Rules and Regulations

SEC 1) Draft

   Each year, prior to the start of the NFL season, a draft will be held. In the initial year all owners will draft teams consisting of eighteen NFL players. The order of the draft will be determined by a random drawing with the order being reversed each round.
   In subsequent years each team will draft according to their finish the previous year, and the order will remain the same throughout the draft. The team with the worst record will draft first, and the league champion will draft last. All teams that made the playoffs will select after non playoff teams. Teams who were not in the playoffs will have their draft order determined by won-lost percentage, with the worst teams drafting first. Starting in 2004, the first five draft positions will be determined by a weighted lottery. The five teams with the worst regular season records will be entered into a lottery. The team with the worst record will have a five times better chance at the top pick. The draft order of playoff teams will be determined, first by how far they advanced into the playoffs, and second by won-lost percentage. the teams that advance the farthest will pick last. If two or more teams have identical records, the same tiebreakers which apply to the playoffs will be used. (Sec 3b - Playoffs)
   All teams must be represented on draft day. Any team without representation will pick their team from the remaining players at the completion of the draft. Representatives arriving late will be allowed to resume drafting in their regular position. Each team will have one minute to make their pick in rounds 1 to 3. After round three, the time limit will increase to one and a half minutes for the remainder of the draft. If they fail to make a selection in the alloted time, they will forfeit that pick until the completion of the draft.
   Each team will draft until their roster size is a maximum of 22 players. Any roster spots that are not filled on draft day, must be filled before game time of week three.
   Anybody, who is not a college player, is eligible to be drafted. However there are rules governing the placement of non-NFL players on the reserve list (see sec. 4 - Reserve) and position eligibility (see section 3 - Playing the game).

SEC 2) Format
 
   The league will be divided into two conferences. Within the two conferences will be two divisions. Each team will play a fourteen game schedule. Each team will play two games during the last "convenient" week of the NFL season. If the NFL ever expands the season to 18 games, the double week will be eliminated. Weeks 15, 16, and 17 of the NFL season will be used for playoff games. Week 18 will be used for the all-star game. Each team will play all the teams within their division twice. Each team will play the teams within their conference but outside the division, once. The remaining four games will be played against teams outside the conference. The games outside of the conference will feature stronger teams playing tougher schedules, based on the previous season's results. Each team will have half of their games designated as home games and half as away games.

SEC 2a) Games before draft day
 
   If the NFL plays any games prior to the CVFL Draft, the following rules will be in effect. Teams must contact the opposition to declare any players that they will be playing from their current roster. Points scored by NFL players who are drafted after the game cannot be used.

SEC 3) Playing the game

    Each week the owners will exchange lineups with their opponent of the week. It will be the responsibility of the visiting owner to contact the opposition during the week to decide on a suitable time for the exchange. All lineups must be finalized by kickoff of the first Sunday afternoon NFL game each week. If any NFL games are scheduled to kick-off before Sunday at noon, only players from that game need to be announced. The visiting team will present their lineup first. If any owner is unavailable for the exchange, their lineup from the previous week will be used. If one owner wishes to exchange their lineup and is unable to reach his opponent he may call his lineup into the scorekeeper, or to any two owners for verification.

The starting lineup will consist of:
1 Quarterback
2 Runningbacks
3 Wide Recievers
1 Tight End
1 Kicker
1 Defensive Team

   After all the NFL games have been completed, each owner will figure the score of his team and his opponent of that week. It will be the responsibility of the visiting team to contact the opposition of the week to verify the score. It will be up to the two owners to decide on the game score. The visiting owner will then be responsible for contacting the scorekeeper with the results, no later than Tuesday evening at nine p.m. There will be a fine levied against any owner who fails to meet his responsibilities with regard to communication. The fine will be 5 dollars for the first infraction and will double with each subsequent infraction. All fines will become the sole property of the scorekeeper. The scorekeeper will record the results of the game and all other pertinent information.
   Scoring is based on actual plays made by NFL players each week (see sec. 11a - scoring system). Only players listed as starters in the correct position can score points. A player is eligible at only one position (see sec 3a). It is up to the owners to keep track of the players involved in their game.
   Each team, in addition to their eight players, will start one defensive team. The defensive team will be awarded points when they hold their opponents under a set amount of points. They will also be awarded points when they score a touchdown on defense or on special teams. In addition, any touchdown that is scored and cannot be directly attributed to the offense(i.e. fumble recovery), will be awarded to the defensive team (the 'directly attributed' rule has become obsolete with the advent of instant information).
   Touchdowns scored by field goal or punting teams will be considered offensive plays and will not be awarded to the defensive team. All defensive teams will be considered one player in terms of trades, drafts, etc., unless otherwise specified.   
  Games which end in a tie during the regular season will be scored as a tie.

Sec 3a) Position Eligibility A player will start the season at the position that he is listed on the preseason roster. If he is listed at more than one position, the owners will vote on draft day to determine the player's position.

Sec 3b) Playoffs

   At the conclusion of the regular season the playoffs will be held. Each Division Winner will automatically qualify for the playoffs. In addition, one wild card team from each Conference will qualify. The wild card team is the team with the best won/lost percentage that did not win their divisional title. The Divisional winner with the best won/lost percentage from each conference will be declared the Conference Champion. Each Conference Champion will receive a bye in the first round of the playoffs. The other playoff entrants from each conference will play each other, within their Conference, in round one of the playoffs. Round one will take place during week fifteen of the NFL season. The winners of the wild card games will advance to face the Conference Champions in week 16 of the NFL season. In any playoff matchup, the team with the highest won\lost percentage will be designated as the home team. If the two opponents have identical records the tiebreakers listed in this section will be used to determine the home team. If two or more teams have identical records and are in a position to make the playoffs, the following tiebreakers will be used:

1) Head to head: The team with the best won\lost percentage against all the teams involved in the tiebreaker wins. All teams involved must have played at least one game against all other tied teams, or this tiebreaker cannot be used.
2) Division record: The team with the best won\lost percentage within the division wins.
3) Conference record: The team with the best won\lost percentage within the conference wins
4) Margin of Victories: The team with the biggest margin of victories against all opponents wins.
5) Coin toss: A coin flip will be used to determine the winner.

  If the tiebreaker involves more than two teams and a tiebreaker is won by two or more teams, the teams that do not win will be eliminated and the next tiebreaker will be used.
All the game rules that apply during the regular season will be used for the playoffs, with one exception. During the playoffs, each team will select two alternate players in addition to their starting  lineup. The scores from the alternate players will be used only if the game is tied after the starting lineup points have been totaled. If the teams are still tied, then the team with the most players(including alternates) scoring points will be awarded the victory. If the teams remain tied the home team will be declared the winner.

Sec 3c) All-star game

Week eighteen of the NFL season will be used for the all-star game. Each conference will select an all-star team and coach by ballot. Each owner will vote for a first team and a second team player at every starting position, as well as a coach. For every first team vote, a player or coach will be awarded two points. For a second team vote the player or coach will receive one point. All owners will vote for players or coaches in their conference only. After all the votes have been totaled a first and second team will be announced. Only one coach will be elected. In the case of a tie for the coaching position, a coin toss will be used. In the case of a tie at any position the coach will make the determination. The respective coaches will choose a starting lineup from all the players elected to the all-star teams. They will not be bound by whether the player is on the first team or the second team. Game rules from the regular season will be used, and the game will be allowed to end in a tie.
If any player who is on the all-star roster is injured and unable to play a replacement may be selected from the remaining player pool.
   The winning owners of the All-star game will split equally any money that is left in the expense budget at the end of the year. Any owners who fail to submit their all-star ballot will not be eligible for their all-star share if their conference wins, nor can they coach the All-star squad.

Sec 4) Reserve

   If any player on the active roster is placed on the NFL injured reserve or inactive list, another player at the same position, may be activated. When the original player returns the owner may reactivate him and waive any player from their roster. If the owner does not reactivate the injured player he will automatically be waived after one full stat week. It is each owners responsibility to know if any of his players are placed on or activated from a reserve list. The reserve transaction fee of $2.00 will be charged when a player is placed on reserve and when he is reactivated. The player selected to replace a reserved player is also subject to the $2.00 activation fee. No players can be placed on reserve during the off-season. There is only one instance when a player may be activated from reserve before he has been activated by his NFL team. (See sec. 6a Trading players from reserve)

Sec 4a) Additional pickup

   Each team will have the right to add three players to their roster at any time during the season. The cost for this transaction will be $10.00.

Sec 5) Waivers

   All players that are waived during the season become available to be signed. Any team interested in claiming a waived player will contact the scorekeeper. If one or more teams claim a player, the team with the worst record will be awarded the player. If two or more teams have identical records a random draw will be used to determine who has the first rights to a waived player. For each player acquired on waivers one must be released. Players must remain on waivers for one full stat week, and will be returned to the player pool if they are not claimed. If the player is signed by any team the activation fee of $2.00 will apply.

Sec 6) Trades

   Any two teams, by agreement of their owners may trade players from one franchise to another. The fee for a trade is $4.00 per transaction plus $2.00 per player. The trade fee will be split evenly between the two teams involved. Draft picks may be traded without restriction. No trades will be allowed after 7 pm. on the Wednesday following week 11 and the end of the season. Any player who is traded may not be returned to his original team for a period of one full year. The return rule does not apply to players who have been released, or have acquired a salary through the free agent auction. No trade can involve future considerations of any kind. This includes the return of players, upgrade or addition of draft picks, monetary compensation or favors(sexual or otherwise).

Sec 6a) Trading players from reserve

   A player who is currently on a team's reserve list may be traded under the following rules. He must first be activated according to the normal procedure. Then he must be traded to another team which will be prohibited from placing him on their Reserve list, until he has been activated by his NFL team and then returned to the NFL reserve list.

Sec 6b) Trading free agents (see Sec. 8 for the definition of a free agent)

   Any player that has become a free agent may be traded. However his status will not be changed because of the trade. If he is scheduled to become a free agent at the conclusion of the current season then he will still do so. If he has a contract and a salary then the burden of that contract is passed along with the player. The team that receives the player must have enough money left in their free agent budget to support the full amount of the contract. The amount of the contract will be deducted from the budget of the receiving team, and replenished in the budget of the trading team.
   Free agents cannot be traded during the off-season.

Sec 7) Protection

   Each owner will keep his team from year to year. He will be allowed to protect six players. Only one defensive team per franchise may be protected. Protected players will not be eligible for the draft, but will remain the property of the protecting owner. Protected players must be disclosed at the preseason meeting prior to the draft.

Sec 8) Free agents

   Any player who has been protected by the same team for two consecutive years, or by a combination of teams for three years, will become a free agent at the end of the third or fourth year.
   Every free agent will be auctioned among all the teams except the last team to hold the right's to the player. After all bids have been received and the highest bid disclosed the previous owner has the option of matching the offer and keeping the player, or releasing the player to the highest bidder. Starting in 2004, the matching policy will be abolished. All players will be bid on by all teams, with no special consideration given to the previous owner. All free agents must be protected or they will be eligible to be drafted.
   Each team will have 50 dollars of the franchise fee designated as their free agent budget. No owner may exceed this budget for his total spending on free agents.
   A free agent that has been acquired through the auction will have a salary equal to the high bid. The length of the contract will be determined by the team who places the winning bid. The length of the contract must be at least one year and cannot exceed five years. If any team bids the maximum of $50, any team who wishes to match the bid will be allowed to do so. The winning bid will be awarded to the team with the lowest draft position. After the high bid and contract length have been determined, the team holding the player right's may match the salary and contract, if the salary will fit under their cap. The bid amount will become the base salary. The base salary will count against the team spending cap for the duration of the contract length, unless the player is traded to another team. All free agent salaries will inflate 20% each year starting in the second year. Use the CVFL Salary Configuration Chart to examine the inflation possibilities for all possible contracts.    A player under contract can only be released by being left unprotected when the protected player lists are submitted.

Sec 8a) Free agent auction

   The free agent auction will be held at the preseason meeting. Teams will nominate free agents to be bid upon based on their draft order. When a franchise reaches their turn they may nominate a free agent or they may pass their turn to the next team. If they elect to pass then they may not nominate any players for the remainder of the auction. If a franchise elects to nominate a player they must do so with a bid attached. All bids must be in even dollar amounts with the minimum being one dollar. A team may nominate players to which they have the right of first refusal, but they may not bid on them outside of the initial bid. A team with no money in their free agent budget cannot nominate a player. The bidding will take place by open auction until the highest bidder is determined. No franchise can bid more for a player than the amount remaining in their budget. The process continues until all free agents have been bid on, or all the teams budgets have been depleted, or every team has passed. After a high bid has been established, the winning team will have one minute to determine the length of the contract. If any teams bid the maximum for any player ($50), any team can enter their own maximum bid. If multiple bids are received for the same amount, the player will be awarded to the team with the lowest draft position. Once a Salary and contract duration has been determined, the player's original team will be offered the opportunity to match the offer. The original team must have at least the amount of the salary available in their free agent budget in order to match any offer. Any free agents that are not acquired during the auction will be returned to the player pool and their free agent status revoked.

Sec 9) Expansion

   If at any point, a majority of the owners vote to expand the league, the following rules will be used, regardless of the number of teams to be added.
  Each existing team will designate five players as "untouchable". The expansion teams will then select players from the existing rosters until each team has lost one player. No existing team can lose more than one player. After the expansion teams have made their picks, each existing team will protect their normal six players . The expansion teams will be awarded the top picks in the draft in each round, and will continue drafting at the completion of the draft until their rosters are at the correct size. The order that the expansion teams select in will be determined by a random draw.

Sec 10) Meetings and fees

   Each year a preseason meeting will be held prior to the draft. This meeting will be mandatory for all franchise owners. Protected player lists, the free agent auction, and other pertinent information will  on the agenda. Franchise fees will be due at this meeting. In addition to the franchise fees, $30.00 will be required on account to cover transaction fees that will be incurred. Each team is required to pay $25.00 to offset expenses incurred by the league. The annual entry fee for one CVFL Franchise is $120.00, making the total due at the first meeting $175.00. The balance of any fees due to the league must be paid within one week of the conclusion of the season. All prizes and refunds will be paid at the final meeting. Any teams not in attendance will recieve their payments at the convienence of the Treasurer. The preseason meeting will take place exactly one week prior to the draft.
   The draft will take place on the Saturday before opening day of the NFL season, and is also mandatory. If an owner decides not to field a team it will be his responsibility to find a replacement. If he fails to do so, his team will remain intact and the league will find a new owner. If necessary, the league will reduce or waive the franchise fee for the first year to entice another owner.
   The final meeting will be held on Super Bowl Saturday. Rule changes will be discussed and voted on. All balances will be paid in full, and awards will be presented.

Any player who scores an extra point will receive 1 point
Any player who runs, throws, or catches a two point conversion will be awarded 2 points

Players will be awarded benchmark points for yardage gained as follows:

Player passes for 300 yds......5 points
WR or QB runs or catches for 100 yds......5 points
WR or QB runs and catches for over 150 yds......5 points*

TE runs or catches for 70 yds......5 points
TE runs and catches for over 120 yds......5 points*

RB runs or catches for 80 yds......5 points
RB runs and catches for over 130 yds......5 points*

An additional 1 point will be awarded for every 10 additional yards gained over the benchmark

*A player may only receive yardage points or combination points, not both. He will be awarded whichever is more.

Spirit of the Rules Clause

  These rules have been written and reviewed with the intention of making the CVFL the best fantasy football league possible. We are governed internally, with the intention of providing a fair, competetive, fun league. These rules are intended to provide that foundation. There is always the possibility of abuse by those who seek to exploit every loophole. It is unacceptable for any team to intentionally circumvent the spirit of any CVFL rule. If you think it is wrong, if you suspect it might be wrong, if you have to ask if it's wrong, or if it just doesn't feel right ... DON'T DO IT!!!

DEFINITION OF TERMS:

LAST "CONVENIENT" WEEK This term is used to describe the best opportunity for playing multiple CVFL games in a single NFL week. The objective is to find the latest week without byes that will not interfere with playoff games. If it is unclear which week would qualify, a consensus (2/3 vote) must be reached at the first annual meeting, or week two(2) will be used.

OFF-SEASON The period starting after the conclusion of the final game of the year and ending with the conclusion of the first draft. The conclusion of the season is unique to each team. While the playoffs are in progress the teams that are still playing have not entered the off-season whereas all the teams that have been eliminated have started their off-season.

REGULAR SEASON The period starting with the conclusion of the first draft and ending with the conclusion of the final scheduled game of the year(week 14).

STAT WEEK The one week period that runs from Tuesday at 6 p.m. to the following Tuesday at 6 p.m.

FROZEN OPEN A roster position that does not contain a player but cannot be filled

FRANCHISE A CVFL team

NFL INACTIVE LIST The NFL uses many forms to declare players ineligible for the purpose of replacing them without exceeding the total of allowable roster spots. The most common is the Injured Reserve list. In 1993 the NFL voted to make all players placed on the Injured reserve list ineligible for the remainder of the year. Another option is to make a player ineligible for just one game in order to use a player from the practice squad. The CVFL does not consider this one week ineligibility to be the same as a player who has been placed on an inactive list and will not allow the player to be placed on reserve.

College Player  Any player currently enrolled in college as a full time student.