OT Auction League Rules

Modified on July 9th, 2009

Article I:  Object

To assemble a lineup of 18 NFL players whose cumulative statistics during the regular season, compiled and measured by the methods describe in these rules, exceed those of all other teams in the league.

Article II:  Teams

There are 12 teams in a duly constituted OT Auction League composed of eligible pro football players.

Note: If you choose to play with fewer teams, be sure to make necessary adjustments so that you acquire approximately 80% of all available players at your auction draft.  You could have a six team league using NFL players.  Unless you reduce the available player pool proportionately to reflect a reduced number of teams, you'll never learn the appreciation of a good bench.

Article III:  Roster

A team's active roster consists of the following players:

At all times a team must consist of an 18 man roster.  The commissioner will void any combination of trades or player movements that will force a team above or under the 18 man roster(Unless it occurs in the offseason.)

Two QBs, three RBs, four WRs, one TE, one Kicker, one defense, and six bench positions.

Article IV: Auction Draft Day

Auction will occur as close as possible to the first week before opening day.  Each team must acquire 28 players at a total cost not to exceed 50 million dollars, with bid increments of 100k.  A team need not spend the maximum.  The league by general agreement determines the order in which teams may nominate players for acquisition.  (The team to finish last will throw out the first nominee, and we will work clockwise around the room from that point on.)  The team bidding firsts opens with a minimum salary bid of 100k for any eligible player, and the bidding proceeds around the room at minimum increments of 100k until only one bidder is left.  That teams acquire the player for that amount and announce the roster position the player will fill.  The process is repeated, with successive team owners introducing players to be bid on, until every team has a squad of 18 players, by requisite position.

Don't get hung up on the bidding order; it's irrelevant.  Do allow plenty of time; your first draft will take a long time.

Players eligible at more than one position may be shifted during the course of the draft.

No team may make a bid for a player it cannot afford.  For example a team with 300k left and two openings on its roster is limited to a maximum bid of 200k for one player.

No team may make a bid for a player who qualifies at a position that the team has already filled.  For example a team has six bench positions filled and needs a QB, and already has four WRs.  They can not bid on a WR.

Players who are NFL eligible, injury, retirement, suspension, etc . . . does not disqualify them as an eligible player.  The player only needs to meet the requirement of a NFL eligible player.

Note: Try to make the auction as close as possible to opening day, to avoid injuries and unforeseen cuts by NFL teams.

Article V: Position Eligible

A player is deemed eligible for a position if they are listed on NFL.COM or ESPN.COM as eligible for that position. 

Article VI: Fees

The Rotisserie league has a schedule of fees covering all player personnel moves.  No money passes directly from team to team.  All fees are payable into the prize pool and are subsequently distributed to the top four teams in the final standings.  Off season transaction fees will be rolled into the following season.

1. BASIC: The cumulative total of salaries paid for acquisition is 50 dollars.

2. TRANSACTIONS: 1 dollar per trade (1 dollar per player moved.)  For example Team A trades three players to Team B for two players.  Both teams owe five dollars for each player moved.  In a trade, the team that pays the fee is subject to negotiations.

3. CALL-UP FROM FREE AGENT POOL: 1 dollar for acquisition plus 10 cents for each 100k bid on a player.  A player picked up for 2.5 million dollars will cost that owner $3.50.

4. DROPPING PLAYERS: 1 dollar for each player dropped.

5. SALARY CAP OVERAGES:  One dollar per million over the 55 million dollar cap.  All team salaries will be rounded up to the nearest million.  These penalties will be assessed every week, and will be assessed the first week a team exceeds the salary cap.

Article VII:  Player Salaries

The salary of a player is determined by the time and means of his acquisition and does not change unless the player becomes a free agent or is signed to a guaranteed long-term contract.

NOTE: Because you can commit only 50 million for salaries on Auction Draft Day, and because you will keep some of your players from one season to the next, salaries are extremely important, particularly after the first season ends and winter trading begins.  Maintaining accurate, centralized player-personnel records of salary and contract status is the most important task of the League Secretary.

NOTE: The 50 million salary limit pertains to Auction Draft Day only.  After the auction draft day, free agent signing and acquisition of high prices players in trade may well drive up a team’s payroll.

Article VIII: Prize Money

All fees shall be promptly collected by the league Treasurer, who is empowered to subject owners to public humiliation and assess fines as need to ensure that payments are made to the League in a timely fashion.  The interest income from this investment can be used to defray the cost of gay trophy purchases, or stripper galas by a certain Houstonian.

The principle shall be divided among the first five teams in the final stands as follows:

1st place - 45%

2nd place - 25%

3rd place - 15%

4th place - 10%

5th place - 5%

Article IX: Standings

The following criteria are used to determine team performance:

0.7 pts for 25 yards passing

1 pt for 10 yards rushing

1.1 pts for 10 yards receiving

4 pts for passing TD

5 pts for rushing TD

6 pts for receiving TD

2 pts for two point conversions

-2 for fumble (lost offensive)

-2 for interception (lost offensive)

Kicker:

1pt for PAT

3 pts for 0-39yrd FG

4 pts for 40-49yrd FG

5 pts for 50+ yrd FG

-1 for missing FG under 40 yards

-1 for missing PAT

Defense/Special Teams:

Sack= 1pt

Fumble recovery= 2pts

Interception = 2 pts

Block punt/FG/PAT = 2 pts

Safety = 2 pts

Score=6pts

Shutout= 12 pts.

Under 7= 9 pts

7-13pts = 6 pts

14-20pts= 3 pts

21-28pts=0 pts

29-35pts= - 3 pts

36+ = -6 pts

Special Teams TD: 6 pts

Article X: Stats

The scoring site of choice will determine the weekly player-performance that season.  All disputes should be handled via the commissioner who will contact the site for any scoring problems.

Ties will be resolved via who has the worst record, if the teams have the same record it will go to a total points scored system.

Performance stats of players are only recorded for active players.  The burden of activation is put on the owner and they will be chided and laughed at the following auction if they bench a stud player.

Article XI: Trades

From the completion of the auction draft until two weeks before the playoffs, Auction League teams are free to make trades of any kind without limit, except as stipulated below, so long as the active rosters of both teams involved in a trade reflect the required position distribution upon completion of the transaction.  No trades are permitted after the trade deadline though the end of the season.  Trades made from the day after the season ends until the rosters are frozen a week before the auction draft are not bound by the position distribution requirement.

NOTE: This means that if Team A wants to swap Drew Bledsoe to Team B for Fred Taylor anytime between Auction Draft Day and the trade deadline, both teams will need to make sure they have the minimum requirement of starting QBs and RBs.  This is to prevent player dumping in some form. 

Trades do not affect the salaries or contract status of players.

Each trade is subject to a 1 dollar transaction fee.  The fee is applied to the number of players involved in the trade.

Cash may not be exchanged for trades; this is an honor rule, but is prohibited by the league.  Transaction fees involved in the trade may be negotiated by both teams and must be made clear to the commissioner and treasurer.

Trades may not have stipulations of players to be named later, future considerations, or trading players back as a loaner.  This again is an honor rule, but if we do find out about this type of activity the two teams will be fined a minimum of 50 dollars and be stripped of any winnings they may have received from the previous season.    All trades are final after they are announced by one owner and then confirmed by the other owner.

ANTI DUMPING: Player dumping will NOT be allowed for players designated asterisked players. An asterisked player is any player that earns over 5 million dollars, or if they are in the top 10 scoring for their position. At the start of the season we will be using last year's stats for the first 2 weeks. These players can NOT be dropped to free agency under ANY circumstance outside of contract completion. They can be benched, or traded, but never dropped.  NOTE: This rule may evolve in the future as needed.  Only the top 5 kickers count as asterisk players.  Free agent players only count as an asterisk player if they are in the top 10 at their position(top 5 for kickers)

INJURY RESERVE CLAUSE: Any player that receives a season ending injury may be put on reserve, this includes asterisk players.  Teams are limited to one IR spot at a time.  Half of their salary will still count against the team’s cap number(rounded up to the closest 100k), and league penalties will be calculated for extended players.  Any available roster positions must be filled through free agency and/or trades.  The reserved player will not be eligible for the rest of the season.

ROOKIE PICK TRADE CLAUSE: Owners may only trade the following year's pick.  Future picks after the next rookie draft are not eligible for trading.

Players may not be traded back to their original team within the four weeks of their original trade.  This again is to prevent "player loaning."

UNBALANCED TRADE CLAUSE: Teams may have only one unbalanced trade at a time with any other team.  Whenever an asterisk player is moved, and an even amount of asterisk players are not returned it is deemed an unbalanced trade.  Over a season teams may be one asterisk player unbalanced with any other team, and can be rebalanced via a trade as the season progresses.

A team may have one unbalanced trades with multiple teams, but not multiple unbalanced trades with one team.

Article XI: Signing Free Agents

Active Pro Eligible players not on any Auction League team's roster at the conclusion of the auction draft become free agents.  Players that do not meet the NFL's requirements do not qualify for the league.  Any player that becomes eligible in the middle of the season due to NFL rule changes will not be eligible too, they will become eligible the following season.  For example changing the age requirement of players, etc . . .

The time period for Free Agent pickups is from the end of the auction until the start of week 13.  After week 11 games have been played all rosters are frozen and can not be modified for any reason.  The trading period will be frozen at this time too.

Each team shall, for the purpose of acquiring free agents during the course of the season, be given a supplementary budget of 20 million dollars.

The minimum bid shall be 500k; the maximum shall be the amount remaining in a team's available supplementary budget.

The salary of the free agent signed in this manner is his acquisition price.  His contract status is a one year contract only.  He may not have his contract extended after that year and will become available for the auction the following year.

In addition to the player's acquisition price, a team signing a free agent must pay the $1 fee plus 10 cents for every 100k bid.

Free agent blind bids must be submitted before 7 PM EST on every Weds. (this may change depending on the league manager.) How bids are submitted will be determined each year.  A minimum of 500k must be bid, and players must be dropped if the free agent pick up puts you over the 18 player roster limit.  In the event of ties, teams with the worst record will be rewarded the player.  If the teams have the same record, most total points scored will determine the tie break, followed by least total points allowed if the tie continues.

Article XII: Waivers

Under certain conditions, an Auction League player may be waived.

Player dumping will NOT be allowed for players designated asterisked players. An asterisked player is any player that earns over 5 million dollars, or if they are in the top 10 scoring for their position. At the start of the season we will be using last year's stats for the first 2 weeks. These players can NOT be dropped to free agency under ANY circumstance outside of contract completion.(note: Injury Clause) They can be benched, or traded, but never dropped.

When a player is dropped half of their salary will be deducted from the team’s payroll, this will be rounded down the closest 100k.

Article XIII: The Guaranteed Long-Term Contracts

Players drafted on auction day are drafted with a three year contract with the third year being an option year.  Owners have the option to release the player the following year with no cap penalties, or keep the player for the duration of their contract.  Teams that drop protected players before their contract expires will receive cap penalties.

Extended players dropped (DROPPED, not traded) before their contract expires will cost franchise a cap hit of 20% of the contracts TOTAL WORTH remaining. (i.e. 20% of the summation of all escalated years), rounded up to the nearest 100k.  This will be against the 55 million luxury cap, not the 50 million teams draft with.  The cap hit will remain in effect for the duration of the original salary.

Players will keep their auction salary for the duration of their contract.  In the third year owners have the option of extending a player at the cost of two million per year of the extension.

Examples:

Example 1:

Team A drafts Quincy Morgan for 500k and protect him for two  years without extending his contract.

Morgan’s salary.

Year 1: 500k

Year 2: 500k

Year 3: 500k

Year 4: Available for auction.

Example 2:

Team A drafts Quincy Morgan for 500k and releases him after the first year.

Morgan’s salary

Year 1: 500k

Year 2: Available for auction

Example 3:

Team A drafts Quincy Morgan for 500k and protects him for two  years, and signs him to a two year extension.

Morgan’s salary

Year 1: 500k

Year 2: 500k

Year 3: 4.5 million

Year 4: 4.5 million

Year 5: 4.5 million

Year 6: Available for auction

Players can only have their contracts extended once after auction.

Article XIV: Roster Protection

Teams are allowed to protect up to four players and one rookie player each year.  If a team acquires an extra rookie pick(s), they may only protect a maximum of five players with at least one of the players being a rookie.  For example if a team happens to have three rookie picks, they can only protect two players from their original roster if they wish to protect all three of the rookies.

Roster protection will be submitted a week before the auction date and no later.  Any team that submits their roster after that date or fails to submit a roster will have their four highest contracts automatically protected and the rest released.  If the team has no contract players all of their players will be released to the auction draft, this includes rookies.  The only time this rule may be bent is in the case of a new owner taking over a team.

Article XV: Governance

At this time Josh B is the league commissioner.  The commissioners roll is to collect fees, assess fees, and interpret the rules in their strictest form.  Issues that are not covered in the rules will be ignored and handled in the rules the following season.  The only time the commissioner may step in and make a ruling is if it is in the best interest of the league(ie ruining the league for the future) and the majority of the owners agree.

Article XVI: The In-Season Salary Cap.

There is no salary cap, but there is a luxury cap.  The luxury cap is set at 55 million dollars.

Salary Cap overages will be fairly severe. Any team going over that year’s salary cap will be assessed a penalty of one dollar PER million over the cap, and this penalty will be reassessed every week. Again, this allows some teams to stack their team for a run to the championship, but forces them to add significant dollars to the prize pool for the other placing franchises. This will be rounded up to the nearest MILLION, so if your cap number is 55.1 million, you will be assessed a tax for 56 million.

The salary cap overages will be fined the first week a team goes over the luxury cap, and will be applied again in two weeks.  If a team manages to get below the cap, they will avoid the salary cap overages.  However, if that team goes over the cap again they will be immediately be fined again the following week.

Half the salary of dropped players will be applied to the team’s current total salary.

For example . . .

Team A’s total salary is 53 million.  They drop two million dollar player.  Their final total salary will be 52 million dollars.

53 million – 2 million dollars(Player) + 1 million(1/2 the dropper players salary) = 52 million

Article XVII: Rookie Draft

Three weeks before the auction draft an informal rookie draft will be performed.  Most likely this will take place via email and may take a couple days to complete.

When picking up a rookie a team does not have to drop a player, so they are allowed to go over the 18 player limit at this point. 

Only players who were drafted in the NFL draft that year will be eligible for the rookie draft.

Draft order will be determined by team’s placement.  The league winner will get last place, etc . . .

The picks seven through twelve will be determined by playoff finishes, with regular season record breaking ties, followed by most point total, followed by least allowed.

Picks four through six will be determined by regular season finishes, with regular season record breaking ties, followed by most point total, followed by least points given up.

Picks one through three will be determined by regular season finishes with ties broken as above.  However, this will be a lottery.  The last place team will have a 50% chance of getting the 1st pick, 11th place team 30%, and 10th place gets a 20% chance.

Picking for the lottery will occur after the league is finished, and will be held by an impartial owner or third party.  Colored tees or such can be put in a bag to determine the draft order.

Rookie salaries are set based on their draft position. 

Rookies can be released before the auction and a team may opt to skip their rookie pick all together.  If a team skips their rookie pick, the team that follows does not move up in their pick.  They will draft at their own pick.

Rookie salaries:

1st - 3.7

2nd - 3.2

3rd - 2.7

4th - 2.2

5th - 1.8

6th - 1.5

7th - 1.2

8th - 1.0

9th - 0.8

10th - 0.6

11th - 0.4

12th - 0.2

Article XVIII: Playoff Seeding

The top team of each division will make the playoff with the top two teams getting byes in the first round.  Tie breakers to determine the top two teams will be determined by record, head to head record, followed by most points, and then least amount of points allowed..  The next three teams will be based off of record with head to head record, total points scored, and then least total points allowed being the tie breaker.   Order of finish will be determined by record, head to head record, followed by most points scored, and then least points allowed.

The top two division winning teams will have a bye week the first week.  The 3rd place team will play the 6th place team, the 4th place team will play the 5th place team.  The two losing teams will finish 5th and 6th, with the regular season determining who had the higher placement.

Based on regular season numbers, reseeding will follow in the 2nd week.  The 1st place team will play the 4th place team, and the 2nd place team will play the 3rd place team.  The two losing teams will be given 3rd and 4th place, with the regular season determining who had the higher placement.

The winner of the final week will be given 1st place, while the loser will be given 2nd place.

Article XIX:  Schedule

The regular season will be 13 weeks long.  Division teams will play each other twice.  Out of division play will be against every team, but one.  For this reason the schedule is predetermined.  Teams will draw lots to see which schedule they receive, so that the process is fair.  Week 11 will be a double header with one division and out of division game.

Article XX: Restricted Free Agency

Rookie salaries will remain the same and will not change since everyone will have a fair chance to obtain any rookie in their third year, and the original owners will have the opportunity to maturate their rookie at a below market value price.

In the offseason after the rookie draft owners will have a time period to submit blind bids on any eligible rookie entering the third year of their current contract. Bids will be submitted in 100k increments with the minimum bid being 2.5 million over the rookie's original draft salary.

The number of years of the contract will be determined by the size of the bid. The formula to calculate the years will be (((bid amount - original contract value) / 2.5 million) + 1). The number of years will be rounded down to a whole number.

The highest bid will determine the market value of the player. At this time the original owner has the option of matching the bid, refusing the bid, or extending the blind bid in increments of 2.5 million for additional years.

If the original owner matches the bid they will obtain the player at the blind bid contract.  If they refuse the contract the owner who submitted the blind bid will get the rights to that player at the blind bid contract.  Any restricted free agent receiving a new contract can not be released before the auction.

At the end of the new contract the player will be released to the free agent market. Any blind bid player will be treated like a player with an extended contract.

If no bid is submitted on a third year rookie the original owner will operate under option year rules with each year being 2.5 million for each year.

Bidding will be submitted in a similar fashion as free agent bidding.  In the event of a tie the team with the worst record last year, followed by least amount of points scored, and then least amount of point scored against will determine the tie breaker.  We may used ShaunTo or someone similar to handle those bids.