Keeper League Rules
1.1. Owners will field teams consisting of NFL and professional football players. Players in college who have not declared for the NFL Draft are not eligible to be drafted or otherwise acquired,
1.2. Teams will consist of 37 active roster spots (with 6 bench), and 5 inactive spots consisting of 1 Practice Squad spot and 4 IR spots.
1.2.1. There will be 19 offensive positions: 3 QB, 4 RB, 4 WR, 2 TE, 3 WR/RB/TE Flex, and 3 K.
1.2.2. There will be 12 defensive positions: 3 DL, 3 LB, 3 DB, and 3 DL/LB/DB Flex.
1.2.3. There will be 6 active bench spots.
1.2.4. There will be 4 inactive IR spots to be used according to RTSports rules.
1.2.4.1. A player must be Questionable or worse on the injury report to use an IR spot. If a player is using an IR spot but his status has been upgraded to Probable or better, that player must be reactivated.
1.2.4.2. Suspended players are not eligible to use an IR spot.
1.2.5. Each team will have a maximum of 5 roster spots used by QBs; IR does not count towards the max.
1.2.6. Two Offensive positions shall be left unfilled every week, leaving a maximum of 17 Offensive starters.
1.3. One additional roster space is designated as a Practice Squad to be used according to RTSports rules.
1.3.1. The Practice Squad player is optional. The player must be a rookie, either selected in the rookie draft or signed during pre-season free agency, and must be identified before the beginning of the league year. The contract length for the player can be increased by one year to a maximum of five years. For year 1, the player’s salary will be set to 0. Beginning in year 2, the player’s salary will revert back to the original drafted slot salary.
1.3.2. The Practice Squad player cannot be used at any time during the season. They must remain on the bench, and cannot occupy an IR slot.
1.3.3. If a Practice Squad player is traded, the new owner has the option of removing the Practice Squad designation. The salary for that player would revert back to the original drafted salary, and the contract length would be reduced to four years if the maximum contract length of five years was originally chosen.
1.3.4. For teams that do not designate a Practice Squad player, the roster spot reserved for the Practice Squad player will revert to a regular bench spot for that season.
1.3.5. Owners have the option to move their Practice Squad player to the active roster during the season. As a result, that player's original salary will be re-applied, and their contract length will be reduced to 4 years if 5 years was originally chosen. The team must have sufficient salary cap space to accommodate that player's salary. After being activated, that player cannot be put back on the Practice Squad, and no player may take his place.
1.4. Each team must have a full 37 player active roster during each week of the season, or 38 for those teams that choose not to designate a Practice Squad player.
1.5. There will be 4 divisions of 3 teams each. The divisions will be realigned every other year, starting in 2012 (2014, 2016 and so on).
2.1. Every player on every team must be under contract before the start of the regular season. For 2023, this deadline is Sunday, September 10, at 1:00 PM (EDT).
2.2. Contracts are defined as a commitment of a specified portion of fictitious monetary units (henceforth referred to as units) to that player for each of a specified number of years.
2.2.1. When a player is acquired, he shall have a salary value associated with him. This value must be paid to the player in every season for the duration of his contract.
2.2.2. Signing Bonuses
2.2.2.1. Large Contracts: If a player’s salary value is greater than 30 units, then (20% salary X number of years remaining on contract) is deemed a signing bonus. If the player is subsequently released, the signing bonus continues to count against the salary cap for the year he is cut, even though the player is no longer on the roster. Commissioner controls must be used to apply the appropriate salary cap adjustment on RTSports. Make sure to place a minus (-) in the amount so that the available team salary cap is reduced. If the player is released after the trading deadline and their contract had remaining years, the signing bonus will continue to count through the next season, with the bonus amount being reduced by 20% during the next season. For example, if a player is released during week 13 with a salary of 50 units and a contract through 2026 (four years), the signing bonus will be 40 units in 2023 and 30 units in 2024.
2.2.2.2. Small-Short Contracts: If a player’s salary value is 30 units or less AND his remaining contract length is three years or less, there is no signing bonus associated with him, and if he is cut, none of his salary continues to count against the salary cap.
2.2.2.3. Small-Long Contracts: If a player's salary value is 30 units or less, but his remaining contract length is four years or more, he will have an associated signing bonus. The size of the signing bonus is calculated the same way as large contracts.
2.2.2.2.1. For players acquired during pre-season for exactly 30 units, a maximum of 3 of these players may be cut before the season begins.
2.2.2.3. Salaries must always be in whole units.
2.3. The minimum salary value for any player in one season is ten units.
2.4. There is no maximum salary value for a single player.
2.5. The maximum contract length for a single player is 5 years.
2.5.1. The maximum contract length for rookies, either selected in the rookie draft or signed during pre-season free agency, is 4 years, except for the Practice Squad player, who can be signed for up to 5 years.
2.5.2. The maximum contract length for veteran players signed during pre-season free agency is 5 years.
2.6. No restructuring of contracts is permitted.
3.1. There shall be a salary cap of 2500 units each season. Prior to the first game of the regular season, the total salary commitment for that season will apply to all players on the active roster.
3.2. The salary cap is in effect during each week of the regular season. Players occupying the IR spots will continue to count against the salary cap.
4.1. Managers may trade players at any time prior to the trade deadline specified yearly by the league commissioner. For 2023, this deadline is Week 11 (Friday, November 17).
4.1.1. “Future considerations” may be traded between managers. If the trading parties cannot mutually agree on the specifics of the future considerations, the league commissioner will act as arbitrator.
4.2. Off-season trades may occur up to one week before the start of the regular season.
4.3. Any trade that happens during the season after Friday night at midnight EDT will not take effect until the following week.
4.4. Trades of draft picks are permitted.
4.5. Trades may not involve draft picks that are more than two drafts into the future.
4.6. Trades of rights to eligible player Resign Discounts are not permitted. See section 6.2.4.
4.7. Trades may be challenged.
4.7.1. Any owner may challenge a proposed trade up to 24 hours after the trade is offered.
4.7.2. If 5 or more owners challenge a trade, the trade is nullified.
5.1. All undrafted or otherwise unowned eligible players are considered free agents.
5.2. Pre-Season Free Agent Bidding
5.2.1. Those players no longer under contract may be bid on through RTSports’ automated auction process (see Offseason Acquisitions section below).
5.2.2. If a team wins many players for exactly 30 units during pre-season free agency, that team may cut no more than 3 of those players before the season begins.
5.2.3. If a team cuts a player after the pre-season free agency player bid groups have been set or during free agency, the player cannot be signed again by that team until after free agency is over.
5.3. Mid-Season Free Agent Bidding
5.3.1. Free Agents are bid upon in an Automated Blind Bidding system on RTSports. Claims will be processed at 3 AM EDT Thursday morning. The bids are processed to give the player to the winning team at the amount bid (see Tiebreakers section for when two teams bid the same amount for a player). The maximum contract length for these players is 1 year.
5.3.2. If a player is cut during the season, that player is protected until the next week's waiver wire. If a player is cut after the pre-season free agency auctions and before the season begins, that player is protected until the first mid-season waiver wire.
5.3.3. If a team has been knocked out of the playoffs or the toilet bowl, they cannot make any further changes to their roster, including participating in mid-season free agent bidding.
5.4. Mid-Season Free-For-All Acquisition (FFA Acquisition)
5.4.1. Under FFA Acquisition, a manager may acquire any player at the minimum salary of 10 units without delay. The maximum contract length for these players is 1 year.
5.4.2. FFA Acquisition is in effect four hours after the Automated Bidding Process on Thursday morning.
5.5. Contracts given to players acquired during midseason, either through Free Agent Bidding of through FFA, are restricted to the remainder of that season.
6.1. Drafting Rookies
6.1.1. Each offseason, following the NFL Draft, the league will conduct a draft of all rookie players who were eligible for the NFL Draft.
6.1.2. The draft order for the Rookie Draft will be the reverse order of finish the previous regular season. See tiebreakers section.
6.1.2.1. The order of the top four picks will be randomly determined from the four teams who do not make the playoffs, with each team having equal odds.
6.1.3. At each draft pick, a manager may choose to draft an offensive or a defensive player.
6.1.3.1. If the manager chooses to sign an offensive player, the rookie’s salary value is determined from the Rookie Salary Table found below.
6.1.3.1.1. Team 1 Player 1 150 units
6.1.3.1.2. Team 2 Player 2 135 units
6.1.3.1.3. Team 3 Player 3 120 units
6.1.3.1.4. Team 4 Player 4 105 units
6.1.3.1.5. Team 5 Player 5 90 units
6.1.3.1.6. Team 6 Player 6 75 units
6.1.3.1.7. Team 7 Player 7 70 units
6.1.3.1.8. Team 8 Player 8 65 units
6.1.3.1.9. Team 9 Player 9 60 units
6.1.3.1.10. Team 10 Player 10 55 units
6.1.3.1.11. Team 11 Player 11 50 units
6.1.3.1.12. Team 12 Player 12 45 units
6.1.3.1.13. Teams 1-4 Players 13-16 40 units
6.1.3.1.14. Teams 5-8 Players 17-20 35 units
6.1.3.1.15. Teams 9-12 Players 21-24 30 units
6.1.3.1.16. Teams 1-6 Players 25-30 25 units
6.1.3.1.17. Teams 7-12 Players 31-36 20 units
6.1.3.1.18 Teams 1-6 Players 37-42 15 units
6.1.3.1.19 Teams 7-12 Players 43-48 10 units
6.1.3.2. If the manager chooses to sign a defensive player, the rookie’s salary value is 10 units.
6.1.4. The contract length of rookie contracts shall be four years or less, except for the Practice Squad player, which can be up to five years.
6.2. Acquiring Free Agents
6.2.1. All NFL players who were not owned at the end of the prior season, as well as all NFL players whose MossDoubleMoss contracts expired at the end of the prior season, are free agents in the offseason.
6.2.2. There shall be a public auction period for all free agents following the Rookie Draft.
6.2.3. Auctions are handled using RTSports’ automated auction.
6.2.3.1. The auction consists of 10 rounds of pre-selected free agent player groups, to be decided by the Commissioner. An additional 11th round will include any player not currently signed to a team. The Commissioner has the option to add players to the 10th round group if there are valuable players cut by teams during the earlier rounds, if there are obvious pre-season injury replacements, or if there are pre-season breakout players who emerge after the initial player groups are set.
6.2.3.2. RTSports uses a blind bidding system. Only players eligible during that round may be bid upon. The winning bid will become the salary for that player, even if there are no other bids.
6.2.3.3. The RTSports auction system cannot automatically factor in all of the MossDoubleMoss rules, such as salary cap penalties for conditional drops, so care must be taken when creating a claims list. If a free agency auction results in a rule being violated, such as a 4th player acquired during pre-season free agency with a $30 salary being dropped, or exceeding the salary cap after cap hits are added, the team has 24 hours to fix the mistake. Otherwise, the players will be returned to the free agent pool and protected until the next week during mid-season, or until the final free agency rounds during the pre-season. Fixing a mistake from the bid results cannot involve cutting a player that was just acquired. If a team plans to conditionally drop multiple players with smaller salaries in order to acquire a single player with a larger salary, it is recommended that the conditional drop list be ordered from smallest salary to largest salary to ensure that the website executes all conditional drops and prevent a salary cap violation.
6.2.4. Players whose MossDoubleMoss contracts expired at the end of the prior season and are won during offseason free agency by the same team are eligible for a Resign Discount of 10% off of their new salary. This does not apply to players with a new salary of 10 units. If the player is not originally won by the same team, their resign rights expire.
7.1. The scoring is a fantasy point system that will be outlined below.
7.1.1. Passing Yards: 0.04 (25 yards/point)
7.1.2. Passing Attempts: -0.1
7.1.3. Passing Completions 0.2
7.1.4. Passing TDs: 4.0
7.1.5. Passing Ints: -2.0
7.1.6. Rushing Yards: 0.1
7.1.7. Rushing TDs: 6.0
7.1.8. Receiving Yards: 0.1
7.1.9. Receptions: 0.4
7.1.10. Receiving TDs: 6.0
7.1.11. 2-Point Conversion: 3.0
7.1.12. Fumble Lost: -2.0
7.1.13. FG-Under 30 Yards: 3.0
7.1.14. FG-30-39 Yards: 3.5
7.1.15. FG-40-49 Yards: 4.0
7.1.16. FG-50+ Yards: 5.0
7.1.17. Extra Point: 1.0
7.1.18. Missed FG-Under 20 Yards: -2.5
7.1.19. Missed FG-20-29 Yards: -1.5
7.1.20. Missed FG-30-39 Yards: -0.8
7.1.21. Missed FG-40-49 Yards: -0.25
7.1.22. Missed FG-50+ Yards: -0.05
7.1.23. Missed Extra Point: -0.8
7.1.24. Return Yards: 0.03 (33.3 yards/point)
7.1.25. Special Teams TD: 8.0
7.1.26. Tackle-Solo: 0.9
7.1.27. Tackle-Assist: 0.5
7.1.28. Tackle for Loss 0.5
7.1.29. Pass Defensed: 1.5
7.1.30. 1/2 Sack: 2.25
7.1.31. Interception: 4.5
7.1.32. Fumble-Forced: 3.0
7.1.33. Fumble-Recovered: 3.5
7.1.34. Blocked Kick: 5.5
7.1.35. Safety: 6.0
7.1.36. Defensive TD: 8.0
8.1. At the end of the regular season, playoff seedings and the following year’s rookie draft order are determined on the basis of the following tiebreakers:
8.1.1. Won/Loss Record
8.1.2. Points Scored
8.1.3. Head-to-Head Record
8.1.4. Spots 12 and 11 of the rookie draft go to the League Champion and Runner-Up, respectively.
8.1.5. Spots 1-4 are randomly determined from the four teams who do not make the playoffs, with each team having equal odds.
9.1. Failing to apply a salary cap adjustment for a qualifying released player will result in automatic loss for the week that the infraction occurred.
9.2. If 1 offensive player is left on the bench but not the required 2, your top scorer for the week is deducted from your point total. If no offensive players are left benched, your top two scores for the week are deducted from your point total. If no defensive player or rookie is left on the bench, your top scorer for the week is deducted from your point total.
9.3 To discourage tanking, a team who scores less than 140 points in a match will have to pay a fee of $10 into the empire fund, to be collected at the end of the season or deducted from that team's winnings. The Commissioner will be allowed to grant a hardship exemption if the low score was unavoidable due to bye weeks and injuries or other factors out of their control.
10. Playoffs/Payouts
10.1. The playoff schedule will be determined on the website depending on the number of teams in the league.
10.2. Payouts generally will be made in these categories: Weekly high score, Division Champ, 3rd place, 2nd place, 1st place, Toilet Bowl champ, and Toilet Bowl runner up. For 2023, payouts are:
10.2.1. League Champion: $300
10.2.2. Runner-Up: $142
10.2.3. Third Place: $75
10.2.4. Toilet Bowl Champ: $10
10.2.5. Division Champs: $40
10.2.6. Weekly Top Score: $10
10.2.7. Weekly 2nd Highest Score: $7
10.2.8. Regular Season Points Leader: $50
10.2.9. Regular Season Hardest Schedule: $25
10.3. League dues for 2023 are $100 per team.
10.4. In order to discourage owners from leaving the league and causing issues that the rest of the league has to deal with, such as traded future draft picks, each team must pay a $40 security deposit starting in 2018. If an owner decides to leave and there are no issues, the security deposit will be refunded. If there are outstanding issues, the security deposit will be dispersed at the Commissioner's discretion. A new owner will be required to pay the security deposit their first year.
10.5 Beginning in 2023, 10% of the league dues will go towards the empire fund. The empire fund is won when a team wins the league two years in a row. If nobody has won back-to-back after 5 years, a percentage (TBD) is given to the team with the highest total points over the previous 5-year period. Anti-tanking feeds (TBD) will also go to the empire fund.
11. New Team Owners
11.1. If a new owner joins the league and takes over an existing team, that new owner can cut as many inherited players as they like with no penalty. Once pre-season Free Agency begins, the normal salary cap penalty will apply for any subsequent cuts.
11.2. If a new owner joins the league, that new owner will be guaranteed a spot in the Rookie Draft lottery for picks 1-4.
12. Rule Extensions
12.1. Any rules not set forth in this document may be proposed.
12.2. Any proposed rule shall be discussed by the Rules Committee and its feasibility within RTSports.com be assessed.
12.3. The Rules Committee may implement any rule as it sees fit, with a recommendation that non-essential rule changes not take place until one year in the future.
12.4. Any manager may join the Rules Committee, which generally makes decisions based on consensus.
Min | Max | |
---|---|---|
Quarterback | 0 | 5 |
Running Back | 0 | 16 |
Wide Receiver | 0 | 16 |
Tight End | 0 | 16 |
Kicker | 0 | 16 |
Defensive Line | 0 | 12 |
Linebacker | 0 | 12 |
Defensive Back | 0 | 12 |
Quarterback | 3 |
Running Back | 4 |
Wide Receiver | 4 |
Tight End | 2 |
Kicker | 3 |
Defensive Line | 3 |
Linebacker | 3 |
Defensive Back | 3 |
Flex ( RB WR TE ) | 3 |
Def Flex ( DL LB DB ) | 3 |
Week 1 | Fri Mar 1 12:00am ET | thru | Mon Sep 9 11:59pm ET |
Week 2 | Tue Sep 10 7:00am ET | thru | Mon Sep 16 11:59pm ET |
Week 3 | Tue Sep 17 7:00am ET | thru | Mon Sep 23 11:59pm ET |
Week 4 | Tue Sep 24 7:00am ET | thru | Mon Sep 30 11:59pm ET |
Week 5 | Tue Oct 1 7:00am ET | thru | Mon Oct 7 11:59pm ET |
Week 6 | Tue Oct 8 7:00am ET | thru | Mon Oct 14 11:59pm ET |
Week 7 | Tue Oct 15 7:00am ET | thru | Mon Oct 21 11:59pm ET |
Week 8 | Tue Oct 22 7:00am ET | thru | Mon Oct 28 11:59pm ET |
Week 9 | Tue Oct 29 7:00am ET | thru | Mon Nov 4 11:59pm ET |
Week 10 | Tue Nov 5 7:00am ET | thru | Mon Nov 11 11:59pm ET |
Week 11 | Tue Nov 12 7:00am ET | thru | Mon Nov 18 11:59pm ET |
Week 12 | Tue Nov 19 7:00am ET | thru | Mon Nov 25 11:59pm ET |
Week 13 | Tue Nov 26 7:00am ET | thru | Mon Dec 2 11:59pm ET |
Week 14 | Tue Dec 3 7:00am ET | thru | Mon Dec 9 11:59pm ET |
Playoff Week 1 | Tue Dec 10 7:00am ET | thru | Mon Dec 16 11:59pm ET |
Playoff Week 2 | Tue Dec 17 7:00am ET | thru | Mon Dec 23 11:59pm ET |
Playoff Week 3 | Tue Dec 24 7:00am ET | thru | Sun Dec 29 11:59pm ET |
Week 1 | Tue Sep 3 1:00pm ET | thru | Sun Sep 8 1:00pm ET |
Week 2 | Thu Sep 12 7:00am ET | thru | Sun Sep 15 1:00pm ET |
Week 3 | Thu Sep 19 7:00am ET | thru | Sun Sep 22 1:00pm ET |
Week 4 | Thu Sep 26 7:00am ET | thru | Sun Sep 29 1:00pm ET |
Week 5 | Thu Oct 3 7:00am ET | thru | Sun Oct 6 1:00pm ET |
Week 6 | Thu Oct 10 7:00am ET | thru | Sun Oct 13 1:00pm ET |
Week 7 | Thu Oct 17 7:00am ET | thru | Sun Oct 20 1:00pm ET |
Week 8 | Thu Oct 24 7:00am ET | thru | Sun Oct 27 1:00pm ET |
Week 9 | Thu Oct 31 7:00am ET | thru | Sun Nov 3 1:00pm ET |
Week 10 | Thu Nov 7 7:00am ET | thru | Sun Nov 10 1:00pm ET |
Week 11 | Thu Nov 14 7:00am ET | thru | Sun Nov 17 1:00pm ET |
Week 12 | Thu Nov 21 7:00am ET | thru | Sun Nov 24 1:00pm ET |
Week 13 | Thu Nov 28 7:00am ET | thru | Sun Dec 1 1:00pm ET |
Week 14 | Thu Dec 5 7:00am ET | thru | Sun Dec 8 1:00pm ET |
Playoff Week 1 | Thu Dec 12 7:00am ET | thru | Sun Dec 15 1:00pm ET |
Playoff Week 2 | Thu Dec 19 7:00am ET | thru | Sun Dec 22 1:00pm ET |
Playoff Week 3 | Thu Dec 26 7:00am ET | thru | Sun Dec 29 1:00pm ET |
Offseason | Thu Jan 2 7:00am ET | thru | Sat Mar 1 12:00am ET |
Week 1 | Fri Mar 1 12:00am ET | thru | Fri Sep 6 11:59pm ET |
Week 2 | Tue Sep 10 7:00am ET | thru | Fri Sep 13 11:59pm ET |
Week 3 | Tue Sep 17 7:00am ET | thru | Fri Sep 20 11:59pm ET |
Week 4 | Tue Sep 24 7:00am ET | thru | Fri Sep 27 11:59pm ET |
Week 5 | Tue Oct 1 7:00am ET | thru | Fri Oct 4 11:59pm ET |
Week 6 | Tue Oct 8 7:00am ET | thru | Fri Oct 11 11:59pm ET |
Week 7 | Tue Oct 15 7:00am ET | thru | Fri Oct 18 11:59pm ET |
Week 8 | Tue Oct 22 7:00am ET | thru | Fri Oct 25 11:59pm ET |
Week 9 | Tue Oct 29 7:00am ET | thru | Fri Nov 1 11:59pm ET |
Week 10 | Tue Nov 5 7:00am ET | thru | Fri Nov 8 11:59pm ET |
Week 11 | Tue Nov 12 7:00am ET | thru | Fri Nov 15 11:59pm ET |
General | |
---|---|
League Entry | $77 |
Wins and Losses | |
Losses | $0 |
Ties | $0 |
Wins Credit | $0 |
Roster Moves | |
Each Player Acquired | $0 |
Each Player Acquired via Waivers | $0 |
Each Player Acquired via Free Agency | $0 |
Each Player Released | $0 |
Each Player Placed on I/R | $0 |
Each Player Activated from I/R | $0 |
Lineup Moves | |
Each Player Started | $0 |
Each Player Benched | $0 |
Trades | |
Each Trade | $0 |
Each Player Traded Away | $0 |
Each Player Traded For | $0 |