If Only... Fantasy Football League 
Constitution and By-Laws



Overview  |  Commissioner  |  Divisions  |  Schedule  |  Playoffs  |  Draft Night  |  Line-Ups  |  Scoring  |  Roster Changes  |  Other  |  Update History

    Article I - Overview

    The If Only... Fantasy Football League (hereafter referred to as the IOFFL) exists solely for entertainment purposes. The purpose of the IOFFL is to enhance the enjoyment of NFL games. Any and all rules, regulations, and scoring methods are to be kept simple to support this goal.

    IOFFL game outcomes are based on the actions of real NFL games and players. As an IOFFL franchise owner, general manager, and coach, you will draft a team, set starting lineups, and make trades and free-agent acquisitions. Your team’s success will depend on the NFL scoring of the players you draft, trade, and start. If your team’s starting players score during their NFL games, your team receives points for the those players' scores.

    The IOFFL is comprised of 12 franchises. Any change in the number of franchises is subject to the approval of greater than fifty percent of the votes cast on a specfic proposal. Changes to the aforementioned and all subsequent by-laws are to be in accordance with Article X.

    An entry "fee" of 135 units is charged to each franchise, and is to be recorded no later than draft night. These units are distributed to franchises based upon weekly, full season, and playoff performances. Additional prizes of 15/100 unit (.15 units) are tallied each week based upon each team's total points relative to each of the other 11 franchises. These additional prizes are "collected" from each franchise with a lower full season point total, and "paid" to each franchise with a higher full season point total. The points prizes are distributed at the conclusion of the IOFFL season. All units will be recorded no later than three weeks following the IOFFL Super Bowl.


    Article II - League Commissioner

    The League Commissioner position is elected by a majority of the franchises; those individuals who seek the position of League Commissioner will make themselves known at the Owners Meeting (if scheduled, to be held 30 days prior to Draft Night - but really just another excuse for a night out). If only one party or franchise "volunteers" for the position, a vote becomes unnecessary.

    A. Responsibilities:

    1. Coordinating Draft Night
    2. Keeping IOFFL Standings and Statistics
    3. Logging Trade/Waiver Transactions
    4. Logging Weekly Team Line-Ups
    5. Serving as IOFFL Unit Treasurer

    B. Term of Office:

    C. Fees/Administrative Expenses:


    Article III - Divisions

    The IOFFL will consist of three divisions, with each division containing four teams. Teams are assigned to a division based upon their draft position.

    The IOFFL division structure has an impact upon both the schedule and the playoff determination for each team.


    Article IV - League Schedule

    The IOFFL regular and post-season schedule will cover 17 weeks, consisting of a 14 week regular season followed by a 3 week post-season. The IOFFL schedule occurs entirely during the NFL's regular season schedule, and therefore requires that the NFL regular season schedule be a minimum of 17 games.
    Note: If for some reason the NFL schedule was to be shortened to less than 17 weeks, the IOFFL schedule and/or division format would need to be reviewed and possibly changed.

    The IOFFL regular season schedule as well as the division structure are determined based upon draft position. As described in Article III, the IOFFL consists of three divisions, each division having four teams. Each team will play their fellow division teams twice each (for a total of 6 intra-divisional games), and will play teams in the other divisions once each (for a total of 8 inter-divisional games). Intra-divisional games will be played in the first three weeks and the last three weeks of the IOFFL regular season (Weeks 1 through 3 and Weeks 12 through 14). Inter-divisional games will be played in Weeks 4 through 11.

    For the purposes of reading the schedule below, each draft position is transposed to a Team Number. Teams drafting 1, 4, 7, and 10 are assigned Team Numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4 - and as described in Article III, make up the Eastern Division. Teams drafting 2, 5, 8, and 11 are assigned Team Numbers 5, 6, 7, and 8 - and make up the Central Division. Teams drafting 3, 6, 9, and 12 are assigned Team Numbers 9, 10, 11, and 12 - and make up the Western Division. Using the Team Numbers, the IOFFL schedule is as follows:



    Eastern Division
    Central Division
    Western Division
    Draft Pos. 1 4 7 10 2 5 8 11 3 6 9 12
    Team No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
     
    Week No.



    1 2 1 4 3 6 5 8 7 10 9 12 11
    2 3 4 1 2 7 8 5 6 11 12 9 10
    3 4 3 2 1 8 7 6 5 12 11 10 9
    4 5 6 11 12 1 2 9 10 7 8 3 4
    5 6 7 9 10 11 1 2 12 3 4 5 8
    6 12 11 8 6 9 4 10 3 5 7 2 1
    7 11 10 6 5 4 3 12 9 8 2 1 7
    8 7 8 12 9 10 11 1 2 4 5 6 3
    9 8 9 7 11 12 10 3 1 2 6 4 5
    10 10 12 5 7 3 9 4 11 6 1 8 2
    11 9 5 10 8 2 12 11 4 1 3 7 6
    12 2 1 4 3 6 5 8 7 10 9 12 11
    13 3 4 1 2 7 8 5 6 11 12 9 10
    14 4 3 2 1 8 7 6 5 12 11 10 9
    15 Quarterfinals - Wildcard Playoffs
    16 Semifinals - Divisional Playoffs
    17 ***** Super Bowl / Toilet Bowl *****

    Article V - Playoffs / Prizes

    The Playoffs will consist of both a Super Bowl and a Toilet Bowl. Six teams will compete for the Super Bowl and six teams will compete for the Toilet Bowl. This means that every team in the IOFFL will participate in the post-season in some way.

    The six teams competing for the Super Bowl will consist of the three division winners plus three wildcard teams. The three non-division winner teams with the best record will qualify as the wildcard teams. In the event multiple teams have the same record, then the following tie-breakers shall apply, in order:

    1. Most wins
    2. Head to head record
    3. Record vs. division (if two teams from the same division, and only for the division title - does not apply to ties for a wildcard playoff spot)
    4. Total points scored
    5. Point differential
    6. Coin flip

    The Playoffs for the Toilet Bowl consist of the six teams which did not make the playoffs for the Super Bowl. The Toilet Bowl teams are seeded in the inverse order of their won/loss record; e.g., the non-playoff team with the worst record is the #1 seed for the Toilet Bowl, and the non-playoff team with the best record is the #6 seed for the Toilet Bowl. The same tie-breakers apply as above.

    A. Playoff Seeding:

    For the Super Bowl, the following playoff seeding exists:

    • #1 Seed - Division winner with the best record
    • #2 Seed - Division winner with the second best record
    • #3 Seed - Division winner with the third best record
    • #4 Seed - Wildcard with the best record
    • #5 Seed - Wildcard with the second best record
    • #6 Seed - Wildcard with the third best record

    For the Toilet Bowl, the following playoff seeding exists for the six teams not in the Super Bowl playoffs:

    • #1 Seed - Team with the worst record
    • #2 Seed - Team with the second worst record
    • #3 Seed - Team with the third worst record
    • #4 Seed - Team with the fourth worst record
    • #5 Seed - Team with the fifth worst record
    • #6 Seed - Team with the sixth worst record

    Note: The seed structure remains constant for ALL rounds of the playoffs, for both the Super Bowl and the Toilet Bowl. In the first week of the playoffs, the top two seeds are granted byes, and seed 3 plays seed 6, and seed 4 plays seed 5. In the following round, the first seed plays the lowest remaining seed, and the second seed plays the higher remaining team. The higher seeded team is always the home team.


    B. Home Team Determination

    The higher seeded team (a #1 seed is higher than a #2 seed) will always be the home team in both the Super Bowl and the Toilet Bowl playoffs.


    C. Advancing in the Playoffs

    • In the Super Bowl playoffs, the team with the higher score will be deemed the winner and will advance to the next round.

    • In the Toilet Bowl playoffs, the team with the lower score will be deemed the winner and will advance to the next round.

    D. Playoff Games Ending in a Tie

    In the event a playoff game ends in a tie, the "win" will go to the higher seeded team, e.g., the home team. This means that:

    • in the Super Bowl playoffs, the team with the better won/lost record will be deemed the winner and will advance.

    • in the Toilet Bowl playoffs, the team with the the worse won/lost record will be deemed the "winner" and will advance.

    E. Prizes:

    There are two ways to earn prizes. The first way is through an awarding of the 135 units "entry fee" charged on or before Draft Night. The entry fee will be awarded at the conclusion of the post-season as follows:

     
    DESCRIPTION UNITS
    1. Weekly High Score (17 * 25 Units) 425
    2. Super Bowl Winner 250
    3. Super Bowl Loser 125
    4. Total Points Bonus - 1st 200
    5. Total Points Bonus - 2nd 100
    6. Total Points Bonus - 3rd 50
    7. Total Points Bonus - 4th 25
    8. Three Division Winners (50 Units Each) 150
    9. Three Wild Card Teams (25 Units Each) 75
    10. Four Semi-Final Playoff Teams (25 Units Each) 100
    11. Toilet Bowl Loser ("Winner") 20
    12. Administrative Expenses 100
    ***** GRAND TOTAL ***** 1620

    For the Total Points prizes, any ties in total points will result in the applicable position prizes affected by the tie being divided amongst the teams involved in the tie. For example:

    • If two teams tie for first in total points, those two teams would evenly split the first and second place prizes. The third and fourth place prizes would be unaffected assuming no other ties.
    • If two teams tie for second in total points, those two teams would evenly split the second and third place prizes. The first and fourth place prizes would be unaffected assuming no other ties.
    • If two teams tie for first in total points, and two teams tie for third, then the top two teams would evenly split the first and second place prizes, and the teams tied for third would evenly split the third and fourth place prizes.
    • If two teams tie for first in total points, and two teams tie for fourth, then the top two teams would evenly split the first and second place prizes, and the two teams tied for fourth would evenly split the fourth place prize. The third place prize would be unaffected assuming no other ties.
    • If three teams tie for first in total points, those three teams would evenly split the first, second, and third place prizes. The fourth place prize would be unaffected assuming no other ties.
    • If two teams tie for first in total points, and three teams tie for third, then the top two teams would evenly split the first and second place prizes, and the three teams tied for third would evenly split the third and fourth place prizes.
    • That's probably enough examples, huh?

    The second prize does not come from the franchise fee; rather, it comes from the .15 units per point award/charge. For each point a team scores, it receives .15 units from every other team. Conversely, each team is charged .15 units for each point scored by the remainder of the league.

    All units are tracked by the League Commissioner, and a statement is to be included in the weekly scoring update. The net of all units must be settled with the League Commissioner no later than three weeks from the end of the IOFFL Super Bowl, and the League Commissioner will distribute all prizes once those have been collected. In the event that one of the franchises declares personal bankruptcy or disappears from the face of the earth, all units will be adjusted on a pro rata basis. The defaulting team will be ineligible for future inclusion within the IOFFL should they once again become solvent, are resurrected, or like Elvis....reappear. This and similar situations are covered in Article X.


    Article VI - Draft Night

    It is the intention of the IOFFL to conduct its draft in the week prior to the first regular season games. Besides the drafting of player personnel, the league's franchises will also vote on whether or not to adopt any of the proposals made during the Owner's Meeting. For a proposal to be approved, greater than 50 percent of the votes cast must be for the approval.

    It is at the discretion of the owners to determine which aesthetics (e.g., what brand of beer) should be present at Draft Night. It is not contingent upon the League Commissioner to provide a listing of draft candidates. Franchise owners may bring whatever supplies they would like to the draft proceedings.

    A. Team Representation

    1. Franchise owner(s) may substitute a proxy for himself/herself. Such action requires notification to at least one other Franchise owner. All decisions made by the proxy are binding upon that Franchise owner.
    2. No team is permitted to draft for another without express consent from the franchise owner being drafted for. This should be made known to the Commissioner prior to the draft.

    B. Draft Assistant(s)

    • The IOFFL League Commissioner and/or any of the franchise owners may seek an assistant (or assistants) for Draft Night. Thus, if the League Commissioner has a good relationship with Pat Sajak, he/she would be allowed to have Vanna White assist at Draft Night. At the discretion of the owners of the league, local, non-celebrity type assistants would also be allowable.

    C. Draft Sequence

    1. The draft sequence is determined by drawing numbers out of a hat, selecting cards at random (e.g., Ace through Deuce for selections one through twelve), or some similar method.
    2. The draft order is based upon the "back and forth" or "snake" methodology; that is, the team that drafts last in the first round drafts first in the second round, the team that drafts first in the first round drafts last in the second round, and so on. Draft order continues to alternate through each successive round.
    3. Franchises are allotted two minutes per selection in rounds 1 though 8, and one minute per selection in rounds 9 through 17. If a franchise fails to make a selection during its allotted time, the next team in sequence is free to make its selection immediately.
    4. No trading is permitted before of during the draft.

    D. Draft Night Roster Selections

    On Draft Night, 17 players are selected with the intent to fill the following roster:

    • 3 Quarterbacks
    • 5 Running Backs
    • 5 Receivers
    • 2 Kickers
    • 2 Defensive/Special Teams

    Article VII - Weekly Line-ups

    A. Line-up

      Each week, each franchise can designate players from its roster as "starters". Points will be awarded to the franchise based upon the scoring achieved by those players designated as "starters" for that week. Below is the line-up format that each franchise may designate as "starters":

    • 1 Quarterback
    • 2 Running Backs
    • 3 Receivers
    • 1 Kicker
    • 1 Defensive/Special Team

    • Players may only be played in the positions for which they were drafted.

    B. Submission of Line-Up

    • Only the franchise owners of each franchise can submit a line-up for that franchise.
    • A franchise may at their discretion designate a non-owner representative to submit a line-up for that franchise. For these instances, the franchise needs to notify the commissioner of both the name of that representative, and the weeks which that designee can submit a line-up. This should be done prior to the submission of the line-up by the representative.

    C. Deadlines

    • All line-ups must be communicated to the League Commissioner no later than fifteen minutes prior to the first NFL game on Sunday. (Given the current NFL schedule with the early Sunday games starting at 1pm EST, the deadline is 12:45pm EST each Sunday). In the event that games are played earlier in the week (e.g., Thursday night or Saturday), players which will be participating in those games must be communicated to the League Commissioner no later than fifteen minutes prior to the applicable game. Conversely, any players who play in a Thursday or Saturday game and who will not be started that week by the IOFFL team, but who started the previous week, must be communicated to the Commissioner that that player will not be a starter that week. Without that communication, that player will automatically be deemed to be carried forward, and considered to have started. Communication of the replacement is not required at that time unless the player's replacement is also playing in the Thursday or Saturday game. For non-Sunday games, it is only required to submit roster changes for those games; the remainder of the roster may be submitted as the per the Sunday line-up deadline.
    • The PREFERRED method of submitting line-ups is through the CBS website. CBS automatically locks line-ups as each game starts, and has been set up with the IOFFL line-up rules. Alternative methods include the line-up page on the IOFFL website, which creates an email and automatically timestamps each submission. (This was the pre-CBS method of submitting line-ups). In the event of a problem with the CBS and/or IOFFL websites, line-ups may be communicated via e-mail to ioffl@aol.com, as a text message to the Commissioner, or as a last resort, through a phone call to the Commissioner. Phone calls must either be made directly to the Commissioner, or to a responsible member of the Commissioner's family, or to a designated answering machine. The answering machine should have the ability to timestamp each message. If required, an acceptable answering machine will be specified by the commissioner.

    D. "Riding" the Same Line-up

    • If a franchise has no line-up changes from one week to the next, they do not need to re-submit their line-up. The League Commissioner will assume that the previous week's line-up will be played again intact. This is referred to as "Riding" the same line-up.

    E. Trades, Waivers, and Line-ups

    • If a one-for-one player trade was made that week affecting a player who had started the previous week, it will not be assumed that the new player will be the replacement for the traded player. If an updated line-up is not submitted, the position of the traded player will remain vacant for that week.
    • If a waiver selection was executed that week affecting a player who had started the previous week, ie, that player was dropped in the waiver, it will not be assumed that the player selected in the waiver will be the replacement for the dropped player. If an updated line-up is not submitted, the position of the dropped player will remain vacant for that week.

    F. Line-up Errors