Most Yardage Fantasy Football League

Congratulations on your choice to become a member of the MYFFL. Based in Indianapolis, Indiana, the Most Yardage Fantasy Football League was in it’s first year of operation in 1997.

We want the MYFFL to be built on two main principles. We have a group of owners who are competitive, put effort into running their teams and try to win games. Secondly, we would like to make this a league where everyone has as much fun as possible. We believe this league owners are good fantasy football team owners as well as good people. This is a very special league, successful only with participation and enthusiasm. We anticipate an exciting season for everyone.

The following pages contain the complete set of rules for the MYFFL. There are many different ways to play the game of fantasy football. Based on experience, we have continued with a set of rules that are practical, fair, and fun! We truly hope you enjoy participating in the MYFFL this year, and good luck to you as you try to win the 1999 Most Yardage Fantasy Football League Championship!

• William J. Spellman III - League Commissioner

• Erik Buchengerger - AssistantLeague Commissioner

The MYFFL is a professionally run fantasy football league. The quality services we will provide to all team owners during the 1999 season include the following:

- Each team owner will have access to this official copy of the league rules during the offseason.

- A preseason owners meeting will be scheduled for June 12^th, 1999. This will give team owners an opportunity to propose rules changes, draw for their draft day picks, free agent picks, team number/conference placement, and socialize with other members of the league.

- Draft day will be scheduled for September 4^th , 1999. We will provide professionally printed draft boards to track the draft selections that are made. The draft boards will include all team names and selection numbers pre-printed for your convenience. A printed draft card will also be provided, so each team owner can track their own player selections and roster requirements. The draft cards will be pre-printed before the draft with customized information for each individual team owner for your convenience. This can be found on the league web site too.

- Each team owner will then receive a printed regular season schedule, a list of each team’s transaction night draft pick numbers, and a league directory so you can easily keep in contact with your fellow team owners.

- We will provide each team owner with a detailed, high-quality newsletter each week. This will include detailed write-ups for all league games, scores, statistics, standings, an all-league team each week, any roster updates or team transactions that take place, and league commentary from the office of the Assistant Commissioner. Samples of the newsletter will be provided so each team owner can choose a delivery option (US Mail or Email). There will also be an official league web site, located at http://mem.tcon.net/user/5011/5281 Here we will post league standings, scores and statistics.

- We will provide an internet based information service during the regular season and playoffs, called the MYFFL website, located at http://mem.tcon.net/user/5011/5281 Here we will post league standings, scores and statistics. Team owners can begin Sunday evening and throughout the week to get all the latest game scores in the MYFFL.

- Finally, there will be a post season awards banquet scheduled. The MYFFL Super Bowl Championship Trophy, MYFFL Gold & Diamond Conference Championship Trophy will be presented at this time, along with several other league-sanctioned awards. As Commissioner, I sincerely hope that the organized, conscientious, and professional manner in which this league is run will generate much enthusiasm and enjoyment for each and every team owner participating.

The basic franchise fee for each team is $25.00 per year. An additional $10.00 will be required to cover costs if you wish to have the league newsletter and other league information printed and mailed to you. This additional fee will not be required if you wish to have your information sent via e-mail.

The basic franchise fee covers costs incurred by the league, and the extensive time that league management will spend running the league and providing top-quality services to you for the entire 1999 season.

The due date for franchise fees is on draft day. The fee may be paid earlier.

If franchise fees are not paid by draft day, then the team owner has two options:

Participate in the league, but draft a team of free agents after the conclusion of the regular league draft.

Decline to participate under these circumstances.

If an owner chooses option (2), then the Commissioner will either select an alternate to take that owner’s place in the league, or draft a team of free agents after the regular league draft and have that team play in the league with "ghost" ownership. The Commissioner will decide, if necessary, how this team will be run during the course of the season.

Each team in the MYFFL may be owned by one or more people. In the case of co-ownership, a primary owner and a secondary owner(s) will need to be declared for the franchise. The primary owner will have the final say on any decisions related to the franchise. If the secondary owner(s) is to be given the authority to make team decisions at any time, the primary owner must notify the Commissioner of this situation. If the co-owners agree that all owners may make decisions for the team at any time, this is also acceptable, as long as the Commissioner is made aware of this arrangement.

***Example: Let’s suppose that the team’s primary owner is working a lot of overtime at work or will be out of town for a period of time. That owner may wish to inform the league office of this situation and give their co-owner authority to run the team while the primary owner is unable to do so.

Membership in the MYFFL will be evaluated on a yearly basis. The league and the individual team owner are only obligated to each other for the year that a membership invitation was issued by the league and accepted by the prospective team owner.

 

The scoring method used in the MYFFL is a quality, time-tested system for fantasy football scoring. This method incorporates yardage gained from scrimmage, PATs, and place-kicker scoring into the system. The scoring breakdown is as follows:

• 1 point per 20 Yds Passing
• 1 point per 10 Yds Rushing
• 1 point per 10 Yds Receiving
• 1 point per 10 Yds of distance on each Field Goal
• 1 point per Extra Point
• 2 points per Rushing Conversion
• 1 point per Receiving Conversion
• 1 point per Passing Conversion

All players are scored the same, regardless of what position they play.

Players will not have points deducted for having negative yardage totals at the end of games.

***Example: If your QB has 5 rushing attempts for -11 yards, he will score zero points rushing, not -1.

All yardage scoring is tabulated separately. Yardage is not added together, then tabulated.

***Example: If your RB has 46 yards rushing and 15 yards receiving, he has earned 5 points, not 6.

All efforts will be made to keep the accuracy of official league scores at 100%. If you disagree with any element of your score, please contact the Commissioner as soon as possible.

 

For breaking individual game ties (overtime), reserve players will be used. Each owner may call in an unlimited number of reserve players each week. In case of a tie, each team’s #1 reserve will go head-to-head. If they tie, each team’s #2 reserve will go head-to-head, and so on until a winner is determined.

***Example: Let’s say your game is tied after both team’s starters have played. You called in your backup QB as your #1 reserve, your opponent called in a RB. Your QB scores 18 points, their RB scores 12 points. You would win this game in overtime.

In the extremely unlikely event that this procedure still yields a tie score, a coin flip by the Commissioner will determine a winner.

For breaking ties within the league standings,two or more teams have the same record, the following criteria will be used:

Head-to-head matchups among the teams. Head-to-head for two or more teams is defined as the record for each team against all other teams involved in the tie.

***Example: If two teams tie, then you look at how they did when playing each other. If three or more teams tie, you look at how each team did against all the other teams involved in the tie.

Most total team points (offense) scored during the season.

Most total team points (defense) scored against during the season.

In the extremely unlikely event that this procedure still yields a tie, the Commissioner will decide which team will be awarded the higher position. This decision will generally be based on owner participation in the league, and as the last resort, a coin toss.

The MYFFL has four different offensive formations to choose from each week.

• Standard Offense: Consists of one QB, two RB, two WR, one TE, and one PK. This is the most balanced offense available to you if you have an equally strong running and passing game.

• Rushing Offense: Consists of one QB, three RB, one WR, one TE, and one PK. This offense is designed to emphasize a power running game, while minimizing the passing game.

• Passing Offense: Consists of one QB, one RB, three WR, one TE, and one PK. This offense is designed to emphasize a wide open passing game, while minimizing the running game.

• Two-TE Offense: Consists of one QB, one or two RB, one or two WR (RB+WR=3 total), two TE, and one PK. This offense is designed for owners who have two outstanding TE’s, or are having trouble fielding a lineup using the other three available formations.

You may change offenses as often or as little as you like on a weekly basis.

Draft day in the MYFFL will be held at a place and time to be determined before the start of the NFL football season. All owners should plan to attend if at all possible. The date is September 4^th 1999.

Any owner not present at the draft may either:

• Have a representative present to draft for them, or

• Draft a team from free agents remaining after the conclusion of the regular league draft.

Drafting order is determined by each team drawing from a deck of ten cards, ace (1st pick) through ten (10th pick). The order will be reversed in the next round. Therefore, if you select 1st in round 1, you will select 10th in round 2, and so on. This drawing will take place June 12^th , 1999 at our annual predraft meeting.

Drawings will be held for each odd numbered round, and those drawings will be reversed for each even numbered round that follows. Therefore, we draw for round 1, order is reversed in round 2, we draw for round 3, the order is reversed in round 4, etc. This drawing will be held at the preseason owners meeting. The Commissioner will randomly draw for any team not represented at the meeting.

The draft is 16 rounds in length. Each team will select once each round (barring trades), from five player positions: QB, RB, WR, TE, and PK.

Each owner will have no more than 2 minutes to make each selection.

If an owner exceeds the time limit, the owner with the next pick has the option to go ahead and make their selection, if the Commissioner has concluded that this action is appropriate.

Upon completion of the draft, each team’s roster must meet the following criteria: at least two QB, three RB, three WR, two TE, and two PK. The four remaining players may be from any of the five player positions.

Once the initial 16 man rosters are set, trading of players is permitted. Unlimited player transactions are allowed, and do not count against your trade limit for the regular season. The stipulation on this is that you must complete all your "free" trades before you leave the draft site. Any trades made after leaving the draft site will count against your regular season trade allotment.

The MYFFL is a ten team league.

The league is divided into two conferences (or divisions).

• The Gold Conference

• The Diamond Conference

The Commissioner will be responsible for making up the league regular season schedule.

Placing teams in their conference will be done by drawing from a deck of 10 cards. Teams drawing cards ace through five will be in the diamond conference, while teams drawing six through ten will be in the gold conference. The number on the card drawn will represent the owner’s team number (to be used for scheduling). This drawing will be held at the preseason owners meeting June 12^th , 1999. The Commissioner will randomly draw for any team not represented at the meeting.

Based on the above determined conference placement and team numbers, the regular season schedule will be generated by a predetermined scheduling formula.

Weeks 1-13 of the NFL will be MYFFL regular season games, while weeks 14-16 of NFL play will be when the MYFFL playoffs are held. A complete regular season and playoff schedule will be distributed to each owner once the schedule has been finalized.

Complete lineups must be called in to the Commissioner no later than 30 minutes before the NFL schedule begins play for that week. (assuming the NFL starts play on Sunday of that week).

***Example: If the early NFL games on Sunday start at 1:00 PM Indianapolis time, lineups are due by 12:30 noon Indianapolis time that Sunday.

If a team fails to call in a lineup for a given week, that team will receive zero points for that week’s game. Calling in a lineup each week is mandatory. Once the previous week’s game is over, your official lineup is "empty" until you call in a new lineup for the upcoming week’s game.

No player substitutions will be allowed after the lineup deadline.

***Example: If you decide to play a certain player, and find out 29 minutes before game time that he is not going to play, then that player will score zero points for you that week. Please consider this when making your lineup choices.

We encourage everyone to exchange lineups with your opponent each week. If necessary, you may call the Commissioner to get your opponent’s lineup, but exchanging lineups between owners is a courtesy and a good way to get to know your fellow league members.

For weeks when the NFL plays games earlier than Sunday: any owner wishing to play a player in an early game must call in that player no later than one hour prior to kickoff for that game. If you started that player the previous week, and he plays in an early game the following week, you must call that player in if you want to use him, he cannot be automatically carried over from the previous week as stated in rule 2 above. This rule goes for starters and reserves. Any reserve you want to call in must be called in as reserve #1, reserve #2, etc. not just as a reserve. The remainder of your lineup may be called in at the regular deadline time.

***Example: Say I started a certain RB on Sunday, and his next game is the following Thursday night at 8:00 PM and I want to start him again for that week. I must call in that player by 7:30 PM Thursday night, or he may not be used in my lineup that week.

If an owner fails to call in a lineup for a certain week, and their starting or reserve lineup for the previous week includes players who played in an early NFL game the following week, then that player will score zero points, regardless of how many points he actually earned in his NFL game.

***Example: Using the example above, if I do not call in any lineup for this week, and the RB that played Thursday night was in my lineup the previous week, then that player would score zero points for this week.

 

Transaction night, during which each team may sign up to two new free agent players, will be held three times during the season.

On the Monday night following weeks 4, 7, and 11, we will hold transaction night.

At the kickoff of the Monday night football game, we will begin signing and waiving players from our rosters. This will be done in a format like a two round player draft. Each owner will pick a card to determine round 1 draft order, and that order will be reversed in round 2. This drawing will be held at the preseason owners meeting. The Commissioner will randomly draw for any team not represented at the meeting.

Each owner may claim any free agent player when their turn to select comes up. However, a player must be waived from your roster to make room for your new player. A free agent is defined as any player not currently on a MYFFL team roster. Therefore, players waived by other teams before your pick can also be signed as free agents by your team.

Any owner wishing to make transactions, but who cannot attend, may participate over the telephone. However, that owner must contact the Commissioner no later than kickoff of the Monday night game to declare that they want to participate. Once the pick-ups begin, no owner who did not attend or call in may make any transactions.

Any owner wanting to participate, but who will not be available at all during the transaction night, may either a) Send a representative to make their selections, or b) Give the Commissioner instructions on how to draft for that team. If the Commissioner picks up a free agent for a team that asked for that player, but did not leave instructions on whom to waive, the Commissioner will make the choice for that owner.

If an owner does not want to make any roster moves, please call the Commissioner to inform him of this intention. It is considered good league participation to declare your intentions on pick-up night, regardless of whether you sign any new players or not.

MYFFL roster limits and position minimums must be observed at all times. Please keep this in mind during any player transactions.

Each team is allowed an unlimited number of trades during the preseason. Preseason trades may include draft day selections and/or free agent picks, and may begin any time after these picks are drawn for at the preseason owners meeting.

The preseason trading deadline is exactly one week before the scheduled starting time of the MYFFL draft. ***Example: If the draft is scheduled for August 29th at 11:00 AM, then no preseason trades would be accepted after 11:00 AM on August 22nd.

Each team is allowed to make 3 trades during the regular season.

The regular season trading deadline is the weekly lineup deadline of week 10.

Regular season trades may include any number of players you wish, as well as free agent draft picks. No future year considerations will be allowed as part of any trade.

***Example: You may not offer a first round pick the following year for a player or pick during this year.

Once a player has been traded, he may not return to the roster of any team that has traded him during that season. ***Example: I trade a WR to you during the season. I cannot trade for, or sign that player as a free agent for the rest of the current season. This rule is helpful in preventing teams from swapping players to improve their lineups for a certain week, then trading the same players back to each other the next week.

For a trade to be valid, it must be sanctioned by the Commissioner. Under normal circumstances, this is just a matter of reporting the trade to the Commissioner. However, in cases where the legality of the trade is in question, the Commissioner has the right to disallow any proposed trade. Common reasons for a trade to be rejected would be if it involved compensation deemed to be illegal by MYFFL rules, or if a trade is intentionally one-sided and the Commissioner decides it will disrupt the competitive balance of the league. In the absence of the Commissioner, the Assistant Commissioner may sanction trades.

***Example: If a team wanted to offer another team a great player for a poor player and some personal consideration like money or some other personal favor, this would not be allowed. A team that decides to give up on it’s season, but wants to help another team owner by trading a great player for a poor player may not do this.

A total of 6 teams will qualify for the MYFFL playoffs. The top three teams in each conference will play in the post season.

In Week 14 we will hold the MYFFL wild card games. Both regular season conference champions will have a bye, while the two wild card teams in each conference will play each other.

In Week 15 we will have the conference championship games. The regular season conference champions will play the wild card winners to determine the conference champions in the playoffs.

Week 16 will be Super Bowl week in the MYFFL. The two conference champions will square off to determine the MYFFL Super Bowl champion for that season. In order to give these teams the week in the spotlight that they deserve, there will be no consolation games. Positions 3-10 in the official league standings will be determined by previous playoff results and/or regular season standings rules.

***Example: The Super Bowl participants will be numbers 1-2. The losers in the conference finals will be numbers 3-4, the wild card game losers will be numbers 5-6, and the non-playoff teams will be in positions 7-10. Regular season record, head-to-head results, etc. will be used to determine exact positioning once the playoff results are known.

In addition to awarding a trophy to the MYFFL Super Bowl champion, the league will also award a trophy to each regular season Conference Champion. There will be several other league-sanctioned awards, these awards are intended to reward owners for their accomplishments and participation throughout the MYFFL season. All awards will be announced at the MYFFL postseason banquet, and will be made official by the presentation of an award certificate by the Commissioner.

MYFFL Team of the Year: This award will go to the team that demonstrated consistent excellence throughout the football season. This award is intended to honor the team that league management feels was the best team in the league for that year.

MYFFL Owner of the Year: This award will be presented to the team owner who demonstrates the best management skills for that particular season. The fantasy football season is difficult, and the owner who is able to use skill and knowledge to attain consistent results will earn this award.

MYFFL Scoring Champion: This award will go to the team that scores the most offensive production for the entire season. This award is designed to recognize the owner that drafted talent and had the coaching insight to start the best offensive combinations on a consistent basis.

MYFFL Participation and Enthusiasm Award: This award will honor the team owner who is judged to have shown the most enthusiasm and participation for the year. The owner who is the most conscientious, and who demonstrates excitement for their own team as well as the league as a whole will be the recipient.

MYFFL Most Valuable Player (MVP): This award is intended to recognize the NFL player (and the owner wise enough to have obtained him!) that has been the most valuable fantasy player in the MYFFL for that season. This may not always be the highest scoring player, but rather the most valuable in terms of how much of an advantage that player gave his team over the competition.

***Example: Let’s say the highest scoring player in the league is a QB, but there were several other QB’s who scored nearly the same amount. However, there was a WR who had twice as many points as the #2 WR in the league. MYFFL criteria would almost certainly award the MVP to the dominant WR.

League management will make the final decisions on award recipients. However, all league members will have an opportunity to vote for their choices in some or all of the award categories. These votes will be seriously considered when choosing the award winners.

Other post season activity: League management will plan on polling owners near the end of the season to determine the amount of interest in any bonus league play. This is completely optional on the part of both management and participants, and therefore may or may not be offered depending on everyone’s circumstances toward the end of the MYFFL season. We have decided to feature a week 17 ALL LEAGUE PLAY weekend. Each team will submit their starting lineup, plus reserves. All teams scores will be compared to the rest of the league, tie breaking rules included, and the highest score will be the winner. This is the week after our league SuperBowl and would help keep league unity throughout the NFL regular season. 

In order to keep our fantasy football league fun for everyone, I feel it is important that we review the rules on a annual basis and make any changes we deem necessary. The following criteria has been put in place for this purpose.

Once during each off season, the MYFFL will hold an owners meeting to discuss rule changes. Any owner may propose a rule change at this time.

If a rule change/addition/deletion is proposed, the owners participating in the meeting will vote on whether or not to accept the proposal. An overall vote of 70% is needed to accept any new proposals.

If all owners are not able to participate in the preseason rules meeting, the 70% figure still stands.

*** Example: Let’s say we hold the meeting, and 7 of the 10 team owners participate. All 7 of those owners would have to vote for a rule change for it to become part of the official league rules. If less than 7 owners are willing or able to participate, then no rule changes can be established by a league vote.

In the unlikely event that a rule is voted into existence, but there is some legitimate reason that the rule is not practical or is not fair to all owners, the Commissioner has the authority to veto any such rule change.

*** Example: Let’s say someone proposed that we use 25 different statistical categories to arrive at a player’s score, and that 7 owners voted "yes" on this idea. The Commissioner, knowing this would not be practical and virtually impossible to accomplish, would veto such a proposition based on this fact.

Once the MYFFL season begins, there will be no rule changes or proposed rule changes until the following off season.

All the league rules listed on the previous pages are intended to be strictly enforced as they are written. However, there are rare occasions when there may be an unusual or special circumstance of some kind. The Commissioner has the authority to make rulings on any rule interpretations, or any situations that the rules do not specifically cover. As Commissioner, I assure you that any and all of these types of rulings will be made with the good of the league and the good of the team owners in mind. Absolutely no consideration will be given at any time to other factors such as personal friendships, advantages .or. disadvantages to certain teams, owners, etc. You can rest assured that the MYFFL is managed with the utmost integrity.