ALFL Rules

I. THE LEAGUE

1. The league shall consist of 14 teams divided into three divisions.
2. Teams shall play each other head-to-head for 14 weeks. Each team shall play opponents in its division at least twice.
3. The top team in each division shall qualify for the playoffs, as shall three wild-card teams with the next-best records, regardless of their division. The six playoff teams shall be seeded according to record. In the first round of the ALFL playoffs (Week 15 of the NFL regular season), the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds shall receive byes while No. 3 plays No. 6 and No. 4 plays No. 5. In the second round of the ALFL playoffs (Week 16 of the NFL regular season), the No. 1 seed shall play the lowest-seeded first-round playoff winner and No. 2 shall play the highest-seeded first-round playoff winner. The winners of those two games shall advance to the ALFL Super Bowl in Week 17 of the NFL regular season.
4. If teams end the regular season with the same record, the following tiebreakers shall be used:
   
   • Head-to-head record
   • Division record (if the teams are in the same division)
   • Total points
   • Lowest pick in the first round of the draft
5. In case three or more teams tie for a wild-card spot, we have adapted NFL tiebreakers:
   
   • Apply tiebreakers above to eliminate all but one team in each division
   • Head-to-head sweep (applicable only if one of the remaining teams has beaten all the others or lost to all the others)
   • Move on to other tiebreakers, which in our case are total points and then lowest pick in the first round of the draft

II. THE DRAFT

1. The draft will last 17 rounds. All offensive and defensive players will be available in the same draft. If possible, the draft will be held online at our MFL.com site, though we will use an email draft if we can’t find a date that works for everyone. For an online draft, it is each owner’s responsibility to make sure he can be present at that time and can log into the MyFantasyLeague.com website. If this might be a problem, please notify the commissioner.
2. Draft order will be randomly determined before the draft. We will use a serpentine order with third-round reversal, so the order will go 1-14 in the first round, 14-1 in the second and third rounds and then 1-14 in all subsequent even-numbered rounds and 14-1 in all subsequent odd-numbered rounds.
3. There is no position cap, allowing teams to draft as many players at each position as they wish. However, the following minimums must be observed: 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE, 1 flex player (RB, WR or TE), 1 DL, 1 LB, 1 DB, 1 K. There will be no official waiver period between the draft and Week 1 of the NFL regular season, so teams must be able to start a lineup based on drafted players.
4. All selections in the draft are final. Position eligibility will be determined by the commissioner, and any questions should be addressed before the draft begins in order to avoid potential problems. There will be no time limit between selections, but owners should be prepared well enough to choose without lengthy delays.

III. ROSTERS

1. Rosters shall include 17 players. Any trades or free-agent pickups must include subsequent roster adjustments to keep the roster at 17.
2. Each roster must include the following starters: 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE, 1 flex player (RB, WR or TE), 1 DL, 1 LB, 1 DB, 1 K.
3. Beyond being able to field a complete starting lineup, each owner may carry as many or as few players as he desires at any position after the draft is completed. If an owner starts a player whose team has a bye week, he forfeits that position for the week.

IV. TRADES

1. Trades may be made between two owners at any time during the season, until the trading deadline of 1 p.m. Eastern on the Sunday of Week 10.
2. Any players participating in Thursday or Saturday games must be traded before the kickoff of the first game that day.
3. All trades are subject to review by the commissioner. Any trade deemed ridiculous may be vetoed. Short-term trades to accommodate teams during bye weeks are strictly prohibited.
4. Teams eliminated from playoff contention or with seven or more losses may not make trades.

V. FREE AGENTS

1. Free agents are players not on any owner’s roster. They may be picked up any time after the first week of the ALFL regular season. The final deadline is 1 p.m. Eastern on the Sunday of Week 14, after which rosters are frozen. Free agents may not be picked up between the draft and the kickoff of the Week 1 games (see exception below).
2. Owners may pick up free agents via our MFL.com site. All owners have equal access to the free-agent pool until each week’s Wednesday 9 p.m. Eastern deadline.
3. After the first week of the ALFL regular season, free agents will be acquired in draft-type style, in reverse order of the draft. The team that picked 14th gets its first choice of free agent, then the team that picked 13th, and so on. The order of the draft will reverse each round, so the team that picked first in the regular draft will pick first in the free-agent draft in even-numbered rounds.
4. After the second week of the ALFL regular season, free agents will be acquired in draft-type style, in reverse order of the current ALFL standings. The order of the draft will not reverse each round. If two teams have the same record, the following tiebreaker method shall be used:
   
   • Fewest points scored
   • Lowest pick in first round of ALFL draft
5. After the Wednesday 9 p.m. Eastern deadline, free agents shall be available via our MFL.com site on a first-come, first-serve basis until the Sunday 1 p.m. Eastern kickoff. Any players participating in Thursday or Saturday games must be signed or dropped before the kickoff of the first game that day.
6. Free agents may start in ALFL games as soon as they are signed.
7. Teams may not trade free-agent draft picks to another team. However, teams are permitted to agree to prearranged deals for free-agent players, pending the player’s actual selection.
8. Free agents may be picked up during the ALFL playoffs by teams in the postseason, but not by those in the consolation bracket (see exception below). Playoff pickups will be held on Thursday mornings at 9 a.m. ET in order from highest-seeded playoff team to lowest-seeded (i.e., from No. 1 seed to No. 6 seed) in each round. During the first round of the playoffs, teams with byes will be allowed to make pickups. After the Thursday waivers, no other moves will be allowed except where necessary to field a complete lineup (as detailed below).
9. The goal is for all ALFL teams to be able to field a complete lineup for every game, and there will be times when they need to pick up a player outside of the periods described above to do so. Free agents may be picked up between the draft and the Sunday kickoff of Week 1 games, or after the Week 14 deadline, or after the Thursday morning playoff deadline, or by teams in the consolation bracket if a team is unable to field a complete starting lineup due to the unavailability of rostered players. To qualify as unavailable, a player must be listed as questionable, doubtful or out on the NFL’s official injury report; be suspended; or not appear on any NFL roster. A player whose team is off with a bye week does not qualify. To pick up a free agent under these circumstances, a team must cut one of its players to stay at the roster limit of 17. The free agent must be completely healthy (i.e., not on the injury report). All transactions under these circumstances shall be approved by and processed by the commissioner. Teams must email pickup requests, with contingencies and accompanying cuts, to the commissioner by 12 p.m. Eastern on Saturday, and those requests will be processed in reverse order of draft seeding (before Week 1) or the order of playoff seeding and then the order of consolation tournament seeding (after Week 14). After the Saturday deadline, teams may continue to fill lineup holes on a first-come, first-serve basis, but playoff teams always will take precedence over consolation tournament teams, even if the playoff team’s transaction request comes after the consolation team’s request. This precedence includes allowing a playoff team (even after the Saturday deadline) to take a player previously claimed by a consolation team. If an injured player is picked up in an attempt to exploit this rule, that transaction will be voided. If the free agent is not added to the starting lineup, the move will be reversed. The intent of this rule is to allow teams to field a complete lineup without taking advantage of a loophole. If a team needs a replacement for non-injury reasons, the commissioner has the discretion to allow it.
10. If there is late-breaking injury news shortly before or after the first games kick off on Sunday that prevents a team from fielding a complete lineup, it may pick up a free agent in a game that has not started by contacting the commissioner. This is true for the Monday injuries as well. If the commissioner determines that a team is trying to exploit this rule, the transaction will be voided.

VI. SCORING

1. The official statistics for the ALFL are currently provided by our MFL.com site. If someone disagrees with the statistics, the commissioner will attempt to verify the discrepancy by checking the official NFL stats and STATS, Inc. Any stats discrepancies or revisions must be resolved before kickoff of the next week’s games.
2. Offensive scoring is as follows:
   
   • Touchdown: 4 points
   • Two-Point Conversion: 2 points
   • Interception: minus 2 points
   • Fumble Lost To Opponent: minus 2 points
   • Field Goal: 2 points (up to 49 yards), 3 points (50 yards and longer)
   • Extra Point: 1 point
   • Quarterbacks: .02 points per yard of total offense
   • Backs and Receivers: .05 per yard of total offense
3. Defensive scoring is as follows:
   
   • Touchdown: 4 points
   • Safety: 2 points
   • Interception: 2 points
   • Sack: 2 points (1 point for half-sack)
   • Forced Fumble: 1 point
   • Fumble Recovery (From Opponent): 1 point
   • Tackle: .5 points per tackle (not counting assists)
   • Assisted Tackle: 1/3 point (.333 points) per assist
4. Note on assisted tackles now that we have switched to fractional scoring: Every three assists will equal 1.000 rather than .999 points. If rounding occurs and it affects the outcome of a game, the commissioner shall adjust the score manually.
5. Tackles and assists are as provided by MFL.com and apparently do not include special-teams plays.
6. Any kick or punt return for a touchdown will be credited as four points to an offensive or defensive player.
7. Offensive players do not receive credit for defensive statistics, and vice versa.
8. Points for each team’s 11 starters will be added together for the team’s total in that week’s game. As in regular football, the higher-scoring team wins.
9. A tie is a tie, except during the playoffs. If a tie occurs during the playoffs, the following tiebreaker method shall be used:
   
   • Total offensive yards
   • Head-to-head record during regular season
   • Total points during regular season
   • Lowest pick in first round of ALFL draft

VII. COST AND PRIZES

1. Each owner must pay a $175 in league dues. The fee is due at the start of the NFL regular season. Teams delinquent in paying the fee will not be allowed to make trades or free-agent pickups.
2. The commissioner will pay the same $175 in league dues. After payouts, this leaves roughly $200 in the league budget for league operating expenses (MFL.com, phone bills, time, etc.).
   
3. The highest-scoring team each regular-season week will receive a $25 Paydirt prize, which will be paid at the end of the season.
4. The winner of the weekly Survivor pool will receive a $150 prize, which will be paid at the end of the season. Each week, the lowest-scoring team will be eliminated until just one team is left standing after Week 13. In case of a tie, the following tiebreakers will be used:
   
   • Total offensive yards
   • Head-to-head record during regular season
   • Total points during regular season
   • Lowest pick in first round of ALFL draft
5. The following postseason teams will receive money:
   
   • ALFL Bowl winner: $600
   • ALFL Bowl loser: $300
   • Division winners: $150 each
   • Wild-card teams: $75 each
   • Playoff victory (excluding ALFL Bowl): $25 each
6. The eight teams that don’t qualify for the playoffs shall play in a consolation tournament that mirrors the three-week playoffs. The eight teams shall be seeded according to record (using tiebreakers if needed, as described in Section I above), with No. 1 playing No. 8, No. 2 playing No. 7, etc., in Week 15. The consolation tournament will be set up as a straight bracket with no reseeding (unlike the playoffs), with the winner claiming a $100 prize.

VIII. WEEKLY PLAY

1. Decisions on whether players are starting or sitting must be made by their scheduled kickoff. The preferred way to do this is via our MFL.com site. A message left or e-mail sent to the commissioner before the games begin shall be considered sufficient. If no lineup is called in, the previous week’s lineup will be used.
2. Owners must fill each position in the starting lineup. They may start players on byes, as long as they do so by the 1 p.m. Eastern kickoff on Sunday.
3. If owners do not put players in the starting lineup before the scheduled kickoff of their pre-Sunday games, those players will not be eligible, even if they were in the team’s lineup the previous week.
4. Updates featuring standings, scores, transactions and more will be posted online automatically at our MFL.com site.