FantasySharks.com

Just to summarize the requirements of the league, and some of the basic things you need to know...

Dates you need to know:
Contract Extensions are due by the Super Bowl
Voting will be done by then too, if you want something to vote on not disclosed below please post by Jan 15 so there is plenty of time to discuss. We'll start voting Jan 15 - pm me your votes
Transition/Franchise/Renewal tags are due a week before the auction
Draft starts May 6
Auction is Sunday June 24@ 5 pm est

2012 page http://www33.myfantasyleague.com/2012/home/15852

Items to vote on 2012
*expanded roster to try and cut back on the quality of DB's and DL's on waivers (PASSED - 2)
*expand roster limit, objective - make DB's and DL's more difficult to find on waivers (vote DB and DL independetly - per position roster limit would expand to 4 - PASSED)
*Add a flex WR/TE spot (FAILED)
*Add DL flex starter (FAILED)
*Add DB flex starter (FAILED)
*Blind bids on trans tags (vote yes or no, then we will vote again if it passes on how specifically we will accomplish this) (FAILED)
*Add return yardage for int and fumble returns (same scoring as kick/punt return yardage) (FAILED)
*Reward pts for tfl's (vote yes or no, then we will vote 0.5 pts or 1 pt if it passes) (PASSED - 1 pt)
*Have the auction after the rookie draft (PASSED)
*increase early termination penalty (vote yes or no then we will vote on structure) (FAILED)
*add a designated starting spot for returner, only (FAILED)
*Change language for extensions - as is players are extended at the current rate unless there current rate is higher, then they're extended at ther current rate. Vote for removing this proivision (PASSED)
*Rookie wage scale (vote es or no, then we will vote on structure) (FAILED)
*Stop the yearly increase in the salary cap effective 2013 (PASSED - will drop to $150 and freeze effective 2014)

Items to vote on 2013
*New pre draft rules re roster limits, with the draft before the auction now the old setup won't work because expiring contracts subject to rookie renewal are still on the roster
*Scoring changes for IDP's - emphasize big play scoring
*maybe we could make it so that blind bid players can't be dropped the first week. Under that proposal, if you are wrong about Player A being out, you have to drop Player B and not the player you won at blind bid.
*clarify 5 year extension rules for players currently under contract
*New owner rules - Waivers are open until the Super Bowl, it closes at that time regardless of whether we have a new owner or not. If a new owner takes over a team after the deadline for contract extensions and the previous owner did not extend 2 players, the new owner can retroactively add contract extensions. [Note: If the previous owner extended 0, new owner can extend 2. Previous owner extended 1, new owner can extend 1. Previous owner extended 2, new owner cannot extend]. This is applicable up until the other extension deadline 10 days before the auction. Once an owner takes over for a new team he must exercise his contract extensions within a week.

Re waivers, I want admin to be simple. Not closing the waiver wire so early is simple. We usually have a new owner lined up in January so that's sufficient time. If they join later, oh well.


Note: need to update eligibility for 2012 transition tags

Players ineligible for transition tag
Darren Sproles
Matt Cassel
Heath Miller
Derrick Johnson
Elvis Dumervil
Lamar Woodley
Antoine Winfield
David Hawthorne
Fred Jackson
Karlos Dansby
Nick Barnett
Dqwell Jackson
Brian Urlacher
BenJarvus Green-Ellis
Aaron Hernandez
Santana Moss
Greg Olsen
AJ Hawk
Lance Moore
Kellen Winslow
Willis McGahee
Robert Meachem
Jonathan Vilma
Mike Sims Walker
EJ Henderson
Michael Huff
Kevin Burnett
Michael Bush
Charles Johnson
DeAngelo Williams
Stephen Tulloch
Brandon Lloyd
Jay Cutler
Reggie Bush
Stephen Jackson
Frank Gore
Felix Jones
Rashard Mendenhall
Peyton Hillis
Kevin Smith
Tim Hightower
Nate Washington
Josh Morgan
Danny Amendola
Golden Tate
Brent Celek
Lance Briggs
DJ Williams
Daryl Smith
Calais Campbell
Brett Ratliff
Brandon Flowers
Eric Weddle

Players ineligible for franchise tag
Antoine Winfield
Brian Urlacher
Lance Briggs
Cliff Avril
Michael Boley
London Fletcher
Vernon Davis
DeMeco Ryans
Dustin Keller

League By-Laws - updated 6/14

League Officers:

OarChambo - Co-Commish
CyGuy84 - Co-Commish

Member Teams:

The Proud

Brooklyn Larceny
Edinburgh Blackwatch
Melmac Katkillas
Pensacola Sorry Dogs

The Wrathful

Allegheny Archtops
Cleveland Steamers
Tulsa Tornadoes
Yarmouth Clippers

The Lustful

Carolina Git Sticks
Cuyohoga Crucibles
New Jersey Wiseguys
Sonoran Rabid Rhinos

Rosters:

There is a maximum of 34 players on the active roster, owners must also comply with the positional roster limits below:

3 QBs, 5 RBs, 7 WRs, 3 TEs, 3 Ks, 4 DEs, 4 DTs, 7 LBs, 4 Cbs, 4 Ss

There are also an additional:

7 Taxi Squad places – no positional restrictions.
6 IR – Maximum.

Contract Extensions:

There are 4 Kinds of player contract extension:

Rookie Renewal: The most commonly applied. The player will be retained with the franchise with a 50% increase of his previous years salaries. This can be applied to any rookie but cannot be used as an extension path AFTER the player has been in the league for 4 years. The date of their 1st year in the league is taken as the first year they appear on the 53 man roster pre-season cuts if they were UDFAs or the year in which they were drafted in the NFL draft.

You may have as many of these extensions as you wish, provided the criteria are met. There are only a couple of exceptions (See Rookie Draft).

There is no penalty for NOT renewing a player via rookie extension. They will just be cut for no penalty pre-F.A. Auction.

Franchise Tag: This is a 1yr tag with the salary being derived from the avg of the top 5 players in the MFL HoP league at that position.

You only have 1 franchise tag per off-season. This tag can only be used once on a player before he is made available in the free agent auction.

5yr Tag: As the name implies this is a 5yr tag. It derives its salary from the top 15 salaries in the MFL HoP league at that position. Once this contract expires the player is not eligible for another extension or one of the other tags - they are an unrestricted free agent.

You have 2 of these 5yr tags per off-season.

Tranistion Tag: This tag does not – unlike the other methods of player retention - guarantee your players will be retained. It only allows you the right to MATCH the winning bid in the Free Agent Auction.

You have 3 of these tags per off-season. This tag can only be used once on a player before he is made available in the free agent auction. If a player changes teams during the transition portion of the auction they are then available to have the transition tag (and, if previously used, the franchise tag) placed on them by their new owner.

If at some point during the life of a players franchise, transition, or 5 year tag they are cut they are then eligible for all of the above tags.

Taxi Squad (T.S.):

You have up to a maximum of 7 places for players in their first 2yrs in the NFL ONLY.

Any player that will be entering their 3rd year in the NFL needs to be promoted onto your Main Roster or Dismissed/ Cut before the FA auction.

The same stipulations apply to the 2yrs of eligibility as they do to the rookie renewal contracts e.g. If the player was a UDFA and went to play in Canada for 3yrs (for example), then his eligibilty with regards to his rookie eiligibilty would only be from when first appeared on a 53 man pre-season roster in the NFL.

Injured Reserve (I.R.)

The maximum players you may have on I.R. At any one time is 6.

Players on I.R. do count towards your salary cap, but they do not count towards your roster or positional limits and restrictions during the season.

IR eligible -out or doubtful on friday's official injury report -OR- declared out on game day, the penalty for having an ineligible player on IR when his game for the week starts - released back to the WW for next week's blind bids

Any players on I.R. during the off-season will count towards roster limits and must be either promoted/ dismissed or cut – like T.S. Players – prior to the deadlines before the auction


Rookie Draft:

There will be a 6rnd rookie draft during the off-season started at a time to be confirmed, but before the auction. It is a slow-draft and conducted via the league site and will be announced in good time in the league thread.

Rookies drafted will be allocated a contract salary and length dependent on the round they were drafted in:

1st Rnd draft picks will be slotted a salary of $2.0m p/yr for 3yrs.

2nd Rnd draft picks will be slotted a salary of $1.5m p/yr for 2yrs.
3rd Rnd draft picks will be slotted a salary of $1.0m p/yr for for 2 yrs.
4Th – 6th Rnd draft picks will be slotted a salary of $500,000 for 1 yr.

Free Agency Auction/ Contracts:

The auction will be held live, on-line using AIM. The date will be predetermined during the off-season and listed clearly in the league thread

• The maximum contract length that may be issued to any player succesfully bid on in the F.A. Auction is 5yrs.
• The minimum bid is $0.50, there is no maximum – save what you can best afford. All bids after the min. opening bid must be in whole $ increments.
• The winning bid will be equally distributed over the length of the contract (1-5yrs).

Salary Cap/ Cap Hits:

• 2011: $151.94
• 2012: $159.93
• 2013: $159.93 (Frozen)
• 2014: $150.00 (Reduced)
• 2015: $150.00

If your team adheres to the positional restrictions (see Roster section, earlier) this is the only other limiting factor for your team.

Any owner that releases a player who is still under contract will incur a 20% penalty based on that player’s contract per year for the duration of said player’s contract.

No owner may exceed the salary cap under any circumstances.

A cap penalty of $10 million for 3yrs will applied for exceeding the salary cap at any given time (excepting the week between F.A.Auction and final off-season declarations).

All games that are played with a team having a salary figure greater than the salary cap will be forfeited.

Waiver Wire (W.W.):

There is a “Blind-bid” system for the waiver wire.

All waiver requests will be processed at 12:01 am Thursday each week. All contracts will be one year in duration, the highest bidding franchise will receive said player. If two equal bids are placed for the same player the team who bid first will be rewarded said player.

Waived players are ineligible to be picked up until the following week's blind bid process

There is a short period of pre-season waivers. This period will begin Monday before week 1 games at 12:01 am est, this will be locked down at 11:59 pm est that Wednesday.

Off-season Calendar:

Assign 5yr tags
Superbowl

League Voting

Rookie Draft

1st Roster Cutdown – Releasing players into FA pool
F.A.Auction
Auction contract declarations

Pre-season Waivers
Season Starts – Wk1 Games

Starting Lineups:

Starting line-ups will consist of the following:

• 1 x QB
• 2 x RBs
• 3 x WRs
• 1 x TE
• 1 x PK
• 1 x PN
• 1 x DE
• 1 x DT
• 3 x LBs
• 1 x CB
• 1 x S

Franchise owners are responsible for submitting their weekly starting line-ups prior to kickoff of their individual players NFL games each week.

Players are locked in / out of the starting line-ups at kickoff of their games. The website host determines the exact time of each kickoff and will not allow changes to players in those games after that point.

If no lineup is reported, the previous week’s lineup for that franchise is carried over to the current week. If no lineup is reported for week 1 the owner’s default lineup will be utilized. By default lineup we mean the first QB selected by the owner will start, the first two RBs selected by the owner will start, and so on.

TRADES

Trades may be made between two owners on a nearly unrestricted basis.

However, at no time may a franchise exceed either:
• The player roster limits
• The allotted salary cap.
Trades may include: players, draft picks, salary cap cash, or any combination.

Trades will be allowed up to kick-off time of the first game of week 11. At the conclusion of the HoP season, trading will be reinstated to allow for off-season trading to occur.

Only trades that are deemed harmful to the overall integrity of the league will be rejected by the commissioners.

Trades involving cap cash

Both teams need to stay under the cap at ALL times
The TOTAL value of the traded players' salaries combined has to remain the same

Example: Player A [$14] was traded for player B [$8]. The total salary for both players was $22. The team trading for player A only has $2 in cap space so to make the deal valid player A's new contract was lessened to $10 while player B's was increased to $12, thus still totaling $22 while keeping both teams in compliance with the cap.

The contract length of each player is non-negotiable, it must stay the same as before the trade. If there is any doubt about a trade involving cap cash, please ask a league officer before trading.

Trade Appeals:

All trades (whether they’re accepted or vetoed) are eligible for appeal.

The appeal process will last two days; a team not providing a vote in a timely fashion will result in that team not wishing to overturn the trade decision.

It would take 7 votes by member team’s to overturn a decision regarding trades.

Schedule

The regular season includes weeks 1 through 13.

Each franchise will play the other teams in their division two times each, and all other teams once - except for one (this will be randomly chose by MFL).

Each team’s particular week-to-week schedule will be generated randomly prior to each season.

Play-Offs

The playoffs will include weeks 14, 15, and 16.

The three Division champions, along with three wildcard teams will enter the playoffs. The top two seeds will receive byes.

The #3 seed will play the #6 seed in the first round; the winner will play seed #2. The #4 seed will play the #5 seed in the first round; the winner will play the #1 seed. The winner’s of the #1 vs. #4/5 game and the #2 vs. the #3/6 game will meet for the championship game week 16.

Tie Breakers

During the regular season, ties are counted as ties.

However, for the purposes of determining the standings and ultimately the Division Champions and Wildcard teams that will progress to the playoffs, the following criteria (in order of priority) will be used

1. Overall Winning record
2. Total Points
3. Head-to-Head record
4. Divisional Winning record
5. Power Rank

In the case of a tie in a playoff game the following (in orrder of priority, again) will be used:

1. Highest scoring active player of each team.
2. Second highest scoring active player of each team (and so on)
3. League vote


RULE CHANGES

Rules can only be changed between the previous season’s championship game and one month before the deadline for cuts and tags. Any rule changes can be proposed at any time during this period. All rule change proposals will be reviewed by the co-commissioner’s [OarChambo and LundyLove]. All rule changes will be made and posted during this period. Any rule change is subject to appeal, these will be handled on a case-by-case basis.

Any rule changes that may have impacted decision making during the previous season will not be put in effect until after the next season. Some rule changes will be implemented for the upcoming season at the commish’s discretion.

This process has been changed from the league’s initial inception so the co-commish’s don’t hang themselves for having to take the time to run 900 different rule change proposals during the 08 offseason. We hope to be able to implement a standard process in future offseasons, but this one is simply not feasible; we trust you all understand.

DEAD TEAMS

If a team does not change their roster, access the league’s homepage or otherwise show any interest in their franchise or the league for a period of one week, the commissioner will make a concerted effort to contact the franchise owner. If no response and/or improved effort is received over the next week, the franchise in question will be considered a “Dead Team”.

Once considered “Dead”, the owner of that franchise will be locked out of the league indefinitely. The team’s roster and starting line-up will also be locked until such time as suitable replacement owner can be found.

The original owner will also forfeit all sand$ and / or actual dollars that were submitted as part of the league fee.

UNETHICAL PRACTICES

WARNING: Participating in any of the following practices may result in your dismissal from the HoP. If your actions are deemed unethical and detrimental to the league by the commissioners, a vote will then be taken by the other owners regarding your continued participation in the HoP. Owners will have a period of 2 days to cast their vote; at the end of that period majority rules.

If found "guilty", that franchise will be locked out of the league indefinitely. The team’s roster and starting line-up will also be locked until such time as suitable replacement owner can be found. The owner will also forfeit all sand$ and/or actual dollars that were submitted as part of the league fee.

Collusion: Agreement between two or more competitors that restrains competition and intends to deceive or otherwise defraud the league through unethical methods.

Willful destruction of ones own team: Includes dumping quality players via waivers or trades with no explainable rationale or gain; purposely starting hurt, benched, or bye week players while sitting other viable options; etc...

Any other activities deemed unethical and detrimental to the integrity of the league as a whole.

_________________
Follow me @mchamberlin32

chicken's on the deck!

other items to consider:

flip flopping the rookie draft and FA auction - having the rookie draft first will allow a slow draft to occur over any time from may to july. the FA auction can be knocked out closer to week 1 when most are likely to be available with the start of school for the kids/school for yourself/fantasy season. i especially like this idea coupled with blind bid transitions.

increasing the early termination penalty for cutting players before their contract expires - with the current penalty structure, there was a lot of "contract flushing" this season via trades. not saying i want it completely the other end of the spectrum, but the current structure doesn't feel balanced to me by any means. if the penalty to flush contracts increases, it will chop more into your available cap for the year thereby limiting your ability to pay for those eleventh hour FAs that always seem to pop up every year. seems to me like this could easily become yet another layer of "many ways to die, choose one" that makes this league so much fun.

that's all i got for now.

...and the answer on rice and calvin is "no"

Do we have a replacement owner for Colorado lined up yet?

_________________

Sigs by NJ.


2011 House of Purgatory Champion - #1 in points, #2 overall record

Hate idea #1, I like that we can take cheap fliers on potential free agent break outs in May but those prices are likely to sky rocket if we don't auction until August-ish. De-values off season homework and this league is year 'round!

Love idea #2, even as an owner that clearly took advantage of the current structure. Any concrete ideas?

_________________
Follow me @mchamberlin32

No, any ideas? Not being around much anymore I have no idea who would be a worthy add. I asked von but he's at his limit. Bowen must've only been interested in being a fill-in to end the season because no one has heard from him.

_________________
Follow me @mchamberlin32

in so let the trade talks begin

as for colorado i'll see if i can find anyone who may be a good fit for the league

_________________
DISCLAIMER

We're shopping

Matt Cassel
DeAngelo Williams
Santana Moss
Bradley Stewart
James Harrison
Pierre Thomas
Christopher Ivory
Doug Baldwin
Denarius Moore
Mikel LeShoure

Shoot me a PM!

Cheers,

POOI

_________________
Ready. Willing. Able.

I'm not trying to be pushy, I'm just curious as to when we can expect the update financial numbers (including expiring contracts and salary adjustments) to be available?

Hope all are well.

_________________
Ready. Willing. Able.

May/June

right off the top of my head, i'd think that a 40% penalty would be about right.

I think 40% sounds excessive, and would be opposed to doing anything that reduces the incentive for people to trade given the fact that at least half the league would choose castration with a grapefruit spoon over making a significant trade.

In all seriousness, the distortion in salary that people see as the result of the ability to dump salary is countered by the increase in the cost of free agents at auction. The three things that make this league so awesome (in m opinion) are:

1. The fact that the financial structure of the league provides significant incentives to trade, and rewards teams that do.

2. The fact that the landscape of the league can change in an instant because of #1. For example, L. McCoy and MJD can be traded in-season, and thus teams must be ever vigilant, the owners active at all times, anticipating change and making every move with an eye to the future.

3. It's complexity. The fact that part of what is required for success in this league is an ability to prognosticate, to anticipate paradigm shifts, and to identify and exploit market opportunities (often created by other owners' failure to anticipate/understand the realities of the the evolving economy) makes the league unlike any other.

I know I trade alot, but it's not just that I'm a trade junkie, it's because I realized that the best way to build a team, given the structure of the league, is to trade players, and in so doing acquire a relatively cheap team, thus allowing you the leverage to get the players you need at auction, and to make rapid in-season adjustments in anticipation of certain trends. Call me an addict, but this strategy has allowed Brooklyn to succeed (we won last year, and would have won this year if I hadn't effed up our lineup in the playoffs).

The fluidity of the rosters in House of Purgatory is precisely why the league rocks: there is always something to do, numbers to run, trends to evaluate, trades to make based on current realities. Consider that the reason Rob won this year is in large part that he made an in-season trade, acquiring M. Lynch. His outlook changed in an instant! Reduced to gameday, fantasy football is boring as $***, sure one can argue that it takes skill to choose the right lineup, but really what you have is something that takes minimal effort, and minimal thought.

The beauty of a free market economy (at least in theory) is that it is self adjusting, evolving, and addressing imbalances in ways that create new imbalances, and thus opportunities. Brooklyn has the team it has (Stafford, Forte, McCoy, Cruz, Jones, Tampa Mike, Willis, Cusing, etc) because we paid attention to the realities of the market, realized that those realities rewarded trading, and acted. To the extent that our, or anyone's "salary dumping" has created an imbalance, it is only because others have been reluctant to exploit the same opportunities.

I would ask people to think very seriously before implementing any measures that would discourage trading, because trading plays a large part in creating the roster fluidity that ensures every owner will be active. The structure of our league is such that it creates ever evolving challenges: two years ago paying an RB $40+ a year made sense, not any more, now the market is adjusting and with it strategy and player value. This is a good thing.

_________________
Ready. Willing. Able.

Draft order:
1.01 Carolina (traded to Yarmouth)
1.02 Yarmouth (traded back to Yarmouth))
1.03 Colorado (traded to Tulsa)
1.04 Edinburgh (traded to Carolina)
1.05 Cleveland
1.06 Wiseguys
1.07 Pensacola
1.08 Tulsa
1.09 Brooklyn (traded to Pensacola)
1.10 Cuyahoga
1.11 Melmac (traded to Tulsa)
1.12 Sonoran (traded to Cleveland)


2.01 Carolina
2.02 Yarmouth (traded to Edinburgh)
2.03 Colorado
2.04 Edinburgh (traded to Yarmouth)
2.05 Cleveland (traded to Sonoran)
2.06 Wiseguys
2.07 Pensacola
2.08 Tulsa
2.09 Brooklyn (traded to Sonoran)
2.10 Cuyahoga
2.11 Melmac
2.12 Sonoran (traded to Carolina)

Big players in the draft:
Tulsa: 1.03, Tulsa’s 1.08 and Melmac’s 1.11, Tulsa’s 2.08
Cleveland: 1.05, Sonoran’s 1.12
Yarmouth: 1.01, 1.02, 2.04
Carolina: 1.04, 2.01, Sonoran’s 2.12
Pensacola: Pensacola’s 1.07, Brooklyn’s 1.09, Pensacola’s 2.07

_________________
Champion of HoP in 2009 and 2012.

Interesting article: http://dynastyfootballwarehouse.com/statistical-analysis-and-fantasy-football/

My two cents regarding the salary dumping...

I think that the 20% cap hit should remain a possibility for players that you win at the auction. That way, you aren't punished excessively for your mistakes. However, I can see the point that there should be more of a penalty for salary dumping. I have an idea of how to implement this.

I think I might have been the first to use the salary dump, because when I first joined the league I realized that the best way to manage a team was to trade for players at reduced salaries. I stand by this, and I like the effect it has had in terms of the number of big ticket players being traded. In my other leagues, you field a good team and then you sit with the players you have-- there is no incentive to trade your studs unless you have a clear hole to fill. That bores me, and it is part of the reason I have reduced the amount of effort spent there.

I want this league to remain fun and different. It has so much complexity, having the ability to free up a lot of cap space while still fielding a competitive roster is important. I do not see the 20% cap hit as the problem, but I can see how a team with a lot of cap room could be in position to be a "blow off valve" for contracts and stand to benefit without any future liabilities. For example, converting a $10M/5 year contract into a $50M/1 year contract and cutting them allows only a "minor" $10M hit for a single year.

My proposal, if we are going to increase the cap hit at all, is to increase it only on 1 year contracts. For example, the $50M/1 year would cost $20M for that single year, whereas a $25/2 year would be a manageable $5M/2 year cap hit. This would force teams to limit their future spending in order to trade; they have to pay a 20% surcharge if they want the extra cap space in the future.

I vote against raising the cap hit, but I think that if it is done, this is an alternative I can support.





On a separate note, I will point out that the leagues finances are completely changed from when the league was first conceived.

Back then, the initial free agent auction set the prices of expensive players and gave a guideline for the auction. Now, all of those original contracts are expired and there are no FA's in their place due to good roster management and the extension tags. Extensions are extremely cheap this year, as low as $4.4 for QB and $8.8 for RB. That means that unless some RB's go for insane sums in the auction, the future prices will remain low; we have reached a new equilibrium point.

With that in mind, if people wanted to change to a reduced cap or a fixed cap, I understand. I don't care either way; my roster has plenty of cap space and a few FA's, so I anticipate spending most of my cap on the FA's either way. If the cap is reduced, the market price for my FA's will decrease accordingly.

The more complicated issue is the fixed cap. The cap has been increasing every year to allow for rookies, and this acts as inflation. So far, the expiring/cut/salary dumped contracts have been acting as a huge push for deflation and it has all balanced out nicely. I am fine leaving the cap as is, but we could look at fixing it and making GM's manage their cap to afford rookies.

Anyway, I wrote too much, hopefully you guys read it.

_________________
Champion of HoP in 2009 and 2012.

Interesting article: http://dynastyfootballwarehouse.com/statistical-analysis-and-fantasy-football/