified in the league calendar, which is considered final.
March 1st:
March 1st - March 21st:
March 28th:
Late April/Early May:
May 12th:
2 Weeks after Rookie Draft:
1 Week after UFA Auction:
June 15th - Aug 1st:
Aug 8th or One Week After Free Agent Auction Closes:
Aug 15th:
Commencement of NFL Week 5 games:
Commencement of NFL Week 12 games:
Commencement of NFL Week 14 games:
NFL Week 16:
After NFL Week 16:
Fantasy League Off-Season:
Fantasy League Pre-Season:
Current Fantasy Season:
General advice to players new to contract and/or salary cap leagues and rambling thoughts from one of the commissioners.
You are about to take your fantasy game to a whole new level… and it's very exciting. There are some things to keep in mind. First of all, the rules around assigning "values" to a player change dramatically. Now, the contract and length are at least equally important as compared to a player's statistical performance. Getting a bright young WR with a top 10 future for $40 and locking them up for 5 years could make him worth far more than Larry Fitzgerald or Randy Moss at an expensive salary. Think about this when considering trade offers.
Realize that the salary cap increases by only 5% each year, yet salaries of players under contract go up 20%. So you can't fill your roster, spend your cap, and then keep the same roster year to year. You will need to prioritize which players you want to keep long-term, and deal with highly inflating contracts. You may be better off letter some fantastic players go back to free agency every 1-2 years and then bidding on them, winning them at their initial auction price or even less (as some teams will have less money to spend!).
A good rule of thumb is to have at least 30%-50% of your cap in players with 1-2 years contracts that are always opening up so you can drop them or bid on them in free agency again. Then spend 50% of your cap on players with 3-5 year contracts… ideally on cheap, young players. It's a lot easier to place a player with a $5 contract, and some potential, on a 5 year contract… the cap hit will never kill you. But think long and hard about putting a $100+ player on more then a 3 year contract. It could be brilliant, or it could be a costly mistake that hurts you for years to come. That's the sheer beauty of contract leagues, and why they make this much more of an NFL GM experience.
You must make careful predictions of which players are rising, leveling off or declining, paying them accordingly and assigning contracts that fit each scenario. You can't have all of the best players, forever, in this type of league. The fact that contracts expire and inflation goes into effect each year is a great stabilizing force in the league.
The beauty of auctions is that it enables people that value depth over quality to execute that strategy, looking for gems. It allows people that just want 2-5 studs and the rest scrubs, to do that as well. Auctions also offer everywhere in between. It's very easy to get caught up in the frenzy of the auction, paying fortunes for the elite studs, then watch with regret as players that are still very good go for 1/10th of what you paid. That is the tradeoff you must make as a new GM.
Good luck, and feel free to ask the commissioners or grizzled veterans some advice if you need help. We want you to have fun, but don't go too crazy in the auction or you could end up in trouble. If you do go overboard, be sure to sign those highest priced players to 1-2 year contracts, so that you can reevaluate their worth and contracts after the season ends.
Remember, inevitably, there are dozens and dozens of players that go for $1 at the end of the auction, with huge promise, because teams run out of money. Not being able to bid $2-5 to get a player at the end of the auction that is easily 2-5x better than what you can get for $1, surely is worth just a tad of restraint?
Have fun!
Previous League Websites
2017 MFL League Website
2016 MFL League Website
2015 MFL League Website
2014 MFL League Website
2013 MFL League Website
2012 MFL League Website
2011 MFL League Website
2010 MFL League Website
The GM Experience - Create a legacy by effective roster management using rookie drafts, free agent auctions, contract lengths, salary cap issues, player holdouts & franchise tags... It's going to be tough to dominate your peers year after year. Are you ready for the challenge?
SUMMARY:
- 16 teams, 4 divisions realigned each year to improve league parity.
- 53 man rosters, 8 man taxi squad, IR, etc. built to mimic NFL.
- Salary Caps & variable length contracts for all players on your roster.
- Manage player holdouts & retirements, apply franchise and transition tags to your players.
- 21 starters, balanced between offensive positions and defense for realism.
- The proven, balanced Paragon PPR scoring system.
- 6 team Paragon Playoff structure where only the best teams qualify.
- Annual rookie-only draft occurring soon after the NFL draft.
- Annual Free Agent Auction and blind bidding waivers.
- Sign players off opposing franchises practice squad for a price.
- Holdover of 25% of prize money years 1-4 in order to have double prizes (Super Pool Concept) every 5 years
- Large prize pools with 100% payouts less MFL league fees of $70/yr approx.
1) League Fees & Prize Money
a) The league fees will be $250 a year. 100% of year 1 fees and 50% of year 2 fees will be required when league forms.
b) Upon requesting a franchise, payment into leaguesafe is required in full before the commissioner will grant ownership.
c) After the first season, fees will be due on March 1st each year as defined in the league calendar.
d) Failure to meet the payment deadline will result in franchise will be declared orphaned and a new owner being sought.
e) Any concerns about not being able to meet the payment deadline should be communicated to the league commissioner ASAP. Commissioners decision in all circumstances will be considered final. Commissioners decision in all circumstances will be considered final.
f) 100% of fees (minus yearly costs of myfantasyleague.com) will be paid out.
g) 25% of Prize Pool. Year 1-4, will be held over to create a "Super Pool" in year 5, at which point, the prize pool will be more than double the previous year's 1-4 payouts. This creates a strong incentive for teams to build for now and for the future. It also creates another incentive for people to stay for full 5 years as they are forgoing paid money not to mention the chance at the Super Pool. This concept makes attracting new owners to the league much easier for abandoned teams. The 25% prize pool concept is ongoing meaning that in Years 6-9, 25% is held again for the Year 10 Super Pool and so on. The prize pool is estimated to be $8,000 in year 5!
h) If you make the playoffs, you are guaranteed to win something. The following percentages for the eligible prize pool each year, less MFL league site fees, are paid out after the aggregate super pool funds (above) are withheld:
1st - 50% of prize pool
2nd - 25% of prize pool
3rd - 10% of prize pool
4th - 7% of prize pool
5th - 5% of prize pool
6th - 3% of prize pool
2) Teams, Divisions, and Ownership of Teams
a) The League will consist of 16 teams divided into 4 divisions with 4 teams in each division.
b) Division names and realignment is per Common Rules. Team Names will consist of an NFL franchise team based in the city of the GM's choosing. For example, the Los Angeles Broncos.
c) The Paragon Fantasy Football Leagues (PFFL) commissioners will grant ownership to the 16 most qualified GM's expressing interest in owning a franchise. It would be nice to see all of our owners return year to year; however we know that things happen so if an owner should choose not to return, the commissioner will find a replacement GM using whatever means necessary to keep the league stable. When ownership of a franchise changes, the new GM will be given the right to rename the team, within the league guidelines. However, the new owner will keep the same players held by the previous owner. The new GM will also keep the drafting position held by the previous owner.
3) Rosters, Starting Lineups
a) 53 players will make up a complete roster. There are no restrictions regarding the number of players by position, or minimum number of players after initial auction. The only minimum requirement of a roster is the ability to fulfil the starting lineup requirements.
b) 21 players make up a valid starting Lineup, consisting of the following positions:
1 QB
2 RB
3 WR
1 TE
1 RB/WR Flex
1 WR/TE Flex
1 PK
2 DE
1 DT
3 LB
2 S
2 CB
1 DL/LB/DB Flex
4) Injured Reserve
a) Each team will have 10 injury reserve positions on their rosters.
b) Players declared to be on injured reserve by the official NFL injury report and Myfantasyleague.com (MFL) injury designations can fill these positions.
c) Players must remain on the injured reserve list for the remainder of the current fantasy season. The only exception to this is a scenario where a player is released from Injured Reserve and the MFL IR designation is lifted. In this case, the player cannot remain on IR. To align with what is happening in the NFL, the fantasy team owner must either activate the player or cut the player since he no longer has an IR designation. This is the only scenario where as commissioners we would allow an IR player to be activated since he is no longer eligible for IR.
d) Trading of players placed on the injured reserve list is allowed.
e) Owners can place players on injured reserve at any time during the current season. To move a player to injured reserve, the owner must use the leagues website to process the transaction.
f) Once a player is on the injured reserve list, the team may acquire a free agent to fill the empty spot on the main roster (in accordance with acquisition rules).
g) Once the player is place on IR, 50% of his salary counts towards the salary cap.
5) Regular Season
a) The league regular season will run from weeks 1-13, teams playing each other team in their division twice while filling in the rest of the schedule with randomly selected teams via league software. Each team can play up to 3 doubleheaders per season if the NFL scheduling of bye weeks allows. Doubleheaders cannot be played in Weeks 1-3 of the season. The doubleheaders and the division rival games are intended to keep the playoff picture undecided as long as possible & to maintain maximum league interest in all games played.
b) If the NFL regular season is ever extended through a new collective bargaining agreement, additional regular weeks shall be added such that the last playoff game shall end 1 week before the end of the regular NFL season.
6) Playoffs
a) The league playoffs will take place during weeks 14-16.
b) 6 teams qualify for the playoffs based on overall win loss records. Tie breaking methods are detailed on the league website and in the Paragon Common Rule Book.
c) Division winners are not guaranteed a spot in the playoffs as per the qualification rules which are detailed in the Paragon Common Rule Book.
d) Top 2 seeds are given a 1st round bye with the League Championship Game being held in Week 16.
7) Division Realignment
a) Division Realignment occurs each season on a promotion and relegation basis to assist in league parity.
b) Each new season, divisions are realigned based on last years standings using the same rules applied to determine rookie draft order as described in the Common Rule Book. It will be based on the previous years finishing position in the league standings with the exception of the winner and loser of the league championship, they will be determined at the no. 1 and 2 teams. The top 4 teams end up in Division 1, teams 5-8 in Division 2, teams 9-12 in Division 3, teams 13-16 in Division 4.
c) Divisions in this league are intended primarily to group teams of similar strengths, so that more games are played between equal teams each year, and so they are treated differently than many leagues.
d) Season 1 division alignment based on draft position. Refer to the Common Rule Book for greater explanation.
8) Salary Cap
a) Each team has an initial salary cap of $1000.
b) At no time during the regular season may a team's total roster salaries exceed the cap.
c) During the pre-season from the end of week 16 through March 1, owner's team salaries may exceed the salary cap due to off-season activity and pre-season transactions. This is done to allow trading of players given that impending free agents are still on the roster.
d) On March 1st each year, the league implements a salary cap increase of 5%.
e) Impending free agents are automatically dropped by commissioner and each team must meet the salary cap requirements at this date.
f) If a team is in violation of the cap, the commissioners will use their best judgment to cut players in order to take the team under the cap with the commissioner decisions being final. Please note that this may be the same, or different, from how the actual owner would decide, so it's strongly encouraged that each team manage their cap effectively and be in communication with the commissioners on or around March 1.
g) All players released because of salary cap issues will enter the free agent pool. From a technical perspective, the league settings will be a HARD salary cap for the entire year, except for the period from the end of Week 16 until March 1, when the new year begins.
h) If a player is waived prior to his contract expiring; the team incurs a salary cap penalty for the remaining years of the contract.
i) When cancelled, current year hit on the cap is 100%. All remaining cap hit is taken in the following year.
Therefore if there are:
2 years remaining on the contract, 50% is deducted in the 2nd year.
3 years remaining on the contract, 75% is deducted in the 2nd year.
4 years remaining on the contract, 100% is deducted in the 2nd year.
5 years remaining on the contract, 125% is deducted in the 2nd year.
j) As an example, the regular season just ended. You decide to cut Brian Westbrook, Salary $100 this year, who is on year 1 of a 5 year contract. The cap hit stays in effect for the remainder of the current year
(100% of $100). At March 1st the following year, year 2 of the contract is in effect. Since there were 5 years remaining when the cancellation took place, it's 125% of that $100 salary amount, in year 2. So your cap is reduced by $125 in year 2. In years 3, 4, and 5, there is no remaining cap hit.
k) Remember also that by cutting a player, the 20% inflation of wages does NOT occur, so there are pros and cons to cutting a player early in his contract. These rules are structured this way so that if a team's cap management is poor, the damage can be undone within 2 seasons versus over many years that would hurt their chances to be competitive. This will help create league parity and keep the league filled.
9) Contracts, Retaining Players and Contract Extensions
a) This is a full roster dynasty league, meaning that teams may keep all players if qualified, from season to season.
b) Once a team has acquired a player through either the rookie draft or free agent auction, the owners must then sign the player to a contract.
c) Player contracts range from 1 to 5 years and are at the owners choosing for all free agents signed. Note that if a rookie free agent is signed to any contract other than 3 years, they are not eligible for demotion to the DTS.
d) Team owners have 1 week from the conclusion of the free agent auction to assign players to a contract length.
e) All rookies acquired during the draft are signed to 3 year contracts regardless of how long they stay on the Dynasty Taxi Squad (DTS).
f) All rookie players placed on the DTS can therefore remain there for a maximum of 3 years. If activated prior to this, they will either play out their original rookie contract or be extended at the discretion of the team owner. Rookies are the only players that can be extended in the final year of their contract but only if they are extended within 24 hours of activation. After that period, any activated rookie is no different than any other player on the roster. . For example, if a rookie is drafted in 2010, then is left on the practice squad for 3 years, he can be activated as late as February 28th, 2013 and signed to a 5 year extension.
g) Players acquired with a 2-year contract or greater in the current season or off-season remain on the current owners' next season roster. Players whose contracts have expired in the current season or off-season do not remain on the owner's next season roster.
h) Team owners retain the rights to each player until the owner releases the player or the player's contract expires.
i) On March 1 of each year, players without at least one additional year left on their contract (they will show as 1 year on the site), are dropped from the roster and become free agents.
j) Existing players with more than 1 year remaining, have their contract years reduced by 1.
k) Player salaries increase by 20% over the previous year. Therefore, there is a compounding of salaries over multiple years, so be very careful in extending expensive contracts over long lengths of time. Using the below table as a guide, for every $1 in initial base salary, in year 5, that salary will be $2.07. Below is contract structure chart for players bidding or winning auctions.
Contract Length Each $1 in Salary, Inflated 20% Each Year
- Year 1 $1.00
- Year 2 $1.20
- Year 3 $1.44
- Year 4 $1.73
- Year 5 $2.07
l) Owners can extend any player's contract from the announcement of holdouts following week 16, through the start of the first week 5 games the following year, with the exception of players in their last contract year, per M below.
m) Once August 15th passes, no player who is playing the final year of their contract (shows up as 1 in contract years on site) may be extended.
n) Any given player may only be extended by any team once before being allowed to test free agency. If the player is then acquired during FA by the same team, they are eligible for extension again. Note that applying franchise tags, transition tags, or signing a new contract at the end of a Stage 2 holdout, is not considered an extension.
o) When extending a contract, the current salary at the time is increased by 20% and becomes the new salary for the current year. The team owner can specify a salary in the extension post greater than a 20% increase, but it must be a MINIMUM of 20% above current. This effectively creates a "double" hit in terms of salary inflation, which is the price paid for extending a contract without letting the player test free agency.
p) The minimum salary for extending any player contract is $10. This is intended to make available a variety of inexpensive but promising free agents in the market each year. If you wish to retain a player but believe they are worth less than a $10 salary, let them hit free agency and win them through the free agent auction, signing them to the contract of your choosing. Example: Miles Austin was signed to a $5 contact and the team owner wishes to extend his contract. $5 x 120% = $6. This is therefore increased to $10 as per the minimum salary allowed for extending a player.
q) If an owner wants to extend a player's contract he must post the extension in the appropriate league message board and then verify that the commissioner makes the correct extension and salary increase. Please either use the words "Extend player X to Z years." or "extend player x by z years." If you say extend "by" then that numbers shall be added to the current number. If you say extend "to" then that number you specify shall replace the current contract length. The date of this change shall be from when the post was made. For example, if you post on 2/28 to extend to 4 years, realize that on 3/1, the contract will then decrease to 3 years.
r) The owner must provide the commissioner with the players name and the new contract length.
s) Once the commissioner has received all of the information necessary, the commissioner will perform the contract extension calculation and the new contract value updated on the league's website within a week.
t) If an owner fails to submit a contract extension by the deadline to the commissioner, the player will remain under the current contract.
u) Dynasty Taxi Squad (DTS) players may not be extended and still remain on the DTS. Extending their contract will automatically promote them them to the active roster.
10) Franchise & Transition Tags
a) Franchise Tags
1) During the off-season an owner may choose to retain 1 current season free agent by using a franchise tag.
2) The commissioner must be notified by team owners of all recipients of the Franchise Tag by March 1. This should be done through a new message board post, so it is visible to all other owners.
3) In order to qualify for the franchise tag, the player must be on the owner's roster during the season just completed and the player's contract will expire on March 1.
4) To be eligible to bid on a franchise tagged player, you must own a current or future 1st round draft selection.
5)If a team chooses to do so, the franchise player will then be bid on by eligible teams. You may only have an active high bid for each eligible 1st round pick you own.
6) The bidding will start at the average salary of the top 5 salaries in their perspective position.
7) Bidding will be done via a league message board post and all teams will have until 6pm PST March 21st to reply to this post and put the salary they are willing to offer.
8) The bidding will start at the average of last seasons top 5 highest paid players at the franchise tag player's position.
9) If any bids take place, the owner of the franchised player must match the winning bid or decline to match the offer by March 28th at 11:59 PM EDT.
10) Team owners declining to match the offer will accept the compensation of (1) one 1st round draft pick for the franchise tagged player. If the team owns multiple 1st round picks, the lowest pick will be paid as compensation. If a team wins two or more franchise tag auctions, the highest $ bid will have the first choice of available pick. Message board time-stamp would be the next tie breaker if both $ amounts were equal.
11) The team receiving the compensation may choose whether to accept the draft pick immediately or defer, meaning they will receive the following seasons 1st round draft pick. If choosing to defer to next season, the pick is received immediately. If the team owns multiple 1st round picks, the choice of future 1st round pick is made immediately after the deadline in rule 9).
12) The team receiving the franchised player automatically signs the player to a 3 year contract at the terms listed below.
13) Year 1: When the team franchises a player, the team will pay the average of the prior year's salary for the prior-seasons top 5 highest paid players at the franchise tag player's position, or the winning bid price whichever is higher. Years 2 & 3: The usual 20% inflation as per league rules.
14) A player is eligible to be re-franchise tagged for a 2nd time only. He cannot be franchise tagged for a 3rd time without having entered the free agent auction pool for a season.
b) Transition Tags:
1)During the off-season, an owner may choose to retain 2 of their current season free agents by using a transition tag.
2) In order to qualify for the transition tag, the player must be on the owner's current season roster and the player's contract will expire on March 1st.
3) If a team owner applies the transition tag to an applicable player, that player automatically signs a 1-year agreement with the team.
4) The transition tagged player will automatically become an Unrestricted Free Agent when his contract expires without exception. This condition still applies if the player is subsequently traded before the August 15th contract extension deadline meaning that this player cannot having his transition tag contract extended. This means that a transition tagged player is ineligible to receive a franchise tag the following season.
5) The team will pay the average salary of the top 10 highest paid players in his position for the prior year's salary, or the player's prior year salary plus 20%, whichever is higher.
11) Dynasty Taxi Squad Players (DTS)
a) Owners may designate 8 rookie players from their team to the Dynasty Taxi Squad (DTS) for development purposes. These players will be in addition to the 53 main roster players.
b) The players will have a salary determined either by their draft position or by the free agent auction price.
c) They will have contract years determined either by the fact that they were drafted (3 years), or by the length of the contract specified after winning the auction.
d) The players salaries will increase by 20% each year just as every player, and their contracts will decrease by a year each March 1.
e) Players on the DTS will count 25% towards the salary cap. This enables you to let rookies develop into their potential before deciding what to do with them.
f) The team owner is responsible for demoting/promoting any drafted rookies or rookies acquired in the free agent auction to the DTS via league software within 1 week from the conclusion of the Unrestricted Free Agent Auction. Any player on the DTS when demotions are closed/locked for the year must be given a 3 year contract. If a player is given a 1, 2, 4 or 5 year contract after being acquired in the free agent auction, they are ineligible.
g) Once this date has passed, no more demotions to the DTS will be allowed until the following year's drafts begin. For clarity, this means that any players gained through the waiver process is not eligible for the DTS.
h) Players on the DTS may be cut at any point, without salary cap penalty. Once a DTS player is dropped, an embargo period for one week will be enforced for all teams in the league where the player must remain a free agent.
Once the embargo period expires, the player can only be signed via a BB Waivers run, meaning that the player cannot be acquired during a FCFS waivers run.
The team dropping the DTS player cannot re-acquire that player during the first available BB waivers run after the embargo period expires. All other teams in the league will be eligible to sign the player. This will be akin to NFL waivers where a player is dropped and all 31 other teams in the league get a chance at the player before he clears waivers. Only then can the original team dropping the player sign him to a practice squad or put on IR etc. After the embargo period & the completed first available BB waivers run, if the player is still a free agent, the team who dropped the player is then eligible to sign them during the next BB waivers period.
Subsequent trades involving the team who dropped the DTS player and then re-acquire that player via trade will be scrutinized closely for collusion.
i) Once a player is activated from the DTS to the active roster, he is ineligible to return to the DTS. This includes if the player is traded to another franchise or waived and subsequently picked up by another team owner.
j) Within 48 hours of being activated from the DTS, any player regardless of the length of years left on their contract, is eligible to be extended.
k) As per Free Agency rules, any player on the DTS whose contract expires on March 1 will be dropped.
l) Team owners have the ability to activate and sign DTS players from other franchises in the league to their own active roster, as long as those players were not selected in the first round of their rookie draft.
m) The team owner activating/signing DTS players from opposing franchises will pay the price of 2 draft picks to the franchise losing the DTS Player; 1 draft pick from the same round the player was drafted, 1 draft pick from the round higher than the player was drafted. Example: The price for a DTS player drafted in the second round will be a 1st & 2nd round draft pick. A team that is claiming the DTS player may give up earlier round draft picks than what is technically required if they do not have the exact round of draft picks available. Example: A 4th and 5th round is required but the team doesn't have a 4th round, so it gives a 3rd and 5th round instead. The team owner activating/signing a 1st round DTS player from opposing franchises will pay the price of 2 x 1st round draft picks to the franchise losing the DTS Player
n) The price for DTS players selected in the Free Agent Auction/Waivers will be as if the player had been drafted in the 5th round (price is a 5th and 4th).
o) Only the next draft's set of picks may be used for activating/signing DTS players from opposing franchises (not two drafts out, for example).
p) Activating DTS players from opposing franchises may only occur after the Dynasty Taxi Squad is closed each year and before the start of the next years Rookie Draft. DTS activation shall also be suspended during the trade blackout between week 13 and the end of week 16.
q) To activate DTS players from opposing franchises, the team owner must create a new message board post to the league declaring the transaction, listing the teams/player/draft picks involved, so all owners are notified. Please note that if a team owns multiple picks in the same round, they need to specify which one they are surrendering (their choice) in the message board thread.
r) The Commissioner will execute the transaction as a trade if the picks are valid, if all league fees for the pick years are fully paid and if all salary/roster requirements are met.
s) The DTS activation trade will be declared null and void if all of the conditions in Sections 11m) to 11r) are not met.
t) Before the commissioner decides if the DTS activation claim is valid or invalid, the DTS player being claimed cannot be promoted to the active roster, nor can another team make a claim on the same copy of that player.
u) Any DTS eligible player acquired by a team must be demoted within 72 hours of that trade, or that player is no longer eligible for demotion. The exception to this is the rookie draft, during which demotions are not required until one week after the conclusion of the FA auction. Furthermore, if any player is utilized in an actual lineup for a game (scoring 0+ points), that player is no longer eligible for demotion to the DTS.
12) Holdouts
a) Holdout Immunity - Rookies are immune from holdouts for the first 2 years after they enter the league. A player signed to a 5 year contract has immunity from holdout for the first 2 contract years. A player signed to a 4 year contract has immunity from holdout for 1 contract year. Remember that holdout considerations occur BEFORE the start of the next year. So if Player A was signed to a 5 year extension in week 4 of 2013, he would not be eligible for a holdout for his performance in 2013 or in 2014.
b) Holdouts will be incorporated to bring top ranked players at their position into line with their peers. At the end of the complete fantasy season (week 16), any player whose end-of-year stats as per the league website place the player in the defined top tier at the players position is then subject to examination as a possible holdout candidate.
c) Position tiers are defined as follows:
Top 10: QB, TE, DT
Top 15: RB, DE, CB, S
Top 20: WR, LB
Excluded: PK
d) If a top tier player is making less than 1/2 of the average salary of the highest paid players based on the position tiers in Section 12 c), the player is considered a "Stage 1 holdout player".
e) A Stage 1 holdout player gets 50% of his holdout position salary (1/2 of the average of the highest paid players based on his position tier).
For example, if player A (RB) is currently on $10 contract and finishes in the top 15 for his position and the average of the top 15 highest paid players is $100, ½ of that is $50 so his Stage 1 holdout salary would become $50. Contract years do not change.
f) If a Stage 1 Holdout player is dropped prior to March 1st, the salary cap penalty would be based on the original contract. After March 1st, the Stage 1 Holdout salary comes into affect. The holdout player can be traded during the designated trading periods with the new team owner bearing the same responsibilities as the previous team owner. If the owner trades a holdout player, the new team gets the same rights/decisions/consequences as the prior team.
g) As per the rules stated in Section 9, a Stage 1 Holdout player is eligible to sign a contract extension, but unless the contract extension is made to be equal to the average of the highest paid players based on his position tier in year 1 of the contract, the player retains his holdout status.
h) If the player reaches the top tier at his position during the life of his current contract, the Stage 1 Holdout contracted player will be considered a Stage 2 Holdout Player.
i) To resolve a Stage 2 player holdout, the owner has 3 options which must be decided by March 1:
1. Accept the new contract demands for their holdout year. The owner may choose to accept the player's new contract demands. The player then signs a new contract with a year 1 salary equal to the average salary of the highest paid players based on the position tiers in Section 12 c) The length of the new contract is solely at the owner's discretion as per the league rules. After March 1st, the Stage 2 Holdout salary/contract comes into affect. The holdout player can be traded during the designated trading periods with the new team owner bearing the same responsibilities as the previous team owner.
2. Reject the new contract demands. The owner may choose to reject the player's new contract demands thus putting the player on the Dynasty Taxi Squad (under the salary of his current contract). In this case, all taxi squad rules apply to the roster size, salary cap, and lineup restrictions. Once the owner does this then the player is on the holdout squad for the remainder of the year (and may not be cut or activated). After the next season, the owner has until March 1 of the next year to activate him or drop him to UFA without salary cap penalty. If the owner trades a holdout player, the new team gets the same rights/decisions/consequences as the prior team. If a player demoted to the taxi squad makes the top tier again while demoted, then upon activation he must either be granted the Stage 2 Holdout Salary for that new year, or cut. If the player does not make the top tier while being placed on the taxi squad, he shall be activated back to the active roster under the terms of his stage 1 holdout salary (plus any 20% annual bumps since then), and shall no longer be a holdout candidate (either stage 1 OR stage 2) until his current contract has expired. If his contract is extended, however, he shall then be eligible to be a stage 1 holdout candidate again.
3. Waive the player. The owner may choose to release the player. An owner can release a holdout player up until March 1. There will not be any salary cap penalty when a team owner exercises this option.
j) If a player doesn't reach the top tier at his position between Stage 1 Holdout and Stage 2 Holdout, he maintains his status as a Stage 1 Holdout player, maintaining the agreed holdout salary plus the usual 20% yearly increase until his contract expires.
k) All holdouts (Stage 1 or 2) whereby the team owner fails to notify the commissioner of his intentions by the March 1st deadline will be deemed a rejection of that holdout. The commissioner will waive the player and the applicable rules regarding salary cap hit, depending on it being Stage 1 or Stage 2, will apply.
13) Retirements and Player Death
a) When a player retires from the NFL, the team owner can drop the player from the roster without penalty.
b) If that player later announces a return to the NFL, that team has retained the rights for the length of his original contract.
c) The team owner must decide within 1 week of the player becoming un-retired whether to acquire the player again for the same contract terms as the player had prior to retiring, or relinquish his rights to the player.
d) It is each team owner's individual responsibility to monitor their own retired players, and to notify the commissioner if they wish to reinstate any players in this scenario.
e) Once the 1 week period expires, the un-retired player is considered a free agent and may be acquired by another team as per the usual free agency processes.
f) If the player was retired for 2 seasons and then returns to the NFL, these two years are not reimbursed to the original contract.
Example: In 2010, Brett Favre is signed to a 5 year contract. In 2011 Brett Favre retires from the NFL. In 2013, Brett Favre returns to the NFL, therefore the team owner who signed him to a 5 year deal still retains the rights to the player who will be in the 4th year of his original 5 year contact.
g) If a player passes away whilst under contract, this player will be dropped from their contract without salary cap penalty.
14) Rookie Draft
a) Rookie draft picks will be granted to all teams for the current and following seasons.
b) The draft order is determined by potential points (non playoff teams), regular season finishing position (playoff teams) as per common rules, however the two teams that played in the league Superbowl will always gets the last (16th) and 2nd to last (15th) draft position. During the inaugural season, the rookie draft will be randomized, and 3RR will be utilized.
c) Tiebreaker rules (see Paragon Common Rule Book tie breakers section) apply for the rookie draft order.
d) The draft is mandatory and will consist of 5 rounds.
e) Roster sizes will be temporarily increased at the start of the draft and reduced 24 hours after the draft is completed.
f) The team owner will demote players selected in the draft to the taxi squad, either during the draft or shortly thereafter, before the commissioner reduces the overall roster size back to 53 to meet the roster requirements.
g) 24 hours after the draft is completed, if the owner does not have room on his practice squad for drafted players, the commissioner will drop the lowest drafted players, including current DTS players to bring rosters back to legal requirements.
Example: 24 hours after the 2010 draft, the commissioner returns the system roster size limits to 53. A team has 55 players on this active roster because he hasn't correctly demoted his draft picks. So if there is a 2010 5th round drafted player & a 2009 5th round drafted player, those two players will be dropped.
h) It is strongly urged that teams do their own demotions and make their own decisions to the commissioner is not required to take this action.
i) If a team owner doesn't wish to keep a player selected in the draft, he can be dropped at any time, EXCEPT during the draft.
j) The rookie draft will be a slow draft, using the league software, conducted 2 weeks following the conclusion of the NFL draft, or whenever the players are made available in the league software.
k) All rookie contracts will be for 3 years.
l) All rookie salaries will be assigned as follows:
- The first draft selection (1.01) will have a salary of $60 ($75).
- The next two selections (1.02, 1.03) in the draft will have rookie salaries of $50 ($63).
- The next three draft selections (1.04, 1.05, 1.06) will have a rookie salary of $40 ($50).
- The next three draft selections (1.07, 1.08, 1.09) will have a rookie salary of $35 ($44).
- The remaining first round selections (1.10 to 1.16) will have salaries of $30 ($38).
- All second round selections will have salaries of $20 ($25).
- All third round selections will have salaries of $10 ($13).
- All fourth round selections will have salaries of $5 ($7).
- All fifth round selections will have salaries of $3 ($4).
m) The rookie starting salaries will be increased every 5 years by 25%, rounded up to the nearest dollar.
This more closely resembles the NFL, where GMs are forced to allocate large salaries to unproven players, and will add further strategy to the trading of draft picks given the risk and the draft pool quality each given year.
15) Unrestricted Free Agent Auction
a) Any undrafted rookies & unrestricted free agents will be available in the free agent auction.
b) The league will hold a free agent auction every year after the inaugural league season.
c) The free agent auction is not mandatory.
d) The same auction rules (3 players on the board at any time by each participating team) shall apply as defined in the Paragon Common Rule Book.
e) The auction is conducted on the MFL league website.
f) The free agent auction will be conducted approximately 2 weeks after the rookie draft has completed.
g) Players signed during the free agent auction may be signed for 1-5 years.
h) Designation of all contract lengths shall be required within 1 week of the closure of the free agent auction.
i) If no notice is received, all players will be considered to be playing on 1 year contracts.
j) During the auction, no players may be cut by any team. However, trading of players is allowed during the auction, including players recently acquired with a winning bid. Demoting of eligible players to the DTS is allowed during the auction. Once demoted, those DTS players are committed to a 3 year rookie contract, even if they are subsequently promoted.
16) Blind Bidding Waivers
a) After the annual free agent auction is completed, all free agents are handled by waiver process.
b) All free agents signed during the blind bidding waiver periods automatically receive 1 year contracts and expire the following March 1 unless they are signed to a contract extension (prior to August 15).
c) Between the end of the free agent auction and the start of the first week 1 game, free agent acquisitions can be made via blind bidding waiver periods as defined in the league calendar. (every 2 weeks).
d) Commencing Week 1 of the NFL regular season and ending at the commencement of Week 16 games, there will be 2 blind bidding waiver periods each week as defined in the league calendar. The 1st period starts from the kickoff of 1pm Sunday games and will end on Wednesday. The 2nd period starts on Wednesday and will end on Saturday. Please refer to the league calendar for details.
e) From the commencement of Week 16 games, there will be no free agent pick-ups until the free agent auction draft next season.
f) The salaries of the players acquired via the blind bidding waivers will be based on the winning dollar amount bid during the bid submission process.
g) The league will not grant additional money to teams for the free agent blind bidding process.
h) Teams will use their existing salary cap to acquire free agents.
i) Teams cannot exceed the salary cap while acquiring free agents.
j) The minimum bid for a free agent is $1 and all bids are in $1 or higher increments.
k) For teams that bid the same dollar value, the usual tie-breaks will be applied as per the Paragon Common Rule Book.
l) The commissioner will only accept free agent acquisition bids on the forms provided on the leagues website.
m) The commissioner will only accept email from the owner if the league website is down.
n) Each team will be able to buy an unlimited amount of free agents per week/year depending on the team's salary cap room and roster space.
o) Once the owner makes a bid request, the owner cannot rescind or replace it with another request after the bidding deadline.
p) Free agent blind bids are to be submitted as per the timeframes specified in the league calendar.
17) Trading
a) Trading will be allowed at all times except from 1 week prior to the playoffs, until the completion of the league championship game.
b) Trading will be allowed between teams that are paid in full for the current season.
c) You may trade a player you have placed on injured reserve.
d) Trades can involve players & draft picks with owners responsible for ensuring trades do not put their teams over the roster/salary cap limits.
e) To trade all your picks for one season you must have paid in full for the next two future seasons. Example: In 2013, to trade all of your 2014 draft picks you must have paid for the 2014 and 2015 seasons.
f) You may not trade in the off-season until you have paid for the upcoming year meaning that both teams must be paid up in full to complete a trade.
g) All contracts will attach to the player/players involved in trades. Same rules regarding extensions/Franchising apply unless otherwise specified.
h) Owners are responsible for responding to trade offers from other owners taking into account the Code of Conduct & Team Ownership Responsibilities specified in the Paragon Common Rule Book.
i) Some recommendations are as follows:
You should check your trade offers every time you log onto the league website.
If the offer is not acceptable, reject it immediately. Communication is the life blood of all fantasy leagues so it's a common courtesy to explain why.
Some owners may send you repeated trade offers, but if you explain that you are not interested at all in a player, then they likely will not keep offering the same trades.
18) Replacement Owners - Contract Amnesty
When a replacement owner takes over an orphaned team, they will have the option of applying a contract amnesty. Within 72 hours of joining the league, new owners will have to decide between three options (if no selection is made, option A is chosen by default):
Option a) Retain roster and team entirely as is.
Option b) Retain roster but void up to 3 contracts meaning the player is dropped and becomes a free agent without salary cap penalty. If a previous owner had made transactions that resulted in salary cap penalties, all salary cap penalties remain. The new owner can use any of their allotted 3 cuts to have a previous salary cap penalty removed.
Option c) Drop all players from the roster, voiding all contracts and start over in the next free agent auction, retaining only draft picks. In such a scenario, all salary cap penalties from all previous transactions are removed.
19) Timeline of Important Dates
Where possible all below dates will be specified in the league calendar, which is considered final.
March 1st:
- New fantasy season/year begins.
- Player contracts are adjusted by -1 year. 0 year contracts at that point are dropped with those players becoming unrestricted free agents.
- Salaries increase by 20%, which is done automatically via the system as well as all other required salary adjustments are completed at this time.
- Deadline for teams to pay the following year's dues. (Failure to pay by this date will result in having your franchise being placed on the orphan list.
- Ineligible DTS players are moved back to their team's active roster or waived.
- Owners must have declared all Franchise Players and Transition Players.
- All Holdout players must be signed or placed on the DTS
March 1st - March 21st:
- Open bidding on Franchise players begins and ends.
March 28th:
- Franchise owners must declare their intention to match or accept franchise compensation
Late April/Early May:
- NFL Draft
May 12th:
- Rookie Draft (Includes Inaugural Season)
2 Weeks after Rookie Draft:
- (Inaugural Season Only) - Unrestricted Free Agent Pool opens for bidding via league auction.
1 Week after UFA Auction:
- (Inaugural Season Only) - Dynasty Taxi Squad is closed
June 15th - Aug 1st:
- Unrestricted Free Agent Pool opens for bidding via league auction.
Aug 8th or One Week After Free Agent Auction Closes:
- Dynasty Taxi Squad is Closed.
- Free Agent Blind Bidding Waivers commence.
Aug 15th:
- Contact Extensions finish.
Commencement of NFL Week 5 games:
- Player Contract Extension deadline
Commencement of NFL Week 12 games:
- Trading/DTS Activation deadline
Commencement of NFL Week 14 games:
- Playoffs Begin.
NFL Week 16:
- PFFL Dynasty Auction Super bowl
- Free Agent Waivers end
After NFL Week 16:
- Current fantasy season ends.
- Trading/DTS Activation recommences
- Holdout players are announced.
Fantasy League Off-Season:
- After NFL Week 16 to March 1st.
Fantasy League Pre-Season:
- March 1st to NFL Week 1
Current Fantasy Season:
- NFL Week 1 - NFL Week 16.
General advice to players new to contract and/or salary cap leagues and rambling thoughts from one of the commissioners.
You are about to take your fantasy game to a whole new level… and it's very exciting. There are some things to keep in mind. First of all, the rules around assigning "values" to a player change dramatically. Now, the contract and length are at least equally important as compared to a player's statistical performance. Getting a bright young WR with a top 10 future for $40 and locking them up for 5 years could make him worth far more than Larry Fitzgerald or Randy Moss at an expensive salary. Think about this when considering trade offers.
Realize that the salary cap increases by only 5% each year, yet salaries of players under contract go up 20%. So you can't fill your roster, spend your cap, and then keep the same roster year to year. You will need to prioritize which players you want to keep long-term, and deal with highly inflating contracts. You may be better off letter some fantastic players go back to free agency every 1-2 years and then bidding on them, winning them at their initial auction price or even less (as some teams will have less money to spend!).
A good rule of thumb is to have at least 30%-50% of your cap in players with 1-2 years contracts that are always opening up so you can drop them or bid on them in free agency again. Then spend 50% of your cap on players with 3-5 year contracts… ideally on cheap, young players. It's a lot easier to place a player with a $5 contract, and some potential, on a 5 year contract… the cap hit will never kill you. But think long and hard about putting a $100+ player on more then a 3 year contract. It could be brilliant, or it could be a costly mistake that hurts you for years to come. That's the sheer beauty of contract leagues, and why they make this much more of an NFL GM experience.
You must make careful predictions of which players are rising, leveling off or declining, paying them accordingly and assigning contracts that fit each scenario. You can't have all of the best players, forever, in this type of league. The fact that contracts expire and inflation goes into effect each year is a great stabilizing force in the league.
The beauty of auctions is that it enables people that value depth over quality to execute that strategy, looking for gems. It allows people that just want 2-5 studs and the rest scrubs, to do that as well. Auctions also offer everywhere in between. It's very easy to get caught up in the frenzy of the auction, paying fortunes for the elite studs, then watch with regret as players that are still very good go for 1/10th of what you paid. That is the tradeoff you must make as a new GM.
Good luck, and feel free to ask the commissioners or grizzled veterans some advice if you need help. We want you to have fun, but don't go too crazy in the auction or you could end up in trouble. If you do go overboard, be sure to sign those highest priced players to 1-2 year contracts, so that you can reevaluate their worth and contracts after the season ends.
Remember, inevitably, there are dozens and dozens of players that go for $1 at the end of the auction, with huge promise, because teams run out of money. Not being able to bid $2-5 to get a player at the end of the auction that is easily 2-5x better than what you can get for $1, surely is worth just a tad of restraint?
Have fun!