League Rules

The Ultimate Fantasy Football League (UFFL) was created in July 2002 as a head-to-head keeper league for fans of the National Football League from all across the United States, as well as Canada and Europe - many of whom were regulars in the now-defunct chat rooms at CBS SportsLine's website. The object for the teams is to win as many games as possible during the regular season to qualify for the postseason, in pursuit of the coveted UFFL championship title. No money is exchanged in this league - the only thing owners play for is bragging rights. Since 2008, games have taken place on the Fleaflicker Fantasy Sports website; from 2002 to 2007, they took place on the Yahoo! Fantasy Sports website.

Section II - League Officers

The UFFL is led by a commissioner. The commissioner's responsibilities include - but are not limited to - supervising the annual player draft, actively recruiting new owners, brainstorming new rules (or revisions to current ones) to be voted on by other owners during the offseason, and updating and financing the league's historical website - which you happen to be looking at right now!

Additionally, the commissioner corresponds via e-mail or instant messenger on a regular basis with league owners. These messages range from reminders for teams to set their starting lineups if they haven't done so, to weekly previews highlighting the best and worst in the UFFL.

In August 2007, the position of assistant commissioner was created. The assistant commissioner is responsible for running the league in the absence of the commissioner. Their responsibilities include - but are not limited to - helping out with the annual player draft, assisting with the recruitment of new owners, and suggesting new rules (or revisions to current ones).

Section III - Rosters and Starting Lineups

Each roster has 20 slots, with 13 starting lineup slots and seven bench slots (which may be used for any position). Eligible positions include quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end, placekicker, punter, individual defensive player and defensive team. Franchises should have one to three quarterbacks, two to six running backs, three to six wide receivers, one to three tight ends, one to three placekickers, one to three punters, one to two defensive teams and up to four individual defensive players. Please note that special teams performances are also factored into the number of fantasy points accumulated by defensive teams.

Starting lineups include one quarterback, two running backs, three wide receivers, one tight end, one running back/wide receiver/tight end (flex position player), one placekicker, one punter, two individual defensive players and one defensive team. Players can be inserted into, or taken out of, the starting lineup until kickoff of their respective teams' game time. If you don't have access to a computer but would like to make lineup changes, contact the commissioner or assistant commissioner by e-mail prior to game time. Franchises may also consider using a co-owner structure, where two people share the decision-making processes for operating a single team.

Beginning with the 2008 season, all rosters had one space set aside for players on injured reserve. This space can be used for players who are actually on the injured reserve list of an NFL team, or it can simply be used for players who are ruled questionable - or worse - for a particular game (or set of games). However, once the player is removed from injured reserve in real life (or upgraded from questionable on his team's injury report), they must be removed from the UFFL's injured reserve list as well.

For the 2009 season, an additional injured reserve space was made available for each team. Currently, teams can place up to three players on injured reserve.

Each team will play thirteen regular season games during the first thirteen weeks of the NFL season, using schedules randomly generated by the computer. From 2002 to 2007, this was done by Yahoo! Fantasy Sports; beginning with 2008, this was done by Fleaflicker.

Prior to 2008, each team faced all of the other teams in the league at least once during the course of the season. Matchups from Weeks 1 and 2 of the UFFL regular season were repeated in Weeks 12 and 13, respectively, while games in Weeks 3-11 involved teams who would only meet once during the year. All games were played on neutral ground.

In 2008, the league was split into two divisions of six teams each, and the concept of home and away games was developed. Every team faced its five division rivals twice a year (once at home and once on the road), with the three remaining games against randomly selected non-divisional opponents. Divisional contests occured during Weeks 1-5 and Weeks 9-13, while non-divisional contests took place during Weeks 6-8. Because of the odd number of non-divisional games, half of the teams had two non-divisional matchups at home and one on the road (and vice versa). This also meant that during the course of a season, half of the teams had seven home games and six away games (and vice versa).

Beginning with the 2009 season, the schedule was set up so that during any given week in the regular season, there were six divisional games and one non-divisional game. As a result of the league having 14 teams instead of 12, every UFFL franchise faced every other team once during the regular season.

Regular season games which end in ties will not be broken.

Section V - Postseason Scheduling

The eligibility requirements for making the playoffs have changed several times over the course of the UFFL's existence. Here is a breakdown of those changes:

Yahoo! Fantasy Sports:
2002 - Postseason games took place during Weeks 15 and 16. The top four UFFL franchises competed in the championship bracket, with the middle four teams making up the consolation bracket. The bottom four teams in the league did not compete in the postseason, having ceased play the final week of the regular season. This was the only season with 14 regular season games and only two weeks of postseason contests; subsequent years would feature 13 regular season games and three weeks of playoff games.

2003 to 2007 - Postseason games took place during Weeks 14 through 16. The top eight UFFL franchises competed in the championship bracket in Week 14, with the winners of these games remaining in the championship bracket for Weeks 15 and 16, and the four losers moving to a consolation bracket. The bottom four teams in the league did not compete in the postseason, having ceased play after the final week fo the regular season.

Fleaflicker Fantasy Sports:
2008 - The UFFL's move from Yahoo! Fantasy Sports to Fleaflicker Fantasy Sports necessitated the adoption of a system where all teams continued playing beyond the end of the regular season. Postseason games took place during Weeks 14 through 16. The top eight UFFL franchises competed in the championship bracket in Week 14, with the winners of these games remaining in the championship bracket for Weeks 15 and 16, and the four losers being eliminated from the remainder of the postseason. The bottom four teams in the league competed in a consolation bracket during Weeks 14 and 15 (not to be confused with the types of consolation brackets used from 2002 to 2007).

2009 to present - The league expanded from 12 to 14 franchises in 2009, but postseason games continue to take place during Weeks 14 through 16. The top eight UFFL franchises compete in the championship bracket in Week 14, with the winners of these games remaining in the championship bracket for Weeks 15 and 16, and the four losers being eliminated from the remainder of the postseason. The bottom six teams in the league compete in a consolation bracket during Weeks 14 through 16, with the ninth and tenth-seeded teams receiving byes during Week 14.

Week 15's winners in the championship bracket move on to the championship game, with the losers competing in the third-place game. Prior to the 2008 season, winners in the consolation bracket during Week 15 competed in the fifth-place game, while losers competed in the seventh-place game. The fifth and seventh-place games no longer exist.

From 2002 to 2007, playoff rank tiebreakers were broken in favor of the team with the best won-loss record, followed by the team with the most fantasy points accumulated during the course of the regular season. (This was also used to determine the draft order for the following year.)

Since 2008, the tiebreaker order has been as follows: (1) best division record - same division only, (2) best head-to-head record, (3) highest average points/game, (4) hardest schedule - records, (5) hardest schedule - points.

Postseason games which end in ties will be broken according to this ranking: (1) most starter touchdowns, (2) highest individual starter score, (3) higher bench points total.

Since the 2008 season, the UFFL Pro Bowl has been held during Week 17. For more information on this game, click here.

Offense and Special Teams: Passing yards (1 point/25 yards); passing touchdowns (6 points); interceptions (-1 point); rushing yards (1 point/10 yards); rushing touchdowns (6 points); receptions (1 point); receiving yards (1 point/20 yards); receiving touchdowns (6 points); return yards (1 point/25 yards); return touchdowns (6 points); two-point conversions (2 points); fumbles lost (-1 point); offensive fumble return touchdowns (6 points)

Placekicking: Field goals between 0-19 yards (3 points); 20-29 yards (3 points); 30-39 yards (3 points); 40-49 yards (4 points); 50+ yards (5 points); extra points converted (1 point)

Team and Individual Defense: Sacks - team defenses only (1 point); sacks - individual players only (3 points); interceptions (2 points); forced fumbles (2 points); fumble recovery (2 points); touchdowns (6 points); safeties (2 points); blocked extra points (2 points); blocked kicks (2 points); conversion returns (2 points); solo tackles - individual players only (1 point); assisted tackles - individual players only (0.5 points); passes defended - individual players only (1 point); 0 points allowed (10 points); 1-6 points allowed (7 points); 7-13 points allowed (4 points); 14-20 points allowed (1 point); 21-27 points allowed (0 points); 28-34 points allowed (-1 point); 35+ points allowed (-4 points)

Unlike many other fantasy football leagues, the UFFL uses fractional and negative points, to reduce the likelihood of tied games.

Starting with the 2009 draft, the order was determined based on a club's overall ranking (as determined by Fleaflicker) during the previous season.

Prior to the 2006 season, league drafts had typically been conducted offline in July and August, using the message board at the Ultimate Fantasy Football League Yahoo! Group (or a similar group). All members had to register prior to posting there. Teams had twelve hours to make their selection after the previous owner in the draft had made a selection, but if owners had an idea of whom they wanted to choose, it was suggested that they waste as little time as possible announcing their pick, in order to keep things moving. In some instances, the time frame was reduced to eight hours in the later rounds, as the NFL regular season drew closer. On average, it took about four to six weeks each year to complete the draft using this method.

Live drafts held in chat rooms had posed problems for owners who could not fit it into their schedule in the past, but the league experimented with conducting this type of draft for the 2006 season, via AOL Instant Messenger. Six of the league's 12 owners participated, with the six absentee owners sending draft wish lists, or having players randomly selected for them. This provided an opportunity for more "smack talk," but the slow pace of the draft, combined with the high number of absentee owners, led to other avenues being explored for a more fast-pased, enjoyable drafting process.

In 2007, league owners voted on a hybrid live/offline draft; that is to say, the first eight rounds of the draft were to be held in a chat room (like in 2006), and the final eight rounds were to be conducted via e-mail (like from 2002 to 2005). On draft day, these plans were slightly adjusted, so that the first six rounds were conducted in a chat room, and the last ten rounds were conducted offline. This process took three weeks.

In the case of a prolonged absence of an owner during the draft, it was suggested that they provide a player wish list to the commissioner in advance, so the draft could move smoothly until they were able to return to make their own selections. Teams who had allowed the 12-hour offline drafting window to expire in the past either had players automatically selected for them by the commissioner, had their turn pushed back until the end of the round, or had their turn moved back until the next round, where they would then be asked to make back-to-back selections.

As a result of upgraded technology, the 2008 Fleaflicker draft was completely live. The drafting process was completed in just over an hour, and owners who were not present had players selected for them by the computer. This draft format is still used today.

In an attempt to cut down on the amount of time needed to complete the draft, the concept of "franchise players" was instituted in 2003. Teams would protect between one and three players they wanted to keep for the following season, while the remaining players went back into the pool of eligible players to be drafted. The franchise player selection process typically occurs in late June.

As soon as the draft is concluded, all players who were not selected are placed on waivers, and those who go unclaimed become free agents after 24 hours. During the course of the season, many players who are released remain on waivers for one full day before being granted free agency if they go unclaimed. However, there are some notable exceptions where players can remain on waivers for more than 24 hours (as stated below).

During the season, each player in the UFFL free agency pool is placed on waivers once their respective NFL team's game begins. Teams must submit requests for players on waivers by 5:00 a.m. Eastern Wednesday, with claims processed shortly after 6:00 a.m. Eastern. After 8:00 a.m. Eastern, all remaining free agents will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

If a UFFL franchise drops a player within 24 hours of their NFL team's next game (assuming that they play on Sunday or Monday), they will remain on waivers until the following Wednesday.

Recently added players are locked to a team's roster within 48 hours of kickoff, to insure that owners cannot gain an unfair advantage by adding and then immediately dropping players, making them unavailable to other teams until the following week.

Bench players are not allowed to be dropped after their games have begun; this rule was put into effect in part because total points scored by a team's bench serves as the third tiebreaking scenario when attempting to determine the winners of playoff contests.

The league's trading deadline usually falls during the final week of the UFFL's regular season (Week 13). All trades are subject to review by the commissioner, and a final decision on each trade is made within 24 hours.

There are an unlimited number of transactions allowed by the UFFL. However, an "add/drop deadline" (Week 16) was established in 2010, to prevent owners from gutting or massively overhauling their rosters heading into the offseason. This effectively puts a freeze on most player movement until the draft, with the exception of trades being proposed and executed between March and August.

While the league's goal is to keep the same group of owners for as long as possible, sometimes it is necessary to replace owners who decide not to return for the following season. In this case, the

commissioner will assign new owners to already existing franchises whose previous owners have abandoned them or decided not to return. These teams would then select a franchise player (or players) from the roster of the franchise they have just taken over, and would take their turn in the draft based on the franchise's win-loss record from the previous season.

If the day comes when the league decides to expand, each expansion team would get to select any three players in the league who were not franchised, before the regular draft begins. The expansion team(s) would then select at the end of all odd-numbered draft rounds, and at the top of all even-numbered draft rounds. If more than one expansion team is added during the same offseason, the team which was added to the league first would get to select ahead of the other expansion team(s).