2008 ERIE FANTASY FOOTBALL RULES AND REGULATIONS

Please note: Any rules which are new or have been amended for the 2007 season are in bold print.

Revised: August 1, 2008

Section I - General

1. The Franchise Fee is $100.00. This fee is non-refundable and is in place to ensure that all participants attend, or send a designated team representative, to their respective conference's auction.

2. Each conference will consist of twelve (12) teams. Each of the three (3) divisions will consist of four (4) teams. The regular season will take place during NFL weeks one (1) through twelve (12). The playoffs will take place during NFL weeks 13, 14 and 15. The conference champions will play for the All-League title in Fantasy Bowl 18 during NFL week 16. The Erie League Champion will play the North Coast Fantasy Football League Champion in Ultimate Bowl 8 during NFL week 17.

3. The draft will be held auction style. Each owner will receive 140 "units" with which to fill his roster, provided he has not selected a franchise player. If an owner has designated any franchise players, the player(s) will cost the owner the same number of units that he sold for during the previous year's auction. At your turn you must present a Player or NFL Team at some "unit" value. Only whole "units" may be bid and the minimum bid is one "unit."

4. The auctioneer has ultimate authority on who had the highest legal bid and his decisions are final. Each team/owner will have a poster on display which represents who has been purchased, how much they were purchased for, how many "units" he has remaining, etc.

5. If you buy a player without enough units to pay the bill, the sale is voided, the player returned to the pool, and you are fined (lose) 5 units.

6. Since 2003, all owners have had the option of designating TWO franchise players. The first player, which will cost $20 (payable to the league's general fund), may be any drafted player on the roster, provided they have not been protected the previous season. Undrafted free agent acquisitions made during the regular season are not eligible to be protected as a franchise player. Drafted players who are dropped and added by another owner are eligible to be protected as a franchise player.

7. The second player, which will cost $10 (payable to the league's general fund), must have cost between 1 (one) and 5 (five) units at the previous year's auction.

8. If an owner elects to keep two players costing between 1 (one) and 5 (five) units, the total cost will be $20.

9. Franchise Players remain a part of the declaring owner’s roster for a period of ONE season. Once that time period has elapsed, the player will once again become available to the rest of the owners at the next year’s auction.

10. Any player on the roster may be traded during the off-season. Before trades are approved, both owners participating must make a $50 entry fee down payment to ensure that they will return for the upcoming season. Teams are only permitted to trade with each other once during the off-season and once during the regular season.

Section II - Scoring

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

• RUSHING - .1 point every 1 yard, 6 every touchdown, 2 for conversion
• RECEIVING - .1 point every 1 yard, 6 every touchdown, 2 for conversion
• PASSING - .05 points every 1 yard, 4 every touchdown, 1 for conversion
• KICKING - 3 points every field goal, 1 every point after TD
• NFL TEAM- 6 points for TD's (fumble, interception, blocked punt, missed field goal return or blocked field goal return), 2 points for safeties, 1 point for interceptions, 1 point for fumble recoveries, 1 point for sacks, 1 point for blocked kicks (field goals, extra points and punts), 3 points each "team" victory, 8 points each "team" shutout.

2. Points for kickoff and punt returns for touchdowns will be awarded to the NFL player only if he has been selected as a member of your starting lineup. Kickoff and punts that are returned for touchdowns will no longer be awarded to the NFL team on your roster.

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 III - Trading and Transactions

1. All transaction requests must be submitted via the web site to the commissioner's office no later than 8 p.m. EST on Thursday night. Free agents will be awarded to teams on a worst-to-first basis (record, total points). These requests will be processed and posted to your respective teams immediately after transactions are processed. You can select up to FOUR Free Agents during this transaction period. If adding a player or players will take you over the roster size limits for this league, you will also need to designate a player to be dropped for each player you are requesting to add. 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 be the first owner on the waiver priority list but you WILL NOT get your player if you fail to designate a drop at the same time.

2. The next rounds of weekly transactions will take place on SATURDAY at 1 p.m. EST. Free agents will again be awarded to teams on a worst-to-first basis (record, total points, power ranking). Please note-- Players dropped on THURSDAY night ARE NOT eligible to be added during the second transaction processing event on SATURDAY evening.

3. 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.

4. 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 roster size at 14. While teams are permitted to start play with a roster size below 14, they are not allowed to go above that number.

5. 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. Trades are limited to one trade between any two teams per year.

6. Trades involving waiver request slots are not permitted.

7. Any team determined to be out of playoff contention prior to the trade deadline is specifically prohibited from trading with any team still in contention.

8. 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.

9. 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. Also, please be aware of special weeks when the NFL plays on Thursdays or Saturdays.

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

11. If the commissioners have not heard from you or your authorized team representative for THREE consecutive weeks (no transactions or lineup changes), you may be declared an inactive owner and banished from the league. The commissioners will then immediately search for a replacement who will run the franchise into the next season.

12. No trades will be permitted following the kickoff of the Week 10's games. The WEDNESDAY after the eleventh regular season game is the last week to make drop/add transactions. Between regular season Weeks Eleven and Twelve, teams will be able to expand rosters to sixteen spots. Following the kickoff of Week 12, rosters are locked for the post-season.

Section IV - 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. Three (3) division champions and five (5) wild-card teams will qualify for the playoffs in each conference, with division champions receiving a bonus of $50. The top three seeds will be based on win-loss record, head-to-head competition, and total points scored among the division winners. The five wild-card teams will be determined using the same factors. Round one playoff action will take place on week #13 of the NFL season.

4. The winners advance to the conference semi-finals. Each of the final four teams will receive a bonus. Teams will be reseeded each round with the lowest advancing seeds playing the highest remaining seeds. This action will take place on week #14 of the NFL season.

5. The winners will square off for the Conference Championship. This action will take place on week #15 of the NFL season.

6. The champions of each conference will advance to the Erie League’s 18th Fantasy Bowl to take place during NFL week #16.

7. The champion of the Erie League will advance to play the champion of the North Coast Fantasy Football League in the 7th annual Ultimate Bowl. This game will take place during NFL week #17.

8. The eight (8) non-playoff teams from each conference are entered in a single-elimination consolation tournament that will run through NFL weeks 13 through 15. The seeding will be determined as follows: win-loss record, head-to-head competition, and total points scored. The Consolation Tournament Champion will receive ten (10) additional units to use in the following year's auction.

9. Erie League prizes will be paid out each year as follows:

Section V - Miscellaneous Items

1. You will have two choices when it comes to selecting a lineup. Your starting line-up each week must include one of the following sets. 1 Quarterback, 2 Running Backs, 3 Receivers (WR or TE), 1 Kicker, 1 NFL Team OR 1 Quarterback, 1 Running Back, 4 Receivers (WR or TE), 1 Kicker, 1 NFL Team. Note: You may change this set-up from week to week.

2. The six (6) reserves on your roster may consist of any number of quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, kickers, or NFL teams.

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