| 2023 NFFL RULES AND REGULATIONS Changes, if any, are in red font. Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes... |
| DIVISION ALIGNMENT Divisions are re-aligned annually based on the previous season's overall results: LARRY DIVISION = The defending Champ and the teams that finished 4th, 7th and 10th. MOE DIVISION = The Ned Bowl non-winner (2nd) and the teams that finished 5th, 8th and 11th. CURLY DIVISION = The teams that finished 3rd, 6th, 9th and 12th (hatboy!). This alignment will spread draft picks across divisions, minimizing the pairing up of premium QBs and RECs in the same division. |
| ROSTERS NFFL rosters consist of two NFL teams’ players at each of the following positions: Quarterbacks (QB) Receivers (REC) Running Backs (RB) Kickers (K) Defense/Special Teams (D/S) |
| DRAFT DAY Draft Day is scheduled at the off-season meeting, but is usually held on the Saturday one or two weeks before NFL opening day. All Franchise Fees are collected before each team's first pick of the draft. By paying the Franchise Fee you are agreeing to these Rules and Regs. (Especially the human centipede thing mentioned below. Even if the owners changed your team name at the OSM because you weren't there, and they thought it would be really funny...) The Draft has ten rounds. Selection order is based on the previous season's results/standings. The team with the worst record gets the #1 pick. The Ned Bowl non-winner gets #11, and the Ned Bowl Champion gets #12. The picking order is reversed for the even numbered rounds. Each owner is allotted five minutes to make his selection in rounds one through five. For rounds six through ten, owners are allotted three minutes to make their selections. If time expires before the owner has made his selection, he forfeits that draft pick. (He may then $ign a free agent after the draft concludes to fill his roster. If multiple owners lost picks, selection order is order of failed picks.) At the conclusion of the Draft, players not selected become free agents. Breaks will be taken as necessary, and their length should be specified. If an owner mistakenly drafts three of position (example: a third REC), upon discovery, the draft is stopped. The third one (REC) picked is stripped from that owner. The pick (example: 29th overall) that owner used to select it is forfeit. The owner of what was the next pick (30th overall) has the option of keeping his original pick, or taking what was wrongfully picked. If he passes, the next owner has the option. If the third (REC) is taken by an owner, the owner gives up what they had picked, and what they gave up is offered to the next owner, continuing down the line until you catch up with where the draft was. The three-picking owner will need to sign a free agent after the draft to complete his roster. No trades allowed between discovery and catching-up. (C-note: In May 2020, while auditing past league data, I discovered Smoot was not the first one to do this.) The reigning champion provides a hygenically-clean and dry hat, for the owner (henceforth referred to as "Hatboy") of the team that finished in last place the previous season, to wear throughout the draft. Specifically, from the time Hatboy goes on the clock with the very first draft pick, until Hatboy announces his final pick in the 10th round, including breaks. Other than the obvious humor value, the purpose of the hat is to give teams eliminated from the playoff hunt an incentive to keep playing their best. GAMES Each week your team goes head-to-head against another NFFL team, and scores points whenever your starters scores in their NFL games. The team that scores more points than his opponent wins the game. Line-ups consist of one starter at each position plus a wildcard. The wildcard is any single member of your bench you wish to add. Example: You have ARZ REC and PIT REC, and you want to add the PIT REC as your wildcard; the scorecard will show "REC: ARZ + PIT". The scores of both REC are combined for your REC total. If a regular season game ends in a tie, the game goes into overtime. The scoring by the kickers on the bench for both NFFL teams are compared. The team whose backup kicker scored the most points that week is awarded an additional three points and wins the game. * If both backup kickers scored the same, no points are added, and the game ends in a tie. * If one of the backup kickers is on a NFL bye week, no points are added, and the game ends in a tie. * If a team starts both kickers, the "second" one is compared to the other team's bench kicker. For example: if kickers started are PIT + ARZ, the ARZ kicker is used for overtime comparison. The Commissioner calculates the final scores for all games, so you are not required to calculate your game’s score. However, you should verify your score in case the Commissioner makes an error. (Which is getting more frequent as he ages, but is absolutely unintentional.) All scores become officially final the following Wednesday, 10:00pm PST. Owners must submit any roster changes for their upcoming game to the Commissioner before Wednesday, 10:00pm PST. If you don’t call in any roster changes by the deadline, you will start the same lineup you used the previous week, even if one or more of your starting players is on a bye that week. Owners may arrange with the Commish to set their lineups for games beyond the approaching week's game. SCORING Scoring is determined by witnessing the scoring plays, or viewing descriptions on websites. If there is a dispute, or strange play, official scoring is determined by the description of scoring plays in the NFL game summaries posted on www.nfl.com. The final authority being the NFL Gamebooks (pdf files) posted after a game's end. (I recall an occurrence when the description of a scoring play was altered on a Tuesday; after the gamebook originally posted on Sunday.) QB: Anyone on the NFL team you start throws a TD pass = 6 points. REC: Anyone on the NFL team you start catches a TD pass = 6 points. RB: Anyone on the NFL team you start runs for a TD = 6 points. K: Anyone on the NFL team you start kicks a FG = 3 points, or a PAT = 1 point. D/S: Safety or two-point conversion (run or pass) = 2 points. Kick or punt return for a TD = 6 points. Interception returned for a TD = 6 points. Any fumble or lateral advanced for a TD = 6 points. Blocked or onside kick resulting in TD = 6 points. C-NOTE: A fake FG or punt that results in a TD usually appears in the game summary as a rushing or passing TD. Offensive fumble recoveries have been described as runs, but have also been described as fumbles. REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE In 2021, the NFL extended its schedule to a 17-game regular season over 18 weeks, this allowed the NFFL to eliminate the need for a double-header. NFFL teams to play 14 regular season games during NFL weeks 1-14. Teams play each division rival twice, and all non-division teams once. The team that finishes at the top of the standings is the division titlist for the season, regardless of playoff results. Teams are plugged into the schedule format based on the previous season's results. The schedule format is available here. Due to pandemics and natural disasters, NFL games have been moved from their originally scheduled weekend to an alternate weekend. Adjustments to NFFL starting rosters may need to be made after the weekly deadline in order to ensure NFFL teams have a full starting roster. Any moved NFL game's scoring will count for the week the game is played. STANDINGS Teams are evaluated for their division and overall standings position based on: 1 - Best overall won-lost-tied percentage (A win beats two ties) 2 - Best head-to-head won-lost-tied percentage 3 - Best won-lost-tied percentage in division games (if teams are in the same division) 4 - Most points for, head-to-head games 5 - Most points for, division games (if teams are in the same division) 6 - Most overall points for 7 - Most overall net points 8 - Holy Coin Toss of Antioch (Procedure way below) Division Standings Tie-breaking Procedure: If there is a 3 or 4-way tie in a division, teams are compared cumulatively until the tie is broken. Then for the remaining tied teams, tie-breaking starts over from the top of the list until the tie is broken. Example A: All four teams in a division are 1-1, and the tie can be broken by #6 overall points for. The tie-winner is first in the standings, and now you start over at the top of the tie-breaker list to comparing the remaining three teams. Example B: All four teams in a division are 2-2. Two teams have a division record of 2-1, and the other two teams' division record is 1-2. Start back at the top of the list comparing the two 2-1 teams to break their tie. Next, start at the top of the list to break the three remaining teams' tie. Then start again at the top to break the tie of the remaining two teams. Overall Standings Tie-breaking Procedure: If more than two teams are tied, and any of them are in the same division, division ties are broken first, then the non-division ties are compared. Example C: Three teams are tied for the overall standings with records of 6-5. Two are from the Larry Division, and one from the Moe. The tie between the two Larrys is broken by the division standings, so the higher Larry is compared to the Moe. If the higher Larry wins that tie-breaker, the lower Larry is then compared to the Moe team. POST SEASON The playoffs consist of three rounds, and Division Champs are seeded 1-3, and three wildcards are seeded 4-6. SEMI ROUND (NFL week 15): Seed 3 hosts 6, seed 4 hosts 5, seeds 1 and 2 get a bye. FINAL FOUR (NFL week 16): Seed 1 hosts lower-seeded semi winner, seed 2 hosts the other. CHAMPIONSHIP aka THE NED BOWL (NFL week 17): Higher-ranked seed hosts the other Final Four winner For all post season games, in addition to the starting line-up, the coaches submit a tie-breaker order of their non-starters. In the event the teams are tied at the end of regulation time, the overtime players are compared against each other one at a time until a winner emerges, with all applied points being added to the regulation score. If the tie is unbroken at that point, the home team is awarded a field goal and declared the winner. CHAMPIONS The team that wins THE NED BOWL is new and reigning Champion of the NFFL and assumes possession of the Poor Ned Beatty Trophy (PNBT). The new Champion’s team name and year of their Championship shall be engraved on the PNBT at the official trophy shop of the NFFL: Raymond's Trophy and Awards, 300 Chester Ave (Chester and 3rd) Bakersfield CA, by the new champion owner no later than the following off-season meeting. The champion owner is responsible for the PNBT’s upkeep and security. THIS INCLUDES relinquishing the PNBT to the new champion in a timely manner. The PNBT must be handed off or postmarked no later than two weeks after the end of the Ned Bowl. In 2023, the Ned Bowl will end Sunday, December 31. If the PNBT is not postmarked or handed off to the new Champ by 11:59pm, Sunday, January 14, 2024 the fine is $10 with 10% interest compounded daily until the trophy is received. So Monday, Jan 15, you owe $10. Tuesday, Jan 16, 11:59pm you owe $11. Wednesday, Jan 17, 11:59pm you owe $12.10, and so on every day until the PNBT is received. The fines go in the OSM fund. All other awards for the season, as specified in the League Budget, are also distributed at THE NED BOWL. If you are unable to attend the Ned Bowl and collect your cash award in person; after you spend some time reflecting on your clearly jacked-up priorities, you have these options: (A) receive it electronically via VenMo, (B) receive a check via snail mail, (C) roll it over to your team's franchise fees for the next season, or (D) donate it to the OSM fund. If you select (D), the other owners will think you're so cool, they'll give you a special treat at the OSM. TRADES To make a trade, all owners involved in the trade must agree to whatever terms they wish to make. An owner involved in the trade must report the full terms of said trade to the Commissioner by Wednesday 10:00pm PST. If the Commissioner vetoes your trade, you can overturn the veto with a majority vote of all owners. You can not trade a player back to the owner you acquired him from. Trades can not involve future seasons. The trading deadline is the Wednesday deadline between weeks 6 & 7. FREE AGENTS At the end of the draft, all undrafted players become free agents. You can sign a free agent by waiving one of your players at that same position. Simply notify the Commissioner of your desired transaction. Roster changes are posted on the website after the Wednesday deadline. Free agents can be signed from the conclusion of the draft through the Wednesday deadline between NFL weeks 13&14 on a first-come, first-served basis. It costs $3 to sign a QB or REC, $2 for a RB or K, $1 for D/S. All free agent signing money must be paid to the Commissioner before time expires for the NFL Monday Night Football game occuring on the weekend the Ned Bowl is played. A penalty of 10% interest will be added daily to the total due until the balance is paid in full. For example: if $10 is owed, $1 is added at the end of the MNF game, and another $1 every day at 12:01am PST. Fees owed by teams that won playoff money (final four) are automatically deducted from their awards. All signing money and penalties are added to the Off-Season Meeting Expense Fund. WAIVERS Any players dropped from an NFFL team's roster are put on waivers. The waiver period begins on the Wednesday they are dropped, and ends the following Monday 9pm PST. If no one claims them, by the end of the waiver period, they become free agents. During the waiver period, if two or more owners want to claim the waived players, the team with the worse record gets to sign them. The method for determining worse record is to rank teams for the draft as though the season was over. (It is assumed the standings have been updated with the results of the games played during the waiver period.) THE COMMISH The Commissioner serves as enforcer of the NFFL Rules & Regulations, maintains the NFFL website, and settles disputes between owners. The Commissioner keeps a watchful eye on Fair Play and Sportsmanship. Any ruling by the Commissioner can be overturned by a majority vote of all owners. OFF-SEASON MEATING (aka The OSM) During the off-season, the league holds an owners-only administrative meeting to: 1. Define the Rules & Regulations for the upcoming season This is the only time changes can be made to the rules. After submitting a motion for change, another owner must second it, and then a majority of the owners present must vote in favor for a motion to pass. If there is a tie, the motion does not pass. 2. Select the date for Draft Day (location if possible) 3. Select a CZAR for the next OSM. The OSM Czar has complete authority and responsibility for planning, administrating and managing all aspects of the OSM. He is free too seek a consensus on issues, or make the decisions himself. The selection process for OSM Czar is conducted at the OSM for the following OSM. If there is more than one volunteer, those who would like to be the OSM Czar for the following year’s OSM each draw a pea from the pea pot (or cut cards, screw your neighbor... whatevs), and the lowest number drawn is the Czar. The OSM is traditionally scheduled to occur on one of the weekends between (and not conflicting with) April 3 - 25 and June 4 - 21. Weather, availability, Easter and Father's Day are usually taken into consideration. A camping trip is usually held in June, and a Vegas trip is usually held in April. LEAGUE BUDGET
THE HOLY COIN TOSS of ANTIOCH This, the official procedure for a NFFL coin toss is as follows: The Holy Coin of Antioch shall be used for the toss. The Holy Coin shall be flipped by the Commissioner, in the presence of all owners involved in the matter to be settled, over a smooth and flat surface. The Commissioner shalt designate and exhibit to all in attendance which side of Thine Holy Coin is heads, and which side is tails. The Commissioner shalt then designate which of the involved owners shalt call out on high his prediction of what side of the Holy Coin shalt land facing up. Then shalt the Commissioner count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being the third number be reached, then flippeth thou thy Holy Coin of Antioch into the air. The Coin shalt not be caught, but rather, shalt it be allowed to fall to the ground, and come to a complete stop lying flat on the smooth and flat surface. Immediately following the flipping of The Holy Coin by the Commissioner into the air, and taking place as The Holy Coin hath begun its Holy flight through the air, and the rotation of the Coin hath achieved the velocity of an unladen European swallow carrying a coconut, but before the Holy Coin doth toucheth the ground, shalt he who was designated, call out loud on high his prediction of heads or tails. The caller shalt not call both heads and tails, nor shalt he call out any words or sounds other than heads or tails. Once the Coin doth cometh to a complete stoppage of movement, including but not excluded to rolls or bounces, the Commissioner shalt view the Coin, and call out on high the name that represents the side of the Coin that is facing up, and the Commissioner shalt also then declare the winner of thine Holy Coin toss. The winner of the recently completed Holy Coin toss, if applicable, shalt then select his preference for the resolution of the disputed matter, and the Commissioner shalt take the appropriate action(s) to make it so. The loser, bearing no shame, shall be inspected and treated for puffer-bee infestation. |