RED ZONE CONSTITUTION 2022 Edition Table of Contents
I. GENERAL INFO A. Entry Fee B. Payouts C. Divisions D. Rule Changes II. DRAFT INFO A. Draft Rules B. Keeper Rules III. OWNER CONDUCT A. Fair Play and Conduct B. Owner Participation C. Grounds for Removal D. Removal Procedures IV. TRADES AND FREE AGENTS A. Trading B. Free Agency V. LINEUPS A. Submitting Lineups B. Starting Lineup C. Position Guidelines D. Injured Reserve VI. SCORING SYSTEM VII. POST SEASON A. Regular Playoffs B. Rejects Rumble C. Miscellaneous
I. GENERAL INFORMATION A. Entry Fee The entry is $50 for 2022. The entry fee is subject to change upon approval via simple majority vote. The fees are allocated to yearly prize payouts, as well as $10 per person set aside yearly for Empire payments, explained below. B. Payouts The top 3 finishers receive payouts as follows: First Place: $220, custody of the Schadenfreude until next season Second Place: $70 Third Place: $30 Additionally, there is an additional $10 payout for each of the six teams that make the playoffs. There is also a $20 bonus payment awarded to the highest-scoring team of the regular season. This is in place in the unlikely event they did not make the playoffs.
C. Empire Rules
Every year, $10 of each team's dues ($100 total) is set aside and kept distinct from all other league dues. These are the "Empire" fees, and they accumulate year-to-year. They continue to accumulate until an "Empire" winner is crowned, i.e. a winner repeats as champion. At that time, the Empire champion would win the entire Empire pot that had been collected up to that point.
When an Empire champion is crowned, all existing keeper contracts and options are nullified. Every single NFL player enters the redraft pool for possible choosing.
Current Empire Pot (As of End of 2021 Season): $ 360
D. Rule Changes Any proposed rule changes can be implemented immediately if all owners vote unanimously to do so. If at least one owner does not approve of the immediate rule change, then the rule proposal shall take place starting with the following season unless approved otherwise. Any clarifications to rules to address ambiguities can be approved midseason by a simple majority vote of the owners. II. DRAFT INFORMATION
A. Draft Rules Teams will draft in an auction-style draft. The draft date changes each year depending on availability. Each owner starts the draft with $400 draft capital. The cost of the team’s chosen keepers is deducted automatically from the $400. In the event of an accidental bid or mistake, the option to pause and/or reverse the auction is left up to the discretion of the League Commissioner, depending on the severity and sincerity of the mistake. Otherwise, standard ESPN auction draft rules apply.
B. Keeper Rules Teams are allowed to select one new keeper per year, with a one-year contract. Teams may only choose players to keeper that were on their roster at the conclusion of the previous season and remain so, or players that were acquired in the offseason by trading with another team. After the 2022 season, 2 Keepers may be selected.
1. Rostering Keepers may be treated like any other player in terms of rostering. They may be traded or cut without penalty. Once they have been "keepered" during the draft, there are no additional keeper-specific actions that apply.
2. Associated Costs The cost for keeping a keeper is related to the amount that player cost in the most recent auction draft. The keeper “inflation” is $10. The inflation applies to each year the player is keepered.
If a player was not drafted in the previous draft, their keeper cost is automatically $20.
There is no change to keeper cost from a player changing teams. All keeper costs are related to the amount that player cost to draft originally.
3. Team Option Keeper contracts only apply for one single draft, with one exception. A keeper prospect (Player A) that was originally drafted by the team in question (Team A), and was on Team A's roster for the entirety of the season and offseason, is considered an Option Keeper. Thus, if Team A selects Player A as their keeper for the upcoming draft, Team A has the option to extend that keeper contract to a two-year commitment. Option Keepers do not have to stay on the team's roster post-draft, and that does not change their option-year availability.
In the scenario outlined above, Player A was drafted by Team A in the 2018 draft. Player A stayed on Team A's roster throughout the entire 2018-2019 season and offseason. Team A selected Player A as its keeper for the 2019 draft. Ordinarily, this would be the extent of the keeper relationship, and post-draft, Player A would essentially be a regular player like any other. But because of the unique Option Keeper tag, Team A may decide any time prior to the 2020 draft whether they would like to keeper Player A again for the 2020 draft. Team A dropped Player A after he was keepered in the 2019 draft, but they are still allowed to Option him for the 2020 draft.
This would not impact Team A's normal yearly right to select a new keeper from their existing roster. For the 2020 draft, they would be able to have two keepers - Player A (option year) and a new yearly keeper.
Option Keeper rights are non-transferable.
4. Availability Once a player has been keepered once, he is not eligible for immediate re-keepering. This rule applies even if he is dropped or traded to another team. Once the player has gone through a "normal" draft and had a full price paid for him, he would be eligible to be keepered again.
5. Trading Trading of keepers and keeper prospects may occur during the season or during the offseason, though it is important to note that the rules are slightly different in those two cases.
In-season trading:
During the season, players that were just selected as keepers in the most recent draft may be traded like any other player, without any restriction.
Keeper prospects, aka players that would be eligible for keeper selection in the upcoming draft, can also be acquired though any normal trading means.
Offseason trading: Trading is not allowed during the offseason, unless one of two circumstances occurs:
1. The only players involved in the trade are players that will be keepered in the upcoming year.
If a player-for-player trade is completed in the offseason, both the teams involved are tacitly agreeing that they will be keepering the player they each traded for. That is the only logical explanation for a player-for-player offseason trade, given the established rules of keepering.
2. A player is traded for FAAB for the upcoming season.
In this instance, Team A trades Player A to Team B in exchange for an agreed-upon amount of Team B's FAAB currency for the following season(s).
Player A would have to be a keeper prospect who is not yet under keeper contract, thus affording Team B one year of keeper control. By acquiring Player A, Team B would be tacitly agreeing that Player A is their choice for their new yearly keeper, and they would not be allowed to select an alternate prospect as their new keeper.
III. OWNER CONDUCT
A. Fair Play and Conduct All owners are expected to follow the letter and spirit of the League and Sleeper's “Fair Play and Conduct” provisions, excluding article C: Impeding Other Owners. Actions made to impede another team are allowable. In addition, two teams may not make any agreement that could give them a competitive advantage, including an agreement to both bench a certain position in a given matchup.
B. Owner Participation Active participation on all fronts is a key ingredient to any successful fantasy league. The Red Zone strongly encourages non-autodraft attendance during the annual draft and active participation throughout the season. If you will be autodrafting due to extenuating circumstances, please advise the League Commissioner well in advance.
C. Grounds for Removal An owner is eligible for removal pursuant to the Red Zone Removal Procedures (Section D below) if that owner cheats or fails to submit an active starting lineup two or more weeks in any given season. For the purposes of this Section, failing to submit an active starting lineup includes, but is not limited to, the following: starting a player who is on a bye week, starting a player who is out for the year with an injury, or failing to submit a full lineup due to inattention. Starting a player who is "questionable" or who has a nagging injury is not a failure to start an active lineup. This rule is intended to address and govern players on bye and those that obviously can't play due to a serious injury.
D. Removal Procedures If an owner commits an act that is Grounds for Removal (Section C above), then the following Removal Procedures shall apply:
Initial Notice
Immediately after learning of the violation, the Commissioner will send out a text to the offending team owner (OTO) notifying them of the violation. The OTO is allowed to offer any evidence as to why they should not be removed from the Red Zone, or evidence showing their reasoning for the violation.
2. Removal The OTO may be removed from the league at the discretion of the League Commissioner. The Commissioner will then notify the Red Zone Owners of the results of the decision. Owners will be notified that the OTO has been removed from the Red Zone and a replacement will be immediately sought for entry into the league in accordance with the Commissioner's waiting list of owners wanting to join the league. If a new owner is not immediately found, the League Commissioner will have temporary partial control of the franchise until a new owner is found. The owner-less franchise's roster will be locked, and the daily lineup will be set according to Sleeper's projected points.
IV. TRADES AND FREE AGENTS
A. Trading
Players and defense/special teams can be traded. No outside factors can have any bearing on a trade, e.g. trading a player for real life cash. Trading an asset to another team for funds usable in the FAAB waiver system is perfectly acceptable, and the League Commissioner can move the FAAB funds accordingly.
Absent extenuating circumstances, there is a 3-Week Minimum for any player to be traded back to a team. It would be unusual (but not impossible) for a law-abiding team to immediately seek to reacquire a player that was just traded away. This rule is in place to combat "bench-sharing."
Trade Deadline: 12:01 A.M. on Wednesday before the start of Week 12 (November 21 for the 2018 season) (subject to change only prior to draft).
Trade Vetoes: The Red Zone does not support league-wide voting on trades. There is only Commissioner oversight, and the only appropriate reason for any vetoing of a trade is if there is either evidence of collusion, or very, very strong suspicion of collusion. No trade will be vetoed simply for favoring one side. If any league member suspects collusion, not just lopsidedness, he or she can state his or her case in a group text or league-wide email.
B. Free Agency
Owners are allowed unlimited transactions per season.
Whatever Sleeper allows you to do through the free agency and waiver system is permissible, subject to any specific abuse or manipulation rules set forth in the Red Zone Rule Book (such the free agency limitation rules in place between weeks 13 – 16)..
Process: The Red Zone uses the free agency waiver rules set forth by Sleeper's “Free Agent Auction Bidding” settings. For detailed information on how this works, visit the Frequently Asked Questions on Sleeper's Fantasy Football webpage. The budget is $200 per team, and funds are available to be included in trades.
Limitations: There are no limitations regarding the adding of players through waivers. Non-playoff-bound teams are still entitled to use the waivers during the playoffs, as they are still competing against each other in the consolation bracket.
V. LINEUPS
A. Submitting Starting Lineups
You can make roster changes anytime up until the start of the game your player is playing in that week. Sleeper automatically locks the roster position of players as their games begin. All starting lineups must be made on Sleeper and will be handled in accordance with Sleeper's lineup deadline rules. If Sleeper is not working or you do not have access to Sleeper’s website, you can leave lineups on the Commissioner’s voicemail, via text, or via email, as long as the date and time of the call or email are clearly verified and recorded by the voicemail, text, or email.
Failure to deactivate a prior starter locks them into your starting lineup.
If an owner starts any player deemed ineligible in accordance with Red Zone Rules (such as a player traded back to a team in violation of the 3-Week Trade Back Rule) then it will be considered an illegal lineup. The Commissioner may deduct the fantasy points scored by the ineligible player that week from your total or take other steps necessary under the circumstances.
As punishment, any team that does not play a valid lineup must write a one-page, double-spaced (normal font) letter about a randomly chosen league-mate. The subject of the letter is how much the offending player admires the league-mate.
B. Starting Lineups
1 - Quarterback 1 - Super Flex 2 - Running Back 2 - Wide Receivers 3 - Flex Player (can be either RB, WR, or TE) 1 - Defense/Special Team
C. Position Guidelines
A player’s position is based on the position listed for that player on Sleeper.
Rosters are limited to 16 players: 10 starters and 6 bench spots. Plus 1 IR spot.
D. Injured Reserve
Currently, the Red Zone allows for one (1) IR spot.
VII. SCORING SYSTEM
It is the responsibility of each team owner to be familiar with the scoring system prior to the draft. No changes will be made to the existing scoring system unless voted on during the offseason (requiring a simple majority). Any scoring changes during the season would have to have unanimous voting.
VIII. POST SEASON
A. Regular Playoffs
Automatic Bids: The five highest ranked teams receive seeds into the Playoffs, with the top two teams (by record) receiving a 1st Round Bye. Secondly, of the remaining 5 teams, the team with the highest "Points For" will enter the playoffs.
Ranking: At the end of the regular season, teams are ranked based on win/loss/tie records. If two or more teams have identical win/loss/tie records, the following steps will be taken to break the tie:
Head-to-head (best win/loss/tie record in games between the tied teams). This applies solely for ties involving only two teams.
Most overall points scored.
Most net touchdowns in all games.
Coin toss
It is important to note that in the event of a three-way tie (by record), the points-scored tiebreaker would make the highest-scoring team playoff-bound. In the event that there is still another remaining playoff spot (like in the 2016 season), the two remaining teams would then be judged by head-to-head record, since there is no longer a three-way tie.
The playoffs take place during Weeks 15-17 of the NFL season.
Seeding:
In Week 14, the highest active seed will be the #3 seed, as #1 and #2 would be on bye. The #3 seed has the privilege of selecting their Week 14 opponent from amongst the #4, #5, and #6 seeds. The two non-chosen teams will also face each other in Week 14.
In Week 15, the #1 seed will be the highest active seed, so they will be able to select their opponent for Week 15 from amongst the teams that advanced through to the second round of the playoffs. This can include the #2 seed. The two other teams play each other.
In Week 16, the two winners from Week 15 face off.
A game is played in Week 16 to determine 3rd/4th for prize payout purposes.
The Red Zone Champion receives the Schadenfreude trophy. It is the responsibility of the existing champion (Champion A) to get the trophy to the new champion (Champion B), and timeliness is critical. Champion B must receive the Schadenfreude within four weeks of their victory. If Champion A cannot accomplish this, in the following season, every regular season game in which Champion A faces Champion B will have a five-point deduction for Champion A as a penalty.
B. Rejects Rumble
All non-playoff teams will enter a round-robin tournament during the weeks of the playoffs.
The highest seed (#7 seed) will be able to choose their opponent for Week 14. The other two teams will face off.
In Week 15, the #7 seed will choose their next opponent. No repetition is allowed. The other two teams will face off.
In Week 16, the #7 seed will play against the last non-playoff team that they have not yet faced. The other two teams will face off.
The team with the best record in the round-robin tournament is considered the winner. In the event of a tie, total points scored is the tiebreaker, with the winner having more points.
The team with the worst record in the round-robin tournament is considered the loser. In the event of a tie, total points scored is the tiebreaker, with the loser having fewer points.
The Rejects Rumble is significant because it determines overall final season standing, a mark logged in league history. Also, the Participation Award is given to the tenth-place team. The same Schadenfreude rules apply to the Participation Award in terms of logistics.
C. Miscellaneous
The team with the worst individual record at the completion of the regular season is considered the Toilet Bowl Champion. In the event of a tie, total points scored is the tiebreaker, with the Toilet Bowl Champion having fewer points. The Toilet Bowl Champion relinquishes their right to name their team for the following year to the Schadenfreude Champion. This includes picture rights.