T.F.F.L. Rules & Procedure



RULES FOR THE T.F.F.L. Season (OFFICIAL)

Rule Changes for 20025/26 Season (Finalized 1/17/25)



2024/25 Final Rule voting

1. Adjust HOTW winnings from 16 weeks to the 14 weeks of regular season only. The extra $30 goes to 3rd place winner. YES (7) or NO (4) – CHANGED

2. Adjust HOTW winnings from $15 to $10 per week. The extra money gets split to the 3rd place, 4th, place and most offensive points categories. YES (3) or NO (8) – No change

3. Eliminate the fumble lost negative points YES (2) or NO (9) – No change

4. Eliminate any negative points for defense points against. YES (2) or NO (9) – No change

2023/24 Final Rule voting

1. Eliminate all negative points for kickers YES (7) or NO (3) – CHANGED

2. Reduce defensive points against when giving up more points. (Over 50 pts = -5 / Over 60 pts = -8 / Over 70 pts = -10) YES (7) or NO (3) – CHANGED

6. Dynasty League - Redesign the Dynasty draft to be like the NBA Lottery draft (2nd time voting on). YES (3) or NO (6) – No change






LEAGUE MAKE UP

  • The leagues consists of 14 teams broken up into 2, 7-team divisions.
  • Each year those teams will be realigned randomly to have different opponents within the division.
  • Each team will play 13 regular season games with the potential for the 2 division champs and 6 wildcard teams with the best record entering the playoffs.
  • The playoffs will consist of the 14-16th week of the regular season. We will NOT use the 17th week of the NFL season.
    Playoff week 1 is between the following seeds below in week 14. The 2nd round will be top seed vs bottom seed and the two middle teams.


    The playoff brackets are determined by division winners first then wildcard teams regardless of record. If there is a tie amongst seeds, the tie breaker is figured out by the rules below. If there are 3 or more teams tied, we will use the tie breakers to advance one or more teams based on the tie breaker. This rule apply’s to both the wildcard and the divisional tie breakers. After using a tie breaker method and teams get selected, the tie breakers revert back to the first tie breaker rule for the remaining teams.

    TIE BREAKER RULES
    If there is a tie amongst teams it will be decided by;
    1.) the head to head matchups.(best record if 3 or more teams, sweep not needed)
    2.) total offensive points gained.
    3.) divisional record.
    4.) defensive points allowed.
    5.) If tied after all that, then the managers of the league will decide which is the winner.

    For division title tie breakers ONLY, it will be decided by;
    1.) the head to head matchups.
    2.) divisional record.
    3.) total offensive points gained.
    4.) defensive points allowed.
    5.) If tied after all that, then the managers of the league will decide which is the winner.

    For Playoff Tie Breakers, it will be decided by;
    1.) Home Team wins



    DRAFT

  • A lottery will determine each owners draft position in the draft.
  • The drafts will ALWAYS occur the weekend BEFORE the Labor day holiday.
  • Pro league is a snake format draft. For example, the owner that picked first in the first round will pick last in the second round, and first again in the third round, and so on.
  • Dynasty league was snake for the initial 23 round draft and then it will be NFL style for the future 6 round drafts.
  • Worst to Best is decided by All teams except the Super Bowl Winner and loser which will take the last two spots. If two teams are tied at the same record, the tie breaker below determines the worst team.

  • The PRO draft will consist of 16 rounds.
  • The DYNASTY draft will consist of 6 rounds after the initial 23 round draft completes.

  • You can draft any limit of positional players or defenses during the draft but need to be legal come week 1.
  • Dynasty Rule - You have to cut your roster down to 19 slots ONE WEEK BEFORE the Dynasty draft date. This means 4 open slots on your roster for the draft. You then can draft in the 6 round draft. This allows you to draft and maybe make final decisions on those last 2 players based on your draft results. You still have to be legal before the first NFL game.
  • The time allowed for picks are 90 seconds. The only way the time will be extended is if you are kicked off the internet and have to resign back on. This will also be decided by the commish if this is being misused. When time expires, that owner will be skipped and have to make up the selection on their next pick. If not taken then, then they must wait till the end of the draft and select then.
  • Trading for draft picks is legal but only before or after actual draft. You can make a trade to improve your spot in the draft by either, one for one trades or even more picks if needed. You must have your roster valid before the first game of the NFL season.
  • Trading draft picks in Dynasty can contain future draft picks, Pro draft pick trading can only be for that upcoming season.
    (For Example.. So you can trade say a 2nd and 3rd round pick for someone else's 1st.) You can trade however you want as long as after the draft and before the first week of play, you have at least 15 players. You CAN't trade a draft pick for this year and next year for an improvement in this draft. All trades must be in the same years draft. All trades must be agreed upon by each member involved.
  • No wavier picks after a draft(first come first serve) until the first week prior to the season. Then normal wavier rules and order set by draft order. (If website allows).(entered 1/28/23)
    * Note, it doesn't seem ESPN or SLEEPER have a setting to restrict this ruling prior to the season start. So will have to be enforced when the site allows it to be.

    TIE BREAKER RULES
    If there is a tie amongst teams it will be decided by;
    1.) the head to head matchups. (best record if 3 or more teams, sweep not needed)
    2.) total offensive points gained.
    3.) divisional record.
    4.) defensive points allowed.
    5.) If tied after all that, then the managers of the league will decide which is the winner.



    ROSTERS

  • Each team has a roster of 16 slots consisting of players and defensive teams.
  • Each roster can contain any amount of player positions as long as it stays at 16 players/defenses.
  • Players can only be used in the positions they play for their NFL teams. If there is a conflict, the software or website will decide the position.
  • Pro League has 1 IR slots. The only players that can be in those slots are players with offical NFL designations of OUT or IR. If you don't adjust your lineup before games start, the commish has the right to adjust your roster to make it legal. Meaning, the commish can cut players off your roster.(entered 1/28/23)
  • Valid starting lineups are:

    Pro League
    1QB, 1-3 RBs, 1-4 WRs, 1-2 TE, 1K, and 1 Defense

    Dynasty League
    1QB, 1 RB, 1 WR, 1 TE, 3 flex (RB/WR/TE), 1 K, and 1 Defense


    STARTING LINEUPS

  • The starting lineups should be in by the start of the requested players start time. Of course any players who had a NFL game before that time has to have their starting request in before game time of that game. Adjustments are allowed to be made up till game time if needed.
  • If a game starts before sunday, then each team that has players in the early games must submit a lineup that includes the players that will be playing early. You can still change the players on the rest of the rosters, but the players who played in early games CAN'T be changed. If you are undecided about a starter who hasn't played due to MNF, you can switch it with another player ONLY if the other player hasn't played yet either.
  • If a starting lineup is not in on time, the lineup will be used from last weeks games, if this was the first week, then I will select players alphabetically from their list at each position, not talent wise.
  • NO team is allowed to purposely lose a game in order to help a friend or another team out, nor can they do it to help themselves out if for a draft pick (keeper league). If this is done, the commish has the ability to change the lineup for that member in order to keep the integrity of the game alive.

    FREE AGENT ACQUISITIONS (F.A.A.)

  • There are no limits on the number of transactions that can occur during a season. Before the limit was 50 on ESPN.(entered 1/28/23)
  • All transactions on Tuesday are available to request according to the website which currently is between 7am EST and 11pm EST. It is based on worst to best record using the tie breaker rules if needed.

  • After all the teams have selected their first transaction that they are entitled to in order of record, then we go through the order again for any other transactions.
  • Remember, no more than four approved request per Tuesdays waviers. So it would be best to give a couple of choices. (For example, two people submit for a Free agent, both teams have asked for the same player. The team with the worst record would get him, and if the other team did not select any alternatives, he/she would be left with no Free agent.)
  • From Wednesday to prior to first game, free agents will be selected as a first come first get basis either by email, phone, or however. Also requests MUST specify which player is being dropped.
  • Exception to above statement is that if teams play on Thursday night and this night only, those NFL teams/players playing on Thursday night will not be allowed to have FA's picked up from that game till Tuesday night. FA's in Saturday or Sunday games will be available to be signed up until their game times.
  • Any time of the week you can waive a player.
  • Before the season starts, the FA picks are available all 7 days as first come, first serve. Rules above apply after first NFL game.
  • A recap of all Free Agent Acquistions will be publish on the Results Page. It will be updated as often as needed.
  • Free Agents when they are picked up cause waivers. Those waivers have 24 hours on hold before anyone can pick the players up. After that the daily rule applies depending on the day.
  • Any mistake made by myself because of email problems where a HFFL member is screwed from a transaction will be resolved on a case by case basis. The usual outcome will be first pick in next week's FA pickups.
  • All transactions will be emailed to the league in the same reply the member gets so everyone has real time notice of the free agent.
  • Teams making the playoffs will have a chance to pickup Free Agent players with the same rules that apply in the regular season
  • Playoff teams will have priority over other teams for wavier pickup in the DYNASTY league. Pro teams not in the playoffs will NOT be able to make pickups during the playoffs. Pro teams eliminated from playoffs during the regular season can still make wavier request and FA pickups. This priority will mean the commish will have to manually set the wavier order in the post season.

    DYNASTY RULE - Free Agent pickups are allowed during the post season and off season as long as the website the league is using is active.(entered 1/28/23)



    TRADES

  • No player to be name later trades will be accepted in PRO league.
  • No trades can be made by a team that is eliminated from the playoffs.
  • Unusual trades will be scrutinized and brought before the "ownership committee" (which is all of you), for final approval. It takes only 2 people to comment about a trade to make it go to committee. The committee must vote within 24 hours of the trade, majority rule.
  • If a trade leaves you with more than 16 active players, you must drop a player to keep integrity of the rosters.
  • Depending on FFL software limitations, we will attempt to stop trades right before the first game of the final week of the regular season. (Current example is before week 14 starts since our playoffs are weeks 15,16,17 and the NFL season is 18 weeks.(entered 11/29/23)

    DYNASTY RULE - Rules for trading in Dynasty league include trading players or draft slots during season and during the off season IF the website is activated.(entered 1/28/23)

    WIN/LOSES

  • The actual performance of your NFL players generates the points for your team.
  • Points are recorded for all your players, but only the points scored by your starting lineup counts towards your weekly total.
  • Your total points gives you your score. Highest score wins. If their is a tiebreaker in the regular season games, it will remain a tie.
  • The points for the scoring is located on the Scoring Page.

    FEES

  • The fees for entry into the league are $100.00.(entered 1/28/23)
  • The fees for entry into the league MUST be paid before draft day.
  • If by some chance I am nice and still allow them in after the lame excuse they gave, then, they are NOT entitled to win any money during weeklys till fee is paid up.
  • They will still be responsible to pay for the entry fee if they are late. The team might be eliminated from the league or ownership of the team will be taken over by the commish or another league member.

    MISC. RULES

  • All times listed on rules page are (CST) Central Standard Time unless otherwise noted.
  • If more than one team ties for the weekly prize total, then the money is divided amongst the winners, no rule will be set to determine with team wins the whole pot.
  • Each year the division members will be selected by random.
  • Any mistake made by myself where a TFFL member is screwed from a transaction will be resolved on a case by case basis. The usual outcome will be first pick in next week's FA pickups.
  • I want to believe everyone is honest in this league but any free agent or starting lineup that is not in on time will not be accepted. No excuses or reasons allowed. You have all week to decide on lineups and I know it is hard to fit it in sometimes but this will promote active participation or at least timely participation.
  • Any issue debated that needs a vote amongst owners will be decided within one week or less. This is to get a quicker answer to the problem. All coaches should vote to voice their opinion but not all are needed. The commissioner will have his vote equal two points to break any ties in voting.

    NOTES

    If you would like to discuss any of these rules, just e-mail me at my email address daleturbo@hotmail.com. If you would like to see something added, removed, or just changed, just tell me. I hope everyone agrees with these rules before the season begins. Please feel free to overload me with mail on these matters, I don't mind. It's all in the name of FOOTBALL.

    The decisions of the commissioner must be considered fair and will be deemed as final. Any major concerns will be brought before the board of owners (again that is the players like you) for review and discussion.

                            

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    Created by Dale Trzebiatowski