Otto Graham League - Rules - Great Lakes Fantasy Football Leagues

GREAT LAKES FANTASY FOOTBALL LEAGUES

Otto Graham League Rules

Section I - General

1. The Franchise Fee is $75.00.

2. Each of the four (4) divisions will consist of four (4) teams.

3. Starting lineups will consist of 9 players: 1 QB, 1-2 RB, 3-4 WR, 1 TE, 1 PK, 1 DF.

Section II - The Initial Auction

1. The format used to initially select players will be an on-line auction. Each team will receive 180 "units" of money in which to spend on 18 players. During the initial auction in March/April, teams will be permitted to choose up to 14 players, using as much of their 180 unit cap space as they see fit, provided they save at least four (4) units to spend on four additional players in May, June, July and August. Units that remain after the initial 14 man roster has been filled will be carried over to the Rookie and Remaining Free Agent signing period.

2. At the start of the initial auction, each owner needs to get things rolling by throwing out TWO PLAYERS with an opening bid that can be as low as ONE unit. Once you throw out your TWO bids, you are more than welcome to raise bids of the guys that are already there. Just remember not to overextend yourself. You have to have enough money left to purchase an entire roster of 14 players. You are required to come out of the auction with at least nine (9) players that could field a starting lineup, meaning you have to have 1 QB, 1-2 RB, 3-4 WR, 1 TE, 1 PK and 1 DF. You must maintain this minimum starting lineup requirement at all times (regular and off-season) to ensure that in the event of the need to sell your franchise, the next owner would have the necessary components to get started. The only time you are allowed to go under the minimum starting lineup requirements is DURING an auction period, at which time you have to come out of the auction period with the requirements met.

3. Once you have submitted your TWO players, the 12 hour clock will start. What that means is that you get the player if your bid is the highest for a period of 12 hours. You need to keep checking the site to see what your status is, how much money you have, how much time is on the clock, etc. You can't throw out a bid on a new player until you have landed one by winning him in the auction.

4. You need to budget 180 units to spend on 18 eventual roster spots, although only 14 roster spots will be filled during the initial auction. You MUST come out of the auction with 14 players so you have to make sure you have enough left to spend. For example, if you have six spots left to fill, you have to have a minimum of SIX units remaining (1 unit for each player).

5. Owners must take the utmost care to ensure mistakes are not made during the auction format. Bidding for players without the resources remaining to do so will result in an immediate five (5) unit deduction from the offending team's cap value during the current auction event. The software shows you at the bottom of the auction screen how much money you have left and what your maximum bid is -- be sure to use this information.

6. Any money remaining out of your initial 180 units will be carried over to the May, June, July and August rookie and free agent auction periods, as well as the regular season blind bidding periods. Starting on May 15th, all owners will begin bidding on available rookies and free agents, using whatever money they have saved from the initial auction. This money must be budgeted to use during the four off-season rookie and free agent rounds, AS WELL AS the weekly transaction periods during the regular season. Therefore, if you want to have some spending flexibility during the regular season, you should hold back some of your salary cap dollars during the off-season.

7. Owners must also be sure they are raising a bid on the player they actually want as bidding mistakes cannot be reversed.

8. Owners are NOT permitted to raise their own bids as a strategic move.

9. All winning bids are final for the duration of any auction period. Players won during an auction period cannot be dropped or traded until the current auction period has been completed. Drops of other players can be made at any time, either while the auction is ongoing or during non-auction periods.

10. All teams must come out of every auction period with the necessary components to field a starting lineup (i.e. a Quarterback, 1-2 Running Backs, 3-4 Wide Receivers, a Tight End, a Place Kicker and a Team Defense). Then, teams must always maintain these minimum requirements throughout the regular and off-season (i.e. teams can't elect to go without a kicker, tight end, defense during the regular or off-season).

11. All auction periods are closed 48-hours after the final player has been won by a team. After this time, new players are NOT permitted to be thrown out with an opening bid.

Section III - Subsequent Years, Off-Season, Regular Season, Salaries

1. On April 15th, teams will have their first opportunity to attempt to cut players and resign them at reduced contracts in order to get within the 180 unit salary cap. At that time, owners will be permitted to bid on available free agents and salary cap cuts, using the money they have remaining under the 180 unit salary cap. This will NOT be a blind bidding opportunity. Players will be awarded to owners if they maintain the high bid on that player for a period of 12 hours.

2. In order to participate in the May Rookie Draft, teams must be in compliance with the 180 unit salary cap by May 15th. The Otto Graham League ROOKIE Draft will be held each season on May 15th. The team with the lowest winning percentage at the end of the regular season drafts first. The rest of the teams are placed in order from lowest winning percentage to the highest. In the event of a tie, the team with fewer total points scored selects first. The Fantasy Bowl winner drafts last, even if they do not have the highest winning percentage. The Fantasy Bowl loser drafts next to last. If a playoff and non-playoff team end the season with the same winning percentage, the non-playoff team selects before the playoff team. Once this draft order is set, trades of these slots WILL BE permitted.

3. Once the May draft has started (annually on the 15th of the month), players are NOT allowed to be dropped from your roster until AFTER the 16th pick in the first round has been made. Those players will then be eligible for the off-season auction periods for the entire league to bid on. ONLY ROOKIES may be selected during the May drafting period. The rest of the free agent pool will be eligible for bid in June.

4. Rookie salaries will be determined as follows during the May draft period.

The Top Pick in the draft will receive a salary of 15 units.
Picks 2 through 5 will receive a salary of 12 units.
Picks 6 through 10 will receive a salary of 8 units.
Picks 11 through 16 will receive a salary of 4 units.

5. Players may be released at any time in order to gain salary cap relief.

6. In subsequent years, auction periods will take place in June, July and August. At that time, owners will be permitted to bid on available free agents, remaining rookies and salary cap cuts, using the money they have remaining under the 180 unit salary cap. These off-season auction periods will NOT be blind bidding opportunities. Players will be awarded to owners if they maintain the high bid on that player for a period of 12 hours.

7. To add players during the off-season and regular season transaction rounds, teams must be within the 180 unit salary cap. Dropping players before free agent periods brings salary cap relief in the amount that the player was worth.

8. Any player on the roster and/or draft picks may be traded during the off-season. Before trades are approved, both owners participating must pay a down payment equal to half of their $75 entry fee to ensure that they will return for the upcoming season.

9. Teams may keep their ENTIRE roster from year to year, although salaries will increase for players who meet certain statistical criteria based on the league's scoring system. Those players not meeting the standards set below will carry their current salary structure to the following season. The rest of the salaries will be set as follows:

RUSHING - Top RB - 20% increase / Average of #2 through #5 after their increases, whichever is greater
#2 - #5 RB - $8 / 15% increase, whichever is greater
#6 - #10 RB - $5 / 10% increase, whichever is greater
RECEIVING - Top WR/TE - 20% increase / Average of #2 through #5 after their increases, whichever is greater
#2 - #5 WR/TE - $5 / 15% increase, whichever is greater
#6 - #10 WR- $3 / 10% increase, whichever is greater
PASSING - Top QB - 20% increase / Average of #2 through #5 after their increases, whichever is greater
#2 - #5 QB - $3 / 15% increase, whichever is greater
KICKING - Top K - 20% increase / Average of #2 through #5 after their increases, whichever is greater
#2 - #5 K - $2 / 15% increase, whichever is greater
NFL TEAMS - Top DEF - 20% increase / Average of #2 through #5 after their increases, whichever is greater
#2 - #5 DEF - $2 / 15% increase, whichever is greater

Players earning between $1 and $10 that finish in the Top 5 in scoring the year they are playing for that contract will automatically receive a $25 raise for the following season. TEs earning between $1 and $5 that finish in the Top 2 in scoring the year they are playing for that contract will automatically receive a $10 raise for the following season.

10. Salary performance triggers only count for increases. Poor performance leaves an
owner with an expensive player who is not worth his CAP value. As is the case in the real NFL, an owner will be faced with either working a trade or waiving the player if his salary is inconsistent with his value.

11. All increases are rounded up to the nearest dollar increase. Increases between 0.1 and 0.9 units are automatically rounded up to 1 dollar.

12. When a player is released for salary cap purposes, his contract value automatically reverts to 1 unit. His new value will be established based on the price he goes for during the blind bidding process (in the regular season) or the off-season rookie and free agent bidding periods.

13. Position rankings are based on performance during the Fantasy Football season (Weeks 1 through 16).

Section IV - Scoring

1. The decimal scoring method will be combined (basic + performance) with points awarded as follows:

RUSHING - .1 point every 1 yard, 6 for every touchdown between 0 and 49 yards, 7 for every touchdown of 50+ yards, 2 for conv., 1 point every 10 carries, -1 point for every fumble, -3 additional points for a fumble returned for a TD
RECEIVING - .1 point every 1 yard, 6 every touchdown between 0 and 49 yards, 7 for every touchdown of 50+ yards, 2 for conv., 1 point every 6 receptions (for RB), 1 point every 3 receptions (for QB, WR, TE), -1 point for every fumble, -3 additional points for a fumble returned for a TD
PASSING - .05 points every 1 yard, 3 every touchdown between 0 and 49 yards, 4 for every touchdown of 50+ yards, 2 for conv., 1 point every 10 completions, -1 point for every interception, -3 additional points for an interception returned for a TD
KICKING - 3 points every field goal (0-49 yards), 4 points every field goal (50 yards plus), 1 point every PAT, -2 points for missed field goals of 40 yards or less, -1 point for every missed PAT.
NFL TEAM - Any touchdown scored by your defensive unit is considered a score for your defensive team. 6 points for TDs of 0 to 49 yards, 9 points for TDs of 50+ yards (fumble, interception, blocked punt, blocked FG return, missed FG return), 2 points for safeties, 2 points for interceptions, 2 points for fumble recoveries, 1 point for sacks, Team Points Allowed - 0 to 2, 10 points; 3 to 9, 7 points; 10 to 15, 4 points; 16 to 19, 1 point; 20 to 26, 0 points; 27 to 34, -1 point; 35 to 39, -4 points; 40 to 49, -7 points; 50 and above, -10 points; Total Net Yards Allowed - 0 to 149, 10 points; 150 to 199, 7 points; 200 to 249, 5 points; 250 to 299, 3 points; 300 to 349, 1 point; 350 to 399, 0 points; 400 to 424, -2 points; 425 to 449, -4 points; 450 to 499, -7 points; 500 plus, -10 points.

2. Kickoff and punt returns for touchdowns will be awarded 6 points under the following conditions: The player that scores must be on your roster; the player that scores must be in your starting line-up. In addition, return yardage - on both kickoffs and punts - will count if that player is in your starting lineup (.05 points for each return yard).

3. Overtime Games: Tie games will be broken by using reserve players. Tie games will be broken using the same performance point system used by the rest of the players in the starting lineup.

Section V - Trading, Transactions and Lineups

1. Each week, available free agents may be obtained using a blind bidding process. You must always be sure to work within the framework of the 180 unit salary cap.

2. Any player dropped during the regular season will not be allowed to be acquired by waivers unless the player has been dropped 24 hours prior to the close of the waiver window period. Therefore, a player must be dropped prior to 11 p.m. EST on Thursday in order for that dropped player to be eligible for the current week's waivers. Any player dropped after 11 p.m. EST on Thursday will be available for the next week's waivers.

3. Bids for free agents can begin on Sundays after the early games kick off. The process is known as "blind bidding", meaning each owner is trying to outbid all of the others for the rights to a particular player. The owner with the highest "bids" on Friday evening at 10:59 p.m. ET will receive the player(s) they have targeted. In the event of a tie (i.e. more than one team has the same high bid for the same player), the free agent will be awarded to teams on a worst-to-first basis (win-loss record, total points scored, reverse order of opponent total points scored).

4. These player(s) will be posted to your respective teams during the day on Friday. You can select an unlimited number of Free Agents per week but you will need to drop a player for every potential player you add. For every player you release, you will receive cap relief in the amount their salary was worth. You always need to maintain your team salary cap (active roster and taxi squad) at 180 units or less.

5. PLEASE NOTE -- Leaving the dropped player field blank will cause the following to happen - the system will SKIP OVER anyone who would be in violation of the roster size restrictions by adding a player. You could have the highest bid on that player but you WILL NOT get your player if you fail to designate a drop at the same time.

6. All trades must be approved and forwarded to the commissioner's office no later than Saturday evening at 9 p.m. EST in order to ensure that the players involved are available for Sunday's games.

7. Teams will be required to stay within a 180 unit salary cap at all times, both during the regular season, as well as the off-season. For example, if you make a trade where you deal two players whose value equals 40 units, you must receive two players in return of equal or lesser value. Or, you may take on additional salary if you clear space on your cap by releasing players, an action which will gain you the value of the released player's contract.

8. If a trade is made with an uneven combination of players (2 for 1, 3 for 2, etc.), the team receiving the extra player must immediately notify the commissioner's office regarding who will be dropped to keep the active roster size at 18. While teams are permitted to start play with an active roster size below 18, they are not allowed to go above that number. Failure to report a drop to the commissioner in this circumstance will result in the trade being voided.

9. Both teams need to give approval and list terms of the trade for it to be confirmed. This must be done through the league's web site. Once approved by the league commissioner, the trade will be official. Trade results will be posted on the web site for each league. As a trade is approved, the team(s) rosters will automatically be updated and a transaction record will be listed.

10. A player cannot be traded back to a team until four (4) games have passed.

11. The league has the ability to call for a trade veto within 48 hours of the trade becoming official during the regular season and 72 hours of the trade becoming official during the off-season. New in 2009, an owner in the league must request that a veto vote be conducted. At that time, an email will be sent to all of the owners in the league who are not part of the pending deal. If 50% of those owners vote for the deal to be vetoed, it will then be forwarded to the GLFFL's Board of Directors.

Making a case to call for a veto vote must consist of something more substantial than "I don't agree with the trade and I want to vote against it." The owner calling for the veto should post a rationale on the league message board and send out an email to the commissioner for consideration by the entire league. Once 50% of the owners in the league call for a trade veto, the trade will be voted on by a 19-member panel of the GLFFL's Board of Directors, consisting of the owners who have been selected by longest tenure, geographic location, and overall representation of the GLFFL.

This way, deals can be decided by individuals who are unbiased since they are not a part of the league in question. In the event that members of the Board of Directors are involved in the trade in question, they must abstain from the voting procedure. Voting can take place on a trade veto request if two thirds of the total membership, or 12 members, are present. When a quorum exists, 50% plus one will equal the decision.

12. During the off-season, you can make as many trades per month as you wish, so long as you always stay within the 180 unit salary cap restriction. Trades should be submitted via the web site by both parties to the league commissioner. Upon approval, they will be listed on the web site. Any player or future draft pick for the subsequent year may be traded during the off-season. Before trades are approved involving players or picks in the off-season or future picks in the regular season, both owners must pay their full entry fee for the future year to ensure that they will return for the upcoming season. This is to prevent owners from dealing away multiple future picks and then walking away from the franchise, making it nearly impossible to sell off to a new owner.

13. Owners are permitted to submit the names of starting players up until the respective player's game time. Once a game has begun, all players participating in that game are either locked in as a starter or as a bench player. Lineups should be submitted through the league's web site.

14. You will be responsible for fielding a complete team during bye weeks. No carryover points will be awarded for position players or NFL teams.

15. No trades will be permitted following the kickoff of Week 10's games. The waiver opportunity after the completion of Week 12's regular season games and the start of the post-season is the last chance to make blind bidding transaction requests.

Section VI - Playoffs and Payouts

1. In order to determine division championships and playoff seedings, the following tiebreaker system will be used:

1.) Best W/L Record,
2.) Head to Head Competition,
2a.) Best Division Record,
3.) Most Points Scored All Games,
4.) Best Net Points Head to Head,
4a.) Best Net Points Division Games,
5.) Least Points Allowed All Games,
6.) Coin Flip.

2. Division statistics (2a,4a) are used to resolve division ties only. Playoff seedings WILL NOT consider these values. With playoff seedings, once the division winners have been seeded, all other teams will be seeded based on overall record, head-to-head and then total points scored. In the event of a tie involving three or more teams, head-to-head can only be used as the tiebreaker if one team has a definitive advantage over the others (i.e. Team A defeated both Team B and Team C, therefore they earn the higher seed based on head-to-head.) If no definitive advantage can be derived for any one team (teams split season series, some teams involved in the tie did not play), the tiebreaker will automatically be decided using total points scored.

3. Four (4) division champions will qualify for the playoffs, receive a first round bye and be seeded one through four. The eight (8) best remaining teams - based on record and regardless of division - are awarded wild-card playoff spots and are seeded five through twelve using the formula above. Wild-card seed #1 plays #8, wild-card seed #2 plays #7, wild-card seed #3 plays #6 and wild-card seed #4 plays #5. This action will take place during week #13 of the NFL season.

4. The winners advance to meet the division champs. In this round, division champs are seeded #1 through #4 and the wild-card winners are seed #5 through #8. Again, seed #1 plays #8, seed #2 plays #7, seed #3 plays #6 and seed #4 plays #5. This action will take place on week #14 of the NFL season.

5. The winners advance to the semifinals. Again based on record, seed #1 plays #4 and seed #2 plays #3. This action takes place on week #15 of the NFL season.

6. The winners will square off for the Otto Graham League Championship. This action will take place on week #16 of the NFL season. The champion will receive $500 while the runner-up receives $250. The losers during week #15 (3rd and 4th place overall finishers) will collect $50 each. GLFFL is not responsible for the taxes on the prizes of the winner.

7. There is no consolation tournament in the Otto Graham League.

Section VII - Miscellaneous Items

1. All starting lineups will consist of 9 players: 1 Quarterback, 1-2 Running Backs, 3-4 Wide Receivers, 1 Tight End, a Place Kicker and a Team Defense.

2. Teams in the Otto Graham League may keep their entire ENTIRE roster from season to season, provided they remain at or beneath the 180 unit salary cap.

3. Active rosters will consist of 18 players, or in the event of carrying fewer than 18 players, one (1) unit must be reserved for each space under 18. The nine (9) reserves on your roster may consist of any number of quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, kickers, or NFL teams. It is your responsibility to maintain your roster at all times during the regular season.

4. The act of "throwing games" (losing on purpose by turning in a lineup filled of players that normally would not play) is not tolerated in the Great Lakes Fantasy Football Leagues. We will revert your starting lineup back to a typical lineup for games that are tried to be thrown and further action will also take place (i.e. possible removal from the league without refund).

In every instance where a team has found to intentionally lose a game by submitting a bogus lineup, that owner will immediately be REMOVED from the league in question. When other instances arise, teams will be REMOVED the moment the indiscretions are discovered, whether they happened this year or in a previous year.

The REMOVAL involves the leagues in question only. After one year has passed, the offending owner has the opportunity to apply for reinstatement to that league. Reinstatement can only take place if 60 percent (seven panelists) of the GLFFL's Board of Directors vote for REINSTATEMENT. Other leagues are not impacted, although a meticulous study will begin on those other franchises to see if tanking games occurred at any time in the history of that club.

In addition, the offending owner will be placed on a PERMANENT PROBATIONARY STATUS in all other leagues, meaning any other incident of intentionally throwing games will result in PERMANENT EXPULSION from ALL GLFFL LEAGUES for LIFE.

4. ACTIVE OWNER CLAUSE - If the commissioner has not heard from you (by phone, e-mail or web evidence) or your authorized representative for 3 consecutive weeks (no transactions or lineup changes) you may be declared an inactive owner, banished from the league, and your team repurchased by the league on a pro-rata basis and resold or dissolved. It is unfair to the active owners to have a disinterested owner. This becomes especially critical as the season winds down and you find yourself "out" of the running. You may appoint a designated representative in writing to the commissioner anytime prior to a known absence.

5. Conduct that is deemed detrimental to the league or to the GLFFL will not be tolerated. This includes, but is not limited to, posts and or emails that are harassing in nature and serve no legitimate purpose other than to cause discord within the league or the GLFFL organization. There is a difference between expressing viewpoints or likes/dislikes of a league or format and personal attacks toward fellow owners, the commissioner or the Board of Directors. Failure to comply may result in IMMEDIATE EXPULSION WITHOUT REFUND. In addition, attempts to negatively impact the integrity of the league (i.e. threatening or outright refusal to submit lineups, partaking in bogus trades, etc.) will result in an immediate expulsion, without refund, from the GLFFL.

6. Each season, divisions will be realigned based on performance from the previous season. One division will feature the four teams with the lowest winning percentage through the regular season weeks, with total points being used as the tiebreaker. The second division will feature the 5th through 8th lowest winning percentage through the regular season weeks, with total points being used as the tiebreaker. The third division will feature the 9th through 12th lowest winning percentage through the regular season weeks, with total points being used as the tiebreaker. The final division will feature the remaining four teams, including both the conference champion and runner-up.

Quarterback Otto Everett Graham, Jr. was the first player signed by Cleveland coach Paul Brown when Brown began building a dynasty in 1946. He led the Browns to four straight titles in the All-America Football Conference, so far above the rest that the Browns dominance led to the league being folded. In 1950, Graham quarterbacked the Browns to the NFL championship in their first year in the league. Over the course of his career, Graham threw for 23,584 yards and 174 touchdowns. Even more impressively, he led his team to the championship game every season he played. That standard — 10 consecutive title games, seven victories — might never be equaled. Otto Graham was inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame in '65, his first year of eligibility. He died on December 17, 2003 at the age of 82.