Constitution

Extraordinarily Fresh Fantasy Football League

CONSTITUTION

(Current as of September 1, 2025)

INDEX

A. Introduction

This Extraordinarily Fresh Fantasy Football League is a competitive, challenging, and fun environment for the managers. The league currently runs on the Sleeper platform. The league was on Yahoo from 2010-2022, and existed since 2007 as an ESPN Fantasy League.

For those unfamiliar with the game, Fantasy Football allows you to buy a franchise and become a team’s coach, general manager, and owner all in one. All decisions are yours. This is your chance to run a team the way it should be run.

Each week, your team will play another team in “head-to-head” competition; the result of the game is determined by the statistics your active players generate. In turn, the game results will determine your winning percentage and league standings.

During weeks 15-17 of the NFL season, the best teams will play each other in the fantasy playoffs. These playoffs will determine the overall champion.

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B. Joining the League

League Deadline

Whenever possible, the league will not accept any new teams five (5) days prior to the draft in order to give team managers time to prepare based on the number of teams known to be participating in the league.

Creating a Team

Participation in the league is by invitation or league petition only. To create a team, simply accept the commissioner’s invitation to the league and create your team name. It’s that easy! No two franchises may share the same name.

Timeline for Joining the League

All invited managers must join the league by ten (10) days prior to the draft. This will allow time for the Commissioner to assign new managers to teams in the event that this action is required.

League Dues

The Extraordinarily Fresh franchise fee for the season is $105, which goes directly into “the pot” for payouts at the end of the season. The franchise fee is required to be paid by two (2) days before the season starts.

Note: In extenuating circumstances a letter addressed to the commissioner (via e-mail, direct message, or postal mail), stating the intent to participate in the league and pay the franchise fee, is acceptable to extend the payment deadline to the start of the season.

All payments must be made before the season. Managers who have not paid the franchise fee (or made arrangements) will not be allowed to participate in the season.

Management of League Dues

Collection and management of the franchise fees throughout the season will be done by the commissioner, who will use a secure online payment system (such as Venmo, CashApp, Google Pay, Paypal, Zelle, etc.). Funds will be held safely all season long in an escrow account and distributed in accordance with league rules at the end of the season. Winners are to be promptly paid and able to easily withdraw funds.

The commissioner will maintain an account of paid fees for league members, to be included on the league website.

League members may choose which secure payment platform to use for league fee management.

End of Season Disbursement

League members may choose to cash in all winnings, allocate winnings to dues for a subsequent year, or donate winnings to the league trophy/prize fund.

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C. League Setup and Teams

Number of Teams

The league is currently set up to accommodate twelve (12) teams. Any changes to the number of teams in the league must be made during the league offseason, according to the rules outlined in the section, “Rules Changes” (Section K: End of Season).

Scheduling

Each manager will face eleven (11) other managers once during the regular season. Each manager will face three teams twice during the regular season: their Rivalry Week opponent (in Weeks 5 and 13), a secondary rival (in Weeks 4 and 14), and a tertiary rival (in Weeks 6 and 12).

Commissioner

The commissioner serves an initial four (4) year term, after which he may be voted back into office by a league-wide vote. An 80% rule (10 teams in a 12-team league) is required for the commissioner to be confirmed. In the event that the commissioner cannot serve the full term, the commissioner must appoint a replacement by doing the following:

  • If the commissioner resigns from the position during the off-season, the commissioner must appoint a replacement commissioner that has been in the league for at least two (2) seasons. A vote will be taken on the new commissioner choice at the beginning of the following season. An 80% rule (10 teams in a 12-team league) is required for the commissioner to be confirmed.
  • If the commissioner resigns from the position during the season, the co-commissioner will take over as commissioner and must appoint a replacement co-commissioner according to the stated guidelines.

Co–commissioner

After all teams have joined the league and the league is finalized on the Sleeper interface, the commissioner will appoint a co-commissioner and allow a vote. A majority rule (6 teams in a 12-team league) is required for the co-commissioner pick to be confirmed. The responsibilities of the co-commissioner are:

  • Perform the commissioner’s duties when the commissioner is unavailable
  • Rule on trade proposals involving the commissioner (exceptions are outlined in the “Transactions” section)
  • Rule on trade vetoes involving the commissioner (exceptions are outlined in the “Transactions” section)
  • Facilitate active discussion and trash-talking on the league message board
  • Maintaining the custom can’t cut list
  • Scrolling the lineups for inactive players
  • Adding in bonus points for Rivalry Week wins
  • Posting trade notifications
  • Putting together and coordinating a communications channel to keep the talk going beyond the message board
  • Locking teams at the end of the season

Positions

Each fantasy team consists of players from six offensive positions and includes one defensive unit. The offensive positions are:

Quarterback (QB)

Running Back (RB)

Wide Receiver (WR)

Tight End (TE)

Flex (W/R/T) Position – Team managers may start 1 Wide Receiver, 1 Running Back, or 1 Tight End in this position each week.

Superflex (Q/W/R/T) Position – Team managers may start 1 Quarterback, 1 Wide Receiver, 1 Running Back, or 1 Tight End in this position each week.

The Defensive unit (D) includes the defense and special teams of a single NFL team.

Four Injured Reserve (IR) positions – For a player who has been placed on IR. Note: The player in the IR spot is keeper-eligible. See below for more details.

Active Roster

Your team will have 11 active roster spots filled in the configuration: 1 QB, 2 RBs, 3 WRs, 1 TE, 2 W/R/Ts, 1 Q/W/R/T, 1 DEF

Bench

The six bench positions (and the IR positions) may be filled by players at any position.

Maximum Size

Your fantasy team’s roster will contain a maximum of seventeen (17) players (including any number of players acquired through the Rookie Draft). The league draft will fill all 17 roster spots. There are three (3) additional players on the Taxi Squad; however, they are not on the active roster and must be called up by dropping a player on the active roster.

Minimum Size

You may not field fewer than 10 players (only one empty roster spot) for any given week. See active roster (above) for the configuration.

Using the Injured Reserve (IR) Positions

The IR positions are used for players who have been designated for IR status by their NFL team. They are intended to allow managers to roster usable players while holding on to a player that can potentially be useful later in the season or as a keeper player for the following season. Managers can add a player to an IR roster spot only if the player is IR-eligible.

Players with one of the following statuses are eligible to be added to your team’s IR roster spot:

  • IR (Injured Reserve)
  • O (Out)
  • PUP (Physically Unable to Perform)
  • D (Doubtful)
  • If applicable: COVID-19 (any players determined to have tested positive for COVID-19)

Players with one of the following statuses are ineligible to be added to your team’s IR roster spot:

  • NA (Not Active)
  • P (Probable)
  • Q (Questionable)
  • SUSP (Suspended)

Use the click and replace method like you would for any roster change.

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D. Scoring

The eleven active players on your team generate statistics that will, in turn, earn points. These points are added together to yield a weekly score for your team. The same will be true for your opponent. The winner, then, is the team with more points earned for that week.

Offense (QB, WR, RB, TE) Points
Passing TD 4
Rushing/Receiving/Return TD 6
2-point conversion 2
Offensive fumble return TD 6
Reception 1
Each 25 passing yards 1
Each 10 rushing yards 1
Each 10 receiving yards      1
Interceptions thrown -2
Fumbles lost -2
Defense/Special Teams (DEF) Points Defense/Special Teams (DEF) Points
Kickoff Return TD 6 14-20 points allowed 1
Punt Return TD 6 21-27 points allowed 0
Interception Return TD 6 28-34 points allowed -1
Fumble Return TD 6 35+ points allowed -3
PAT Return 2
PAT Safety 1 Under 100 yards allowed 5
Blocked Punt or FG return for TD 6 100-199 yards allowed 3
Each Interception 2 200-299 yards allowed 2
Each Fumble Recovered 2 300-349 yards allowed 0
Blocked Punt, PAT, or FG 2 350-399 yards allowed -1
Each Safety 2 400-499 yards allowed -3
Each Sack 1 500+ yards allowed -7
0 points allowed 5
1-6 points allowed 4
7-13 points allowed 3  

Scoring bonuses are applicable to all offensive players on your active roster. These are for milestones reached during the course of a game performance, depending on position. All offensive players are eligible for bonus scoring.

Offensive Milestone (QB, WR, RB, TE) Bonus Points
300 Passing Yards 6
400 Passing Yards 6
100 Rushing Yards 3
200 Rushing Yards 3
100 Receiving Yards 3
200 Receiving Yards 3

Winning

In the weekly head-to-head matchups, wins and losses are assigned by what is commonly known as “the doubleheader system”. Here’s how it works: Each week, fantasy teams compete for two wins: one for outscoring their opponent, and one for ranking in the top half of their league in scoring. In the event of a tie score, the match will be considered a “tie.” Win your matchup and record a high enough score, and you’ll go 2-0 in that week. Win your matchup solely because your opponent sucked, or lose your matchup because your opponent had a great week, and you’ll go 1-1. If you lose and deserved to lose, you’ll go 0-2. Playoff seeding will be determined based on the doubleheader scoring standings.

Rivalry Weeks

In an effort to foster friendly “rivalries” between managers, we have instituted three “Rivalry Weeks”. The main Rivalry Weeks are held in Weeks 5 and 13. Because the league has been in effect for so long, secondary and tertiary rivalries have emerged. The secondary Rivalry Weeks will be held in Weeks 4 and 14. The tertiary Rivalry Weeks will be held in Weeks 6 and 12. Two managers will be matched based on any of a number of factors:

  • Personal acquaintance
  • League history
  • Trash-talking
  • Fantasy experience

The Rivalry Week matchups will be announced by Week 1 of the fantasy regular season. Winners of each Rivalry Week matchup will receive 10 bonus points, to be added to their final score for the week (you will also get bragging rights…).

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E. The Draft & “Keepers”

The Taxi Squad and Taxi Squad Draft

Draft Rules

This league features a Taxi Squad for each team, comprised of three (3) players. The Taxi Squad is selected by a slow snake draft taking place approximately one month before the Veteran Draft. The preliminary draft order for the first round is determined by reverse order of final standings, with the following stipulations:

  • The runner-up of the “Putrid” playoff (11th place) receives the #1 pick.
  • The “Putrid” winner (12th place) receives the #2 pick.
  • The “Best of the Unfresh” winner (7th place) receives the #3 pick.

The following first-round picks will proceed in reverse order of the final standings:

  • 10th place: #4 pick
  • 9th place: #5 pick
  • 8th place: #6 pick
  • 6th place: #7 pick
  • 5th place: #8 pick
  • 4th place: #9 pick
  • 3rd place: #10 pick
  • 2nd place: #11 pick
  • Champion: #12 pick

The subsequent rounds will snake in order of league finish; however, the “Putrid” runner-up will always be slotted at the 1.01 position.

Second-round picks proceed as follows:

  • Champion: #1 pick
  • 2nd place: #2 pick
  • 3rd place: #3 pick
  • 4th place: #4 pick
  • 5th place: #5 pick
  • 6th place: #6 pick
  • 7th place: #7 pick
  • 8th place: #8 pick
  • 9th place: #9 pick
  • 10th place: #10 pick
  • 11th place: #11 pick
  • 12th place: #12 pick

Third-round picks will proceed in reverse order of standings, with the following stipulations:

  • The runner-up of the “Putrid” playoff (11th place) receives the #1 pick.
  • The “Putrid” winner (12th place) receives the #2 pick.

**Note that this is the preliminary draft order. The final draft order will be based on whether teams elect to participate in the Taxi Squad draft. Any gaps in managers will result in draft positions being shifted accordingly.

The draft will proceed for three (3) rounds in a snake format to select rookie-eligible players to be added to a team’s Taxi Squad. Once players are added to the Taxi Squad, they cannot be called up to the team until after the Veteran Draft.

The interface that we use for the Taxi Squad Draft is Sleeper. The Taxi Squad draft is conducted separately from the Veteran Draft; however, you may access your Taxi Squad in the Sleeper interface at any time. The general guidelines for the draft are as follows:

Players in the draft

  • The picks will proceed in order based on the guidelines below.
  • The Taxi Squad Draft will start on the Sunday closest to August 1st of every year at 10am ET and will be slated to end by the end of August of each year.
  • Each manager will have up to 8 hours to select their player. Once a manager selects a player, the next manager’s 8-hour period will begin.
  • Draft times will be suspended between midnight ET and 10am ET (so everyone can sleep without worrying about their time).

Definitions: The following definitions apply:

  • Rookie – defined as a player with no prior NFL service time, and who was not listed on the Sleeper Fantasy Football website during the previous fantasy season.

Trading Draft Picks

You may trade your taxi squad draft picks, however please note that you must receive a pick for every pick you trade. No manager may hold more or less than 3 taxi squad draft picks in any given season. You may only trade picks for the upcoming season’s Taxi Squad Draft (no trading future picks allowed).

  • If the trade is being completed as part of offseason trading, you may trade draft money in exchange for Taxi Squad draft picks, however the transaction must also contain a “protected” player moving from one team to another. As part of offseason trading, players traded for must be kept by the receiving team. You may not trade only draft money for an exchange of Taxi Squad draft picks.
  • If the trade is being completed during the season, at least one player from an active roster must be moved from one team to another. You may not trade solely draft picks.

The details for the Taxi Squad Draft are the following:

Procedure

  • You are eligible to hold up to three (3) players in your Taxi Squad. The first year, all teams will participate in a 3-round Taxi Squad Draft to fill their Taxi Squads.
  • Following the initial draft, subsequent Taxi Squad drafts will proceed to fill the Taxi Squads of teams that have available positions. Even though a manager finishes to earn a certain draft spot, the final draft order will be determined by the number of teams that elect to make picks. For instance, a manager may qualify for 1.12, however if only 7 managers are going to participate in the draft, the manager would have 1.7. If needed, the next round would continue giving the manager 1.8. The manager would then get the next pick after all players make their remaining second and third picks.
  • *NOTE: Existing Taxi Squad players will be deducted from the team’s later picks. For instance, if a team has one existing Taxi Squad player, they forfeit their 3rd Taxi Squad pick. If a team has two existing Taxi Squad players, they forfeit their 2nd and 3rd Taxi Squad picks.
  • If, after the draft order has been set, a manager decides to “pass” the picks will proceed as indicated in the draft order. No picks will be rearranged if a manager “passes”.
  • The draft will be a slow snake draft that starts on August 1st of the league year and must end by September 1st of the league year. All picks must be completed by September 1st.
  • The Taxi Squad draft will proceed according to the “Draft Rules” outlined above.
  • If all managers have acquired their maximum players, the remainder of rookie players will be released into free agency. These players will be available to be drafted in the Veteran Draft.
  • After Taxi Squads are filled, players may not be called up to the main roster until after the Veteran Draft. There is no cost associated with calling up a player.
  • Once a player is called up, the vacated Taxi Squad spot will remain vacant until the Taxi Squad draft of the following season.
  • Managers may not trade players on the Taxi Squad. If a manager wishes to trade a Taxi Squad player, they must call them up to the active roster prior to trading them.
  • Managers may release a player from their Taxi Squad as they wish. If a player is released from a Taxi Squad during a season, they will automatically be available as a waiver pickup. If a player is released from a Taxi Squad during the offseason, they will be available in the Veteran Draft of the upcoming season.
  • Lastly, remember that you don’t have to acquire a Taxi Squad player. After the final draft order is set, you may elect to “pass” during the draft. This is simply a chance for you to get some prime rookie talent prior to the Veteran Draft.

Roster requirements for Taxi Squad players

  • Players procured through the Taxi Squad draft may remain on the team’s roster with Taxi Squad keeper values for 3 seasons. Beginning in Year 4, the player may be kept according to the general keeper policies. The player will not count against the manager’s protected players (6 or fewer for returning managers), and the player will be included in the manager’s keeper player quota (4 or fewer for returning managers).
  • A manager can call up a player from the Taxi Squad by notifying the commissioner about the move or simply making a $0 pickup in the Sleeper interface. Any player called up between the time after the Veteran Draft and the following year’s Taxi Squad Draft will be considered a call-up for that season and will be subject to the first-year keeper prices for the following season (see below).
  • Players who are called up can be traded or dropped as normal. Players who are traded or dropped will no longer hold their Taxi Squad keeper values, instead resorting to standard keeper values and standard keeper requirements. (NEW for 2022-2023)
  • Players who are called up to their rosters are eligible to be kept in the following season (Year 1) according to the following keeper cost schedule:
Round 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Keeper Amount $25 $25 $23 $23 $21 $21 $19 $19 $17 $17 $15 $15
Round 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Keeper Amount $10 $10 $10 $10 $10 $10 $10 $10 $10 $10 $10 $10
Round 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Keeper Amount $5 $5 $5 $5 $5 $5 $5 $5 $5 $5 $5 $5
  • The player can be kept by the manager in Year 2 at an increased cost of 20% (above the Year 1 value). The player will not count against the manager’s protected players (6 or fewer for returning managers), nor will the player be included in the manager’s keeper player quota (4 or fewer for returning managers).
  • The player can be kept by the manager in Year 3 at an increased cost of 25% (above the Year 2 value). The player will not count against the manager’s protected players (6 or fewer for returning managers), nor will the player be included in the manager’s keeper player quota (4 or fewer for returning managers).
  • Beginning in Year 4, the player may be kept according to the general keeper policies. The player will count against the manager’s protected players (6 or fewer for returning managers), and the player will be included in the manager’s keeper player quota (4 or fewer for returning managers).
Round 1 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
1 $25 $30 $38
2 $25 $30 $38
3 $23 $28 $35
4 $23 $28 $35
5 $21 $25 $32
6 $21 $25 $32
7 $19 $23 $29
8 $19 $23 $29
9 $17 $20 $26
10 $17 $20 $26
11 $15 $18 $23
12 $15 $18 $23
Round 2 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
1 $10 $12 $15
2 $10 $12 $15
3 $10 $12 $15
4 $10 $12 $15
5 $10 $12 $15
6 $10 $12 $15
7 $10 $12 $15
8 $10 $12 $15
9 $10 $12 $15
10 $10 $12 $15
11 $10 $12 $15
12 $10 $12 $15
Round 3 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
1 $5 $6 $8
2 $5 $6 $8
3 $5 $6 $8
4 $5 $6 $8
5 $5 $6 $8
6 $5 $6 $8
7 $5 $6 $8
8 $5 $6 $8
9 $5 $6 $8
10 $5 $6 $8
11 $5 $6 $8
12 $5 $6 $8

The Veteran Draft

The draft is arguably the most important part of the season. Do your homework! Start with a good draft and it’s likely that you’ll be in good shape for the season. The player categories from which you will be drafting and the suggested number of players you will draft in each category are as follows:

Player Groups and Draft Numbers

Player Group                              Draft
Quarterbacks 2-3
Running Backs 4-6
Wide Receivers 4-6
Tight Ends 1-3
Defenses 1-2

Draft Format

The draft format is a live salary cap format. In salary cap drafts, teams are given a budget ($250) for acquiring players. They can exhaust this budget in any way they choose. Teams can bid on and draft any player within their remaining budget. The two highest ranked players could be drafted by the same team—which would almost never occur in a standard draft.

During the draft players’ teams take turns nominating in a circular order (e.g. 1-12, 1-12, 1-12, etc.). A player draft begins once a nominating team places an opening bid on a selected player. Team managers may bid whatever amount they feel a particular player is worth. When a single high bid remains the player is awarded to the winning team and the bid amount is deducted from the team manager’s funds. This process repeats until every team’s roster is completely filled.

Teams have thirty (30) seconds to nominate a player. If no player is selected within the time limit, the system will automatically nominate the first player in their nomination queue. If a team does not have any players in their queue the player with the highest pre-rank value order balancing a player’s roster will be nominated.

When a player is nominated the default opening bid is $1 (unless otherwise indicated by the manager). This amount can be increased by the nominating manager before submitting.

Once a player is nominated, the bidding begins. The nominated player’s information and statistics are displayed once they are nominated. The draft clock will count down from ten (10) seconds. Any bids made will reset the clock to 10 seconds. The player is awarded to the manager with the highest bid when the draft clock counts down to zero.

During a salary cap draft managers can automatically bid $1 more than the current high or manually enter a dollar amount. Managers can bid up to a dollar amount which allows them at least $1 for any remaining roster slots.

Any remaining money from the draft will be added to managers’ Free Agent Budgets (FAB) for the season (see below for FAB description).

Draft Date and Time

When the league is created, the league commissioner will select an arbitrary draft time and date. After the league is filled, the commissioner will poll the league for availability and pick a draft time suitable for the majority of the managers’ schedules.

Draft Order & “Keepers”

Draft order will be randomly generated by the Sleeper interface.

Returning team managers may keep up to four (4) “locked” players from the previous season (called a “Keeper”). Keeper players are eligible to be picked from any of the roster positions (QB, WR, RB, TE, and DEF) on a team’s final roster. Only a maximum of two (2) players can be kept at any one position (with the exception of QB, for which only one player may be kept). For a returning manager to “keep” a player, the Sleeper pre-draft value of the desired player will be deducted from the manager’s available draft budget prior to the draft. All new team managers will only be eligible to choose three keeper players from the roster of the team they “inherited”.

Note: The Sleeper pre-draft values for players change during the offseason and preseason. You may use the Sleeper mock drafts to explore the pre-draft values any time during the offseason. The value that will be deducted from a manager’s available draft budget is the lower of two values:

  • The pre-draft value of the player at the time that the keeper player is submitted, or
  • The pre-draft value of the player at the time that the keeper picks are confirmed by the commissioner (after the keeper submission period).

If any subsequent year will have more teams than the previous year, all new team managers will be able to choose keeper players in the following manner:

  • The eligible “pool” of keeper players will be all players who were not submitted to the commissioner as potential keeper players by one week after the Super Bowl of the NFL season that encompasses the fantasy season.
  • The commissioner will generate a random order of new managers beyond the number of managers in the previous year (i.e. if the previous year had 12 managers and the new year has 16, the commissioner will be responsible for “randomizing” the 4 extra teams).
  • Managers, taking turns in the randomized order, will choose 1 keeper player from the indicated “pool” of eligible players. Managers will repeat this process for choosing the second and third keeper players. The keeper cost for any given player will be the Sleeper pre-draft value of the desired player, which will be deducted from the manager’s available draft budget prior to the draft.

Keeper players are chosen in the following manner:

  1. By one week after the Super Bowl of the NFL season that encompasses the fantasy season, managers will choose up to six (6) players from their final roster for keeper player consideration. Managers will personally contact the league commissioner with their (up to) 6 projected keeper picks. There is no position maximum number for “protected” players.
  2. After joining the league for the subsequent season, managers will be able to choose their 4 (or fewer) keeper players from the previously submitted list of (up to) 6 projected keeper picks using the Sleeper interface. A maximum of two players per non-QB position (WR, RB, TE, and DEF) can be kept. A maximum of 1 QB may be kept. While players may be removed from the keeper list under changing circumstances, managers are not allowed to strategically drop/add players as a result of changing pre-draft values (this is incorporated into the keeper value determination).
  3. The league commissioner will confirm which 4 (or fewer) of the (up to) 6 submitted players will be designated as keeper players with each manager 3 days prior to the draft, at which time the manager may choose to proceed with keeping 1, 2, 3, or 4 of the players or dropping all of the players. Managers may not choose a new player at this time, as non-locked players are released into free agency one week after the Super Bowl. Players not chosen as keepers at this time will be released into free agency.

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F. Weekly Play

The draft will supply your team with seventeen (17) players and you’ll need to activate ten (10) players before the first week’s game. To activate a player, you must use the Sleeper interface (web browser, mobile device, and tablet).

Each playing week starts with the first game of the week and ends on Monday at midnight. The final game for the week is always the Monday night game. All games within the Tuesday morning to Monday night period are considered to be within the same week.

Matchup Pick ‘Em

Each week, managers will be able to choose, through a survey sent weekly, which managers they think will win each of the weekly matchups. This matchup pick ‘em game will give one point for each correct prediction, one half-point for each tie, and zero points for each correct prediction. The manager with the highest W-L percentage at the end of the regular season (minimum of 11 weeks’ worth of games picked, 11 x 6 = 66 games) will win the “Master Prognosticator” award (prize will differ every year). If managers end with the same W-L percentages, the tiebreakers will go as follows:

  • Total number of wins
  • Total number of wins in Rivalry Week

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G. Transactions

Transactions may be made at any time during the week. However, if you have submitted your active lineup for the week, you may not substitute recently acquired players into that lineup. Any players involved in a Thursday or Saturday game will be “locked”; that is, you may not alter their roster status once their NFL team has begun play that week. Be sure to check the NFL schedule every week.

All teams will maintain the ability to add/drop free agents during postseason play but trading will be prohibited after NFL week 13.

Activating/Benching Players

Each week, you will decide which players to activate for the upcoming game. Once players’ games have begun, those players are “locked” for that week. The commissioner may not alter the starting lineup of managers once games have begun, as auto-subs in the Sleeper platform (and free agent players on game day) should account for any needed lineup changes to account for player availability issues.

If a manager does not set their auto sub preferences on their own, the commissioner may make adjustments to lineups only if the manager’s team is configured such that it disrupts the competitive balance of the league. This circumstance includes:

  • Deliberately not starting players to allow the opposing team to win
  • Starting injured, inactive, or suspended players
  • Starting players during their bye week

As a general rule, any player who is designated as “D” (doubtful), “O” (out), “IR” (injured reserve), “N/A” (not active), or “COVID-19” (positive COVID test) in the starting lineup after games begin will be replaced by the player on the manager’s bench with the highest projected point total for the given week that is eligible for that roster position.

Lineup Substitutions

In the Sleeper interface, “AutoSubs” is a league setting that allows team managers to designate substitute players for their starters. If a starter is inactive for their game, the designated substitute will automatically be placed in the starting lineup. This offers league members greater flexibility to manage player injuries in advance, rather than needing to be active right before game time.

Up to three (3) substitutions are allowed per week. The following conditions apply:

  • The designated sub must be on your active roster (i.e. must not be in an IR spot or on the Taxi Squad).
  • The designated sub’s position must be eligible for the starter’s roster position. For instance:
    • If your starter is in the “RB” slot, you can designate any bench player that would qualify for the “RB” slot.
    • If your starter is in a “Flex” slot, the sub’s position must qualify for the “Flex” slot.
  • You can swap out a starter’s sub as long as neither of their games have begun.

When you manage your line up through the Swap Player modal, there is an additional option at the bottom Set an AutoSub. Once you tap that, it will bring up eligible bench players that can be designated as the sub. Once a player has a designated sub, you will visually see it on your team and matchup views. You will also see your opponent’s subs if they have any assigned.

Managers may also choose to send the substitution plans to the commissioner for record-keeping and emergency management (if needed).

Adding/Dropping Players

Before the start of the season, all undrafted players will be placed on waivers, with those left unclaimed then being treated as free agents. When games begin for a player’s team, free agent players will be added to the waivers list, and managers will have to submit waiver requests to pick up a free agent. Weekly waivers are continuous, meaning that all unrostered players are on waivers at all times (except on Sundays, see below). Waiver claims are processed on fixed days of the week (every day from Wednesday-Saturday). When a player is dropped, he must remain on waivers for one (1) day before he can be claimed; that number of days is indicated by the Waiver Time setting. Waivers are not processed on Mondays for Monday night players; therefore, managers should make contingency plans for Monday players before Monday.

All players on waivers will become free agents every Sunday of every week to allow managers to make roster moves to compensate for late injury scratches, etc. When games begin for a free agent, they will revert to waivers if they remain unclaimed. They will be ineligible for pickup until the next waiver period begins (the following Wednesday).

There will be hundreds of available free agents each week. These unsigned players are available to you at all times. However, if all slots on your roster are filled, you must drop players before you may add new ones. All added players will reside on your roster’s bench until you specifically make them active.

If you drop a player from your roster, he’s immediately placed on waivers. Managers who have dropped a player are not allowed to reclaim the player until after the waiver period expires. The waiver period for dropped players is 1 day. Free agent players who are picked up and dropped on Sundays immediately become free agents, as long as they are dropped before their designated game time. If they are dropped after their designated game time, they will be placed on waivers until Wednesday of the following week.

This league will use a Free Agents Budget (FAB) waivers system. In a FAB waivers system, each manager receives a dollar amount ($100 + any remaining Veteran Draft funds) to place blind bids on waived players. The manager with the highest bid at the end of the waiver period claims that player and that bid amount is deducted from the team’s budget. If multiple managers place an equal bid on a player, the tiebreaker is based on a continual rolling list. Waiver claims are processed in waiver priority order and each successful claim moves a manager to the end of the waiver priority list. FAB is not used to pick up free agent players on game day (every Sunday before kickoff). Free agents are acquired on a first-come, first-served basis.

Note: Throughout the season, there is no “Can’t Cut List.” Please be mindful though, that any behavior deemed to be deceitful or destructive to the league’s competitive balance (i.e. dropping high-scoring players, collusion, etc.) will result in immediate expulsion from the league after a league vote and no future invitations to the league.

Custom Can’t Cut List

To help maintain competitive balance entering the playoffs, beginning in Week 14, the league will institute a custom “Can’t Cut List.” This list consists of the top scorers on each team at the following positions:

1 QB, 3 WR, 2 RB, 1 TE

If a player on the list has been cut, the league commissioner reserves the right to reverse the transaction. Any time you want to cut a player on the list, you can send a message to the league commissioner stating why you want to cut them, and as long as it is valid, the transaction will be allowed. No explanation, no transaction.

Trades

Trades will be handled in the same manner as discussed in Adding/Dropping Players. If two franchise managers agree to a trade, the terms must be submitted to the league interface. Once a trade agreement has been reached, trading parties will receive players immediately (unless a player has already played during the week of the trade–in this case, the trade will go through at the beginning of the following week).

During the subsequent 24-hour period following the trade agreement, the commissioner will review trades. In the case that the commissioner is one of the trading parties, the final decision will be placed in the hands of the appointed co-commissioner. If the co-commissioner is also one of the trading partners, the final decision will be placed in the hands of the prior year’s champion. The further succession of responsibility falls to the prior year’s runner-up, third place winner, etc. Only clear cases of collusion will be flagged for the return of players to the previous team.

The trading deadline for the fantasy season is NFL week 13.

Protests

All team managers will have the ability to protest a recent trade for valid reasons. Managers in the league have the right to protest a pending trade by simply sending a note to the commissioner explaining why they are protesting the trade. Only in clear cases of collusion, the two team managers involved in the trade will be contacted by the league commissioner for an explanation of the trade and the league commissioner will make the final decision on whether or not to approve the trade. In the case that the commissioner is one of the trading parties, the final decision will be placed in the hands of the appointed co-commissioner. If the co-commissioner is also one of the trading partners, the final decision will be placed in the hands of the prior year’s champion. The further succession of responsibility falls to the prior year’s runner-up, third place winner, etc.

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H. Regular Season Play

Each team will play 14 regular-season head-to-head games. The schedule for the entire season will be released no later than a week before the start of the season.

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I. Playoffs

The fantasy playoffs will begin in the 15th week of the NFL’s regular season. The first playoff game will be a wildcard round. The semifinal round will be held on week 16. The championship will be held in the 17th week of the NFL season.

Making the Playoffs

The six top teams will advance to the playoffs. League standings are determined by head-to-head win-loss record.

Consolation Playoffs

The teams placed 7th -10th will be relegated to the consolation playoffs. Players in this playoff bracket will compete for the “Best of the Unfresh” trophy.

“Putrid” Playoffs

The teams placed 11th -12th will participate in a three-week “Putrid” playoff. The team with the lowest cumulative score in their starting lineup over this three-week period will be crowned the “Putrid” trophy winner.

**Exception: If any manager goes 0-14 in a season, they will be automatically given the “Putrid” award in that season. There will be no Putrid Playoff for that season.

Tie–Breakers

If, at the end of the season, two or more teams finish with the same overall record, the following system will be used to break the tie:

  1. Fantasy points scored.
  2. Fantasy points scored in Week 14.
  3. Fantasy points scored in Week 13.
  4. Fantasy points scored in Week 12.
  5. Fantasy points scored in Week 11.
  6. Fantasy points scored in Week 10.
  7. Fantasy points scored in Week 9.
  8. Fantasy points scored in Week 8.
  9. Fantasy points scored in Week 7.
  10. Fantasy points scored in Week 6.
  11. Fantasy points scored in Week 5.
  12. Fantasy points scored in Week 4.
  13. Fantasy points scored in Week 3.
  14. Fantasy points scored in Week 2.
  15. Fantasy points scored in Week 1.

Playoff Schedule

In the wildcard round of the playoffs, the #1 and #2 seeded teams will receive a bye week. The #3-seeded team will play the #6-seeded team and the #4-seeded team will play the #5-seeded team. The winners of these games will advance to the semifinal round to face the #1- and #2-seeded teams.

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J. Prizes

Payouts

The end-of-season payouts for the league are as follows:

Fantasy League Champion: $600

Fantasy League Runner-up: $250

Fantasy League Third Place: $105

Most Fantasy Points in the Season: $105

Most Fantasy Points in a Week (Weeks 1-3, 7-11): $10

Most During Points in Rivalry Week (Weeks 4-6, 12-14): $20

The total pot ($1260) is split as follows:

Amount Percent
Champion $600 48%
Runner-up $250 20%
Third Place $105 8%
Most Points (Season) $105 8%
Most Points (Weekly) $80 6%
Most Points (Rivalry Week) $120 10%
TOTAL $1260 100%

Trophies and Awards

Winners in the league will receive personalized trophies, supplied by the league commissioner. The prizes are as follows:

Fantasy League Champion

“Best of the Fresh” trophy

Fantasy League Runner-up

“Kinda Fresh” trophy

Fantasy League Third Place

“Not So Fresh” trophy

Fantasy League Consolation Bracket Winner (7th place)

“Best of the Unfresh” trophy

Fantasy League Last Place

“Putrid” trophy

Fantasy League Pick ‘Em Champ

“Master Prognosticator” award

(actual prize will differ by year)

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K. End of Season

Following the season, the commissioner will prepare the league for the following year. Any adjustments to the league size, scoring, or format must be subjected to a league-wide vote. See the Rules Changes section below for the voting procedure.

League Expulsion

The commissioner reserves the right to expel managers from the league for various periods of time for antagonistic behavior or inactivity. Any behavior deemed to be deceitful or destructive to the league’s competitive balance (i.e. dropping high-scoring players, collusion, etc.) will result in immediate expulsion from the league after a league vote and no future invitations to the league.

The “Putrid” award winner will be automatically exiled from the league for the period of one (1) year unless three conditions are met:

  • The “Putrid” award winner shall accept the “Putrid” trophy
  • The “Putrid” award winner shall provide a photo to the league of the “Putrid” trophy proudly displayed on a dresser, mantle, display case, etc.
  • The “Putrid” award winner shall provide the league with an apology letter (60 words minimum) on the league’s message board.

If the manager chooses not to comply with these conditions, the manager may apply for reinstatement in the following season.

If any manager wins the “Putrid” award two times in the span of five (5) seasons, the manager is automatically exiled from the league for the period of one (1) year. The manager may apply for reinstatement in the following season. The exception to this rule is if the acting commissioner or co-commissioner is the qualifying manager. In this case, the commissioner or co-commissioner must video an apology and punishment video, with the punishment to be selected by the league champion.

Rules Changes

Changes to the league rules will be proposed at the end of the season and the beginning of the following season. These are the only two times that changes to the league rules can be proposed. All proposed rule changes will be subjected to a league-wide vote at the time of proposal.

  • If a rule change does not drastically change the scoring, drafting, or strategy of the league a majority rule (7 teams in a 12-team league) is required for the proposed rule to be confirmed and added to the league constitution.
  • Otherwise, the rule change requires a 2/3 rule (9 teams in a 12-team league) to be confirmed and added to the league constitution. By definition, any proposed rule changes that will affect the rookie draft, veteran draft, offseason transactions, or keeper selections fall in this category.

Proposed rule changes that will affect league scoring, format, schedule, in-season transactions, or prizes will be enacted the following season if they are confirmed by majority rule or 2/3 rule (depending on the type of change).

Proposed rule changes that will affect the rookie draft, veteran draft, offseason transactions, or keeper selections will be enacted in the second season following the vote if they are confirmed by 2/3 rule. This is to provide time for managers to make suitable accommodations for strategy.

Commissioner Rules Changes

The commissioner reserves the right to make slight modifications to any existing rules to help maintain competitive balance in the league. The commissioner may not use this clause to create new rules or institute rule changes that have been voted down by league members.

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L. Offseason Transactions

Following the submission of the protected keepers, the only offseason transactions that may occur are trades.

Offseason Trades

Managers are allowed to negotiate a player transaction and/or an amount of draft money that would allow them to procure a protected player from another manager as a keeper player for the upcoming season. For this transaction to be finalized, three conditions must be met:

  • Both managers must agree on the price and both managers must submit a statement to the commissioner in writing confirming their acceptance of the trade terms.
  • The trade terms must be finalized prior to the keeper submission deadline for the upcoming season. Note: If the trade terms are accepted prior to the keeper submission deadline, but the commissioner review period exceeds the keeper submission deadline, the trade proposal is still valid.
  • The procured player is automatically added to the receiving manager’s roster, and the procured player counts against the manager’s keeper quota.

Note: If the manager procuring a keeper player via trade is a new manager, they automatically forfeit their first-round compensatory keeper pick (in the case of league expansion).

Example: Manager A has protected Player A at the conclusion of the 2014-2015 fantasy season. Manager B would like to add Player A as a keeper. Any time prior to the keeper submission deadline for the 2015-2016 fantasy season, Manager A and Manager B may negotiate a price (to be provided to Manager A in the form of players and/or draft money) to allow the addition of Player A to Manager B’s keeper list.

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M. League Reset

There will be a semi-reset of the league in the 20th season (2026-2027) by releasing all keepers (with specific exceptions outlined below) to the Veteran Auction Draft. Taxi Squad picks (if applicable) would remain tied to managers.

Explanation: We’ve been at this thing for a long time, and the dynasty aspect has been very enjoyable. But even the best dynasty leagues eventually do a reset to shake things up, and 20 years seems like a good time to do just that. Of course, we wouldn’t simply be doing the reset and calling it a day. This would be part of a bigger 20th-year celebration where we will plan a trip to the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton, OH, and do the first EF Live Veteran Auction Draft! The draft would be done offline but would be accessible by anyone, regardless of whether you make the trip to Canton.

Exceptions to the Reset: To help maintain the dynasty-like play of the league, managers may keep all players they procured through the Rookie Draft or players that were on their Taxi Squad, even after they have lost Rookie Draft or Taxi Squad pricing status. Any player that:

will be eligible to be kept under the standard Protected Players rules. Those players will not be released into the reset draft.

Any Taxi Squad players under Taxi Squad contracts or players still on the Taxi Squad are ineligible to be released into the reset draft.

Timing: The timing of the reset will be as follows:

  • All managers will have until the standard Protected Players deadline (one week after the Super Bowl of the NFL season that encompasses the fantasy season) to select up to six (6) players to be protected, as outlined by the “Exceptions to the Reset” guidelines above.
  • After all Protected Players are confirmed by the commissioner, all other unprotected players will be released into the draft pool.
  • The commissioner will provide a list of all reset draft-eligible players to the league before the first day of the NFL draft for that offseason.
  • The Taxi Squad Draft will take place on the normal timeline.
  • Selection of keepers from Protected Players will proceed on the normal timeline.

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