2009 NFFC Online Championship League Rules

Greg Ambrosius
Posts: 36419
Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2004 6:00 pm

2009 NFFC Online Championship League Rules

Post by Greg Ambrosius » Mon Apr 13, 2009 5:09 am

Okay, we just finished our debut draft season in baseball for the NFBC Online Championship League and it was an incredible success. The 12-team format, the $350 entry fee level and the $20,000 guaranteed grand prize all seemed to work well...almost too well.

While we shot for 300 teams and a $20,000 grand prize, the demand was so great for the Online Championship that we finished with 600 teams and a $40,000 grand prize. We doubled all of our overall prizes, added a $75,000 cash prize to anyone who can win the NFBC main event and the Online Championship and also had $10,000 in additional cash prizes for Combined Standings, again between the main event and the Online Championship.

We have all of that in place now for football as well. Real quickly, we are shooting for 300 teams and have guaranteed all of the overall prizes based on that level. However, it does say in our rules that we can go up to 600 teams and would continue to add additional prize money to the overall pool for any additional leagues over 25 at the same prize percentage. It's a win-win for everyone if demand exceeds expectations again.

Secondly, we are going with the more conventional 12-team format for the Online Championship as baseball proved that this is where the majority of fantasy players reside. We also think our 13-week regular season format plays well to this contest and by rewarding the h2h champ and the total points champ in each league we are rewarding both formats. We've also added a wild card format for teams who score plenty of points but are in a tough, tough league.

And finally, we are hosting online drafts over seven different dates, before our main event (and final preseason games) and after our main event. We will offer 18 different draft times and will do our best to fill each with 12-team leagues. Some folks will favor the earlier drafts and some will favor the later drafts. Our goal, like it was in baseball, is to limit the number of leagues we run each night so that each league is properly monitored by an NFFC official and an MDC.com official. So if you see a date that works for you, sign up early rather than be shut out later when that draft date has too many full leagues already.

One more note: We will offer three-packs for the NFFC Online Championship at $950, a savings of $100 if you take three teams. That seemed to be a good hit with the baseball folks and knowing the appetite of most fantasy football folks, it should be a touchdown here as well.

This should be a fun, fun addition to our season of contests and if baseball is any indication, this online format will grow faster than anything we offer at the live events. Thanks and good luck all.
Founder, National Fantasy Football Championship & National Fantasy Baseball Championship
Twitter: @GregAmbrosius

Greg Ambrosius
Posts: 36419
Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2004 6:00 pm

2009 NFFC Online Championship League Rules

Post by Greg Ambrosius » Mon Apr 13, 2009 5:09 am

Here are the rules for the debut NFFC Online Championship. They will be posted on the home page shortly:


Section I: Official Rules and Regulations of the
NBC Sports NFFC Online Championship

1. Overview: The NBC Sports 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 $20,000 grand prize. Teams will be grouped into 25 separate leagues (300 teams). The NFFC may increase the Leagues up to a maximum of 50 (600 teams) if demand warrants it with the prize pool increasing at the same level. All playoff teams 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 $20,000 grand prize.

2. Draft: All NFFC Online Championship League drafts will be held online at www.MockDraftCentral.com from Tuesday, Sept. 1st through Wednesday, Sept. 9th. 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 REGISTER 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 Fantasy Sports 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. 21. 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. Roster Requirements: Maximum of 20 players at all times. There is no Injured Reserve list in the NFFC Online Championship.

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

* 1 Quarterback
* 2 Running Backs
* 3 Wide Receivers
* 1 Tight End
* 1 Flex Player (RB, WR or TE)
* 1 Kicker
* 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 www.fantasyfootballchampionship.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 www.mockdraftcentral.com and owners will receive free access to this site before Draft Day and for the draft.

5. Scoring: You can accumulate points in the following ways:
PASSING:

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

RUSHING:

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

RECEIVING:

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

KICKING:

* 1 point for every extra point
* 3 points for every field goal from 1-30 yards
* 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 point for every sack
* 2 points for every interception or opponents' fumble recovery
* 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 special teams. Also, any lost fumble or "muff" on a specials team play does not result in negative points for that individual player.
* 2 points for every safety
* 12 points for a shutout by the entire team
* 8 points for allowing 2-7 points by the entire team
* 4 points for allowing 8-12 points by the entire team
* 2 points for allowing 13-17 points by the entire team

6. The Draft: The draft will be held online at www.mockdraftcentral.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: STATS, Inc. will manage the NFFC and provide real-time stats online. You can access your league via the Internet by going to http://game.fantasyfootballchampionship.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.

7. 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).

8. Bidding Time Frame: The bidding process will be held each week after Week 1 and continues through the end of the NFFC 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. Rosters will be updated by 10 p.m. ET Friday with the results of all successful bids.

Starting in Week 10 when the NFL adds Thursday games, the FAAB deadline will be moved to Wednesday at 8 p.m. EST to comply with the Thursday games. No FAAB pickups will be permitted in Weeks 14 through 16. All winning FAAB bids on Wednesdays are final at that time, even if a scoring change is made after that which would affect tied winning bids.

9. 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.

10. 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 (going back from most previous week and continuing to Week 1).
5. Lowest draft position.

11. 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.

12. 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 4 and 8 when six NFL teams have byes those weeks (check the NFL schedule for all bye weeks). After Week 13, two teams from each league earn a spot in the Championship Round: 1) First is the team with the best head-to-head league record (total points is the tie-breaker); and 2) Second is the remaining team with the most total points outside of the h2h champion. Any team outside of the top two in each league that finishes in the top 10 percent of the total number of teams (Top 30 if we finish with 300 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 $20,000 grand prize.

The NFFC will group teams into 25 separate leagues (300 teams) based on the seven different draft dates. The NFFC may increase the Leagues up to a maximum of 50 (600 teams) if demand warrants it with the prize pool increasing at the same level.

13. 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.

14. 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. 8th 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.

15. Prize Breakdown:

NFFC Online Championship = $20,000
Second Place = $5,000
Third Place = $2,500
Fourth Place = $1,250
Fifth Place = $500
Sixth Place = $350

League Prizes:
First Place: $1,300 (most total points)
Second Place: $650 (best h2h record outside most total points team; total points is the tie-breaker among tied h2h teams)

$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.

We are paying back 75 percent of all entry fees for league and overall prizes plus an additional 5 percent to an overall grand prize combining the overall point totals of the NFFC main event and the NFFC Online Championship. League prizes are $1,300 for first place and $650 for second place. The grand prize is guaranteed at $20,000. 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 600 teams will be reimbursed under the same percentages to the overall prize pools.

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 MDC’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 NFFC Online Championship is canceled. A team spot is considered filled when the entire entry fee is paid. Krause Publications 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, Krause Publications also reserves the right to terminate The NFFC Online Championship in its entirety if there are an insufficient number of teams two days before each deadline. In this unlikely event, Krause Publications will refund all entry fees within 48 hours of cancellation notice and/or provide a new application form with the newly stated prize figures. All pre-registered applicants would have the right to a full refund or agree to play for the newly announced prize structure or in other leagues. Krause Publications is not responsible for any loss or liability incurred by any participant or co-managers due to cancellation of the NFFC Online Championship, including but not limited to travel or hotel expenses, time taken off from employment, etc.

19. Taxes: If the principal participant's prize winnings exceed $600.00, The NFFC Online 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 and will pay the principal owner. The Form contains the amount paid to you and you will receive a copy of the Form for tax purposes. You are responsible for paying any taxes that result from your cash prize. Please consult your income tax advisor for filing advice.

[ April 13, 2009, 11:13 AM: Message edited by: Greg Ambrosius ]
Founder, National Fantasy Football Championship & National Fantasy Baseball Championship
Twitter: @GregAmbrosius

Greg Ambrosius
Posts: 36419
Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2004 6:00 pm

2009 NFFC Online Championship League Rules

Post by Greg Ambrosius » Mon Apr 13, 2009 5:21 am

NFFC ONLINE CHAMPIONSHIP
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

All NFFC Online Championship drafts will be held on www.MockDraftCentral.com starting at the following times below. Owners will be given a username and password for the site along with the URL for each draft from NFFC officials once the leagues are full and draft slots have been determined. Owners should enter the draft room 20 minutes prior to the start of the draft and be ready to draft.

Here are the draft dates that you can sign up for now. Entry fees will not be processed until Aug. 15th:

Tuesday, Sept. 1st
7 p.m. EST
9 p.m. EST

Wednesday, Sept. 2nd
7 p.m. EST
9 p.m. EST

Thursday, Sept. 3rd
7 p.m. EST
9 p.m. EST

Sunday, Sept. 6th
1 p.m. EST
4 p.m. EST
7 p.m. EST
9 p.m. EST

Monday, Sept. 7th
1 p.m. EST
4 p.m. EST
7 p.m. EST
9 p.m. EST

Tuesday, Sept. 8th
2 p.m. EST
7 p.m. EST
9 p.m. EST

Wednesday, Sept. 9th
2 p.m. EST
7 p.m. EST
9 p.m. EST

[ April 13, 2009, 11:22 AM: Message edited by: Greg Ambrosius ]
Founder, National Fantasy Football Championship & National Fantasy Baseball Championship
Twitter: @GregAmbrosius

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Coltsfan
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2009 NFFC Online Championship League Rules

Post by Coltsfan » Mon Apr 13, 2009 6:09 am

Greg,

I really like the online championship! I think you could sell even more spots if there were openings for this running throughout the month of August as well as the first week of September. Last year I play in 3 WCOFF Online Championship Leagues with the first one happening in late July. I was basically home and bored so I hit the signup button and next thing you now I'm in.

I can't find anything I would have changed except with the possible change to the 14 team format. But I completely understand why you did it as a 12 team event. I think that once you get started in 14 team leagues you have a huge appreciation for them.

Very well done!


Wayne

philpo
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2009 NFFC Online Championship League Rules

Post by philpo » Tue Apr 14, 2009 3:02 pm

Gregg,

Will the week 4 All play week be changed since their are only 4 NFL teams on a bye that week.

Nice job on the format.

Phil

King of Queens
Posts: 5262
Joined: Sat Aug 21, 2004 6:00 pm

2009 NFFC Online Championship League Rules

Post by King of Queens » Tue Apr 14, 2009 3:22 pm

Originally posted by philpo:
Gregg,

Will the week 4 All play week be changed since their are only 4 NFL teams on a bye that week.

Nice job on the format.

Phil 2009 Byes:

Week 4 - ARI, ATL, CAR, PHI (4)
Week 5 - CHI, GB, NO, SD (4)
Week 6 - DAL, IND, MIA, SF (4)
Week 7 - BAL, DEN, DET, JAC, SEA, TEN (6)
Week 8 - CIN, KC, NE, PIT, TB, WAS (6)
Week 9 - BUF, CLE, MIN, NYJ, OAK, STL (6)
Week 10 - HOU, NYG (2)

So which two weeks of Weeks 7 through 9 should have the All-Play?

(1) Weeks 7 and 8
(2) Weeks 8 and 9
(3) Weeks 7 and 9

CC's Desperados
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Contact:

2009 NFFC Online Championship League Rules

Post by CC's Desperados » Wed Apr 15, 2009 1:53 am

Originally posted by King of Queens:
quote:Originally posted by philpo:
Gregg,

Will the week 4 All play week be changed since their are only 4 NFL teams on a bye that week.

Nice job on the format.

Phil 2009 Byes:

Week 4 - ARI, ATL, CAR, PHI (4)
Week 5 - CHI, GB, NO, SD (4)
Week 6 - DAL, IND, MIA, SF (4)
Week 7 - BAL, DEN, DET, JAC, SEA, TEN (6)
Week 8 - CIN, KC, NE, PIT, TB, WAS (6)
Week 9 - BUF, CLE, MIN, NYJ, OAK, STL (6)
Week 10 - HOU, NYG (2)

So which two weeks of Weeks 7 through 9 should have the All-Play?

(1) Weeks 7 and 8
(2) Weeks 8 and 9
(3) Weeks 7 and 9
[/QUOTE]Why would you have an All-PLay when teams are on bye weeks?

Why not do it something like week 3 and 12 or even just do it the first two weeks when every team is playing hard?

Greg Ambrosius
Posts: 36419
Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2004 6:00 pm

2009 NFFC Online Championship League Rules

Post by Greg Ambrosius » Wed Apr 15, 2009 3:48 am

Originally posted by CC's Desperados:
quote:Originally posted by King of Queens:
quote:Originally posted by philpo:
Gregg,

Will the week 4 All play week be changed since their are only 4 NFL teams on a bye that week.

Nice job on the format.

Phil 2009 Byes:

Week 4 - ARI, ATL, CAR, PHI (4)
Week 5 - CHI, GB, NO, SD (4)
Week 6 - DAL, IND, MIA, SF (4)
Week 7 - BAL, DEN, DET, JAC, SEA, TEN (6)
Week 8 - CIN, KC, NE, PIT, TB, WAS (6)
Week 9 - BUF, CLE, MIN, NYJ, OAK, STL (6)
Week 10 - HOU, NYG (2)

So which two weeks of Weeks 7 through 9 should have the All-Play?

(1) Weeks 7 and 8
(2) Weeks 8 and 9
(3) Weeks 7 and 9
[/QUOTE]Why would you have an All-PLay when teams are on bye weeks?

Why not do it something like week 3 and 12 or even just do it the first two weeks when every team is playing hard?
[/QUOTE]Who can figure the NFL out? Sheesh. Back to the old drawing board.

With three weeks of six teams having bye weeks, it would be rough to pick any of those weeks for the "All Play" format. I think now we have to choose two weeks when all teams are playing. So that would have to be either 1,2,3 or 11,12,13.

Thoughts?

Maybe starting out with "All Play" in Weeks 1 and 2 make the best sense. Let me ponder on this one a bit and then update the rules. Interesting.
Founder, National Fantasy Football Championship & National Fantasy Baseball Championship
Twitter: @GregAmbrosius

King of Queens
Posts: 5262
Joined: Sat Aug 21, 2004 6:00 pm

2009 NFFC Online Championship League Rules

Post by King of Queens » Wed Apr 15, 2009 3:53 am

Originally posted by CC's Desperados:
Why would you have an All-PLay when teams are on bye weeks?

Why not do it something like week 3 and 12 or even just do it the first two weeks when every team is playing hard? I don't 100% follow the logic of having All-Play on weeks where all teams are not at full strength. Yes, it's certainly better to have those two All-Play weeks before Weeks 12 and 13. Perhaps it makes more sense to start the season with 2 weeks of All-Play.

King of Queens
Posts: 5262
Joined: Sat Aug 21, 2004 6:00 pm

2009 NFFC Online Championship League Rules

Post by King of Queens » Wed Apr 15, 2009 3:55 am

Originally posted by Greg Ambrosius:
Maybe starting out with "All Play" in Weeks 1 and 2 make the best sense. Let me ponder on this one a bit and then update the rules. Interesting. This was my thought as well, Greg. My vote would be for Weeks 1 and 2.

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