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By enabling team owners to keep players and build a team over time, there is a much stronger sense of team ownership, and success is achieved with a greater sense of satisfaction.
Unlike keeping players/keepers from later Rounds, in order to keep multiple 1st RD Keepers, you MUST have the available 1st RD draft selection(s). When keeping multiple players from the same round, the team is required to use succession rounds in the reverse order. For example, if you have three players drafted in the 3rd RD that you want to keep, you will use your team’s selection in Round 3, Round 2, and Round 1 to protect all three players. In this same scenario, you will not be able to keep your 2nd RD Keeper or 1st RD Keeper if you do not possess additional selections for those Rounds.
The main objective of this keeper league format is to reward teams’ ability to draft well, especially in middle to late rounds. The more “diamonds in the rough” your team drafts, the better your chances of keeping them without exhausting a high-round selection. It’s easy for a team to find a great player when drafting in Rounds 1–4. Most teams tend to find it more challenging when drafting in the middle to late rounds when all the popular and proven players are gone.
Teams are not required to designate any keepers if you do not find any of your players worth protecting. All players that are not protected or kept are then placed back into the Free Agent pool for next season’s draft.
If you keep an Undrafted Free Agent (UFA) from the previous year, you must give up your 16th RD pick. Players that were drafted and then cut still maintain their draft status. If you do not have a draft pick for the correct round to give up to keep a player, you must give up the next higher draft pick. This can happen if you trade away a draft pick during pre-season or have 2 keepers that have the same draft status from the previous year.
Example 1: You decide to keep your draft pick in round 16 from the previous year and you also want to keep an Undrafted Free Agent (UFA). Both require that you give up your 16th-round draft pick. Since you only have one 16th-round selection, to keep both players, you must give up picks for rounds 16 and 15.
Example 2: You want to keep a player you drafted in the 3rd RD last year. You also traded away your 3rd RD for the current year pick during pre-season. To keep last year's 3rd RD pick, you must give up your 2nd RD pick this year. Since you have no 3rd round selection, to keep this player, you must exercise your 2nd RD pick to keep him.
Each team is entitled to having one IR Spot. In keeping an IR player from your current roster, you must make a post to the league that you are putting a certain player on IR, then drop them. Make sure they're actually on IR first, or you lose all rights to them.
On IR meaning that Yahoo identifies that player with an IR tag, if not, it will not apply. Once you have posted your intended IR player to the league's message board, you own the right to that player until the beginning of next year's draft. Although the player is no longer on your final roster at the end of this season, as long as you post to the league, that IR player is entitled to be one of your KEEPERS for next year's roster. All draft position rules still apply to the IR player.
You may not put any player(s) on IR prior to the season. If one of your keeper players gets injured (season-ending IR) during training camp, in order to keep that player, you must still draft him.
Prior to the live online draft, you can still submit an alternate keeper in place of your IR player but you will then lose all rights to that prior keeper that got injured. Once you release the IR player, he becomes a FA and another team will be able to draft that IR player.
For example: If a team submits Matt Forte as one of their 5 keepers, and Forte gets injured in pre-season, in order to hold the rights to this player, the team must still draft him as their keeper. If the team decides to release Forte as one of their keepers, the team can submit another alternate keeper player but Forte will now become a FA. Any other team will be able to draft Matt Forte during the draft.
A team owner may trade players and/or draft picks prior to the draft. All trades during the season will be determined by majority voting. Off Season trading is allowed. Trade will not auto-approve and teams have 5 days to protest a trade.
Keeper Status follows the traded player. When trading players, a player's draft status (position) and keeper status (years he can be kept) are traded with the player.
Each individual trade MUST have its own post. Any “Reply” to something will not be considered. This enables the commissioner to view the posted trade(s) and verify the accuracy of the information and go step by step in chronological order to complete the pre-draft board.
If trade involves swapping of draft picks, the actual pick number (based on the overall pick, ie. pick #43 or pick #71, not Round 4 Pick 7). Trade posted without the overall pick numbers will not be valid.
Each team must always have 20 picks in the draft, so keep it in mind for all trades. Team rosters may have 20 or more players (pre-draft), but not more than 20 picks.
Note:
Post-Draft rules will allow trading to commence until season deadline is reached
In the event a trade involving one team having more than one 1st RD keeper, the team may only keep 1st RD Keepers if the team possesses the same amount of 1st Round selections. For example, if you want to keep two or three 1st RD Keepers/Players, you must make sure your trade acquires the other teams 1st RD draft selection along with your 1st RD Keeper or else your team will end up with more 1st RD Keepers than 1st RD selection available.
Unlike keeping players/keepers from other Rounds, in order to keep multiple 1st RD Keepers, you MUST have the available 1st RD draft selection(s). When keeping multiple players from the same round, the team is required to use succession rounds in the reverse order. For example, if you have three players drafted in the 3rd RD that you want to keep, you will use your team’s selection in Round 3, Round 2 and Round 1 to keep all three players. In this same scenario, you will not be able to keep your 2nd RD Keeper or 1st RD Keeper if you do not possess additional selections for those Rounds.
There will be no trade deadlines during the season. During the regular season, draft picks may NOT be traded. This rule is to avoid the problem where a team may trade away too many of their future selections and then not return to the league the following year.
The deadline for keepers is ALSO the deadline for trades (until the Live Draft occurs, only then trades will resume). Therefore, once the deadline hits, any attempt at other trades will become null and void.
If any team owner FAILS to select/post their team Keepers PRIOR to the deadline, the following penalties apply:
Submitting Keepers past deadline (within 24 hours):
Pay $10 extra to keep all 6 keepers for their team (money will be added to the eventual champion for that season)
-OR-
The team loses a Keeper and is allowed to keep only 5 players total
Submitting Keepers past deadline (between 24 hours 1 minute to 48 hours):
Pay $20 extra to keep all 6 keepers for their team (money will be split "$10/$10" to the eventual champion and runner-up for that season)
-OR-
The team lose 2 Keepers and is allowed to keep only 4 players total
Submitting Keepers more than 48 hours past the deadline, but 24 hours prior to Live Draft:
Pay $10 per Keeper that you want
-OR-
All designated Keeper(s) return to the "Available Players" pool for the Live Draft
Anything within 24 hours of the Live Draft time:
The team is not allowed any Keepers – All players of that team return to the draft pool
No other combinations of options can be made. SIMPLE: based on the amount of time that passed. Extenuating circumstances (determined by the commissioner ONLY) can waive these penalties.
Each owner is responsible to pay their league dues (set amount) within timeframe (usually before the Live Draft) set by the league's commissioner. League communication will provide notification if timeframe changes.
If any teams' due are not paid (and no special circumstances are encountered), the team owner will incur late fees:
1-day late - $10 added to league dues
2-day late - $20 added to league dues
3-day late - $50 added to league dues
$15 for each subsequent day after the first game kickoff in addition to the $50 and league dues.
Note:
Any additional penalties/fines collected will be added to the champion and runner-up prizes, as seen fit by the commissioner. The total amount collected from these penalties/fines will be posted on our message to be shared with all owners prior to playoffs.