This is meant to be a free league run purely for fun and recreation, thus the prizes for winning should include only NG "bragging rights."

The NGFFL will be a 36-team league divided into 3 separate 12-team leagues. Each league shall have 2 divisions of 6 teams each. The inaugural leagues of the 1999 season shall be named the George Halas League, the Art Rooney League, and the Paul Brown League in honor of three of the more storied NFL franchises: the Bears, the Steelers, and the Browns. Members will be accepted to play in the league by the League Chief Executive Officer (see description below). Members will be assigned leagues and divisions by the CEO. In future years if/when new members are added, they will be assigned teams with openings by the CEO after Reviewing an extensive application.

All of the 36 original owners will be called Founding Owners. Any owner added after the original league is formed with the 36 Founding Owners will not be termed a Founding Owner. Any NGFFL owner as of February 1, 1999 will be considered a Founding Owner.

In addition to the 36 team owners, the league will always attempt to maintain a membership of 4-6 Alternate Owners. These Alternate Owners will be included in all league activities and may fully serve in any and all appointed or voluntary league positions and activities, with the exception that they will not have a vote unless they are serving as a President or VP; however, the CEO may make exceptions depending upon what is being voted on and their comments and input will always be welcomed and fully heard. They will be ranked for the order that they will ascend into the league when a vacancy occurs. This will always be based on the order they return acceptable applications that are approved by the CEO, and will only change as they move up the list one position at a time as each vacancy opens.

Alternate Owners may substitute for Owners (at the Owner's request) in temporarily running an Owner's team if the Owner will need to be away from access to the league for a period of one or two weeks during the season. No owner may run more than one league team at a time, but they may, with the consent of both involved Presidents and the CEO, temporarily run a team in the league in which they do not own a team in a similar fashion to how Alternate Owners can.

The season shall consist of the weeks of the NFL regular season. If an owner must be away from access to the league or does not participate in their responsibilities as an Owner for over 2 weeks during the season, they should request that a new owner take over their team. In the event that this were this to occur, that owner would automatically drop to #1 Alternate Owner status (or to the place of the Alternate Owner who actually moves up), in effect trading places with the Alternate Owner who will take over the team.

If the CEO removes a team Owner for failing to participate in the responsibilities of an Owner or for any other reason, they will not receive Alternate Owner status.

Owners will not be subject to losing their teams in the off-season if they make suitable arrangements for management of their team for any off-season league events (the trading period, the draft, etc.) through their league President or the CEO.

The permanent League Chief Executive Officer, hereby referred to as the CEO, is the creator of the NGFFL Steve Margolis. He will be responsible for coordinating all NGFFL leagues, all NGFFL activities, adding and removing members, leading the Executive Committee, maintaining the constitution of the league, and other functions as the need arises. If in the event the CEO resigns his position, a league-wide vote of current members will be held to replace the CEO. This will be conducted by the Executive Committee (see description below).

However, each league will be run semi-independently by each League President and the CEO will not interfere in the day-to-day handling of the individual league affairs unless requested to intervene by the League President or by an owner appeal of a decision made by the League President to the Executive Committee.

There will be a League President for each league. Each League President will be responsible for running his or her league. Each will serve one-year terms only in a league so that the positions can be rotated amongst the team owners. An owner can only serve as a league President every other year at most in his/her own league. The term of each will be from May 1 to April 30. Each league President will be responsible for the following:

a) Coordinating and supervising their league's draft (either via email or thru use of the web page).
b) Acting in all standard manners as the Commish for the 12 teams within their league, including but not limited to: keeping watch of the FFLNet web page for their league concerning lineups, the games scoring, running the free agent pool (with the CEO), and overseeing all league trades. Much of this will be done through the use of league web pages, our free, donated, online management services, and the use of bulletin boards.
c) Assisting the CEO in running the league.
d) Participating on the Executive Committee to handle complaints and problems as they arise.
e) Any other duties as assigned by the CEO or as required to run their league as an independent league up until the Unification Title Game.

The VP for League Operations will be responsible to aid the league Presidents if needed, to serve on the Executive Committee, and to serve as an interim President if a league President becomes unavailable.

There will be an Executive Committee to handle all league disputes upon appeal of a league President's decision by a team owner to the committee, or for any other matter deemed important by the committee.

The committee shall be comprised of the following members: the CEO, the Executive VP, the 3 League Presidents, and the VP for League Operations.

If any decision of a President or any league issue that needs to be addressed is brought to the attention of the Executive Committee, the 3 Presidents and 2 VP's shall vote on the issue after consultation with the CEO and any and all involved parties. If there is a tie, the CEO will break the tie with his vote. Any decision by a league President will be in effect until the committee has voted. A temporary stay order by the CEO may be granted until the committee has voted. All committee decisions and member votes should normally be rendered within 48 hours of notification. If only 4 committee members vote within the 48 hours after notification,that will be considered adequate quorum for a final decision, with the CEO breaking any tie. Otherwise, the committee's decision will be on hold until a quorum of 4 voters (not including the CEO) can be reached. The CEO will only consider a grant to stay a President's decision if it appears BOTH to be a credible request and time restrictions necessitate a temporary decision be made sooner.

The decisions of the Executive Committee can only be overturned by a 2/3 affirmative vote of the league involved or the entire league if it is involved. All members will have exactly one vote and all affected parties will be allowed to vote on the matter. It will require 8 votes to pass in an individual league and 24 votes for the entire NGFFL.

Any voting percentages in this Constitution may be changed accordingly by the CEO if any Alternate Owners who normally wouldn't vote are serving as a President or VP who would have a vote.

There will be a 13-week head-to-head season schedule set up by the CEO for each league with weeks 14, 15, and 16 reserved for the league playoffs. At the end of the 13 weeks, the 2 division winners, the next top 3 best teams according to won/loss record (and tiebreakers), and the remaining team with the highest number of total points scored will enter the playoffs.

The following will be used if two or more teams have identical records in determining the best and worse won/loss records and the 6th playoff spot for the remaining team with the highest points scored:

1. Most points scored.
2. Record against other teams in tie, if teams have played each other at least once each. The higher winning percentage will be declared the winner. The winning percentage shall be determined by dividing the number of wins by the total number of games played that qualify.
3. Most points scored against other teams in the tie, if teams have played each other at least once each. If teams have played an uneven number of games against other tied teams, this method should be skipped to #4.
4. If tied teams have not played each other at least once each, steps 2 and 3 will be replaced with the following in order until a tie can be broken:

a) division record
b) record against common opponents. The higher winning percentage will be declared the winner.
c) total points scored vs division opponents

The playoffs: Each individual league is handled separately. For the first week, the two division winners get a bye. The wild card team with the best record plays the 6th place team. The other two wild card teams play each other. For the second week, the #1 seeded division winner plays the wild card remaining with the worst record and the #2 seed division winner plays the other team. The two winners meet in the League championship games the following week.

The remaining 6 teams will begin the Consolation Bowl playoffs. The top two teams by record (#7 and #8) will have a first round bye. The #9 team will play the #12 team, and the #10 team will play the #11 team. In the second round, the #7 team will play the winner of the 10/11 game, and the #8 team will play the winner of the 9/12 game. The two winners in round 2 will play for the Consolation Bowl championship.

There will also be a Points Champion for each league, and a NGFFL Points Champion. The winners will be the one team in each league and the one team in all of the NGFFL to score more points by the sum of their weekly starting lineups over the course of the season than any other team. This award will be realized after the results of the week 13 games and this award is totally separate from anything that may occur in the playoffs.

There will be a Unification Title Game that will pit the three league winners against each other and will take place in week 17 of the NFL season. The winner of this game is declared the NGFFL Champion. There will also be a Toilet Bowl game. To qualify for this game, the last place team in each league that does not win the Consolation Bowl will play in this game. The winner of the Toilet Bowl avoids the distinction of having had the worst season in the NGFFL. The Unification Title Game and Toilet Bowl Game will be played in week 17 of the NFL season. In these two games, the involved teams will play "roster versus roster." Every member of each team will be scored in determining the final scores for each team. If any team has less than a full 20 player roster, injured players, or non-starters, that will be the risk they take in not fielding a full bench in preparation for this game. Any ties in these games will not be broken. In that instance, co-champs will be declared.

How you fare in the playoffs will determine your draft position for the following year. For each league, this will be the draft order based on playoff and regular season performance:

1st position - will be the Consolation Bowl winner. This is to reward the team who does not make the league championship playoffs who wins in the Consolation Game.

2nd thru 6th positions - will be the worst five teams by inverse regular season record that do not win the Consolation Bowl game and that did not make the league championship playoffs.

7th position - will be the League Champion. This is to reward the team for winning the league. I do not agree that teams should be punished for winning in the playoffs.

8th thru 12th positions - will be the 5 playoff teams who do not win the league championship game by inverse regular season record.

I know this is a little untraditional. I intend it to be that way for that reason. Teams should be rewarded for winning in the playoffs, and I feel that the three teams that win in each of the Championship Games and the Consolation Bowl Games should be rewarded for doing so.

Starters will consist of 8 players. There will be 1 QB, 1 PK, and 1 Defense/Special Teams. The other 5 players will be RB's, WR's or TE's, with no more than 3 RB's able to start. It is each owner's discretion how to play those 5. A roster may never exceed 20 players. There is no injured reserve.

All lineups must be submitted on the FFLNet league web site (or their President if necessary) 2 hours EDT before kickoff of the first NFL game of the week. If no lineup is turned in by the deadline, or if the lineup is late, the owner will forfeit his game with a score of 0. This is done to ensure each owner diligently turns in a unique lineup each week. Only the individual team owner may turn in his or her own lineup.

If lineups are even one second late according to FFLNet system, they will not be allowed. Lineups may be turned in as far ahead of time as necessary by emailing your President if team owners will be unavailable during an individual week, and they may request their President to make any appropriate changes as they dictate based on injuries or whatever. The specifics will be left up to the owner to be clear on their intentions.

Scoring will consist of the following regardless of position:

6 points for rushing/receiving tds
6 points for a kick off/punt return td
4 points for passing tds
1 point for each 25 yards passing
1 point for each 10 yards rushing/receiving
2 points for a conversion rushed/received
1 point for a conversion passed

3 points for a FG under 50 yards
4 points for a FG 50 yards or more
1 point for each Extra Point kicked

Defensive and special teams scoring will be as follows:

4 points for each td
2 points for any turnover
1 point for each sack
2 points for a safety
10 points for a shutout

Notes: Fumbles ruled to be recovered in the end zone by an offensive player will not count as a score for any individual offensive players nor will they count as a defensive turnover. The defense must be on the field for a turnover in the end zone to count as a score. Fumbles must be returned at least 1 yard to count for an offensive player, and it will be ruled a rushing td for that offensive player. If the offensive special teams unit is on the field (to kick a field goal or extra point, or to punt) and an offensive play such as a pass or rush attempt is made, that will count only for the individual offensive players involved and not for the D/ST in the event of any score and/or yardage gained.

During the regular season and playoffs, no game will end in a tie. If a tie exists the following will be used in order until a winner is determined:

1. Team with highest scoring fantasy bench.
2. Team with highest scoring fantasy starter.
3. Team with highest scoring fantasy non-starter.
4. Longest FG by starting kicker.
5. Longest TD pass thrown by starting QB.
6. Coin flip by the CEO.

Whichever team wins the tie breaker will have 1pt added to their score and be declared the winner.

Owners must check email and the web page every day and should take no more than a few hours after receiving notification to make a selection. Owners who exceed 24 hours on the clock to make a pick will lose their pick for that round and will make 2 selections consecutively in the next round at the spot in the round that owner would normally pick. As the commencement of the season grows near, the CEO may shorten the time frame an owner may have to make a selection.

If the season is getting too close and the CEO feels the draft will not end on time, the CEO will call a live chat room draft meeting with a one week's notice to finish the draft. Any owner who fails to show up at that time will have his or her team draft completed by the CEO or a designee appointed by the CEO.

Bids must be emailed to a hotmail email account (or possibly thru the web page if applicable) that the CEO will oversee with each league President by Wednesdays at midnight EST.

Each team owner is allowed to bid on up to 4 players, but may acquire no more than 2 in any given week. Players will be "sold" for the amount of cash bid to the highest bidder. "Acquired" means you're adding one player to your team and dropping one player based on the bid being accepted. A "bid" is a request to acquire a player by using your available bidding cash in a system that rewards the team owner with the highest bid in cash.

Bids will be in even dollar amounts only. If an owner mistakenly bids in dollars and cents (i.e., $3.50), only the dollars part of the bid will be used (i.e., $3). If an owner mistakenly bids less than $1, the bid will be rounded up to $1. Bids made in excess of available cash at the time of the bid will be discarded.

Bids will be prioritized from the highest bid amount to the smallest. If two bids are identical from an owner, the order in which they are listed will be used. In the event of a tie, the player will be sold to the bidder with the worst season won/loss record (tiebreaker method for the playoffs will be used to break further ties). Owners must state whether they would like to acquire 1 or 2 payers based on their bids if acquiring more than 1 is possible. "If" bids will not be allowed. An "if" bid is one that states you want to grab 1 of two QBs, "if" not one then the other, and also the same for a RB too.

Once an owner's cash is depleted they will be unable to pick up free agents for the season unless they trade for cash from another owner. Owners are allowed to bank up to $5 for carryover to the following season. Any new owner added to a previously existing league after the first year will start with $30 for bidding.

Trading rules will be extremely liberal. Owners are encouraged to be creative in making trades, but "player to be named later" trades will not be allowed. Owners may trade players or cash, but draft picks are only tradable in the off-season trading period that will commence 4 weeks prior to the new season's draft (this will change for owners with one year in the league after this season and then trades for draft picks can only be made with other "vested" owners). No trades will be allowed between leagues.

Trades that appear to be collusional in nature may be subject to appeal and may be held up until an investigation by the involved President and CEO can start and end.

Owners who collude to fraud the league with extremely unfair trades, loaning of players, or any other offense detrimental to the league will be removed from the league if it is determined by the CEO collusion and/or cheating has occurred.

Free agency will end on Wednesday, 12 midnight after Week 12. Owners playing in individual league championship games may make one free drop/add 48 hours before their games in case of injury or benching ONLY if another "named NFL starting player" is not available on your bench (this will be at the discretion of the CEO in consultation with each involved President).

Trades of players and/or cash is allowed as long as they are fair and reasonable and will only become valid after all owners involved contact their President (or post to the web page if applicable). The league Presidents have the right to void any obviously unfair or unreasonable trade after consultation with the CEO.

No trading will be allowed after Wednesday, 12 midnight after Week 12. The weekly trading deadline will be 24 hours prior to kickoff of the first game of the week for all trades including those weeks with early games. Trading will resume in the off-season trading period 4 weeks before the new season's draft.

Note: all league times are considered to always be United States Eastern Standard or Daylight Time unless otherwise notified in advance by the CEO.

Each owner is ethically responsible for fielding their best possible lineup each week to win each and every league game for that season. What is considered your best possible lineup will be left to each owner, but if an owner appears to be tanking a game for any reason, they may be removed from the league.

Owners will not make it a point to police the lineups and trades of other owners. If a lineup or trade appears to cross the line, the owner who feels it needs to brought out in the open should first contact their President (a courtesy copy to the CEO is also a good idea). All attempts shall be made in private by the President and CEO to resolve the issue. If the issue needs to be brought to the league(s) attention, be assured the CEO will do so.

Public or private attempts to harass or malign another league member will not and should not go on. We are all adults. Talking a little smack I'm sure will go on and will be fun, humorous, and good natured; however, personal attacks are something else altogether. It would be my wish that everyone remain civil and friendly to everyone else in the league at all times. If you end up not getting along with someone, it doesn't need to be an issue dragged thru the league. Do I really need to go on here?

Tanking will consist of the following: attempting to lose to get a better draft slot, attempting to lose to help another owner make the playoffs, attempting to lose to help eliminate an owner from the playoffs, submitting injured players when healthy ones are available, not actively trying to trade or pick up free agents to improve your team if your season hits the skids, or any other definition of tanking that has the effect of hurting your team and/or the league.

Owner communications will not be considered tanking or collusion on its face; however, if they can be shown to be such, that owner won't be allowed to continue in the league. Owners may and should freely talk to each other however is appropriate. It is only when the line of collusion, tanking, or trying to defraud the league in any way is crossed where the CEO will step in and conduct an investigation. The CEO will also not hesitate to drop an owner who quits responding to the league if they lose interest or violates league rules. Remember, we are here for fun, but it does take work to make fun.

No one shall be trying at any time to remove an owner from the league. If an issue that comes up rises to the level that sanctions are discussed, removing an owner will only occur as a last resort if other ways to resolve the issue are not considered by the CEO to be in the best interests of the league.

In addition to the positions described above for the running of the leagues, other things may be going on and all owners are highly encouraged to take an active part. We will have a newsletter that will publish once per week in-season (from the NFL week 1 through the last week of the NGFFL playoffs), and once per month in the off-season. A Newsletter Editor will be appointed by the CEO based on hearing from volunteers.

The Editor will be responsible for all activities of the newsletter with help from an Assistant Editor, league correspondents, and power rankings correspondents from owner volunteers.

It will be up to the Editor to ensure the newsletter is sent out as scheduled and they will work with their staff to set up the roles of each person on staff. All functions of the newsletter will be up to the Editor. If the Editor can no longer meet their commitment, a new Editor will be appointed by the CEO.

There will also be a league Webmaster appointed by the CEO. This person will acquire, develop, maintain, and post all league activities on the league web page in cooperation with each league's officers. This person should be relatively experienced in web page design by having run a league or web page before and must be willing to the time commitment of a few hours or so each week. This person may appoint an assistant and/or staff if they choose. The webmaster will work closely with the CEO, each President, and the newsletter editor. Owners may serve in dual roles with the approval of the CEO if they feel they can handle it.

All votes after the first season to amend the Constitution will be conducted during the first week of the 4-week off-season trading period before keepers must be announced. Any voted rules changes must be approved by 75% of all league owners (27 votes). Any proposed rules changes will be considered by the CEO, and based on the appropriateness of the rule change proposal, a league-wide vote may take place. The CEO reserves the right to make rules changes in the best interests of the league during this period as well. Not all rules changes will be voted on at the discretion of the CEO. Very few, if any, rules will ever be changed during the season unless it is absolutely necessary, and only then after bringing the issue up for a league-wide discussion.

Note: due to several controversial scoring situations that have arisen here at the end of the '98 season, let me say this about how these types of situations will be handled. However the FFLNet system rules on a scoring issue will be how any scoring play will be scored. If the system later "corrects" something, those changes will be made retroactively. It will take a 75% majority vote of the entire NGFFL to overrule the way any individual play is scored by theFFLNet system.

These rules are a guideline and may be changed; however, the basics of the rules will be the basis of the league. I will accept any and all input on the rules at any time. This isn't going to be some slipshod league. We will carefully analyze the rules and any possible changes. When we are done, we will have a league people will be lining up to sign up on the waiting list to join.

Feel free to send me a detailed email giving your feedback to the Constitution and rules changes (with explanations) that you would like to see enacted.

Some minor rules changes may be made by the CEO without a vote.

I have given these rules some serious thought and have incorporated some aspects I have seen work really well in other leagues. Hopefully everyone will go along with the spirit of the league as I've tried to set it up and we can work on fine tuning the rules to make everything clear and fair.