DNL/Draft2

Basic Rules

 * Eight teams, each with an annual salary cap of $1000.  At no time may an owner be above the cap except for as noted below.
 * Each team starts 3 QB, 3 RB/FB, 3 PK, and 6 WR/TE/H-B.
 * There is no maximum or minimum roster size.
 * Head to head format unless I can find a site that can handle a quarter-system.
 * Four team playoffs, again, unless I can find a site that can handle the quarter-system.
 * All point totals are rounded down to the nearest integer. Points are scored by:
 * 1 point for 25 yards thrown
 * 1 point for 10 yards rushed
 * 1 point for 10 yards received
 * .5 points per reception
 * 3 points per FG
 * 2 points per two point conversion
 * 6 points per TD thrown or scored

Original Draft

 * Any player drafted by an NFL team, signed to an NFL contract, and/or currently in the NFL is eligible to be drafted in the Original Draft.
 * 200 players will be put up for auction.
 * The team that puts a player up for auction automatically bids $1 on that player.
 * The team with the highest bid on a player gets the rights to that player, with the player's salary being the amount bid.

Contract Signing

 * This period takes place before the free agency period and/or regular season opens.
 * The 40% line is determined: The players taken at the original draft are ranked by their auction price.  The player's salary whose salary causes the player to be ranked at the 40% mark on that list is used to determine the 40% line.
 * Each team may sign as many of its players as it wishes to long-term contracts ("LTC").  LTCs work as follows:
 * An LTC can be for three, four, or five years.
 * For any player signed to an LTC, each season's base salary can be no less than the greater of the player's auction price or the 40% line.
 * The player's salary, across the life of the contract, is increased by the following chart:
 * Three years: An additional 60% of the base salary, rounded up to the nearest dollar.
 * Four years: An additional 120% of the base salary, rounded up to the nearest dollar.
 * Five years: An additional 180% of the base salary, rounded up to the nearest dollar.
 * Note: This money may be allocated however the owner sees fit; however, it must be set at the time the LTC is put into effect.

Cutting Players

 * "Dead money" is money that uses up cap space but is not associated with a particular player
 * An owner may cut a player at any time, freeing himself of the player's salary, but suffers a "dead money" penalty:
 * One-half of the player's current year's salary, rounded up to the nearest dollar, is considered dead money against the current year's cap.
 * One-half of the player's future salaries owed is considered dead money against the corresponding year's cap.
 * Before a season starts, an owner may accellerate future dead money into the next season's budget, at its discretion. Note that deferring dead money payments is not allowed.

{{excerpt | EXAMPLE: Using the Jerry Rice contract, above. During Year 1, the owner cuts Rice, thereby freeing himself of Rice's contract. However, the owner receives: The owner, at that time, cannot do anything about the dead money.
 * $25 of dead money for the remainder of Year 1
 * $30 of dead money for Year 2
 * $35 of dead money for Year 3, and
 * $40 of dead money for Year 4.

However, before Year 2 begins, the owner may take as much of the Year 3 and Year 4 dead money as it wishes and add it to it's Year 2 budget. In our case, the owner decides to assign $10 of Year 3 dead money and $10 of Year 4 dead money to its Year 2 budget, giving the following breakdown:
 * $50 of dead money for Year 2
 * $25 of dead money for Year 3
 * $20 of dead money for Year 4.
 * }

Before Year 3 begins, the owner decides to accellerate the remaining dead money into the Year 3 budget, giving a new breakdown: $45 of dead money for Year 3 $0 of dead money for Year 4

gets the player _as if he were acquired via trade_ (that is, he travels with his contract), and the price paid at auction is considered dead money. If no owner bids on the player, the player becomes an in-season free agent (below) and is no longer under contract.
 * Any player cut is immediately put up for auction. The winning owner

_Trading Players_ the owner making the trade. If a player is traded, his contract goes with him to the new team.
 * Players may be traded freely so long as they are under contract with
 * Dead money may also be traded freely.
 * In any given deal, all involved owners must receive at least one new player.
 * Nothing else may be traded.

EXAMPLE: Owner A has Ryan Leaf under the contract as described above. Owner A also had Jerry Rice leaf under the contract as described above, but cut Rice moments after signing him to the current contract, leaving him with dead money of $25-$30-$35-$40.

Owner A cannot trade Leaf and the dead money (as much or as little as he wishes) to Owner B for absolutely nothing, even though both owners could be better off in doing so.

_Free Agency_ currently on an owner's roster, is an in-season free agent (FA). as if they were available during the original draft, with one exception: An owner may temporarily exceed his salary cap number for 24 hours after adding the player, provided that the 24 hour period does not extend past kickoff of the first game of that week. If that provision is not met, the owner has until one hour before kickoff of that game to get to or below the salary cap. If an owner fails to do, the newly acquired player is cut with the benefits and consequences as per usual. during that year.
 * Any player who was eligible for a preseason draft, yet is not
 * Any owner may put a FA up for auction. FAs are acquired via auction
 * A player assigned to a team via FA may not be signed to an LTC

_End of Season_ is currently on his roster, but not under contract for the next year, as "restricted." If the owner chooses to restrict the player, the owner is assigned dead money in the next year equal to the greater of 50% of the player's most recent auction price or 50% of the most recent 40% line salary. who is currently on his roster, but neither under contract for the next year nor designated as restricted, as his "franchise" player. That player is given a base salary next year equal to the greater of (a) 120% of his current salary or (b) the average of the current salaries of the top three players at his position. The franchise player must also be given a LTC, using the same rules as normal. The terms of the LTC must be announced at the time the franchise designation is announced.
 * Before the next year's draft, an owner may designate any player who
 * Before the next year's draft, an owner may designate any ONE player

EXAMPLE: Jerry Rice's contract expires after Year 5, with a salary of $80. His owner wishes to designate him the team's franchise player. The top 3 WRs average salary is $90; therefore, Rice's base salary is $96 (120% of 80). Rice's owner gives him a four year extention, and has to allot $116 extra dollars over that time period.

_Next Year's Draft_ draft, with the following exceptions: 1) Any player still under contract on a LeagueName team is ineligible to be put up for auction. 2) The number of players to be put up for auction is 200 minus the players still under contract. 3) If the owner who places the highest bid on a restricted player is not the owner who restricted that player, the restricting owner may choose to match the bid and retain that player's rights. The owner who placed the high bid is not responsible for the player's salary.
 * The next year's draft uses the same rules as the previous year's