HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE DYNASTY LEAGUE II RULES - 2008
Table of Contents
Article 1. League Structure.
Section 1. The League.
Section 2. Franchise Ownership.
Article 2. League Play.
Section 1. Schedule.
Section 2. Weekly Starting Line-ups.
Section 3. Scoring.
Section 4. Playoffs.
Section 5. Payout
Article 3. Franchise Management.
Section 1. The Draft.
Section 2. Home Field Advantage Dollars.
Section 3. Contracts.
Section 4. Rosters.
Section 5. Injured reserve.
Section 6. Developmental Taxi Squad
Section 7. Free Agency.
Section 8. Waivers.
Section 9. Trading.
Section 10. Restricted Free Agency.
Article 1. League Structure.
Section 1. The League.
1.1.1 League size and concept.
The Home Field Advantage II Dynasty League will consist of 32 franchises with each owner maintaining the same team each year. No owner will be allowed to have more than one team in the league. The concept of the league is to mirror the NFL make-up, schedule and rules, when possible. The Commissioner will keep that in mind when interpreting the rules and making rulings.
1.1.2 League sites.
The league will be maintained through www.myfantasyleague.com.
The HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE II league message board will be located at http://forums.thehuddle.com/index.php?showforum=188
The HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE II league FA bid email address is: homefieldadvantageii@Yahoo.com
1.1.3 League calendar.
January
Confirm returning owners.
Find replacement owners.
Establish rules committee & league officials.
All player contract years expire (active, IR, DTS, and dead contracts) (January 15)
February
Rules review period.
League fees due (last Friday in February).
Set-up 2008 MFL site. (when MFL makes new leagues available.)
March
Designate players to be released without penalty (March 1).
*2008 Rules Committee voted to move this deadline to March 1 from “the Monday following the NFL Super Bowl.”
Trading re-opens (March 1).
1st off-season FA Run (First Wednesday in March).
April
RFA period (opens April 1).
HFA$ replenishment (at end of RFA period, $50 HFA for each franchise + $2 HFA for franchises in HFADL Super Bowl winning conference.)
NFL draft
May
2nd off-season FA run (second Wednesday in May, No rookies.)
2008 rookie draft (third Monday in May)
Regular FA runs begin (first Wednesday after the conclusion of the draft.)
June
FA runs continue (every other Wednesday.)
July
Roster cut-down to 54 players (July 31).
FA runs continue (every other Wednesday.)
August
FA runs continue (every other Wednesday.)
September
Final roster declaration (Monday prior to first NFL game).
NFL / HFADL Regular seasons opens.
FA runs move to weekly schedule (every Wednesday).
September – December
League play.
HFADL trade deadline (48 hours prior to first game of NFL week 10.)
December
Weekly FA runs conclude (Wednesday prior to NFL week 13.)
1.1.4 League alignment.
The HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE II League will mirror the setup of the National Football League with the same conferences, divisions and teams.
1.1.5 League officers.
The League Commissioner (Footballjoe / Joe)
Responsible for conducting league business, arbitrating league disputes, the running of all drafts, and ensuring correct weekly line-ups have been posted. The League Commissioner will be required to be completely MFL conversant prior to each season starting, must pay for (will be reimbursed from league fees), and download the MFL software, and setup the league for uploading to the MFL site. MFL software should be paid for as soon as possible, in order to get the lowest price. The League Commissioner will ensure that the Assistant Commissioner has the current MFL site password.
The Assistant League Commissioner (CarryTheRock / SAM)
Responsible for communicating league concerns and business to the Commissioner and intervening in transactions that involve the league Commissioner. If the Commissioner is out of contact for any length of time, the Assistant Commissioner will attend to any matters requiring timely action. The Assistant Commissioner is also required to be conversant with MFL. The Assistant Commissioner is directly responsible to the League Commissioner.
Treasurer
The Treasurer will set up and maintain the league pay pal account, receive and record all league fees, and be responsible for league pay outs. The Treasurer is directly responsible to the League Commissioner.
FA Player Commissioner (Tford / TJ)
The FA Player Commissioner will handle all waiver transactions with the assistance of information provided by the Roster Player Commissioner. The FA Player Commissioner will be responsible for ensuring that bids do not violate roster or HFA$ limits. In addition, the FA Player Commissioner will be readily available to perform all duties of the Roster Player Commissioner in his absence. The FA Player Commissioner is required to be conversant with the MFL Software and be prepared to maintain all the assigned areas of the MFL League Site. The FA Player Commissioner is directly responsible to the Assistant League Commissioner and ultimately to the League Commissioner.
Roster Player Commissioner (Kelloggs23 / Kellen and Brownhelments / Cale)
The Roster Player Commissioner will maintain a list of all teams and their available HFA$, maintain a list of each teams players and how many contract years they are signed for, and handle all trade transactions. The Roster Player Commissioner will be conversant in the use of MFL software and be prepared to maintain all the assigned areas of the MFL League Site. In addition, the RP Player Commissioner will be readily available to perform all duties of the FA Player Commissioner in his absence. The Roster Player Commissioner is directly responsible to the Assistant League Commissioner and ultimately to the League Commissioner.
Rules Committee
The Rules Committee will consist of 8 franchise owners. A franchise owner will be allowed to hold one of the Commissioner positions or serve as Treasurer, and still be a member of the rules committee. During the off-season, the Rules Committee is authorized to make clarification statements regarding the existing rules. The Rules Committee is responsible for reviewing the rules during the off-season, and proposing major rule changes to be brought to a league-wide vote, as outlined in rule 1.1.6 The Rules Committee will vote on approving all new owners in the league, with 6 yes votes required for approval.
The following method will be used to select the Rules Committee members each season: At the conclusion of the HFADL playoffs each season, each HFADL division will select one of their four owners to serve as a member of the Rules Committee for the following season. If none of the owners in a particular division wish to serve, that spot will be opened up for any other interested owners (from any division) to apply. The deadline for divisions to name their representative (or declare no representative) will be January 15.
1.1.6 League rules
League Rules will be reviewed annually during the month of February.
Major rule changes can only be made through a league-wide vote requiring 75% of actual votes cast for passage, or with a minimum of 6/8 rule committee members in favor if less than sixteen (16) votes are cast. In-season votes, though discouraged, require twenty-eight (28) yes votes to pass or unanimity of the rules committee if less than twenty (20) votes are cast.
Votes will be conducted at the forum site located at TheHuddle.com or as polls on the MFL site. Off-season votes are due within 7 days of posting at the forum. In-season votes are due within 48 hours of the time posted at the forum. During these time frames, if the required votes are not cast, the time frame will not be extended and the vote will be considered to have failed.
Any decision made by The League Commissioner will be posted on the message board immediately and may be brought to a vote if six (6) or more owners request a league wide vote. Twenty-three (23) votes will be required to overturn a Commissioner ruling.
During the off-season, the rules committee is authorized to make clarification statements regarding the existing rules.
1.1.7 League costs.
The cost of a Home Field Advantage franchise will be $15. The official league payment method will be one of three ways: Paypal, Money Order, or Check. Those using MO's or Checks must remit their payment to the League Treasurer 10 days prior the payment deadline to allow for clearance. The payment deadline each year will be midnight Eastern time on the last Friday of February. Failure to meet the deadline will result in a fine of 2 HFA$ per day up to 5 days. Non-payment within 7 days will result in the owner being replaced and the HFA$ penalty will be lifted for the new owner. The payment deadline for the first year shall be May 1 2006.
Absent extreme circumstances, such as a medical emergency, no refunds of league fees will be given out. Paying league fees implies a commitment to run the team for the full season.
Section 2. Franchise Ownership.
1.2.1 General.
An owner may not own more than one franchise. Owners must name their franchise after their Homer team, with their huddle name in parenthesis (i.e.: New York Giants (Los Gigantes)). Owners are encouraged to put an e-mail address and other contract information (IM, Cell Phone, etc) on the MFL website, in order to facilitate communication between owners. This information is only visible to owners who log onto the MFL site; guest will not be able to access it. At a minimum, owners must have a username on TheHuddle.Com and provide the Commissioner with a valid phone #, e-mail address and City/State of residence.
1.2.2 Owner replacement.
If an owner chooses to leave the league or doesn’t submit a lineup for two consecutive weeks during the season, or isn’t heard from during the RFA signing period, a replacement owner will be sought. Replacements will be recruited from persons known from The Huddle. (All replacement owner functions will be handled by private, league-wide, email and will not be discussed on the forum or at the MFL site.) Preference will be given to fans of the team in question.
Once a confirmation has been received by the League Commissioner of a person’s interest, a vote of 75% yes votes of the rules committee will be required to approve any replacement owner. If 75% is not reached, the search for a replacement owner will continue.
Owners conducting themselves in a way perceived to be detrimental to the good of the league may be removed by a vote of 20 owners.
Article 2. League Play.
Section 1. Schedule.
2.1.1 Regular season.
The length of the regular season will be 12 weeks. Weekly Schedules will mirror that of the NFL team. The entire season lasts 16 weeks, with 12 weeks of regular season games, three weeks of playoffs, and one HFADL II Super Bowl.
The Regular Season lasts through week 12.
Since Double Headers will be the following protocol will be used to determine which weeks have a double header. The last week to have a complete NFL schedule before bye weeks begin will be used first, then each preceding week, excluding the first week of the NFL season. If additional double headers are needed, then the first complete week following the end of bye weeks will be used, then each subsequent week will be used, up to and including the final week of the NFL season that the HFADL uses for regular season play. After that, NFL week 1 will be used, if necessary. This protocol will also be used to determine which week(s) will have a triple header, if necessary
2.1.2 Playoffs.
The HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE II Dynasty League II play-offs begin on week thirteen of the NFL season. The play-offs conclude on week sixteen with the Super Bowl. The format mirrors that of the NFL.
Section 2. Weekly Starting Line-ups.
2.2.1 Starting line-up parameters.
Each Franchise may start up to 7 Offensive and 11 Defensive players, for a total of 18 players, each week in accordance with the line-up guidelines below:
Offense:
1 QB (TMQB)
1 RB
2 WR
1 TE
1 TMPK
1 Flex (RB / WR / TE)
Total of 7.
Defense:
2 DL
1 DT
3 LB
2 CB
2 S
1 Flex (DL / LB / CB)
Total of 11.
Total Lineup Offense and Defense 18
2.2.2 Starting line-up submission.
The deadline for naming starters is set by MFL rules, but generally a player is locked approximately 5 minutes before kick-off of his particular game. On Thursday night and Saturday games, only players playing in a game that day must be submitted. The rest of the lineup will not be due until approximately 5 minutes prior to the games on Sunday.
If no lineup is submitted, MFL will default the lineup for that week to the previous week’s lineup. If a partial line-up is submitted for an early game, and no additional line-up is submitted, MFL will NOT default to any previous line-up, and there will be no player started or points scored for any positions where a started was not submitted in the earlier line-up. Every effort should be made to submit a complete lineup each week throughout the season. Owners continuously submitting line-ups with bye or out players will be subject to replacement under rule 1.2.2.
2.2.3 Player Positions
Players can only be inserted into a starting line-up at the position they are listed at on myfantasyleague.com. If an owner wishes to challenge the listed position on myfantasyleague.com, the team roster on that player’s NFL team’s official website will be used. If the team roster on the NFL team’s official website does not specifically list the player at a different position, myfantasyleague.com’s designation will stand and the challenge will be denied.
(example: A player is listed on myfantasyleague.com as a “Safety” (“S”) and his HFADL owner thinks he is actually playing “Cornerback” (“CB”), the owner may use the team roster on that player’s NFL team’s official website for confirmation. If the player is listed as a “Cornerback” (“CB”) on the team roster of his NFL team’s official website, a commissioner can make the change in myfantasyleague.com. If the team roster on the player’s NFL team’s official website has the player listed as “Defensive back” (“DB”), this is not specific enough to warrant a change, so myfantasyleague.com’s designation will stand and no change can be made by a commissioner.)
According to a 2007 Commissioner Ruling, player position changes must be requested 48 hours prior to the start of the first game of that week.
Section 3. Scoring.
2.3.1 Scoring system.
Scoring will be decimal based. Touchdowns scored by any player on an active line-up are counted. (Example: Tim Brown returns a punt for a TD, he is in that week’s line-up as a WR, he receives credit for the TD.) Offensive players who become "defensive" players after a fumble or interception DO receive credit for a tackle. They also receive credit for fumbles caused and fumbles recovered after change of possession.
PASSING
Passing TDs 1 4.00
Passing Yds 1 0.05
Passing Interception (thrown) 1 -2.00
RUSHING
Rushing TDs 1 6.00
Rushing Yds 1 0.10
RECEIVING
Receiving TDs 1 6.00
Receiving Yds 1 0.10
Receptions 1 0.50
Fumbles Lost 1 -2.00
2 Pt Conversion 1 2.00
KICKOFF & PUNT RETURNS
Combined Yds 1 0.04
KICKING
PAT 1 1.00
FG, 17-39 Yds 1 3.00
FG, 40-49 Yds 1 4.00
FG, 50+ Yds 1 5.00
DEFENSE
Tackle 1 2.00
Assist 1 1.00
Sack 1 2.00
Fumble Recovery 1 2.00
Forced Fumble 1 2.00
Interception 1 2.00
Pass Defended 1 1.50
Defensive TDs 1 6.00
Blocked FG 1 3.00
Blocked Punt 1 2.00
Blocked Extra Point 1 1.00
Safety 1 2.00
2.3.2 Bye week scoring.
TMQB and TMPK on Bye Scoring. If your TMQB or TMPK is on bye, and you are not, you get the average of the TMQB’s score or the TMPK’s score from the previous two weeks. In all other scenarios, you receive his scoring as of that week only, not an average of the previous two weeks. The two week average only applies to weeks your TMQB or TMPK is on bye and you are not.
2.3.3 Scoring set-up in MFL.
When scoring options are set-up on MFL, care must be given how ranges are set-up, to ensure proper scoring. For yards gained categories (rushing, passing & receiving), the range should be set at negative 50 (-50). This is so that if a player ends a game with negative yards, the HFA owner will receive negative points. For the number categories (tackles, sacks, pass defended, etc.), the ranges should be sat at 0-99. This is so that if a player ends a game with only ˝ of a sack, the HFA owners will receive 1 point.
2.3.4 Final scores.
All Home Field Advantage game scores will be considered “final” as of kick-off of the first game, of the following week. Up to kick-off of the first game of the following week, any HFA owner has the right to protest the score of any HFA game, or request that any subsequent statistical or scoring change made by MFL be applied to a particular HFA game. After kick-off of the first game of the following week, there will be no consideration given to changing the score in any HFA game, for any reason.
Section 4. Playoffs.
2.4.1 Playoff seeding.
The playoffs will consist of the 4 division champs and 2 wildcards from each conference. Each week the lowest seeded plays the highest seeded with week 13 as a bye to the top 2 teams in each conference. Super bowl is week 16. Division winners will always be seeded higher than wildcard teams, regardless of season records.
Playoff Rankings. Division winners will be determined first by best record overall, second by total season “starter points” (in case of a tie), third by head to head competition and fourth by coin toss. Wildcards will be determined first by overall record, second by total points, third by head to head competition and fourth by coin toss. It is therefore possible for one division to have both conference wildcards.
Total Season Points. Each team's total points will be determined by adding the weekly point totals of starting players. This total does not include those players who were riding the pines, nor does it include double team scores from the weeks a team plays a double header.
2.4.2 Playoff schedule.
Week 13 - Wildcard Games: seed 1 and 2 receive byes, seed 3 vs. seed 6 and seed 4 vs. 5 in each Conference.
Week 14 Semi-Finals: seed 1 vs. lowest remaining seed and Seed 2 vs. other remaining team in each conference.
Week 15 – Conference Championships
Week 16 - Super Bowl: week 15 winner’s
2.4.3 Playoff game tiebreakers.
Tie breakers used in the HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE II Dynasty League Playoffs for all playoff games will be:
A. Total score of all bench players.
B. An advantage of .5 will be given to the home team to determine the winner. Home team is determined as the higher seeded team
C. The Super bowl tie breaking method will be: Since there is no home field in the Super bowl, in the event of a tie after tie-breaker method has been invoked, teams will submit a line-up for a Week 17 game. Same rules will apply in the event of a tie in Week 17. If the teams remain tied after week 17, they will select (in TheHuddle.com forum) one QB from one of the NFL playoff teams. (The team with the most points scored during the regular season will pick their QB first; the other owner cannot pick the same QB.) The QB scoring the most points during the NFL Playoffs will determine the HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE Dynasty League Champion.
Section 5. Payouts.
2.5.1 Payouts
Pay out will be 100% of franchise fees, minus the cost of running the MFL.com software, approximately $75 per year. All pay outs will occur within seven days of the week 16 Super Bowl.
The playoff teams will divide the pot as follows:
Super bowl Winner-35%;
Super bowl Loser-15%,
NFC runner up 5%,
AFC Runner up-5%.
8 division winners 5% each (40% total)
Pay outs may be rounded to the nearest $1 where appropriate
Article 3. Franchise Management.
Section 1. The Draft.
3.1.1 Inaugural draft.
The Inaugural Draft for the HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE LEAGUE will begin on May 8, 2008. Subsequent years will consist of a Rookie draft only. In order to preserve the integrity of the home team concept the following format shall be used.
1) Each team will Protect 12 players
2) There will be a (6) round draft with no more than (10) players taken from each team. If a player is drafted by its own team, it will be considered as one of the 10.
3) The draft will be in order of the NFL draft (1-32) However then 32-1 (serpentine) to mimic the HFA original draft.
4) Rookies will NOT be included in the inaugural draft. There will be a (4) round rookie draft proceeding in the order of the NFL draft and keeping in that order. (1-32, 1-32 etc.)
5) No team will be allowed to have more than (8) Non Homers active at any time. There will be no limit on Non Homer DTS players.
6) Unrestricted FA's are not considered as a Homer player.
Each team must have a no more than 8 Non Homers on their active roster by final roster declaration.
Draft order is as follows:
1. Miami Dolphins
2. St. Louis Rams
3. Atlanta Falcons
4. Oakland Raiders
5. Kansas City Chiefs
6. New York Jets
7. San Francisco 49ers
8. Baltimore Ravens
9. Cincinnati Bengal’s
10. New Orleans Saints
11. Buffalo Bills
12. Denver Broncos
13. Carolina Panthers
14. Chicago Bears
15. Detroit Lions
16. Arizona Cardinals
17. Minnesota Vikings
18. Houston Texans
19. Philadelphia Eagles
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
21. Washington Redskins
22. Cleveland Browns
23. Pittsburgh Steelers
24. Tennessee Titans
25. Seattle Seahawks
26. Jacksonville Jaguars
27. San Diego Chargers
28. Dallas Cowboys
29. Indianapolis Colts
30. Green Bay Packers
31. New England Patriots
32. New York Giants
3.1.2 Annual rookie draft.
The HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE Dynasty League rookie draft will begin on the third Monday of May each year. The draft will proceed in reverse order based on winning percentage from the previous season's finish (total points as tie-breaker). The HFA Super Bowl loser from the previous season will draft next to last and the HFA Super Bowl winner from the previous season will draft last, regardless of their winning percentage from the previous regular season. The draft will last 6 rounds. The order for all 6 rounds will be the same, without serpentine. The draft will be conducted in the league forum located at TheHuddle.com or, if MFL is prepared, at the League Site at MFL. If an owner withdraws from the league during the draft, the draft will stop until a new owner is found and begin when the new owner is selected without penalizing the new team.
3.1.3 Player eligibility for rookie draft.
Only rookies will be eligible to be drafted. As defined by the NFL CBA, a Rookie is defined as a person who has never signed a Player Contract with an NFL Club previous to this year. An un-drafted Rookie means a Rookie who was eligible for, but not selected in a College Draft. (College and High School players are not selectable.) If a player signs a contract gets cut before playing any games, then re-signs with another team, he is now a free agent and loses his rookie status. For the purposes of this league: If a player signs a contract and is cut during the pre-season, then signs with another NFL Team, he will be considered to be a rookie, and thus eligible to be placed on the DTS.
3.1.4 Time restrictions.
There will be a 24 hour timer in force during the draft. Each owner is encouraged to use pre-selects and make picks as soon as possible. If an owner is "on the clock" for more than 24 hours during the draft without prior notice, then that owner will be considered for replacement under rule 1.2.2
Section 2. Home Field Advantage Dollars.
3.2.1 HFA$ definition.
HFA$ are the official currency of the HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE II Dynasty League. HFA$ are used to bid on Free Agents, Restricted Free Agents, and may also be used in trade situations. HFA$ not used during the season are carried over to the following season. Each team will be awarded 50 HFA$ upon completion of RFA and before the rookie draft each season. Each team from the same conference as the Super Bowl winner will be awarded two extra HFA$ when HFA$ are credited the following spring. HFA$ balances will be maintained on the MFL homepage.
3.2.2 Managing HFA$.
All HFA$ transactions that are included in any trade will be effective immediately upon League approval of the trade. Trades will not be approved if the team offering the HFA$ does not have the amount of HFA$ being offered. No "future" HFA$ will be allowed in any trade.
If the maximum total of all possible FA bids exceeds the team’s HFA$ balance, transactions will be nullified from last to first until the limit is met.
Section 3. Contracts.
3.3.1 Contract definition.
A player contract is the number of years that the player can remain on your roster without becoming a Restricted Free Agent (RFA). The deadline for announcing the length of new player contracts will be the same as the final roster declaration (as specified in 3.4.3).
3.3.2 Contract cap.
Each franchise has a contract cap of 90 years, which cannot be exceeded. (Exception inter-conference record rule in 3.3.5). No team will be permitted to make any transaction that places them over the contract cap.
3.3.3 Annual contract adjustments.
Contract years conclude on January 15. All players who had only one year remaining on their contracts on January 15 become Restricted Free Agents (RFA). All players who have multiple contract years remaining on January 15 will be reduced by one contract year. On January 15, all teams recover any years encumbered by players waived during the year.
3.3.4 Dead contract years.
Players dropped during the year will continue to count 1 year against the owner’s contract cap unless they are acquired by another team. Dead contracts will be tracked in a pinned message in the forum by the Roster Player Commissioner.
3.3.5 Contract miscellaneous.
Free agents acquired during the season must immediately be signed to a contract. If any team carries less than 30 players, one contract year must be left unallocated for each open roster slot when contracts are assigned. After week 8 this rule is waived. All franchises in the conference with the better inter-conference record will be awarded one extra contract year the following season. This contract year is in exception to rule 3.3.2 and is only effective for the current year.
Section 4. Rosters.
3.4.1 In-season roster parameters.
Each franchise will maintain an in-season active roster with a maximum of 35 players (Not including DTS or IR). It is the owners' decision on how many players to carry at each position. No franchise will be allowed to carry more than 1 TMQB and 1 TMPK on their entire roster.
3.4.2 Off-season roster parameters.
During the off-season (day after the fantasy Super Bowl, until the 7/31 cut downs) there will be no roster size limitation. Rosters must be reduced to 54 players by July 31 (Midnight Eastern Time). Teams will be charged 1 HFA$ per day per player over the 54 limit.
3.4.3 Final roster declaration.
The final cut down date will be the Monday before the first NFL regular season game at Midnight Eastern Time. Each team must designate a max of 35 active players, 8 DTS players, and up to 3 IR players. On, or prior, to final cut down day, each owner must post a message in the league forum listing his
a.) active players,
b.) DTS players,
c.) IR players, if any, and
d.) The number of contract years for each player on the active roster or IR.
If a team does not meet this deadline, a penalty of 5 HFA$ will be imposed. If final cuts are not made within 48 hours of the first NFL game a new owner will be sought. Each team must have NO MORE than 8 non-homer players listed as active players at any time. Any team that exceeds the 8 non-homer player limit on their active roster as of kick-off of the first game of week one, will be fined 5 HFA$. An additional 5 HFA$ penalty will be imposed as of kick-off of the first game of any subsequent weeks until the team is in compliance. If during the season, the number of non-homer active players on a HFA team exceeds 8, due to an NFL trade, waiver or other NFL roster move, the HFA team will have until kick-off of the first game of the week to comply. After kick-off of the first game of the week the non conforming HFA team will be subject to a 5 HFA$ fine each and every week until said team conforms.
Section 5. Injured reserve.
3.5.1 IR definition.
IR is available starting with the July 31st roster cut down. Once a player is placed on Injured Reserve he must remain there for the remainder of that season unless dropped to the waiver pool. That player cannot be returned to the active roster during the current season. 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.)
3.5.2 IR limits.
Each team has a maximum of 3 Injured Reserve slots.
3.5.3 IR eligibility.
A player qualifies for the IR by being placed on a NFL PUP list or on the IR officially by an NFL team, by being listed as doubtful or out on his team’s injury report, or by missing a game due to injury.
3.5.4 Dropping IR players.
Any player dropped from IR falls under wavier rules at the point he is dropped (one contract year continues to count against the team that dropped him.) If an IR player is dropped to the wavier wire, passes 1 week of waivers, and is then reacquired by the dropping owner, that player must be returned to the IR.
3.5.5 IR contract implications.
When placed on IR, the player's current contract year is credited to the team and all future contract years will continue to count against the franchise's contract ceiling. After contracts are reduced for all active roster players on January 15, all players on IR will become part of the active roster. IR player contracts will not be reduced since the franchise was credited with a year when that player was placed on the Injured Reserve.
Section 6. Developmental Taxi Squad
3.6.1 DTS definition.
Each franchise will be allocated a Developmental Taxi Squad (DTS) containing up to 8 players. Players on the DTS do not count against a teams 90 year contract cap, do not participate in RFA, and are not eligible to start a game.
3.6.2 DTS limits.
Each franchise’s DTS can contain up to 8 players. A player may remain on the DTS for a maximum of 3 years.
3.6.3 DTS player eligibility.
Players on a team's Developmental Taxi Squad (DTS) in a prior year, along with any rookie additions, may be placed on the current year DTS. The deadline for announcing DTS players will be in accordance with rule 3.4.3 final roster declaration. Any player on an active roster after the final roster declaration is no longer eligible to be placed on any team's DTS. In the league’s first year only, any player in his second or third year may also be placed on the DTS. All such players must be removed from the DTS and promoted to the active roster or cut before the beginning of their fourth year.
3.6.4 Activation from DTS.
Players on the DTS are not eligible to start a game until they are moved onto the active roster. During the season players may be moved from the DTS to the active roster after week one. The Roster Player Commissioner must be notified if a DTS player is to be put onto an active roster by posting on the message board. Players that are moved from the DTS to an active roster must immediately be given a contract and are now available to be in the weekly line-up. DTS players that are accidentally submitted into a starting line-up will be removed and that team will get 0 points from that position. As promoting a player from the DTS to the active roster requires the involvement of a league commissioner, any player promoted from the DTS to the active roster will not be eligible to start a game for the period of 48 hours.
3.6.5 DTS miscellaneous.
DTS players do not participate in RFA. FA’s may be placed directly onto the DTS providing they are in their rookie year (or second or third year during the inaugural season of the league) and have never been on any HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE Active Roster. Traded players may be put onto the DTS only if they were on the other teams DTS before the trade. The DTS concludes at the end of the playoffs.
Section 7. Free Agency.
3.7.1 FA definition.
Free Agency is the process of a team picking up a player that is not currently on another HFA team roster (Active, IR or DTS).
3.7.2 FA player eligibility.
Any player not on a HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE Dynasty League roster or Developmental Taxi Squad is considered a Free Agent. Players that are new to the NFL are not eligible for FA until after they have been drafted, or remain undrafted after the completion of a NFL draft for which they were eligible (regular or supplemental).
3.7.3 FA schedule.
FA begins the first Wednesday after the rookie draft and will run every other week until the first preseason game at which time it will run every week until the HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE II Dynasty League Fantasy play-offs start, at which time FA ends. There will be a FA run the Wednesday after the week 12 NFL games (last week of HFA regular season games), there will not be a FA run the Wednesday after the week 13 (the first week of HFA playoff games) In addition, there will be 2 free agency runs prior to the rookie draft each year. These will be on the first Wednesday in March, and another on the second Wednesday in May. NFL rookies just drafted in the current year, are not eligible for the FA run the second Wednesday in May. For 2008 (inaugural season), there will be one pre-preseason FA run on the first Wed in June.
FA is a weekly process that occurs on Wednesday evenings at 8 PM Eastern Time. No pick-ups are allowed after this time until the following Wednesday. The Free Agency Commissioner’s bids are due by Tuesday night at midnight Eastern Time, to the League Commissioner.
3.7.4 FA bid process.
The FA weekly process will be conducted in a *blind auction* manner. HFA$ are used to bid on free agents. The minimum FA bid is 1 HFA$. Teams may only bid up to the amount of HFA$ they have available. Bids must be in whole number increments. If the maximum total of all possible bids exceeds the team’s HFA$ balance, transactions will be nullified from last to first until the limit is met.
Bids for FA's must be submitted via e-mail to the official league FA e-mail account: homefieldadvantageii@Yahoo.com Bids received by any other means will be rejected.
During the season, bids must contain all of the following: the name of the franchise, the name of the free agent(s) you want to acquire, the amount bid for that player, a conditional release notice indicating the player you will waive to make room for the new player. Owners can submit conditional picks (ex- "Troy Brown, if Brown is no longer available, Fred Lane"). Multiple FA request forms will result in only the last one being processed. Submit all requests in one email, even if attempting to make two transactions.
Any bid that violates the roster limits without conditional release will be null and void. If multiple transactions are attempted, only the transactions that violate the roster limits will be voided.
If more than one team requests the same player, the team submitting the highest bid will acquire that player.
3.7.5 FA bid tiebreakers.
During the season: In the event that two or more teams submit the same high bid for a player, the FA Player Commissioner will award the free agent to the team with the worst record followed by the team that has scored the fewest points. During the off-season, the free agent will be awarded to the team with the worst record from the previous year, followed by the fewest total points from the previous year.
3.7.6 FA contracts.
FA pick-ups must immediately be signed to a contract during the season. An owner cannot formally add the free agent through waivers until he/she assigns a contract to the player that complies with the contract cap. Any free agent that has not been assigned a contract within 48 hours of the bid results being posted will be returned to the free agent pool and the owner will lose the HFA$ spent.
Section 8. Waivers.
3.8.1 Waivers definition.
Waivers is the process by which a team cuts or drops a player that is currently on their roster (active, IR or DTS).
3.8.2 Waivers contract implications.
After a player is put on Waivers, only his current contract year is counted against a franchise's contract ceiling. A team can only get relief for the waived player’s current contract year if the waived player is later assigned a new contract by another team. All future contract years for players that are waived are credited to the team as soon as the player is waived.
3.8.3 Reclaiming waived players.
If a franchise waives a player and wishes to reclaim that player, the player in question must clear waivers. (The releasing team cannot place a bid on the waived player until the second FA pickup date after the player was waived.) If the owner is successful in reclaiming their player, then the owner has the right to issue a new contract as long as it does not violate the team’s contract cap.
3.8.4 Waivers and dead contracts.
Players who are waived and not signed by any other team during the year will each count as one year against the waiving team's contract ceiling until January 15. This 'cap hit' includes players waived during the off-season - even if the player retires or is physically unable to perform. After the end of the current season teams have until midnight Eastern on the Monday following the NFL Super bowl each year to waive players in order to avoid having contract year’s count against them for the upcoming year.
3.8.5 Waivers and TMQB/TMPK.
Any TMQB or TMPK that is currently under contract, may not be dropped by the team they are under contract to, except in conjunction with their current team winning a RFA bid on another TMQB/TMPK.
Section 9. Trading.
3.9.1 Trading definition.
Trading is the process by which one HFA team gives a HFA tradable commodity(s) to another HFA team, exchange for other HFA tradable commodity(s). The only tradable commodities in the HFA II Dynasty league are: Players currently on a HFA team’s roster (active, IR or DTS), rights to a HFA team’s RFA, rookie draft picks (only picks for the next rookie draft and the rookie draft to occur in the following year are tradable) and HFA$. Under no circumstances will any “real world” commodity (such as actual money) be allowed to be part of any trade. Additionally, no secret items (items not specifically listed in a post in the forum) will be allowed to be part of any trade.
3.9.2 Trading process.
Trades between teams are unlimited. When a trade is proposed, the following will occur:
A. Offering owner must offer the trade using MFL.
B. Accepting owner must accept the trade using MFL.
C. Roster Player Commissioner will be notified via a post in the League forum stating that a trade has been offered/accepted on MFL by BOTH owners involved in the trade.
D. Roster Player Commissioner will approve trade in MFL.
Any trade involving the FA Player Commissioner or Roster Player Commissioner will be adjudicated by the League Commissioner.
3.9.3 Trading deadlines.
The weekly trading deadline is 48 hours before the start of that week’s first NFL game. The season trading deadline is 48 hours before the start of the first game of NFL week 10. Trades will be put on hold for 24 hours from the time of acceptance by both owners on the message board, to allow for owner/Roster Player Commissioner inspection.
The HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE II trading period resumes on March 1. Trades involving draft picks for the upcoming draft will be unlimited at this time. Dues must be paid in full for all owners involved in the trade before it may be processed.
3.9.4 Trading and contracts.
Traded players contracts will be counted against the total years available to his NEW team and removed from his prior team. Any exchange of players between teams cannot leave either team with more than 90 total contract years for all players or exceed the maximum 35 man roster. If any trade violates this rule, the Player Commissioner will delay the trade until such time as the affected teams can make room under the contract/roster cap.
3.9.5 Trading draft picks.
Teams may trade picks from the current draft and the next immediate future draft only. This means that two years of picks are available for trading at any given time. For example, once the 2006 draft concludes, 2007 and 2008 picks will be tradable. If at any time a trade will result in an owner having fewer than one pick in the first three rounds of any year OR less than 5 picks total in any year (draft is currently set for 6 rounds) then league dues for that year will be required to be prepaid from that owner before the trade is processed. The Player Commissioner will put the trade on hold until fees are received.
3.9.6 Trading HFA$.
All HFA$ transactions that are included in any trade will be effective immediately upon League approval of the trade. Trades will not be approved if the team offering the HFA$ does not have the amount of HFA$ being offered. No "future" HFA$ will be allowed in any trade.
3.9.7 Vetoing trades.
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. A simple majority (17) is required for a trade to be accepted.
A vote will be required for any trade when the Commissioner or Roster Player Commissioner request a vote. In addition, a vote will be required if 3 owners request a vote by posting in the league forum within 24 hours of the trade.
Section 10. Restricted Free Agency.
3.10.1 RFA definition.
Once a player's contract expires, he becomes a Restricted Free Agent. It is called “Restricted” Free agency, because the team that held the player’s contract before it expired, retains limited rights to that player.
3.10.2 RFA schedule.
RFA bidding begins April 1 and closes on April 30. No new bids will be accepted after April 30; "bids in process" may continue beyond April 30 until a final offer is reached for a player. After the RFA signing period, any players that did not receive bids will remain on the current team's roster at no cost.
3.10.3 RFA bid process.
All RFA bids are made in the league forum and each bid must include the player's name and the amount bid. Owners may not raise their own high bids or bid on their own players. Once a bid is posted on a player, other interested owners may increase the bid. Owners may drop out of the bidding process for any individual player at any time unless they have the high bid. They may re-enter the process as long as bidding remains active for the player in question.
3.10.4 RFA bid closing and matching.
If no bid has been made in the previous 24 hours the player will be marked “CLOSED.”
Once the auction is “CLOSED” on a player, the current owner will have 24 hours to match the highest bid and retain that player. If the bid is matched or 24 hours passes without a match then the auction will be marked “FINAL” for that player.
3.10.5 RFA overbidding.
Owners who place bids must have enough HFA$ available to cover all outstanding high bids. If an owner overbids their budget at any time, that bid will be removed from the board. The highest bidder at the time of the overbid will be asked by the FA PC if they would like to maintain their previous bid. The overbidding owner can no longer bid for said player. (This exclusion will remain even if overbidding owner makes a trade for more HFA$) All other bids placed by the offending owner will remain in effect. Anyone overbidding their HFA$ balance will receive $10 less in HFA$ per infraction when HFA$ are given out under rule 3.2.1. They will also be birched.
3.10.6 Trading during RFA period.
The rights to a player currently on the board cannot be traded. Trading a RFA player must take place 48 hours prior to the beginning of the RFA period to allow for the trade t be processed.
3.10.7 Acquiring TMQB or TMPK in RFA
During the RFA bidding period, any team may place a bid on a RFA TMQB and/or RFA TMPK, regardless of the bidding team’s contract with their current TMQB and/or TMPK.
Any team that acquires a TMQB or TMPK through the RFA bid process, will immediately (upon confirmation that bidding for that player is Final) transfer rights to their previous TMQB or TMPK to the team the RFA they have just acquired came from. This transfer will be referred to as a “Forced Transfer”.
That TMQB or TMPK transferred to the team that lost a RFA will immediately become an RFA (the TMQB or TMPK’s contract will be reduced to zero), if he is not one already. If the transfer occurs beyond the RFA bidding period, no new bids may be submitted and he may be assigned a contract by his new team.