I. The League

A. League Name
The league shall be known as the Central Florida Fantasy Football League (CFFFL).

B. Commissioner
The Commissioner of the CFFFL is Ed Gribben, owner of the Treasure Coast Sunday Punch.

C. Founding
The league was founded in May 1997 by Ed Gribben. The CFFFL is a mutation of UCF’s Recreational Services office league. Because the regulars moved away, an online league became necessary. The rules were created from a combination of leagues, but mostly from the Average Joe’s Fantasy Football League (AJFFL).

D. League E-mail Address
The league’s e-mail address is owners@cfffl.com. Every owner shall receive e-mail sent to this address.

E. League Fees
League fees shall be $70 to be paid by a date to be determined by the Commissioner. If a franchise owner does not pay the entry fee by the deadline, his franchise shall be subject to an owner change at the discretion of the Commissioner.

F. Payouts
The following payouts are cumulative:

Wild Card - $35

Division Champ - $100

Playoff Win, Round 1 - $35

Conference Champions - $70

Cyber Bowl Champion - $300, less software cost

II.The Franchises

A. Franchises
The CFFFL shall consist of sixteen (16) franchises. Franchise names shall consist of a geographical reference and nickname.

B. Replacement Owners
If an owner chooses to leave the league or does not respond to league communications for two (2) consecutive weeks during the season, five days during a draft or other player signing period, or thirty days during the off season, a replacement owner shall be sought. Priority shall be given to prospective owners that current owners refer. The new owner may choose a new name for the franchise. The franchise shall remain in the division where it currently resides.

III. Conferences & Divisions

A. Origin
Original franchises were placed in division by a random card draw. The franchises shall remain in their original division regardless of name or owner changes.

B. Charter Members (still in the league)

Bill “Donut” Golson – Palm Beach Pigskins

Jason Geiger – Carolina Mercury

Ed Gribben – Treasure Coast Sunday Punch

James Hayes – Mississippi Kudzu Kings

Jason “Chumpy” Currier – Hooksett Hawks

Greg Patterson – South Carolina Crush

Jack Grant – Bay Area Quake

IV. Rookie Draft

A. Rookie Draft
The CFFFL Rookie draft shall begin the Monday following the NFL draft. The CFFFL draft shall consist of two (2) rounds. Franchises may forfeit selections if no selection is desired. Only players drafted in the NFL draft are eligible for selection.

B. Draft Order
The draft order shall be determined by:

Worse Record

Fewer Points Scored

Coin Flip

· 1-8 shall be non-playoff franchises

· 9-14 shall be playoff franchises

· 15 shall be the Cyber Bowl runner-up

· 16 shall be the CFFFL champion

C. Draft Pick Trades
Trading of draft selections is permitted prior to and during the draft. This may include draft picks and previously selected players. Franchises may only trade picks from the current/upcoming draft and the next immediate future draft.

V. Rosters & Players

A. Composition
Each franchise shall have sixteen (16) active roster slots. Each franchise must leave one (1) contract year available per unused active roster slot, such that a roster can be completed at any time via free agency. These slots may be filled by players in any of the following positions:

Quarterback (QB)

Running Back (RB)

Wide Receiver (WR)

Tight End (TE)

Place Kicker (K)

Defense (D)

B. Starting Lineups
Starting lineups must be submitted via www.myfantasyleague.com (MFL). The deadline for lineup submission/changes is kickoff of the players’ games. Starting lineups shall consist of nine (9) players: 1 QB / 2 RB / 2 WR / 1 TE / 1 K / 1 D / 1 Flex (RB/WR/TE).

C. Player Eligibility
Players must be listed on an NFL roster at one of the positions listed under 5A.

D. Starting Position
Players may only be inserted into a starting lineup at a position for which they are listed on their NFL franchise’s depth chart. NFL.com shall decide any discrepancies.

E. Roster Reduction
Rosters have no player limit during the offseason. Rosters must be reduced to sixteen (16) players by the Monday before Week 1 at 12:00 noon ET.

F. Farm System
Each franchise shall have two inactive roster slots, called the Farm System, to which rookies may be assigned. Players may stay in the Farm System for a maximum of two (2) years. The rookie must be assigned to the Farm System before the contract assignment deadline. If a franchise misses the contract assignment deadline, the franchise forfeits its right to place any rookies in the Farm System for that season. A franchise may promote a Farm System player to active status at any time. If the promotion occurs between the contract assignment deadline and the end of the season, a contract length must be assigned to the player at the time of promotion. Once a player has been promoted or released from the Farm System, the player forfeits his Farm System eligibility. A Farm System player entering his third season must either be assigned an active roster slot with a contract or be released by the contract assignment deadline. Farm System players may be traded.

G. Free Agents
Any player not acquired during the draft becomes a free agent (FA). A player released from a CFFFL franchise becomes a FA. A player whose contract expires becomes a FA.

H. Competitive Lineups
Franchises shall be fined per position not filled by an active player. This does not exclude byes. A player’s status shall be determined by the NFL’s Game Summaries. The Commissioner may pardon a fine in the case of “game time” decisions. The fine shall be incremented for each offense during the season (1^st offense = 1cb, 2^nd offense = 2cb, etc.).

I. Roster Violations
Each franchise owner is responsible for maintaining his roster appropriately. If a franchise is found to be in violation, it is the responsibility of the franchise owner to make the appropriate transactions to get into compliance. Once a franchise is found to be in violation, the penalty will result in fine. The fine schedule will increase every day until the roster is in compliance with the rules. Day 1 = 1cb, day 2 = 2cb (for a total of 3), day 3 = 3cb (for a total of 6), etc…

VI. Contracts

A. General Information
Franchises must reduce rosters and assign player contracts before the start of the season. The contract length assigned to a player shall be the number of years that the player can remain on a roster.

B. Total Contract Years Available
Each franchise has a contract cap of thirty five (35) years. The total contract years on a roster may not exceed thirty five (35). Contract years are non-transferable; thus, they cannot be traded.

C. Contract Reduction
Contract years conclude March 1. All players who had only one year remaining on their contracts become Free Agents (FA). These players are available in the Free Agent Auction (see rule 8C). All other players have their contracts reduced by one year.

D. Announcing Contracts
The deadline for announcing contracts is 12:00 noon ET, the Monday before Week 1.

VII. Cyberbucks

A. Yearly Allotment
The cyberbuck (cb) is the official currency of the CFFFL. Cyberbucks are used to bid on free agents and in trade negotiations. Each franchise was originally granted 100 cb. Any amount not used during the season rolls over to the next season. On February 1^st, each franchise is awarded additional cyberbucks based on the previous season’s finish. Below is the cyberbuck allotment schedule:

Place	Allotment	Place	Allotment
16^th	35 cb	8^th	27 cb
15^th	34 cb	7^th	26 cb
14^th	33 cb	6^th	25 cb
13^th	32 cb	5^th	24 cb
12^th	31 cb	4^th	23 cb
11^th	30 cb	3^rd	22 cb
10^th	29 cb	Runner-up	21 cb
9^th	28 cb	Champion	20 cb

· 9^th – 16^th shall be non-playoff franchises

· 3^rd – 8^th shall be playoff franchises

· The order shall be determined based on the following criteria:
Worse Record
Fewer Points Scored
Coin Flip

B. FA Compensation (formerly RFA Compensation)
At the end of each offseason FA period, each franchise shall receive compensation for all FA’s signed by other franchises. The compensation shall be 20% (rounded up) of the total amount of winning bids of FA’s signed by other franchises. Commissioner repealed prior to 2009 season.

VIII. Transactions

A. Blind Bidding Free Agency (BBFA)
Via BBFA, CFFFL franchises can acquire any player not currently on another franchise’s roster. During the CFFFL’s regular season, FA’s may be signed until the final regular season game. During the playoffs, franchises still involved in the playoffs may sign FA’s, but only to a one (1) year contract. Any player acquired during the playoffs shall become a FA during the ensuing offseason. Cyberbucks are used to bid on free agents. The minimum bid is zero (0) cyberbucks. The maximum bid is restricted only by the total cyberbucks available to the bidding franchise. The bidding process shall take place in rounds. The process is described in detail under “Conditional Blind Bid Support” at http://www.myfantasyleague.com/help/index.html?options_96.html. If more than one franchise bids the same amount for the same FA in the same round, the franchise with fewer points scored during the regular season (or past season if prior to season) shall win the tiebreaker. There are two (2) BBFA sessions per week. The first begins at 1:00pm ET Sunday and ends 8:00pm ET Wednesday. The second begins at midnight ET Thursday and ends 8:00pm ET Saturday. Only players who have not played prior to 8:00pm ET Saturday are available for signing in the second BBFA session. BBFA will begin prior to NFL Week 1.

B. Free Agent Auction (FAA) – Offseason
During the offseason, there shall be a FA Auction, running from the end of the Rookie Draft to a Commissioner designated date just prior to the beginning of the NFL season.

1. Player Eligibility
Any player not currently on a CFFFL franchise is eligible.

2. Bidding Process
Once a franchise places a bid on a FA, other franchises shall have three (3) days to place a higher bid. When a higher bid is not executed within three (3) days of the most recent bid, the player is signed by the franchise with the highest bid for that player.

3. Minimum/Maximum Bids
The minimum bid is 1cb. The maximum bid is limited only by the total cyberbucks available to each franchise.

4. Proxy Bidding
To expedite the bidding process, proxy bidding shall be permitted. Proxy bidding allows a franchise owner to bid only as much as he needs on any given FA, and not a cyberbuck more. See example under “Make Auction Bids Proxy Bids” at http://www.myfantasyleague.com/help/index.html?options_42.html.

5. Restrictions
The bidding franchise must have enough cyberbucks available to cover all outstanding bids. Bids exceeding a franchise’s available cyberbucks shall not be permitted.

C. Releasing Players
A franchise may release a player at any time. During the season, a released player is locked until the first Monday after being released.

D. Trades

1. Contracts
Every player traded carries his contract with him, including the current year. This contract shall be counted against the total years available to his new franchise. Any exchange of players between franchises cannot leave either franchise with more than thirty five (35) total years for all players.

2. Restrictions & Deadlines
Trades between franchises are unlimited. However, if any trade appears to be one sided or otherwise unfair, the league owners may be asked to vote whether or not to approve the transaction. The Commissioner is on the only one who may call for such a vote; however, any owner is free to bring any question regarding a trade to the attention of the Commissioner. No conditional trades or future considerations shall be acknowledged. The deadline for all trades is the Tuesday after week 6, at 11:59pm ET.

E. Injured Reserve
A franchise may place a player on IR if the player is listed as “out” on the NFL injury reports. A player placed on IR shall remain on IR for the remainder of the season. Once a player is placed on IR, the player is no longer active and does not count toward the franchise roster limit. There is no maximum to the number of IR slots a franchise may use. A franchise placing a player on IR shall receive one (1) additional contract year to the franchises cap.

IX. League Schedule

A. Regular Season Schedule
The CFFFL regular season shall last thirteen (13) weeks, coinciding with weeks 1-13 of the NFL season. Each franchise shall play each franchise in their respective divisions twice, three (3) non-divisional conference franchises once, and two (2) franchises from each of the other conference’s divisions. The non-divisional matchups shall be determined by the previous season’s final standings.

B. Playoff Schedule
The CFFFL Playoffs shall begin week 14 of the NFL season. The playoffs conclude in week 16, with the CFFFL championship game, the Cyber Bowl.

X. Playoffs

A. Qualification
Eight (8) franchises, the top two (2) from each division and two (2) wild cards in each conference shall qualify for the CFFFL playoffs. Seeding shall be as follows:

1. Division Champion with better record

2. Other Division Champion

3. Wild Card with better record

4. Other Wild Card

B. Playoff Rounds

1. Division Round, NFL week 14 - #1 vs. #4 and #2 vs. #3 seeds

2. Conference Championships, NFL week 15 – winners of Divisional Round

3. CFFFL Championship, NFL week 16 – Eastern Champ vs. Western Champ

C. Qualifying / Seeding Tiebreaker

1. Head-to head record

2. Division record (for franchises within same division)

3. Conference record

4. Total points

5. Coin toss

D. Playoff Ties
Tie games during the playoffs shall be determined by highest scoring bench player. If still tied after comparing the highest bench scorers, the next highest scorers shall be compared. The process continues until there is a winner. In the unlikely event there is still a tie, the team with the highest starting point total from the regular season wins.

XI. Results & Scoring

A. Scoring Rules - http://football8.myfantasyleague.com/2009/options?L=42533&O=09

B. Game Day Ties
Regular season games may end in a tie. There is no tiebreaker for regular season games.

C. Disputes
Scoring disputes shall be settled by the ruling of MFL (myfantasyleague.com). If the ruling of MFL still does not settle the dispute, the Commissioner shall decide the outcome of the dispute.

XII. Rule Changes / Interpretation

A. Rule Changes
Each offseason, any member may propose a change of rule by submitting a proposal to the Commissioner.  The Commissioner shall determine whether or not a proposal is worthy of presenting to the league.  During the rule voting period, as designated by the Commissioner, a proposal that receives ¾ acceptance shall change the league rules accordingly.  Any rule changes after the start of the Rookie Draft through the conclusion of the season must be agreed upon by the entire league unanimously.  The Commissioner may veto a rule change if he feels it is not in the best interest of the league.

B. Rule Interpretation
The Commissioner shall interpret rules and make necessary adjustments as needed.

C. Expulsion
The Commissioner may expel a franchise owner from the league, usually due to prolonged absence, malfeasance, and/or repeated rules violations.