1. BCFFL Draft
2. Rosters
3. Contracts and Trades
4. Cyberbucks
5. Free Agency
6. Injured Reserve
7. Divisions
8. League Schedule
9. Playoffs
10. Results and Scoring
11. Rule Changes
12. Ethics
13. Development Squad
A. Advanced Rules -- Restricted Free Agents
1. BCFFL Draft
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1A. General Information
The BCFFL inaugural keeper league draft will last 16 rounds. The draft will be an internet draft which will begin on May 25, 1998. It will be a snake draft, with draft order to be determined randomly. All NFL players (including rookies) will be eligible to be chosen.
In years following the inaugural draft, the BCFFL will hold a college draft. Only rookies
drafted in the NFL Draft will be eligible to be drafted in the college draft. The college draft will last
for four rounds. Teams not wanting to pick may pass at any time.
1B. Draft Order
The BCFFL college draft will proceed in reverse order of the previous regular season finish, with the following two exceptions: the BCFFL Champion will draft last,
regardless of record, and the BCFFL runner-up will draft second to last, regardless of record. Ties in record will be broken by the regular season tie-breaker system listed below.
1C. Draft Pick Trades
Trading of draft selections is permitted prior to and during any draft. This can include the trade of selection number and previously selected players. Teams may trade picks from the current draft and the next immediate future draft only.
1D. Time Limits
Draft picks are 24 hours after the last pick. If a team misses their deadline, then the draft will continue. The tardy team may jump in at any time and make their pick. If the tardy team misses 12 consecutive picks, then the owner will be dismissed and a new owner will be sought (unless there are very serious reasons.. eg. family death, sickness, hospitalization, etc.)
2. Rosters
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2A. Composition
Each team will have up to eighteen (18) active roster slots and three (3)
Development Squad slots (to be covered later). These slots may be filled by players in any of the following positions: Quarterback (QB), Running Back or Fullback (RB), Wide Receiver or Tight-End (WR), Place Kicker (K), and Defensive/Special Team (DT). You will be able to carry over as many players as you currently have under contract or sign free agents. Note: If less than 18
active players are carried on a team during the regular season, a contract year per open position must be left unallocated.
2B. Starting Line-Up
Each team will have the option of submitting the following starting line-ups
each week:
1 QB, 2 RBs, 3 WRs, 1 K, 1 DT
or
1 QB, 1 RB, 4 WRs, 1 K, 1 DT
The deadline for naming starters is the start of the first game of the
week unless there is a Thursday or Saturday game. E-mail time-stamp will be used as 'proof'. If no starters are named, the previous week's starters will be used (regardless if the players are active that week or not).
If there is a Thursday or Saturday game, only players that are playing in those
games need to be designated as starters before their respective game
times.
2C. Player Eligibility
Players must be listed on an NFL roster at one of the positions listed under 2A.
EXAMPLE : Terry Glenn is listed as a WR, but he can also score points on a rushing play. However, be mindful of the "Kordell" rule, so check Section 10 for actual scoring methods.
2D. Starting Position
Players can only be inserted into a starting line-up at a position for which they are listed on their NFL teams depth chart. The official source for player positions will be the
CBS Sportsline web site.
EXAMPLE: Deion Sanders was listed as CB/WR and could be started at WR in the BCFFL.
3. Contracts & Trades
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3A. General Information
Players acquired either through the draft or free agency must be signed to a contract. This contract will be the number of years that the player can remain on your roster.
Once a contract is assigned to a player, it can not be renegotiated.
3B. Total Years Available
Each franchise has a contract cap of thirty-six (36) years. The total contract years remaining on the contracts of all players on a team's roster CANNOT exceed 36.
This also includes contract years reserved for open roster spots.
3C. Player Trades
Every player traded carries his contract with him, including the current year. This contract will be counted against the total years available to his NEW team. Any exchange of players between teams cannot leave either team with more than 36 total years for all players. If this happens, the commissioner will void the trade until such time as the affected teams can make room under the contract cap.
3D. Trade Restrictions & Deadlines
Trades between teams are unlimited. However, if any trades appear to be
EXTREMELY one-sided or otherwise jeopardizes the integrity of the league, the
league owners may be asked to vote whether or not to approve the transaction.
Therefore, a veto should not be proposed unless there is some kind of suspicion
of the following offenses:
1. Fraud or collusion
2. At least one party in the trade failed to make a good faith effort in
the trade negotiations.
The commissioner is 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.
In order to veto the trade, a league-wide vote will be held involving all teams
not directly involved in the trade. At least 3/4 of the voters must vote
to veto the trade in order for the trade to be disallowed.
The deadline for all trades is week 10.
3F. Expired Contracts
Contract years conclude on February 1. All players who had only one year remaining on their contracts become free agents. Players with expired contracts can be re-signed by their original team under the terms outlined in the Restricted Free Agent rule (see Item 5C below). All other players have their contracts reduced by one year.
EXAMPLE 1: Drew Bledsoe signed for five (5) years with the Team X in 1998; all five years count against the 36 year contract limit *in 1998* leaving 31 years to use on other players. On February 1, 1999, Bledsoe's contract becomes a four year contract and now counts only four years against the cap. Now Team X has 32 years to use on the rest of their roster.
EXAMPLE 2: The same team also signed Ben Coates to a one (1) year contract in 1998. On February 1, 1999, Coates' contract is reduced one year ... leaving zero (0) years on the contract. Coates just became a *restricted free agent* (see Item 5C below).
3G. Announcing Contracts
The deadline for the announcement of the length of the contracts of players taken in the draft will be
announced by the commish sometime before the start of the regular season. If this deadline is not met by a team, said team will be docked one (1) contract year each day for that season.
4. Cyber-Bucks
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The cyber-buck (cb) is the official currency of the BCFFL. Cyber-bucks are used to bid on free agents and may also be used in certain trade situations. Each team is initially awarded 125cb. Any amount not used during the season is carried over to the next.
Every year after RFA is over,
all teams will be given a cb allotment. The amount of the allotment will
be determined by the following formula: (480 - cbs remaining on all
teams)/12. Any remaining cbs will be allotted one at a time to teams based
on the previous year's finish until the supply has diminished.
5. Free Agency
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5A. Free Agents
Any player not acquired during the draft becomes a free agent (FA). A player also becomes a free agent when his contract expires or when he is waived by an BCFFL franchise.
5B. Free Agent Acquisitions
BCFFL franchises can acquire any player not currently on another team's roster via free agency. Cyber-bucks are used to bid on free agents; you may only bid up to the amount of cyber-bucks you have available. If more than one team requests the same player, the team submitting the highest bid will acquire that player. The process will be conducted in a *blind auction* manner--no team will know how much another team is bidding. Any bid for a free agent must be sent to the following address:
supfreak26@yahoo.com. This information will remain *sealed* until Thursday at 6pm Central (the commissioner will not see the bid until then either). Any such bid must contain all of the following: the name of the free agent you want to acquire, the amount bid for that player, and a conditional release notice indicating the player you will waive to make room for the new player. In the event that two or more teams submit the same high bid for a player,
the team with the worst record will win the bid. If both teams have the
same record, the player will be given to the worst team determined by playoff
tiebreakers. Bids can also be changed or dropped, as long as notification is sent to the above address by Thursday at 6:00pm Central (each week).
EXAMPLE: Team Y bids 5 cb for Sean Jefferson and drops Sam Gash if Jefferson is signed.
5C. Restricted Free Agents
Once his contract ends, a player becomes a restricted free agent (RFA). who can be offered a contract by any team with the current team given the right of first refusal. Once a contract is tenured by another franchise, you will have one (1) business day to match that offer. If no other team submits a contract offer before the end of the RFA signing period, you may re-acquire that player at no cost. After a player is signed or re-signed, he must be placed under contract before the regular season begins.
6. Injured Reserve
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Each team has a maximum of two (2) injured reserve slots. For a player to be put on IR he must be listed as OUT in the
NFL.com injury report. Any player placed on IR is out for a minimum of six (6) weeks. Once a player is placed on IR, the club can pick up another player but they must go through the free agent channel as with any other pick up. This essentially allows the signing of another player with that one contract year and active slot.
Any FA picked up to fill a spot cleared by IR must be signed to a one year
contract. At the end of the six weeks if the player is no longer listed out, then he must be returned to the active roster (note: if reactivation of an IR player puts a team over the 18 player limit and/or over 36 contract years, then enough players must be dropped in order to meet both of these guidelines). All future contract years for players on IR will continue to count against a franchise's contract ceiling.
An example may help to illustrate this rule. Let's say a team has 18 players under 36 contract years including Yatil Green for 3 contract years. Yatil Green goes down with an injury in week one of the season and is placed on the fantasy team's IR list. Then the team bids 5 cb for Daryl Hobbs and signs him to one contract year (the year freed by Green's IR spot). After week seven Yatil is no longer on IR, thus either Hobbs or another player must be dropped since Green is automatically reactivated.
By the start of the next BCFFL draft, each franchise must clear IR and have no more the eighteen players on their roster.
7. Divisions
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The BCFFL will be split into three divisions (East, Central, and West).
8. League Schedule
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8A. Regular Season
The BCFFL regular season will last fourteen (14) weeks, the first fourteen weeks of the NFL season. Each team will play the teams in their respective divisions twice and all other teams once.
8B. Play-Off Schedule
The BCFFL play-offs begin on week fifteen (15) of the NFL season. The play-offs conclude on week sixteen (16) with the BCFFL Championship Game.
9. Playoffs
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9A. Qualifying
A total of four (4) teams will qualify for the BCFFL playoffs. Three will be the division champions and the remaining team will be the wildcard--the team with the next best record regardless of division.
9B. Seeding
Teams will be seed as follows:
1.Division Champion with the best overall record
2.Division Champion with the second best overall record
3.Division Champion with the third best overall record
4.Wildcard Team
9C. Qualifying/Seeding Tie-Breaker
The BCFFL tie-breaking system for play-off qualification and seeding is as follows:
1.Head-to-head record
2.Division Record (between teams from the same division)
3.Total Overall Points
4.Coin Toss
9D. Play-Off Ties (Game Day)
Tie games during the play-off rounds will be determined by home-field advantage. The team with the highest seed is given the home field and will be awarded the win in case of a tie.
9E. Play-Off Schedule
First Round: The wildcard team will play the first place division finisher (Seed 4 at Seed 1); the other two division champions will play each other (Seed 3 at Seed 2).
Championship: The winners of the first round games will meet each other for the BCFFL Championship Game (with a consolation game as well).
10. Results & Scoring
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10A. BCFFL Scoring System
•Passing TDs: 6pts
•Rushing/Receiving TD's: 6 pts
•Passing Yards: 1 pt per 25 yards.
•Rush Yards: 1 pt per 10 yards. 3 pt bonus for every 100 yards
•Receiving Yards: 1 pt per 10 yards. 3 pt bonus for every 100 yards
•FG: 3 pts
•XP (Kicking): 1 pt
•2 pt Conversion: 2 pts for run, catch or pass.
Defensive Scoring:
Shutouts: 10 pts.
Punt and kick returns for TD’s: 6 pts.
Fumble Recovery or Interception: 2 pts.
Fumble or Interception return for TD: 4 pts.
Safeties: 2 pts.
Sacks: 1 pt.
10B. Weekly Results
Weekly results will be compiled by the commissioner and posted to the league as soon as possible.
10C. Game-Day Ties
Game-Day ties will be resolved using the following guidelines:
Total Touchdowns
Total yards by starting team (excluding Kicker)
Longest FG by starting Kicker
Last Resort: Rock, Scissors, Paper (coin toss)
10D. Disputes
Owners should notify the commissioner of any scoring errors immediately upon the error being discovered. The commissioner will resolve any disputes in scoring. Any discrepancies which are not drawn to the commissioner's attention by the following weekend will stand as is.
11. Rule Changes, etc.
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11A. Major Rules Changes
For the sake of making rule changes, the year is split into 3 different periods,
each with different standards for making rule changes. The first period
takes place between the end of the NFL regular season and the beginning of
RFA. This is where the majority of rule changes will take place.
During this time, all rules will be passed with 7 YES votes from BCFFL
owners. These rule changes will take effect immediately. The second
period takes place between the end of the rookie draft and the beginning of the
NFL regular season. During this time, new rule proposals will require 7
YES votes to pass but will not go into effect until after the NFL regular season
is over. The third period is during the NFL regular season. No rule
changes will take place during this time. Rule changes can be sent to the
commish but they will not be presented to the rest of the league until the NFL
season is over.
11B. Replacement Teams
If an owner chooses to leave the league or is not heard from for two consecutive weeks during the season, 3 business days during the draft, one week during the RFA signing period or thirty days during the off season, a replacement owner will be sought. Priority will be given to prospective owners that current owners know. If a suitable owner cannot be found, an advertisement will be placed on the
footballguys.com message board.
12. Ethics
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Cheating of any kind will not be tolerated. This includes collusion between teams, throwing games for any reason, or anything else that is deemed unfair or unethical. Disputes concerning these issues should be brought to the commish’s attention immediately. If the commish is involved, a public email should be sent to the league. Punishment will be made to fit the crime and can include anything from a warning to a loss of draft picks to banishment from the league. All teams not involved in the alleged crime will vote on this and will also vote on suitable punishment if they are found guilty. Two thirds of the voters must vote guilty in order for the punishment to be assigned. Two thirds must also agree on the punishment.
A. Advanced Rules - Signing Restricted Free Agents
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A1. General
Any players on a BCFFL team roster will have their existing contracts reduced by one year on February
1; if a player's contract expires (drops to zero years), the player is considered a Restricted Free Agent (RFA). All existing waiver penalties against any team will also be nullified on February
1. No regular Free Agent acquisitions will be allowed until after the RFA signing period
and rookie draft conclude.
A2. RFA Signing Periods
RFA bidding begins on a date determined by the commish and closes four weeks
later. No new bids will be accepted after these four weeks; bidding in process may continue
until a final offer is reached for a player.
A3. Bid Format
All bids are made to the entire league, and each bid must include: the players name, current BCFFL team, and the amount bid. A matching bid by a current owner is sufficient to beat an incoming bid for any player on that owner's roster.
EXAMPLE 1: Team A bids 1cb for Adam Vinatieri (of Team B).
EXAMPLE 2: Team B matches Team A's bid of 1cb for Vinatieri (of Team B).
A4. Bidding Process
Once a bid is posted for any player, an answer bid must be made within one business day (either by the player's current owner or by another team). Any owner may join the bidding process within one day of the latest bid. Once a bid is posted and no counter-offer is made within the one day period (at midnight, CST), the player is then considered signed by the team posting the latest (and highest) bid. Owners may drop out of the bidding process for any individual player at any time and still re-enter the process as long as bidding remains active for the player in question.
A5. Signing RFAs
All players receiving any bid must be signed by the original team or a new team; the amount of the last bid tendered will be deducted from the signing team's cb total. Contracts do not have to be announced at this time. After the RFA signing period, any remaining RFAs on a team's roster (players who did not receive any bid) can be signed for no cost. All teams must announce their intentions regarding such players
once RFA is completely over.
A6. Rosters
Rosters will not be limited to 18 total players throughout this process (and until contracts have to be announced). New contracts need not be posted until
the deadline set by the commish.
A7. Restrictions
The bidding owner must have enough cb available to cover all outstanding bids. If any owner outbids his budget at any time, that owner will be given a warning and all of that owner's bids will be cancelled. Any overbid after the warning will cost that team 10 cb.
This page was "stolen" from another internet FFL, the PRFFL which in turn was "stolen" from another internet FFL, the AJFFL.