TO ALL INTERESTED FANTASY OWNER PROSPECTS:
We will have an expansion for the 1998 season. any and all owners within
reasonable reach of the NY Metro area are welcome to join. All league
matters will be handled via e-mail except for the draft - which will be
held in NY. A live AOL ***session will be available to any owners who
want to participate but cannot attend. Please direct all responses via
Atlantic Fantasy Football League
Commissioner/Co-Founder: Christopher P. Rowe
Deputy Commissioner/Co-Founder: Gabriel I. Hidalgo
Rules Secretary/Co-Founder: Michael A. Cote
1997 Rules of Play
1. Entrance into the AFFL for the inaugural 1997 season will require:
A) A $40 entry fee to be submitted to the league Commissioner
prior to the commencement of the 1997 Draft (Saturday August 23, 1997).
Payment is preferred along with the return of league entry forms - which
are due to the Commissioner (by conventional mail or e-mail no later than
August 10, 1997).There will be no exceptions. Failure to pay on time or to
submit the league entry form will result in the owner forfeiting his
potential franchise position. If the franchise position has not been filled
and the owner still wishes to enter for the 1997 season on Draft Day, the
owner must arrange this with the Commissioner.
B) All participating owners shall be present for the Draft,
which will be held on August 23, 1997 in New York. If an owner cannot
attend the Draft he can appoint a proxy to represent his team (with
approval by the Commissioner). An online session could be arranged via
America Online for absent owners - but only if significant advance notice
is given. Owner-appointed proxies will be empowered to draft and arrange
trades for the benefit of the owner. If the owner wishes to deny the proxy
these rights, it must be announced before the draft begins. If an
uncertified proxy is sent without notice, the proxy will be forced to draft
in the #12 slot without protest from either that proxy or the owner who is
represented. If no proxy is provided for an absent owner, that owner can
submit a complete wish list (breakdown in writing of all players at each
position and their importance to the owner) to be overseen by the
Commissioner or Deputy who will act as proxy. No trades can be made on
behalf of that owner and, in the case of a question (or incomplete wish
list) the Commissioner or Deputy acting as proxy will choose the
highest-ranked player at the position of greatest need for that team.
C) An e-mail account or consistent access to someone else's
account are recommended for participation in this league. All publications
will be disseminated via e-mail. Conventional distribution is not
guaranteed to be timely or reliable. Owners are responsible for obtaining
all materials from the Commissioner. The Commissioner's office can fax or
mail league documents but there is no guarantee of unconventional receipt
of information by the Commissioner. All such inquiries shall be directed to
the Commissioner as needed. The reliance upon ***space is due to the
myriad of locales and schedules that our owners have which would make it
otherwise impossible for the free exchange of information. America Online
is available through the office of the Commissioner provided owner has
computer and modem). The software is free but the online service is $19.95
per month. Owners are welcome to investigate their own services, but using
another service will preclude the ability to upload and download formatted
documents easily.
2) The first-year entry fee is a one-time fee. In subsequent years,
entry fees will be altered according to the structure here referred to as
Seed Credit Allocations (SCA). SCA are applied as credit to the following
season's re-entry fee, determined by the team's performance in the
concluding season. The $40 figure in the inaugural entry fee is always the
base figure for the SCA, which is scaled according to the previous season's
playoff structure. The two teams who make the Atlantic Bowl earn winnings
far greater than their entry fee so they are excluded from the SCA
gradient. The remaining teams (8 in this structure) are ranked in order of
regular season finish and rewarded accordingly. The team with the best
overall regular season record without qualifying for the Atlantic Bowl is
awarded the highest amount. The team with the worst regular season record
is rewarded with the lowest sum. Broken down into dollar figures it would
be as such:
Seed Credit Seed Credit
#1 $20 #5 $12
#2 $18 #6 $10
#3 $16 #7 $6
#4 $14 #8 $5
This dollar figure is applied as a discount on that team's
re-entry fee for the following season. It is never to be directly paid off
to the recipient in any case. If a wildcard team makes the Atlantic Bowl,
the team will still be granted its SCA. Likewise, a divisional champion
cannot be granted an SCA. If the owner of any team opts to leave the
league, the franchise vacancy is sold for the total franchise value (SCA
graded cost).
The draft will continue in this fashion for all 22 rounds. Owners
have the right to configure their rosters any way they choose while
drafting, but must be able to field a starting lineup by the completion of
the final round of the draft. Failure to do so will result in the owner
forfeiting his final draft choice. Picking up non-drafted free agents and
making deals once the draft has ended is encouraged, but must occur in an
orderly fashion (all deals reported to the Commissioner in a reasonable
method) or the Commissioner will insist on formalizing this transaction period.
3. Each owner shall submit a valid starting lineup (see Rule#5) to
the Commissioner prior to the kickoff of the week's first game or noon
(EST) on Sunday (whichever comes first). There are no exceptions to this
rule. This is why e-mail is preferred. Time and date are written on the
lineup submission, which can be retrieved at the Commissioner's
convenience. Last-minute phone calls are no guarantee that your lineup will
arrive on time! Failure to submit a valid lineup on time will result in the
Commissioner submitting that team's previous lineup without hesitation
(without having to notify the owner). If there is no previous lineup (first
game of the season), the Commissioner will record that week's game as an
automatic forfeit for that team. If the owner submits an invalid lineup on
time, the Commissioner can comprise as close to a standard lineup as
possible and pin that lineup against the complete one of the opponent. If
neither owner in a given game has submitted a valid lineup, the
Commissioner will record the game as a dual forfeiture and 0-0 tie.
Forfeits can be appealed to the Commissioner if contrary evidence can be
provided in the owner's defense.
Starting lineups can be submitted in either of two configurations.
Any deviation from these prescribed formats will result in the Commissioner
conforming the submitted lineup to the valid offensive style submitted most
recently. The lineup submissions can be:
Pro Set: QB (1), RB (2), WR (3), TE (1), PK (1), DST (1)
Run-N-Shoot: QB (1), RB (1), WR (4), *TE/FB (1), PK (1), DST (1)
* = in this offensive set, either a TE or FB may be inserted
4. Any player not drafted onto a fantasy team roster by the
conclusion of the draft will be considered a free agent. Should an owner
wish to obtain a free agent (except on Draft Day) he must inform the
Commissioner in writing on Tuesday of a given week as to which free
agent(s) are desired as well as the player(s) he will drop from his current
roster to provide room for the newly-acquired free agent(s). On Thursday of
that same week, The Commissioner will award free agents in reverse order of
the overall standings until all requests are granted or all requested free
agents are awarded to teams. If two teams want the same free agent but have
the same record, there is a tie- breaking format (see Rule #10). Subsequent
free agent claims submitted to the office of the Commissioner are applied
to the following week's free agent awarding. These players remain inactive
for that week's games and cannot be awarded to teams or placed on rosters
until all of the Tuesday submissions have been received. Owners may add the
requested players to their roster provided they have submitted any roster
moves required to complete the transaction (cutting other players,
completion of trades, etc.). If these related roster moves are not provided
to the office of Commissioner by kickoff of the Sunday games, the players
requested are automatically returned to the free agent pool and contingent
transactions will be reversed.
No owner shall exceed the 22-player active roster limit at any
time for any reason (unless this includes players officially placed on IR -
see Rule #12). The Commissioner has the right to demand immediate
reconciliation or to reverse the team's most recent transaction if this
should occur.
5. The Commissioner for the 1997 season will be Christopher P. Rowe.
It is the purpose of his office (he and his two officers) to set
and uphold the league rules in the best interest of all the league members.
Aside from interpreting and enforcing these rules, it is the Commissioner's
primary responsibility to prepare weekly results, trade reports, recent
free agent transactions and distribute these in a timely manner to all
league owners. It is the responsibility of each owner to obtain these and
any other league documents if they are not available by conventional methods
(e-mail unless otherwise specified) at the time of distribution.
Should the Commissioner fail at these tasks without legitimate reason (and
within reasonable circumstances), the remaining league owners (acting as a
collective body under the direction of the remaining league officers) may
take action in the form of a vote (excluding the Commissioner). If the vote
is inconclusive, the Deputy Commissioner has the right to
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