2003 NFL I LEAGUE RULES

All questions, disputes and interpretations of these rules subject to commissioner’s rulings.
All commissioner rulings will be final.

All new rules or rule changes are in red.

The Season
The season will consist of 13 weeks of regular season play beginning Thursday Sept. 4^th, 2003. There will be 3 rounds of playoffs to determine the league champion, followed by week #17 scrub bowl and Champ vs. Champ match up with the other league champion.
 
The weekly team point totals will be ranked 1-16, with the top 8 receiving a bonus win, and the bottom 8 receiving a bonus loss. In the event of a tie for the 8^th and final spot in the top 8, both teams will receive the bonus win.

The league will be divided into 2 conferences that will each have 2 divisions of 4 teams each, for a total of 16 teams. The participants in the playoffs will be the 4 division winners along with 2 wild card teams from each conference for a total of 8 teams that will participate in post season play.

The Scoring
The scoring system is accessed by clicking here or through the main page of this website. Please note that the yardage and reception charts have been changed for 2003. The maximums have been removed for these 3 charts. This scoring system will be used to determine the winner in each game played. Each owner will be responsible for calculating the scores of not only his team, but also for his opponents team. Scores are due by 9pm Tuesday. As a part of the league you are expected to fulfill your obligation in reporting the scores of the games. If any team does not report scores to the league on time, you will be allowed one "mulligan". On the second violation, your team  will not be given credit for any points scored (team totals or individual totals) for that time period. Your team will still receive wins and losses for that week. In addition, a $10 fine will be issued against the team owner. In the event of a discrepancy in the scores, the commissioner will verify the scores through the official stat service website, NFL.com and the decision will be final. (If a score discrepancy occurs from the results posted on the internet, the Commish will review multiple websites to determine the most consistent and accurate score) For each series there will be a "home" and a "visiting" team. The home team will receive a 1/2 point "home field advantage" for each game of the series and also on total points, solely for the purpose of breaking any ties that may occur.

When looking at the QB stats for yardage thrown, look at the individual player stats, not the team net yards passing. Net yards includes yards loss by sacks. We will however use net yards for player rushing totals.

An offensive fumble recovery for a TD, regardless of who fumbles it, is worth 6 points for the player that recovered it.

If a player has a fumble lost, and it occurs during a special teams play, it does not count against the players stats as a -1 penalty.

When reporting your weekly scores to the Commissioner each week, teams are encouraged to compare scores with their opponent, and once the two teams agree on the scores, send a single scoring summary to the commissioner. With 16 teams in the league, it will severely delay the process of posting weekly results if all match-ups must have their scores reviewed. Excel files will be provided to assist in the process of reporting scores.

********A weekly report will be published each week during the season on the league web-site, updating the leagues standings and scores. If any owner notices a discrepancy in something that was published in the report, he will have one week in which to notify the league of the problem, after such time NO CHANGES will be made. This applies to scores of games, scores of players, to game results to side pot issues. After a period of one week, the results and published reports becomes OFFICIAL***************

The Teams/Rosters
The teams will consist of 10 players, distributed as follows:
(1) QB    (2) RB    (3) WR    (1) Optional (RB or WR)    (1) TE    (1) K    (1) Team Defense        

Team defenses may be taken any time during the draft. Team defenses will be treated as any other individual player on a roster.

If a player is considered a H-Back, we will use him as a TE. If there is any questions in regards to a players position eligibility, please contact the Commish.

Teams must declare 1 player at the RB & WR positions to be a Franchise Player. All QB/TE/K's will be considered Franchise Players. Only one(1) QB or K may be selected from each NFL team. Teams will have the rights to a players replacement in case of injury. If a franchise player is listed on the injury report, even as probable, his back up will be ineligible to be picked up by another team, for as long as he is listed on the injury report. If the back-up/replacement is on another teams roster, you will have to seek another replacement. If the owner who has rights to the replacement player does not exercise their option on the player, any other team can claim the replacement player once he comes off the injury report. If a player is benched, you do not have rights to his replacement.  If the back up is already on another team's roster before the franchise player gets hurt, this rule does not apply. Franchise players may be changed during the course of the season, but once playoffs start franchise players can not be changed. Teams must exercise their rights to a franchise player's backup if the franchise player is listed as out, or they lose the rights to the backup.

Rosters are frozen once they are submitted for the first week of post season play and scrub bowls. In the event that a team can not submit a full starting lineup due to either injury or benching, whether it is a full benching or a greatly reduced role, teams will be allowed to make a change.

The Draft

The draft will consist of 10 rounds of 16 picks with teams picking in reverse order in even numbered rounds. Example: If you have the first pick in the first round, you will have the 32^nd overall pick in the 2^nd round. Draft position will be determined and will be posted on the website. You are permitted to make trades of your draft positions.

Line-ups

Lineup changes are due to the league by 9:00 PM Saturday. The "default lineup" for teams each week will be the previous week's lineup. (The only exception to this rule is week #1, when a full lineup is required to be submitted) Changes must be made to that default lineup by the required deadlines (i.e. Thursday if there is an early game) or the default lineup will be used for the current week if no changes are submitted. If there is a Thursday or Saturday game, teams will have until kick-off of that game to make any lineup changes with players/units involved in the Thursday or Saturday game. This does include both moving a player/unit to the starting position, as well as moving a player/unit to the bench in a non-starting role. The rest of the teams lineup changes may still be submitted by the Saturday night deadline.

Teams must also prioritize their back up RB/WR with a #1 and #2 designation. If the priority of back ups is not submitted with the lineup, teams will not get to use a back up if so required. In the event that it is discovered that a player that is not listed on the injury report on NFL.com (player is not listed as questionable, doubtful or out) does not play after lineups have been submitted on Saturday night, regardless of reason, you may use a back up. The player must be inactive for the game, and not simply a DNP but dressed. If the player to be replaced is a QB, TE or K, you may select a replacement player, as long as it is prior to kickoff of the first NFL game of the day. If a change is not made prior to kickoff of the first NFL game of the day, the team will use the first back up available to the injured or non active player on that NFL team. If there is no available back up to use (i.e. already on another team), then the starter will receive a dnp with no back up. If a team starts a backup QB on a NFL team because the starter is listed as questionable or worse, this backup rule only applies if the #3 QB for that NFL team is the player that plays. For example, McNair is questionable, is placed on the IR and Tennessee's backup QB is the IR replacement. The backup doesn't play and McNair does play, the team does not get McNair's stats. If it is a 3rd QB that plays instead of the 2nd QB that was claimed, then the back up rule would apply. If the player to be replaced is a RB or WR, you will be allowed to use your backup based upon the #1 or #2 designation. If the starter you are trying to replace plays even a single down in their game, the backup will not be used and the original starter will be used. If a team is forced to use a backup in place of an injured starter, they must still maintain a legal lineup. If a WR gets hurt, and their #1 priority sub is a RB, but they already have 2 RB's started, they must go to the #2 priority as teams can not have 3 RB's started. If the #2 sub is on a bye week, they will get no replacement for the injured starter.

NFL.com will be used to determine injury status, but due to possibility of inconsistency on that website it is will also be allowed to use other websites to determine injury status if NFL.com has not been updated. Other websites may also be used to determine injury status, but any discrepancies will be resolved by NFL.com or Commish decision based upon available information.

Starting line ups will consist of :

(1) QB    (1) RB    (2) WR    (1) Optional (RB or WR)    (1) TE    (1) K    (1) Team Defense 

Only points scored by these players will be tabulated into the game results

Fees
There will be an entry fee of $330, a minimum of $200 is due at the draft. The remaining balance of will be due no later than October 2, 2003. In the event that the entry fee is not paid by the day of the draft, your team will be restricted from making any transactions until the entry fee is paid. The same goes for the balance, if not paid in full by the deadline, your ability to make transactions will again be put on hold.

*Entry Fee Breakdown:    $5280 Entry Fees Collected + $10 Fine Money

-$200 Commish Fee
-$50 Website Registration
-$45 Draft Supplies/Trophy Engraving
-$80 Week #17 Champ vs. Champ Game with other league
-$320 Post-Season Pool
-$320 Scrub Bowls *(Scrub Bowl I for 8 non-playoff teams, Scrub Bowl II for teams eliminated from playoffs after each round)
-$3175 Playoff Team Breakdown (8 Teams)
-$300 Division Winners (4 Teams)
-$790 Side-Pot Winners

There will not be any charges for transactions during the year. This should help owners in keeping the best team on the field during the entire season, especially when the playoff spots may be in jeopardy.

Prize Money
The total of all fees collected will be returned to the league in the form of prize money. All Eight (8) of the  playoff teams that qualify for the post season will share in the prize money.

The prize money pay-out breakdown will be as follows:

1ST-$1000        2ND-$650        3RD-$450        4TH-$350
5TH-$250          6TH-$200        7TH-$150        8TH-$125

$75 Each Division Winner (4 Teams)

Side Pots: $100-High Team Scoring Average         $100-High Team Points        $75-High Team Game
                 $75-High Player Game                          $50-High QB for the Year    $50-High RB for the Year
                 $50-High WR for the Year                     $50-High TE for the Year    $50-High K for the Year
                 $50-High DEF for the Year                   $40-Long TD Throw for the Year    
                 $40-Long TD Catch for the Year           $40-Long TD Run for the Year            
                 $40-Long FG for the year
                    
***All sidepots will concluded at the end of the regular season***

Weekly Points Pool
The top 3 teams scores each week will receive the following prize:     1^st $15         2^nd $10       3^rd $5
The bottom 3 teams will have to pay the following amounts:     16^th $15    15^th $10       14^th $5
This will be a running total throughout the year and will be available on the website. Payoffs will be at the following years draft. Any winnings or losses from the prior year, would be the responsibility of the owner that incurred them. If a team chooses not to come back to the league the following year, they would receive any winnings they may have won, as well as must pay any losses they may have had. If a team does not pay off any losses, they would not be permitted to participate in ANY UAL Fantasy League until their debt is settled.

Post Season Play
Each Division Winner and 2 wild card teams from each conference qualify for the playoffs.  In Round One the #1 seed will play the #4  in the first round, and the #2 seed will play the #3 in each conference. In Round Two, the two winners in each conference will play. In Round Three, the two conference champions will play for the league championship. When determining final order of finish, a wildcard team can never be ranked higher then a divisional winner, regardless of the teams final record.

The "home-field advantage" will continue throughout the playoffs, with the higher seeded team receiving the advantage.

Tie Breakers
If at any time during the season a tie occurs with respect to records, the league will use the same formula through out:
1) total team points (wins + top 8 finishes)
2) total wins
3) head to head
4) record within division (*only in the event of a tie between two teams in the same division)
5) record within conference (*only in the event of a tie between two teams in the same conference)
6) points scored
7) points against
8) coin flip

Transactions

****All transactions should be e-mailed to the commissioner at ualcommish@comcast.net. If necessary, transactions may be called in to the commissioner at 303-248-9259.****

Free Agents
There will be no transactions after the draft, unless there is an injury or a reason a player may not play until after week #1 is complete. The first transaction day will be Tuesday night Sept. 9th at 9pm after week one is complete. After this point, any players that were not drafted are considered free agents. Any team may acquire a free agent at any time during the year, provided they release a player that qualifies at the same position as the acquired player. Players listed as questionable or worse on the current injury report may not be claimed as free agents until they are no longer on the injury list or probable.

All free agent acquisitions are on a daily basis. There is NO TRANSACTIONS  permitted on Sunday or Monday of each week. This will allow for all teams to review the weekend stats, and also allow the most current standings to be used in case of multiple claims of a player. The cut off time for free agent moves is 9:00 PM each day. There is a limit of 3 free agent acquisitions per year at the following positions: QB, TE, K, DEF. Transactions to replace a player going on the IR, do not count towards the 3 transactions limit. If a team picks up a free agent and IR's a player, and then keeps the free agent acquired and releases that IR player when he is healthy, this does count as a free agent move.

In the event of a Thursday or Saturday game, any players involved in that early game, whether they are started or not, can not be released for a new player during that same week. (i.e. player started on Thursday, and then dropped on Friday for a new player). Once the early game is played, those players are locked out until the next transaction period on Tuesday, the same way players involved in the regular Sunday games are.

In the event that more than one team wishes to acquire the same free agent during the same period, priority will be determined on a rotating priority basis. The initial priority list will be set on Tuesday Sept. 9th based upon the reverse order of the standings from week #1. Once that initial priority list is set, when a free agent claim for a player/unit is made, the team that has made a claim and received a player/unit will drop to the #16 spot on the priority list. Teams will only drop to the bottom of the priority list on free agent acquisitions. Teams making a IR move will keep their spot in the priority list. If a team makes an IR move for a QB or TE and then keeps the free agent claimed when the IR player is healthy, the team is charged a free agent move. The priority list and the transaction log will be adjusted accordingly at the time the original IR player is released and the free agent kept. Priority is determined by which team is higher on the priority list. The priority list will not be reset at any point during the year, just continuing throughout the year. The priority list will appear on the transaction page on the website and updated regularly.

When teams make a claim to replace either a QB, TE, K or DEF that is on a bye week, they will not be dropped to the #16 spot on the priority list, as this is a mandatory transaction to maintain a complete roster. If there is multiple claims of a player/unit in an attempt to replace a bye week player/unit, the priority list will not be used. The reverse order of the standings will be used to determine priority for bye week replacement claims.

Teams making a permanent transaction will have priority over teams making a bye week move only. Bye week player/unit claims will be processed on Saturday after the 9pm transaction deadline has passed.

After week #13, all playoff teams will get priority over scrub bowl teams on free agent or waiver claims. The priority list will still be used, but split into two; one for playoff teams and one for scrub bowl teams. The playoff priority list seeding will carryover from the end of the regular season, it is not reset. Scrub Bowl team's claims will be processed on Saturday at 9pm in the date order received, and then by priority list if necessary.
 
If a team wishes to place a bid on more than one free agent or waiver wire player during any given claim period, the owner must rank the players in an order of preference. The league will then award the players in a draft like manner, with the highest ranked bidding team on the priority list getting their first choice of players then the next highest ranked team getting their choice, and so on.

Waiver Wire
When a player is released by a team he will be considered "on waivers". All players on waivers for the week will be processed at 9pm Friday. Players claimed from waivers on Friday will be eligible for line-ups that Sunday. The same rule for multiple claims applies for the waiver wire as for free agents. If a player goes unclaimed during the waiver period he will then be classified as a free agent.

When you acquire a player through free agency or waivers, you MUST retain him on your roster for that week's scheduled game. The only exception is in an injury situation, where an injured player may be replaced or a player is activated off the IR. A player may be claimed and then traded during the same week, but the traded player must remain on their new teams roster for the remainder of the week.

Injury List
There will be an unlimited injury list. As long as a player is listed as questionable, doubtful or out, that player can be placed on the injury list. Players listed as probable are not eligible for the IR. When a player that has been on the IR is no longer listed on the NFL injury report or upgrade to probable, teams must activate or release that player. If you see a player get severely hurt, or it says he is injured in print, you can also place him on the injury list. If the player is no longer on the NFL Injury report or listed as probable by the Saturday lineup deadline, the player must be activated or released.

If a player is cut by their NFL team, and resurfaces on another NFL team, teams will still retain the rights to that player.

Trades
Trades are permitted at anytime until the trading deadline. Owners must have a complete and balanced line up at the conclusion of a trade. In the event of a "2 for 1" trade, owners must release and/or acquire free agents to fill any roster voids.

The trading deadline will be 9:00 PM on the Saturday prior to week #9.

Fines
Fines may be given during the year for various rules violations. There will be a running total of fines listed on the standings page on the website. These fines will be deducted from any winnings a team may have, or must be paid prior to the draft if a team has no winnings. These fines will go to pre-draft party, hotel cost the following year or will be added to the prize fund if necessary.

If stats or lineups are submitted late, or if a team has an incomplete lineup due to off weeks, a $10 fine will be issued. Each team will receive one mulligan before a fine is issued. If a team has a player in their lineup that is listed as out on the injury report, teams will be issued a $10 fine for an incomplete lineup.

Draft Day Tidbits
Mulligan
During the course of the draft, if a team drafts a player that has already been drafted by another team the drafting team will forfeit that draft pick. The League will allow one "mulligan" to be used by each team for such an occasion. Each team, in effect, gets one "screw-up". The forfeit rule will go into effect with the second wrongful pick.

Refreshments
The draft will be a BYOB function. Please bring your own coolers. Please bring a little extra for the draft monitor.