NFFC Online Championship To Award $50,000 Grand Prize

[Greg Ambrosius]

We debuted the NFFC Online Championship last year with a $20,000 grand prize last year and had expected to get 300 teams for this event. Instead, the contest grew to 512 teams and we increased the overall prizes to the point where Paul Ladisa wound up winning $30,000. It was a huge success as the 12-team format with all online drafts in August and September was a good addition to our live drafts.

But this year we wanted to take the contest to another level, so we have increased the guaranteed grand prize to $50,000, increased the league prize from $1,950 per league to $2,100, and still kept the entry fee at $350 per team. We are now paying out an industry-high 86 percent for this event!! Enjoy.

The prize structure is based on 600 teams and we're adding more draft dates and earlier draft times to make that happen. We feel confident the demand is out there for this format and with a $50,000 grand prize on only a $350 entry fee we are confident that you'll agree. We are also offering a three-pack offer for $950 -- $100 off the listed price -- through June 30th, so take advantage of that if you want. You can always change the draft times and dates later if something comes up, but grab the three-pack at the reduced price now while you can.

I'll post the rules and the scheduled draft dates and times next and then I need your help with the league prizes. We have two options with the extra $150 and I want all of you to help me decide on this one. Look for that question shortly.

Thank you everyone for making the 2009 NFFC Online Championship a huge success. Now get ready for an even better contest with the best payouts in the industry!! Enjoy.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Here are the available draft dates and times for the 2010 NFFC Online Championship. We may add more soon, so stay tuned. Again, we have the three-pack Online Championship Special listed under Special Packages in the Registration page and it's available through June 30th. Buy three teams for $950 through June 30th and save $100. Limited time offer and you can change your draft dates later if you'd like, but grab three dates now and start planing your draft strategy.

Good luck all and let us know if you see any dates and times that should be added.

2010 NFFC Online Championship
Sunday, Aug. 8, 6 pm ET
Tuesday Aug. 10 9 pm ET
Thursday Aug. 12 7 pm ET
Sunday, Aug. 15, 6 pm ET
Tuesday Aug. 17 9 pm ET
Thursday Aug. 19 7 pm ET
Sunday, Aug. 22, 6 pm ET
Tuesday, Aug. 24, 7 pm ET
Thursday, Aug. 26, 9 pm ET
Sunday, Aug. 29, 6 pm ET
Tuesday, Aug. 31, 7 pm ET
Tuesday, Aug. 31, 9 pm ET
Wednesday Sept. 1, 7 pm ET
Wednesday, Sept. 1, 9 pm ET
Thursday, Sept. 2, 2 pm ET
Thursday, Sept. 2, 7 pm ET
Thursday, Sept. 2, 9 pm ET
Sunday Sept. 5 1 pm ET
Sunday Sept. 5 4 pm ET
Sunday Sept. 5 7 pm ET
Sunday Sept. 5 9 pm ET
Monday Sept. 6 1 pm ET
Monday Sept. 6 4 pm ET
Monday Sept. 6 7 pm ET
Monday Sept. 6 9 pm ET
Tuesday Sept. 7 2 pm ET
Tuesday Sept. 7 7 pm ET
Tuesday Sept. 7 9 pm ET
Wednesday Sept. 8, 2 pm ET
Wednesday Sept. 8 7 pm ET
Wednesday, Sept. 8 9 pm ET

[Greg Ambrosius]

Here are the rules and regulations of the 2010 NFFC Online Championship:

Official Rules And Regulations Of The 2010 NFFC Online Championship

1. Overview: The NFFC Online Championship is a skill based, season long competition that will consist of individual leagues, each comprised of 12 teams/managers. The NFFC Online Championship will run from Week 1 through Week 13 in a league format, with each team playing every other team once in head-to-head competition plus two weeks of "all play", and a Championship Round consisting of the top two teams from each league for a shot at the guaranteed $50,000 grand prize. Teams will be grouped into 25 separate leagues (600 teams). The NFFC may increase the Leagues up to a maximum of 60 (720 teams) if demand warrants it with the prize pool increasing at the same level.

League prizes will be awarded to the top three teams, but only the top two advance to the Championship Round. Most total points is determined first, then best h2h record and then next most total points for third place. Most total points and best h2h record advance to the Championship Round in that order. Any team outside of the top two in each league that finishes in the top 10 percent of the total number of teams (Top 60 if we finish with 600 total teams) also can earn a Wild Card spot in the Championship Round if they didn't earn a spot through their league finish. All of the teams in the Championship Round will carry their weekly scoring average from the first 13 weeks of the regular season into the Championship Round and add that score to their point totals in Weeks 14, 15 and 16 to produce their playoff scoring total. The team with the most points in the Championship Round wins the $50,000 grand prize. Any team that has most total points and best h2h record after Week 13 wins the league title and $1,300. If two teams split best h2h record and most total points, each team will be awarded $650 and a playoff in Weeks 14-16 will determine the league champ and the winner of the remaining $650. Total points from Weeks 14-16 will determine the winner.

2. Draft: All NFFC Online Championship League drafts will be held online at nffc.fanball.com from early August through Wednesday, Sept. 8th. Participants can enter as many Online Championship leagues as they'd like and be eligible for the league and overall prizes. For a complete list of available NFFC Online Championship Leagues, click on the Sign Up link on the NFFC home page, go to the second page and click on VIEW ONLINE CHAMPIONSHIP LEAGUES. The entire list will show up.

If an NFFC participant inadvertently leaves the draft with an illegal lineup (for instance, was without a kicker or tight end) then the NFFC will drop the last pick made by that team (or more picks if needed) and add the last player at that position on Fanball Magazine's final Cheat Sheet on Draft Day to make that lineup legal. The NFFC participant could replace that player after that error was discovered during the first FAAB period on Sunday, Sept. 19. All lineups must be legal before the season starts and the NFFC will correct all errors that may have been missed at the online draft.

3. Prize Breakdown
1. NFFC Online Championship = $50,000
2. Second Place = $8,000
3. Third Place = $4,000
4. Fourth Place = $2,500
5. Fifth Place = $2,000
6. Sixth Place = $1,500

See prizes breakdown link for more info

League Prizes:

First Place: $1,300 (most total points + best h2h record if one team wins both; if teams split the two top spots, then each team will earn $650 and play a three-week tiebreaker in Weeks 14-16 with the team scoring most total points during those three weeks earning the remaining $650 and being named league champ).

Second Place: $650 (most total points following league champ)

Third Place: $150 (next most total points)

$5,000 Bonus will be awarded to the top overall team based on number of points earned in the NFFC Classic Main Event and the NFFC Online Championship.

$75,000 will be awarded to any team that wins the overall titles in both the NFFC Classic main event and the NFFC Online Championship.

The grand prize is guaranteed at $50,000. The first 300 teams that enter are guaranteed spots in the NFFC Online Championship and any additional revenue above that total up to a maximum of 720 teams will be reimbursed under the same percentages to the overall prize pools.

4. Roster Requirements: Maximum of 20 players at all times. There is no Injured Reserve list in the NFFC Online Championship.

5. Starting Lineup Requirements:
Starting lineups will consist of:

1. 1 Quarterback
2. 2 Running Backs
3. 3 Wide Receivers
4. 1 Tight End
5. 1 Flex Player (RB, WR, or TE)
6. 1 Kicker
7. 1 Team Defense/Specials Team (A complete NFL team)

(If no Week One lineup is submitted, the NFFC will determine your starting lineup. After Week One, if no starting lineup is submitted, your starting lineup will be that of the previous week.)
A. League Management Web Site

You can access your league by going to http://nffc.fanball.com You will need a username and a password to access the game site. Contact [email protected] if you are signed up for the contest and don't have a username and password. All drafts will be held online at http://nffc.fanball.com and owners will have access to the Mock Draft Lobby on their League Home page.

6. Scoring: Players can accumulate points in a number of ways:

PASSING:

1. .05 points for every yard passing (works out to 1 point every 20 yards).
2. 6 points for every passing touchdown
3. 2 points for every 2-Point conversion
4. minus 1 point for every interception and lost fumble

RUSHING:

1. 10 points for every yard rushing (works out to 1 point every 10 yards).
2. 6 points for every rushing TD
3. 2 points for every 2-Point conversion
4. minus 1 point for every lost fumble
5. 6 points for a recovered offensive fumble for a touchdown (RB, QB, WR, TE)

RECEIVING:

1. 10 points for every yard rushing (works out to 1 point every 10 yards).
2. 6 points for every receiving TD
3. 1 point for every reception for WRs, Tight Ends and QBs
4. 0.5 points for every reception for RBs
5. 2 points for every 2-Point conversion
6. minus 1 point for every lost fumble

KICKING:

1. 1 point for every extra point
2. 3 points for every field goal from 1-30 yards
3. 3 points for every field goal plus 10 points for every yard after 30 yards (i.e. a 47-yard field goal would be worth 4.7 points)

DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS:

1. 1 point for every sack
2. 2 points for every interception or opponents' fumble recovery
3. 6 points for every touchdown (interception return, defensive fumble return, punt or kickoff return, blocked field goal return, blocked punt return). All special teams and defensive points are awarded to the team responsible, not the individual player. Should a kicker, punter or field goal holder throw a pass off a fake attempt, however, the offensive output for that offensive play would go towards the individual player, not the specials team. Also, any lost fumble or "muff" on a specials team play does not result in negative points for that individual player.
4. 2 points for every safety
5. 12 points for a shutout by the entire team
6. 8 points for allowing 2-7 points by the entire team
7. 4 points for allowing 8-12 points by the entire team
8. 2 points for allowing 13-17 points by the entire team
9. In the event of a "double turnover" when a team's offense turns the ball over and on the same play forces a turnover and scores a touchdown, the offensive player who scored the touchdown will receive six points. The player will not receive any other fantasy points for the play. The Team Defense/Special teams will receive points for the fumble recovery, but not for the touchdown.

7. The Draft: The draft will be held online at nffc.fanball.com in a serpentine fashion for each round using 3RR (1-12 in Round 1, 12-1 in Round 2, 12-1 in Round 3, 1-12 in Round 4 and continuing from there in serpentine fashion) for 20 rounds.

A. League Management Web Address: Fanball will manage the NFFC and provide real-time stats online. You can access your league via the Internet by going to http://nffc.fanball.com.

B. Lineup Submission: All lineups may be submitted on the league web site and must be entered prior to the scheduled kickoff for the game affected.

C. Scoring: The National Fantasy Football Championship will use a head-to-head scoring setup. Scoring will be accumulated each week from your 10 starters. Scores in the NFFC are finalized with no changes possible after 6 p.m. EST each Thursday after the weekend games.

8. Free Agent Acquisitions: Any player who is not on a team roster within your league is considered a free agent for that league. The free agent system will be a "blind bidding" process for each individual league (Free Agent Acquisition Bidding or FAAB). Each team will start with an imaginary $1,000 FAAB budget, and will be permitted to bid for free agents on a weekly basis after Week 1 through Week 13. No team will be informed of any other team's free agent bids before they're announced and only the winning bid and the runner-up bid will be announced afterwards to NFFC owners. The team with the highest bid on any given player will be awarded that player. The amount of the winning bid will be deducted from the winning team's free agent dollars. For each winning bid, the winning team must drop a player to make roster room for the free agent acquisition. If a team's free agent dollars goes to zero, that team will no longer be allowed to bid for the rest of the season. No bid will be accepted that is larger than a team's free agent dollars. All bids must be in increments of dollars (no cents).

9. Bidding Time Frame: The bidding process will be held each week after Week 1 and continues through the end of the NFFC Primetime regular season. Bids will be accepted on the league web site from Tuesday at 9 am ET until Friday at 9 p.m. ET in each of those weeks. If you are submitting by phone, you must submit your bids by 2:30 p.m. ET on Friday. Rosters will be updated by 10 p.m. ET Friday with the results of all successful bids. The FAAB deadline will be moved to Wednesday, Nov. 18 at 8 p.m. EST to comply with the Thanksgiving Day games and to Wednesday, Nov. 4, Wednesday, Nov. 11 and Wednesday, Nov. 25 at 8 p.m. EST to comply with the early Thursday games as well. There are no FAAB pickups in Weeks 14 through 16 during the NFFC Championship Round and NFFC Consolation Round. All winning FAAB bids on Nov. 18 and 25 are final at that time, even if a scoring change is made after that which would affect tied winning bids.

10. Conditional Bids: You can also submit optional conditional bids in the event your bid for a player is unsuccessful at any time during the bidding time frame. The first conditional bid will become relevant only if you are unsuccessful on the first bid. Subsequent conditional bids will become relevant only if the previous conditional bid fails.

11. Tied Bids: If there is a tie bid, the team that receives the player will be determined in order by:

1. Worst league record.
2. Lowest total points.
3. Head-to-head matchups of teams (losing team would get the player).
4. Worst previous week score each week from most current back to Week 1.
5. Lowest draft position.

12. Trades Between Managers: To minimize the possibility of collusion, no trading will be permitted. To preserve the integrity of the competition, all player cuts are subject to review by the commissioner of the NFFC and can be revoked if the dropped player is deemed too valuable for inclusion in a League's free agent pool. Where a "star" player is dropped for a valid reason, the NFFC may approve the cut, but may keep the player out of that League's free agent listing for any length of time, possibly the entire season. All decisions by the NFFC will be final.

13. League Structure: Each league will consist of 12 teams competing in a head-to-head plus total points format for the league championship. The NFFC Online Championship will run from Week 1 through Week 13 in a league format, with each team playing every other team once in head-to-head competition plus two weeks of "all play", where the top six scoring teams in the league earn a Win and the lowest six scoring teams in each league earn a Loss. The "All Play" format this year will be held in Weeks 1 and 2. After Week 13, two teams from each league earn a spot in the Championship Round: 1) Most total points and 2) Best head-to-head record not counting the total points winner with total points being the tie-breaker. Any team outside of the top two in each league that finishes in the top 10 percent of the total number of teams (Top 60 if we finish with 600 total teams) also can earn a Wild Card spot in the Championship Round if they didn't earn a spot through their league finish. All of the teams in the Championship Round will carry their weekly scoring average from the first 13 weeks of the regular season into the Championship Round and add that score to their point totals in Weeks 14, 15 and 16 to produce their playoff scoring total. The team with the most points in the Championship Round wins the $50,000 grand prize.

League prizes are paid out to the top three finishers: $1,300 for first, $650 for second, $150 for third. Any team that has the most total points and best h2h record after Week 13 is determined the league champion and winner of the $1,300 league prize. Second place is next most total points and third place is next total points. If two teams split most total points and best h2h record after Week 13, both will earn $650 and a three-week playoff in Weeks 14-16 will determine the remaining $650 prize and honor as league champion. The playoff is most total points in Weeks 14-16.

14. Submitting Starting Lineups: NFFC owners must submit their starting lineups each week before the start of the NFL's games. The deadline is five minutes before kickoff of the first NFL game each week. Starters are locked once the games start and those players are active. However, owners are allowed to change their lineup five minutes before the start of the late Sunday afternoon, Sunday night or Monday night games with players who still haven't played yet, as long as their roster remains legal.

15. Random League/Draft Spot Selections: The NFFC Online Championship will randomly select the leagues and the draft orders of each league once all entries have been finalized for each draft date. For instance, if the NFFC receives 48 entries for the Tuesday, Sept. 7th 7 p.m. draft, we'll put all 48 names into the computer and select in order: League 1, pick 1 is John Smith; League 1, pick 2 is John Doe, League 1, pick 3 is Jane Andrews, etc. until all 48 names have been selected. We will do this for each draft date for all of the leagues and separate the leagues in groups of 12 (1-12 is League 1, 13-24 is League 2, 25-36 is League 3, etc.). We will also implement the Kentucky Derby Style process in the NFFC Online Championship to allow owners more draft preference. The KDS process allows owners to rank their order of preference for Draft Day, ranking their preferences 1 through 12 BEFORE the leagues are selected. If an owner wants the third pick if he is selected No. 1 overall in his league, he would choose that option and he would then be moved to third in that league on Draft Day. NFFC officials will look at every owner's Draft Preferences after the leagues and orders are randomly selected and then announce the draft orders for each league. Once each NFFC owner has officially signed up for the contest, they can find this feature in their game site under My Settings. Then click on Draft Preferences and you'll see the Draft Order ranked 1 through 12 and the option to change those preferences next to them. If you decide not to rank your preferences, your preferred order will remain 1 through 12. Owners can change their Draft Preferences right up until the announced deadline is set. An example of a KDS preference would be: 1, 2, 3, 12, 11, 7, 8, 9, 4, 5, 6, 10. If you were picked fourth out of the hat for your league and the top three teams took 1, 2, and 3, then you'd be slotted in the 12th spot (your fourth preference) on Draft Day.

16. Time Limit For Draft: There will be a 90-second time limit for each owner to make his/her pick during each round of the NFFC Online Championship draft. If a participant does not make a selection in the allotted time, the computer will select for that owner using Fanball's overall ranking system. If there is a computer failure, an error made with a selection by an owner or any other type of technical malfunction, the draft moderator can stop the draft at any time and correct the error and then resume the draft. We will allow the draft moderator to roll back the draft if a technical error occurred, but if the desired player had already been selected before the draft was stopped that player is no longer available to be drafted. All decisions will be made by the NFFC moderator during the draft and will be final.

17. Commissioner Decisions: All decisions made by the Commissioner of the NFFC are final. Tough decisions sometimes must be made about eligibility rules, lineups, draft software, etc., and NFFC participants must accept the unbiased ruling of the NFFC Commissioner.

18. Refunds: Once a participant submits valid payment, no money will be refunded to participants or co-managers unless the National Fantasy Football Championship is canceled. A team spot is considered filled when the entire $350 entry fee is paid. Fanball reserves the right to cancel any entries not comprising a full 12-team league. When a participant agrees to finish the registration form and submit payment, that participant has demonstrated his/her acceptance of the official rules and regulations for the NFFC Online Championship.

At its sole discretion, Fanball reserves the right to terminate the National Fantasy Football Championship Online Championship in its entirety if there are an insufficient number of teams by August 29, 2010. In this unlikely event, Fanball will refund all entry fees within 48 hours of cancellation notice and/or provide a new application form with the newly stated prize figures. In this situation, all pre-registered applicants have the right to a full refund or to agree to play for the newly announced prize structure. Fanball is not responsible for any loss or liability incurred by any participant or co-managers due to cancellation of the National Fantasy Football Championship Online Championship, including but not limited to travel or hotel expenses, time taken off from employment, etc.

19. Taxes: If the principal team owner's prize winnings are $600.00 or greater, the National Fantasy Football Championship must file a Form 1099 with the IRS at the end of this calendar year. We will request your social security number and signature on this form. The form contains the amount paid to you and you will receive a copy of the form for tax purposes. Fanball pays ONLY the principal team owner of each NFFC team that was submitted on the entry form and you are responsible for paying any taxes that result from your cash prize; please consult your income tax advisor for filing advice. A 30% U.S. income tax withholding will be applied to all non-U.S. prize winners. In the event that the awarding of any prizes to winners of the Contest is challenged by any legal authority, Fanball reserves the right in its sole discretion to determine whether or not to award such prizes. After 12 months, any unclaimed prize will be forfeited.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Just a heads up that all of our NFFC Online Championship drafts will be held on our own software at nffc.fanball.com. We will have a free Draft Lobby on your Home page by mid-June and you'll be able to test out the software and do NFFC-style 12-team and 14-team mock drafts as much as you'd like. The software was developed for baseball and is very, very nice.

You'll be able to use default rankings on the site or create your own rankings. Once you create your own rankings, you can load those into the system each time you have a new draft. That's a nice feature indeed.

You can also sort available players by stat categories and sort by Default Rankings or My Rankings. It's a nice setup that we'll unveil for you shortly, so get ready for it. Enjoy.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Okay, so here's the question I'd like answered for us. Ryan has agreed to let us increase the league prizes this year by $150 to bring league prizes to $2,100, the highest in the industry for this format. I have two possible scenarios that I'm thinking about and you let me know which one works best for you:

1st: $1,300
2nd: $650
3rd: $150

or

1st: $1,600
2nd: $500

Which one do you like best and which one do you think will attract more players? Last year there was debate about no third place league prize and some teams that had the second most points in their league were left with nothing. But is it better to add a third place prize or increase first place to a much higher level? I'm interested in all thoughts. Thanks.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Just a heads up also this year in the Online Championship we did change the league payout structure to better mirage our other contests. Instead of just paying out all league prizes after Week 13, we are making the best team earn the first place prize. If teams split best h2h record and Total Points after Week 13, they will go into a separate league playoff to determine the league champion, just like we do in the NFFC Classic and NFFC Primetime.

Last year we just awarded the Top Points team after Week 13 with the first place league prize. This year folks will have to work extra hard to show they are the best team in their league.

Here's the league rule change for this year:
Any team that has the most total points and best h2h record after Week 13 is determined the league champion and winner of the $1,300 league prize. Second place is next most total points and third place is next total points. If two teams split most total points and best h2h record after Week 13, both will earn $650 and a three-week playoff in Weeks 14-16 will determine the remaining $650 prize and honor as league champion. The playoff is most total points in Weeks 14-16.

[mws123]

Looks like a great payout this year ! My only disappointment is that we didn't have any input in the rules that are already in place. Tom indicated suggestions were indeed welcome. It appears the conversation had already been closed. I thought a questionnaire would have been helpful for you and allowed us to vote on the punt return and Kick return scoring issues.

I like paying out to the top 3 teams in each league. I also like paying to the player on the double turnover scenario.

Thanks Greg

[Greg Ambrosius]

Originally posted by Oregon Tarheel:
Looks like a great payout this year ! My only disappointment is that we didn't have any input in the rules that are already in place. Tom indicated suggestions were indeed welcome. It appears the conversation had already been closed. I thought a questionnaire would have been helpful for you and allowed us to vote on the punt return and Kick return scoring issues.

I like paying out to the top 3 teams in each league. I also like paying to the player on the double turnover scenario.

Thanks Greg Yeah, we're still looking into the special teams scoring rules. That will either be changed across the board or remain the same. That hasn't been decided yet and I'll start a separate thread for that discussion and even survey the members if needed. Rob B. was asking for this as well and I told him I promise to get to this debate shortly, but right now I'm just trying to unveil everything we have in place and get the momentum going.

But the ST/D score isn't a closed case. I'm just knocking off projects one-by-one.

[philpo]

Originally posted by Greg Ambrosius:
Okay, so here's the question I'd like answered for us. Ryan has agreed to let us increase the league prizes this year by $150 to bring league prizes to $2,100, the highest in the industry for this format. I have two possible scenarios that I'm thinking about and you let me know which one works best for you:

1st: $1,300
2nd: $650
3rd: $150

or

1st: $1,600
2nd: $500

Which one do you like best and which one do you think will attract more players? Last year there was debate about no third place league prize and some teams that had the second most points in their league were left with nothing. But is it better to add a third place prize or increase first place to a much higher level? I'm interested in all thoughts. Thanks. I like payout option #2
1st: $1,600
2nd: $500

[76erfan]

i like $1600 and $500 payout