I. Player Allotment Auction
To establish initial contract salaries, players will be distributed to teams via an auction style draft.  The draft will be formatted as follows:

-The draft will take place during multiple sessions (Tentatively scheduled for June 21, July 12 or 19th, and August 16, if needed). The auctions will begin at 7pm EST and last a minimum of 3 hours.

-The 2002 salary cap is $80.  This may not be exceeded during the season.

-Owners will be randomly slotted in an order to present players for auction.

-Each owner will present one player for auction per round.  The presenting owner starts the bidding. Owners will then take turns bidding on that player following the predetermined order.  If an owner chooses not to place a bid on a player, he is ineligible to bid on that player again.

-Auction sessions will be conducted via chat room.

-***Rookies are not eligible for the Allotment Draft.  They will be selected during the AGA Rookie Draft.

-Minimum starting bid is $.10

-Minimum bid increment is $.10

- All teams must be able to fill a starting lineup after the auction sessions are completed.  You cannot draft 20 LB’s, 10 RB’s, and 4 QB’s.

II. Divisions and Schedule
A. AGA League will consist of 3 divisions of 4 teams.  These divisions will be randomly assigned after draft order is assigned.  The Schedule will be posted with numbers representing each team before actual slots are assigned.  Starting in the 2003 season, teams are placed in divisions according to the order of finish the prior season…1st, 4th, 7th and 10th teams are in the Gulf Coast, 2nd, 5th, 8th and 11th are in the Great Plains, and 3rd, 6th, 9th and 12th are in the Rocky Mountain.

B. The regular season will last 14 weeks.  The trading deadline will be kickoff of the week 10 games.

C. Playoffs will begin on WEEK 15. The three division winners gain the top three seeds in the playoffs. The three wild card slots will be awarded to the three teams with the best records regardless of division. In the event of a tie of records, THE ACTUAL NFL TIEBREAKER SYSTEM will be used to determine playoff teams and to break ties in the standings:

To Break a Tie Within a Division, Two Clubs

1. Head-to-head (best won-lost percentage in games between the clubs)
2. Best won-lost percentage in games played within the division
3. Best won-lost percentage in common games
4. Best net points in division games
5. Best net points in all games
6. Coin toss

To Break a Tie Within a Division, Three or More Clubs

1. Head-to head
2. Best won-lost percentage in games played within the division
3. Best won-lost percentage in common games
4. Best net points in division games
5. Best net points in all games
6. Coin toss

To Break a Tie For The Wild Card Team

1. If the tied clubs are from the same division, apply the division tiebreaker
2. If the tied clubs are from different divisions, apply the following steps

To Break a Tie For Two Wild Card Teams From Different Divisions

1. Head-to-head record
2. Best won-lost percentage in common games, minimum of four
3. Best net points in all games
4. Coin toss

To Break a Wild-Card Tie With Three or More Clubs

1. Apply division tiebreaker to eliminate all but the highest-ranked club in each division prior to proceeding to Step 2.
2. Head-to-head sweep, applicable only if one club has defeated each of the others or if one club has lost to each of the others.
3. Best won-loss percentage in common games, minimum of four
4. Best net points in all games
5. Coin toss
 

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D. Playoff teams will be matched up like this:

WEEK 15

ABSOLUTE GRIDIRON BOWL BRACKET

#3 SEED (LOWEST DIV.WINNER) HOSTS THE #6 SEED (LOWEST WILDCARD)
#4 SEED (WILDCARD) HOSTS THE #5 SEED (WILDCARD)
#1 and #2 SEEDS RECEIVE A BYE
TOILET BOWL BRACKET
#7 SEED HOSTS THE #10 SEED
#8 SEED HOSTS THE #9 SEED
#11 and #2 RECEIVE A BYE

WEEK 16

ABSOLUTE GRIDIRON BOWL BRACKET
#1 SEED HOSTS THE LOWEST REMAINING SEED
#2 SEED HOSTS THE HIGHEST REMAINING SEED WINNER FROM WEEK 14
TOILET BOWL BRACKET

Game 7 (see Bracket)
Game 8 (see Bracket)
Game 9 (see Bracket)
Game 10 (see Bracket)
 

WEEK 17

THE ABSOLUTE GRIDIRON BOWL!!

Game 11 (see Bracket) Playing for Championship
 

TOILET BOWL!

Game 12 (see Bracket) playing for #1 or #2 pick
Consolation

Game 13 (see Bracket) playing for # 4 or #7 pick
Game 14 (see Bracket) playing for #9 or #10 pick
Game 15 (see Bracket) playing for #3 or #6 pick
Game 16 (see Bracket) playing for # 5 or # 8 pick

All teams remain playing in the playoffs even after elimination to determine the draft order and divisional alignment of teams the following season.
First round losers in the championship bracket fall to the second tier bracket with the winners playing for 5th place, the losers for 7th place. Similarly, the winner of this bracket is rewarded with the 5th draft pick and the loser, the 8th draft pick in the Collegiate Draft the following season.
Winners in the championship semifinal games play for the MEGA Bowl Title. Losers in the championship semifinal games play for 3rd place and the #9 Draft Choice. The Fantasy Bowl champion will draft last in next season's Collegiate Draft while the 4th place team will draft 10th.  Non-playoff teams play for the Toilet Bowl championship and the rights to the 1st pick in the Collegiate Draft the next season.
All teams must call in or email their lineups all 17 weeks of the season even after they’ve been eliminated from the championship bracket.

NOTE: Lineups must be submitted for every week of the playoffs. Carry-over lineups are not valid.
 

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III. Franchise Setup
Each owner must name his team in the conventional CITY/STATE Mascot format.  Example:  Florida Tarpons, Carson City Gun Runners, Bangor Behemoths…etc. The city/state must be an actual location in North America.  (That would be Canada, USA, or Mexico for those short in the geography department!)  We are just trying to be uniform and also trying to convey the image of quality owners.
 
 

IV. Rosters

A.     Rosters will consist of 36 active players, 4 practice squad players, and 2 IR spots.

-Active players count towards salary cap, practice squad and IR players do not.

-Players cannot be put onto IR until after Week 1.

-Once a player is placed on IR he will remain there for the rest of the season.
 
 

B.     RESTRICTIONS
-Rosters must have a minimum of 26 players (required position numbers 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1TE, 1PK, 11 IDP’s)
 
 

C.     Injured Reserve
-Teams may reserve up to two players on the IR list.

- A player on IR doesn’t count towards team salary cap.

-A player on IR may be cut to make room for another player.  Once cut that player’s salary determines the cap penalties.

-Once a player is put on IR he is ineligible for the rest of the season and playoffs.
 
 

D. Practice Squad
-Teams may reserve up to four players on their practice squad.

-Practice Squad players don’t count towards the team salary cap unless activated.

-Players may remain on a teams practice squad for 2 seasons.

- Practice Squad players are eligible only if they have played less than two years in the NFL

-Other teams may request to sign a player to their active roster.  If a team puts in a request, the current team has the opportunity to block it by activating the player to their own roster.

-A Practice Squad player can be released from the Practice Squad without taking a cap penalty.

 V. Transactions

A.     Free Agents

-Free Agent requests must be made by 8:00 pm EST each Thursday, starting with the Thursday following games Week One.

-Owners may request up to 2 FA per week.

-When putting in a request for a FA, the owner should submit a minimum and maximum bid for that player.

-The minimum bid for a FA is $.20

-FA bids will be awarded on a daily basis.  Each day at midnight, the bids for that day are finalized and the FA will be awarded to the highest bid for that player (or minimum bid placed if only one owner requests that player).

-If two (or more) teams have the same high bid for a player, the team with the lower record will receive the player.

-Newly acquired players are not eligible to be traded until they have spent one week on the acquiring team’s roster.

-The necessary cap room will be needed to sign a FA.

-When making multiple FA requests, place them in order of preference.

-FA’s who have not played in a NFL game are eligible for the Practice Squad, in which case they will not count towards the cap.

-Free Agent Deadline is the Week before the playoffs.  There will be no transactions during the playoffs.
 
 

B.     Waivers
If a player is released, he may be claimed on waivers by another team the next day (as long as it is during a weekly transaction period).  Waiver order is determined by reverse record.  If a player is claimed on waivers, the team claiming the player assumes the current contract of the player.  The claiming team is allowed to sign the player to an extension (see section D) or maintain the same contract.  If the contract is maintained and is the player’s original contract, RFA status applies when it expires.  If contract is extended, the player is an UFA when extended contract expires.  A player claimed on waivers counts as a FA pick for that week.
 
 

C.     Trades
-Trade Deadline is Kickoff NFL Week 10 (November 10)

-Owners are allowed unlimited trading.

-Owners will need to have (or make appropriate prior moves to have) enough cap space to complete a trade, before an extension is completed (see below) EX. Team A trades Kurt Warner ($3.00 salary) to Team B for Keyshawn Johnson ($1.50 salary).  Team B would need to have the cap room to absorb the extra $1.50 of salary or make appropriate transactions to clear the cap room.

-Trade Concerns will be heard by the commissioner, and if necessary put to a vote.  A ¾ majority vote would be needed to overturn a trade.  This would only happen in the event that dumping or collusion was suspected.

-Trading of Rookie Draft picks is also allowed.  Draft picks do not count against the cap until the player is selected with that pick.  Draft picks can be traded up to TWO years in advance, but remember to sign RFA’s, and Tagged players the appropriate draft picks must be available.
 
 

D.     Contract extensions
-When a trade is completed or player picked up on waivers, owners have the opportunity to extend the new player(s) contract(s).

-Players that are in the second or later year of a deal are eligible for extensions.

-The player’s current salary can be lowered a certain percentage for each year added to the contract.  Maximum contract length is 4 years.

-After an extension is made, the current year acts as year one of a contract and the contract will follow the percentage increases described in the next section.

-The following table shows the percentages.

Years added        Percentage lowered

1 year                10%

2 year                30%

3 year                40%

EX. Team A trades Kurt Warner ($3.00 salary) to Team B for Keyshawn Johnson ($1.50 salary).  Warner has 2 years left on his current contract.  Team B can extend Warner for up to 2 more years (total/max years =4).  If Team B extends Warner for 1 more year his current salary would lower to $2.70 for the current year.  If Team B extends for 2 more years his salary lowers to $2.10 for the current year.

*Only players that have been acquired by trade or waiver claims are eligible for contract extensions.

**Player salaries will always be rounded up to the next $.10 increment once the percentages are figured in.

VI. Contract options

A. Contract Types
After the initial player allotment auction, owners will need to designate how many years each player is signed for (Deadline August 20th).  If contract lengths are not designated, default contracts will be a 1-year contract.  There are benefits and drawbacks that owners will need to weigh when assigning contract lengths.  Here are the four types of contracts and the pay increases involved.  Increases are based on original bid price.

                        4 Yr contract 3 yr contract     2 yr contract     1 yr contract
Year 1:         Original Bid     Original Bid     Original Bid     Original Bid

Year 2:         Original Bid     15% increase     20% increase     N/A

Year 3:         25% increase     30% increase     N/A                  N/A

Year 4:         50% increase     N/A                  N/A                  N/A

Example…    A. Original Bid = $2.00

                    yr1:$2.00      yr1:$2.00      yr1:$2.00      yr1:$2.00

                   yr2:$2.00      yr2:$2.30      yr2:$2.40      N/A

                   yr3:$2.50      yr3:$2.60      N/A              N/A

                   yr4:$3.00      N/A              N/A              N/A
 
 

                        B. Original Bid = $4.00

                   yr1:$4.00      yr1:$4.00      yr1:$4.00      yr1:$4.00

                   yr2:$4.00      yr2:$4.60      yr2:$4.80      N/A

                   yr3:$5.00      yr3:$5.20      N/A              N/A

                   yr4:$6.00      N/A              N/A              N/A
 

A. Restricted Free Agents
-After a player’s original (does not mean with a new owner, first contract in AGA) contract expires the player becomes a RFA.

-RFA qualifying offers must be submitted by July 1st.

-All players that have not had qualifying offers submitted by July 1st become UFA’s and go into the FA Auction to be held prior to the rookie draft (beginning in 2003)

-The current owner has the option to put in a qualifying bid in order to obtain compensation in the event that another team signs the RFA.

-If the owner does not put in a qualifying bid, the player becomes an Unrestricted Free Agent (UFA).

-After the deadline for qualifying bids, other teams have the opportunity (one week time period, designated on league calendar) to bid for the player.

-Once the RFA bidding period is over, the current owner has the option to match the highest bid or take the compensation attached to that player.

-Qualifying offers determine the amount of compensation.  The lowest level would be a 10% increase from the last year of the player’s original contract, this would draw a compensation of one draft pick in the round that the player was originally selected***.  The middle level would be a 20% increase in the contract, this offer would draw a 1st rd pick as compensation.  The highest level would be a 30% increase in the contract, this would draw compensation of a 1st and 3rd rd pick.

-For purposes of the lowest qualifying offer, players that are in the NFL prior to the 1st AGA rookie draft will draw compensation based on AGA league scoring rank from the year before.

Scoring Rank(overall)                 Compensation***

1-20                                                1st rd pick

21-40                                              2nd rd pick

41-60                                              3rd rd pick

61-80                                              4th rd pick

81-100                                            5th rd pick

101-120                                          6th rd pick

121+                                               7th rd pick

#1 Overall Exception:  The #1 player at each position (based on league scoring from previous year) automatically triggers compensation at one level higher than the schedule above.  This only applies to being the top scoring player at his position.

Example #1:  Tony Gonzalez is the 24th overall scorer based on league scoring system, but is the 1st TE.  Based on the schedule above he would be worth 2nd rd compensation, but as the #1 TE, he would be worth one level higher (a 1st).

Example #2:  Jason Elam is the 68th overall, but the #1 PK.  He would be worth 4th rd compensation, but since he is the #1 PK, he is worth a 3rd rd pick.
 
 

B. Franchise Tags

-Each team is allowed to use one franchise player tag at any given time.

-The franchise player tag is only applicable to players who are at the end of their contract.
- Each team announces their franchise player on July 1st along with a qualifying offer.
- A qualifying offer for a franchise player must be greater than the player's current salary and equal to or greater than the average of the top five current salaries in the league at that position.
- Franchise players are eligible for bidding only during the Free Agency period between August 1st and August 8th.
- Teams may go over the salary cap when bidding on franchise players as long as they are under the salary cap when their keepers are announced.
- Only teams with the required draft choice compensation are eligible for bidding on franchise players.
- On August 10th, the top bids for each tagged player will be announced.
- Team owners will have until August 14th to decide whether to match the highest bid or accept draft choice compensation from the team with the highest bid.
- Draft choice compensation for a franchise player is two 1st round draft choices.
- If a team bidding on a franchise player has two first round draft choices in the immediate College Draft, the team receiving the compensation may choose whether to accept both picks immediately or defer one to the next season.
- Team Owners may remove a franchise player tag from a player during the off-season between August 14th and August 22nd, but not after or during the Collegiate Draft or Free Agent Auction Draft.
- Franchise players may be traded at any time during designated AGA trading periods except during the Free Agency period for RFA, franchise and transition players.
- If a franchise player is traded, the franchise player tag does not follow the player to the new team.
- Franchise player tags remain with a player until the contract expires, that player is waived, or traded.  No other player on team can be designated as Franchise player until one of these has occurred.
 
 
 
 

D. Transition Tags

- Each team is allowed to use 2 transition player tags at any given time.
- The transition player tag is only applicable to players who are at the end of their contract.
- Each team announces their transition players on July 1st along with qualifying offers.
- A qualifying offer for a transition player must be greater than the player's current salary and equal to or greater than the average of the top ten current salaries in the league at that position.
- Transition player tags remain with a player until the contract expires or that player is waived.
- Transition players are eligible for bidding only during the Free Agency period between August 1st and August 8th.
- Teams may go over the salary cap when bidding on transition players as long as they are under the salary cap when their keepers are announced.
- Only teams with the required draft choice compensation are eligible for bidding on transition players.
- On August 10th, the top bids for each tagged player will be announced.
- Team owners have until August 14th to decide whether to match the highest bid or accept draft choice compensation from the team with the highest bid.
- Draft choice compensation for a transition player is a 2nd round draft choice.
- Team owners may remove a transition player tag from a player during the off-season between August 14th and August 22nd, but not after or during the Collegiate Draft or Auction Draft.
- Transition players may be traded at any time during designated MEGA trading periods except during the Free Agency period for RFA, franchise, and transition players.
- If a transition player is traded, the transition player tag does not follow the player to the new team.
- Transition player tags remain with a player until the contract expires or that player is waived. No other player on team can be designated as Transitional player until one of these has occurred to one of the two Transition players.
 
 
 
 

VII. FA Auction (beginning 2003)

-Beginning in the 2003 off-season, all players that are untagged, UFA’s will be eligible for the FA Auction.  This auction will be conducted in a similar manner to the player allotment auction.

-The auction order will be the reverse of the rookie draft order.

-The FA Auction will directly precede the AGA Rookie Draft.

-All owners must be present for the FA Auction (whether biding or not), as it will be immediately followed by the AGA rookie draft.

-Owners must be under the cap one week before the FA Auction/Rookie Draft.  Owners may go over the salary cap during the FA Auction, but must be under the cap within a week after the FA Auction/Rookie Draft.

-Players acquired in the FA Auction may not be released or traded until the Transaction period following week one.
 
 

VIII. Rookie Draft
The Mega Rookie draft will be held 2 weeks prior to Week one of the NFL regular season.  The 2002 rookie draft order will be determined by random selection.  All following draft orders will be determined by playoffs.  Trading of draft picks is allowed (and encouraged).  An owner would be allowed to exceed the salary cap during the draft, but must be under the cap one week before the NFL season starts.  Rookie salaries will be determined by a slotting system (see below).  Each year the salary slots will increase by $.10, ex.  1st overall pick in 2003 would be slotted for $3.10.  During the Rookie draft, each owner will have 3 minutes per pick in the first three rounds and 2 minutes per pick in rounds 4-7.  Picks not made during allotted time will be forfeited until the end of the round.  Future draft picks can be traded, but no more than two years in advance (2004 is the limit during this year’s transactions).  Keep in mind the proper draft picks are required to sign RFA, Franchised, and Transitioned players.  The draft will last 7 rounds (84 selections), unless an expansion team is involved in case there will be extra picks (see expansion section).