Dynasty Football League: July 2009

1. Background

The Dynasty Football League (herein known as the DFL) is an American football simulation in which players take on the role of General Manager and coach of a professional American football team. The DFL uses the popular UFL program to simulate matches whilst off the field work is processed by the Commissioner.

2. Ownership

Your team shall be built like a professional football team. As such, owners are expected to act in a professional manner when addressing the league and its members. Owners are expected to contribute by submitting their completed orders on time to the league. Additionally, owners are required in off-season events, including the Pre-Season Draft.

All league deadlines will be at 7:00pm GMT on the given date.

3. Team & Player Names

The DFL will feature real life team and player names, however the DFL is in no way affiliated with the NFL, its clubs or its teams. The DFL is a fantasy sports simulation and operates solely for the enjoyment of its players.

4. Players

The following information is essential to understand what those figures are on your rosters. Every player has the following abilities on a 0-5 rating (with the exception of age):

Age - Years - The number of years the player has played professionally
DUR - Durability - The player's ability to avoid injury
PWR - Power - The player's strength
SPD - Speed - The player's speed
RUN - Run - The player's ability to run the ball
PAS - Pass - The player's ability to throw a pass
CAT - Catch - The player's ability to catch a ball
RBK - Run Block - The player's ability to run block
PBK - Pass Block - The player's ability to pass block
RDF - Run Defense - The player's ability to defend the run
PDF - Pass Defense - The player's ability to defend the pass
BLZ - Blitz - The player's ability to blitz
PNT - Punt - The player's ability to punt the ball
KIK - Kicking - The player's ability to kick the ball
PRT - Punt Return - The player's ability to return a punt
KRT - Kick Return - The player's ability to return a kick

In addition to the standard UFL skill sets, the DFL features an additional two factors that must be taken into consideration:

CON - Contract - The length of a player's contract
VAL - Value - The annual valuation of a player's contract

5. Offensive & Defensive Play-Calling

The DFL will use a simple method of play-calling. With this method, you set your offensive and defensive method, which is given to the program before running the game.

Offense: You have three offensive strategies to choose from using the traditional method:
Balanced - the running game and passing game are used equally
Pass More - the passing game is utilized primarily
Run More - the running game is utilized primarily

Defense: You have two defensive strategies to choose from using the traditional method:
Normal Blitz - Your team will blitz in a limited number of situations
Aggressive Blitz - Your team will blitz more often

6. Line-ups

Each team has a roster of 50 players. A line-up can be set at the beginning of the season, but the expectation is that the line-up is to be adjusted during the season to cover for injuries and performance.

Each line-up is required by the UFL program to have the following number of players:

QB's - 3
FB's - 2
RB's - 4
WR's - 6
TE's - 3
OT's - 3
OG's - 3
C's - 2
DT's - 3
DE's - 4
LB's - 7
CB's - 4
S's - 4
K's - 1
P's - 1

Each team may also designate up to three kick returners and up to two punt returners. The only stipulation with each of the returners is that they must be in the line-up at another role; it is up to you if you wish to use a starter or backup.

7 - Coaching

Prior to the start of each season every DFL team will conduct a training camp. During this camp some of your player’s skills may improve and some may decrease. The likelihood of improvement is depending on the number of Training Points (TPs) your team has. All teams will start each season with zero TPs and they cannot be carried over from season to season, nor can they be used as part of a trades you make.

The number of TPs each team has can be affected by their performance over the course of the season in the following manner:

Blowout win (win by more than 20 points): +1 TP
Blowout loss (lose by more than 20 points): -1 TP
Losing streak (lose 3 games on the spin): -1 TP
Winning streak (win 3 games on the spin): +1 TP
Making the play-offs: +1TP

Towards the end of the training camp teams will play two exhibition matches. Any team winning an exhibition match will receive a bonus TP that will be applied during training camp. At the end of the training camp the number of TPs each team has will be tallied up and skill point increases will be applied as follows:

0-2 TPs: 1 or 2 skill points
3-4 TPs: 2 or 3 skill points
5-6 TPs: 3 or 4 skill points
7-8 TPs: 4 or 5 skill points
9+ TPs: 5 or more skill points

It is important to note that owners have no control over which players will improve or which of their skills will be affected. However, please note that no players whose AGE is 6 or greater at the start of training camp will receive am improvement. For details of skill decreases please refer to the Aging & Retirement section of this guide.

8 - Contracts

Each player signed to a DFL team must be signed to a contract. In total, the 50 contracts on your active roster cannot exceed the $125 million salary cap.

Contracts must be for at least one season, but can last for an infinite number of seasons. There is no per player cap, but there is a minimum salary - $200,000. The DFL does not allow signing bonuses, roster bonuses or any other kind of incentives.

Players can be signed and released at any time with the exception of any announced roster freeze periods. If a player is released during the course of the regular season, the team is penalized for the remainder of his total salary for the current season.

Salary cap violations can occur. If a team does exceed the salary cap, they will be penalized one training point for each week until the team is under the cap again. If a team does not have any training points, the penalty will be suspended until they are able to be penalized. If a team is over the cap, they will be ineligible to receive any training points.

9 - Trades

Players can be traded between teams although there are certain restrictions that must be noted:
-Due to the roster limitations imposed by the UFL program, any trades that do not move exactly the same positions will require additional roster moves. For example, if Team A trades a QB to Team B for a RB, Team A needs to sign or promote a QB, while Team B needs to do the same with a RB.

Draft picks can be included in any offer, with the stipulation that you cannot go more than two seasons ahead (for example, in Season 3, you can trade picks for the Season 4 and Season 5 drafts only).

10 - Free Agency

At the end of each season every player's AGE is increased by one, while their CON decreased by one. When a players CON reaches zero the player is considered a free agent. There are different types of free agents, which are outlined below (please note that Compensation Required is paid by the signing team):

-Unrestricted Free Agent (UFA)
Length of Service Required: 4 or more years, or less than 4 with no qualifying offers or released during contract

Compensation Required: None

-Restricted Free Agent (RFA)
Length of Service Required: 1-3 years; qualifying offer made by current team

Compensation Required: Draft picks

Qualifying Offers

A qualifying offer must be made by an AGE 1-2 player whose contract has concluded in order to keep them employed. The offer must represent at least a 10% increase in salary. After the deadline for offering qualifiers, the league's other teams can offer contracts to RFA's who have received offers. Should any of these offers exceed the qualifying offer then the player will accept that offer.

However, his current team will have the opportunity to match this offer in which case they will retain the player. If they choose not to match the player will leave the club and compensation will be paid by the signing team.

Draft Pick Compensation

The Commissioner determines how much compensation must be paid for signing a RFA and it is typically dependent on a players AGE and skills. There are five levels of compensation:

Level 1: One (1) first round pick, one (1) second round pick, one (1) fourth round pick
Level 2: One (1) second round pick, one (1) fourth round pick, one (1) sixth round pick
Level 3: One (1) third round pick, one (1) fifth round pick
Level 4: One (1) fifth round pick
Level 5: One (1) sixth round pick

If a team is unable to meet the compensation requirements, the compensation will begin during the current season and then continue indefinitely until the compensation can be fully paid off. Once the signing has occurred, all corresponding draft picks will be frozen and unable to be traded.

During the qualifying offer stage, teams are able to advise the Commissioner of any reductions they wish to make to the compensation attached to their players. It is not possible to request an increase in compensation.

UFA Contracts

Unrestricted free agents will sign with the team offering them the highest total salary. If two teams offer matching salaries then the player will sign for the team offering the shortest contract. If the offers are still identical the player will sign for the team with the worst record of the two in the previous season.

11 - Contract Extensions

Teams are able to offer three contract extensions per season to their current players. The terms of the extension depend on the length of contract on offer:

1-year extension: 15% salary increase
2-year extension: 20% salary increase
3-year extension: 25% salary increase
4-year extension: 30% salary increase
5-year extension: 35% salary increase
6-year extension: 40% salary increase

A player being offered a contract extension will always accept the extension. Contract extensions must be offered during the season and cannot be offered during the off-season. Once a player has accepted the contract extension takes affect immediately, so a player on a 2 year who deal who signs a 3 year extension would be on a 5 year deal.

12 - Aging and Retirement

Each player has an AGE rating which increases by one at the end of every season. At that time, the Commissioner will determine which players are going to retire.

-A player will retire when their AGE reaches 20
-Any free agents who are not picked up during the season whose AGE is at least 10 will retire
-There is a 33% chance that a players who has reached the Average Career Length for their position will retire if they are out of contract
-A player will retire if a skill necessary for their position reaches 0

The Average Career Length for each position is as follows:

QB - Age 7
FB - Age 4
RB - Age 4
WR - Age 5
TE - Age 5
OT - Age 6
OG - Age 6
C - Age 6
DT - Age 5
DE - Age 5
LB - Age 6
CB - Age 5
S - Age 6
K - Age 8
P - Age 8

These figures should be used as a guideline as some players will play on far beyond the Average Career Length and others will retire before they reach their Average Career Length.

Additionally, as players age their skills will decrease. This is determined by the number of TPs each team had at the previous years training camp:

0-3 TPs: 7 or more skill points decrease
4-6 TPs: 5 or 6 skill points decrease
7-9 TPs: 3 or 4 skill points decrease
10+ TPs: 1 or 2 skill points decrease

It is important to note that owners have no control over which players will receive a decrease or which of their skills will be affected. Only players whose AGE is 6 or higher can be affected by a decrease.

13 - Playoffs

Coming soon!

14 - Pre-Season Draft

Before the start of every season, a draft is held for new players. The draft holds two purposes – one is to aid the teams who have played poorly the year before by equalling the playing field, the other is to give every team the opportunity to find an inexpensive source of talent.

The draft order is determined by each teams regular season record, with the exception of the Stellar Bowl finalists who are placed at the end of the draft order.

The first round draft order will be as follows:

32-31-30-29-28-27-26-25-24-23-22-21-20-19-18-17-16-15-14-13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-Stellar Bowl finalist-Stellar Bowl winner

In rounds 2-7, the order will remain the same although teams with the same record will cycle picks in each round.

Contracts for players picked in the draft are pre-determined and each player will outline their teams prior to the draft taking place.

15 - Post-Season Awards

At the conclusion of every season, an awards ballot is made available to each owner. While it is optional to participate, the DFL does ask each owner to please submit a completed ballot. Each owner votes for the following award:

Offensive Player of the Year – given to the best offensive player
Defensive Player of the Year – given to the best defensive player
Offensive Rookie of the Year – given to the best offensive rookie
Defensive Rookie of the Year – given to the best defensive rookie
Special Teams Player of the Year – given to the best special teams player (kicker/punter or return man)
Lineman of the Year – given to the best offensive or defensive lineman
Coach of the Year – given to the owner who's on-field work is judged to be the best among his peers
GM of the Year – given to the owner who's off-field work improves not only his team, but the DFL as a whole

Additionally, an All-Star team from each conference will play off the week following the Stellar Bowl at a site to be determined.

16 - Failure to Participate

The success of the DFL depends upon the participation of its owners. We expect all owners to submit orders on time, participate in off-season events and make a general contribution to the community. Regular check-ins will be held to ensure everybody remains active. If the Commissioner feels an owner is no longer active or not making a sufficient contribution then they lose their position.

17 - Role of Commissioner

The Commissioner's role is to be an independent arbitrator and game master. The league will not re-run games for any reason – if there is a question regarding a game's results, the league will investigate. There are certain limitations regarding the UFL program, which may affect game results.

18 - Changing Teams

In the event of a coach leaving the league, their team will become available. Current league members will have the first opportunity to take over any teams that become vacant. If any position remains open after being offered to current league members then it will be offered to the first person on the DFL waiting list.

Friday 31 July 2009

Flurry of appointments

Raiders and Falcons make appointments

Thursday 30 July 2009

Three teams appoint new owners

DFL opens for business

Coaching roster

Tuesday 28 July 2009

Frequently asked questions

DFL | Season 1

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