The founding rules, reconciled against the archived AOM decisions and the league’s confirmed resolutions where the archive itself was incomplete.
FoundedNov. 27, 2015
Latest adopted change2025 highest-scorer payout
Evidence setBylaws + AOM minutes
Current rules
Article I
League Operations
Section 1.1 · Administration
The League shall be administered through ESPN. The annual draft shall be conducted offline.Founding Bylaws · League Function
Section 1.2 · Commissioner
The Commissioner shall be elected by majority vote no fewer than seven days before the draft. The Commissioner-Elect shall assume authority at the commencement of the draft and shall serve a 12-month term without term limit.Founding Bylaws · Commissioner Selection & Term
Section 1.3 · Dues & Distribution
Each League Member shall tender a $60 annual buy-in. In a 10-owner League, the $600 pool shall be apportioned as follows: $200 to the regular-season highest scorer, $200 to the playoff-bracket winner, and $200 to the dynasty pot.2022 AOM; 2025 AOM; league confirmation · Sep. 1, 2026
Section 1.4 · Interrupted Season
If fantasy play has continued through the trade deadline but is suspended before the conclusion of the playoffs, the season shall remain valid. The first-place team in the standings shall be declared winner, subject to ESPN tiebreakers.2020 AOM · Number of Weeks Played for Valid Season (passed)
Article II
Governance and Amendments
Section 2.1 · Proposals
Any League Member may propose an amendment by posting the matter to the League Facebook group.Founding Bylaws · Amending the Bylaws
Section 2.2 · Ratification
No amendment shall be ratified absent seven affirmative votes. A quorum shall consist of six League Members. All other material League decisions shall be submitted to a majority vote and moderated by the Commissioner.Founding Bylaws · Amending the Bylaws
Section 2.3 · AOM Procedure
When an Annual Owners’ Meeting is held remotely, voting may be conducted asynchronously by electronic ballot, subject to the deadline stated in the meeting record.2023–2025 AOM records
Article III
Rosters and Scoring
Section 3.1 · Roster Composition
The active lineup shall retain the founding QB, two RB, two WR, TE, D/ST, K, and IR framework, together with two FLEX positions. The second FLEX shall replace a bench position and shall not increase the 15-player roster limit.Founding Bylaws; 2021 AOM; league confirmation · Sep. 1, 2026
Section 3.2 · Scoring
Effective with the 2023 season, completions and incompletions shall not score; each passing first down shall score +0.5. FLEX scoring shall be one-half point per reception plus +0.5 for each rushing or receiving first down. Kicking shall use decimal scoring. D/ST shall receive +1.0 per stuff, −0.2 per point allowed, and all return-yard and return-touchdown scoring.2023 AOM Votes · Motions B–F; league confirmation · Sep. 1, 2026
Section 3.3 · Roster Conduct
A missed kick shall incur a flat −2 penalty. No roster transaction of any kind shall occur after the conclusion of the playoffs and before the draft. Each League Member shall field a complete active lineup; a $20 payment per unfilled active slot shall be due to that week’s opponent.2024 AOM; 2025 AOM · Full Active Roster (passed)
Section 3.4 · Team Names
A team-name pun that uses a specific player’s name shall be permitted only while that player is rostered by the applicable League Member.2024 AOM; league confirmation · Sep. 1, 2026
Article IV
Season, Free Agency, and Draft Order
Section 4.1 · Transaction Window
Free agency shall open upon completion of the draft and shall remain open through Super Bowl kickoff. The waiver wire shall close at Super Bowl kickoff and shall reopen when the subsequent offline draft has been entered and approved in ESPN.Founding Bylaws · Establishing Season Open and Close; Free Agency
Section 4.2 · FAAB
FAAB shall be administered with a $150 season budget and a $0 minimum bid. FAAB allocation may be traded after the 2019 draft.Founding Bylaws · Free Agency; Amendment V
Section 4.3 · Draft Choice
The successive season’s draft-choice order shall proceed in inverse standings order, beginning with the last-place team, on the first full moon in June.Founding Bylaws · Draft Pick Choice
Section 4.4 · Regular Season
The regular season shall include the additional game adopted for the 2022 season and thereafter.2022 AOM · Add Additional Regular Season Game (passed)
Article V
Keepers
Section 5.1 · Limit
Each League Member may retain no more than two players from the prior season’s roster. No player shall be retained for more than two consecutive seasons, irrespective of ownership; the keeper count shall commence with the 2017 season.Founding Bylaws · Keepers; Amendment III
Section 5.2 · Draft Cost
A retained player shall cost the draft pick one round earlier than the round in which that player was drafted. A waiver acquisition shall cost a 10th-round pick. If the required pick has been traded, the next highest available pick shall be forfeited.Founding Bylaws · Keeper Operations
Section 5.3 · Round Collision
When two retained players would require forfeiture of the same round, one such keeper shall instead require forfeiture of a pick one round higher.2021 AOM; league confirmation · Sep. 1, 2026
Article VI
Trades and Review
Section 6.1 · Trade Assets
Current-season players and eligible future picks may be traded, provided that pick consideration is exchanged bilaterally and each owner retains 15 total picks in a draft. No pick shall be traded unless its owner held that round in the prior draft, and no pick more than one calendar year ahead shall be traded. First-round picks shall remain eligible for trade.Founding Bylaws; Trade Reform Act; league confirmation · Sep. 1, 2026
Section 6.2 · Review and Veto
Every accepted trade shall be posted to the League Facebook group and shall be subject to a 24-hour review period. A veto shall require a majority of eligible voters; parties to the trade and abstaining members shall be excluded from the denominator.Founding Bylaws; Trade Reform Act; league confirmation · Sep. 1, 2026
Section 6.3 · Deadline
The trade deadline shall be 12:00 PM ET on Thursday Night Football of Week 9.Founding Bylaws · Trade Deadline; Amendment III
Section 6.4 · Off-Season Transactions
Locked-roster player and pick trades may occur after the draft order is established and before the ensuing draft begins.Founding Bylaws · Off-season Transactions
Article VII
Sacko and Trophy
Section 7.1 · Sacko Obligation
The Sacko shall attend the League draft in business-professional attire, including a tie, and shall serve beverages to the other League Members for the duration of the draft. If attendance is not possible, an alternative punishment shall be selected by majority vote of the remaining nine members.Founding Bylaws · Loser Punishment; Amendment IV
Section 7.2 · Temporary Exception
The second IR slot approved for the 2020 season was a temporary COVID-era exception and shall not constitute a standing roster rule.2020 AOM · Increase IR Slots (2020 only, passed)
Amendment log
How the rules got here.
Adopted
Founding bylaws ratified
Established league operations, season windows, rosters, trades, keepers, free agency, and draft-choice rules.
Founding Bylaws · ratification record
Recorded
Amendments I–VI recorded
The founding document records amendments concerning loser punishment, buy-ins, keeper limits, season opening/closing, the trade deadline, FAAB, and defensive scoring.
Founding Bylaws · amendment record
Adopted
Interrupted-season rule adopted
A season interrupted after the trade deadline is valid; the standings leader wins under ESPN tiebreakers. The extra COVID IR slot was explicitly limited to 2020.
2020 AOM minutes
Adopted
Trade Reform Act adopted in part
Absent trading and trading more than one calendar year ahead are banned; first-round picks remain legal; vetoes use an eligible-voter majority. The perfect-lineup reward and revised consolation bracket were not adopted.
Bulge Trade Reform Act; league confirmation · Sep. 1, 2026
Adopted
Second FLEX and keeper-collision rule confirmed
A bench spot became a second FLEX without changing the 15-player roster. When keeper costs collide in one round, one keeper moves one round higher.
2021 AOM minutes; league confirmation · Sep. 1, 2026
Adopted
Dues, points-for payout, and extra game adopted
Buy-in increased to $60 and one additional regular-season game was added. The current $600 pool split is $200 each to the regular-season highest scorer, playoff winner, and dynasty pot.
2022 AOM minutes; league confirmation · Sep. 1, 2026
Adopted
Scoring package adopted
Passing, FLEX, kicking, and D/ST scoring changes were approved; quarterback sack scoring and kicker removal failed.
2023 AOM Votes · Motions
Adopted
Scoring package effective immediately
The full adopted scoring package, including the passing and FLEX changes, took effect for the 2023 season despite the archive’s conflicting expedite ballot notation.
A missed kick became a flat −2; roster moves close when playoffs end and reopen at the draft.
2024 AOM minutes
Adopted
Team-name rule confirmed
A team-name pun using a specific player’s name requires that player to be rostered. The AOM’s duplicate affirmative entry is resolved by league confirmation.
2024 AOM minutes; league confirmation · Sep. 1, 2026
Adopted
Full active roster rule adopted
An owner must fill every active slot or pay $20 per empty slot to that week’s opponent.
2025 AOM minutes
Adopted
Highest-scorer payout confirmed
The regular-season highest scorer receives $200. Alongside the $200 playoff-winner award and $200 dynasty contribution, this completes the $600 annual pool split.
2025 AOM minutes; league confirmation · Sep. 1, 2026
Source notes
Reconciled, not invented.
Reconciled from the founding bylaws, the 2020–2025 Annual Owners’ Meeting records, the 2023 vote workbook, the Trade Reform Act, and the league’s subsequent confirmation of incomplete archive records on Sep. 1, 2026. The amendment log retains the archive’s original gaps and conflicts, then records the league’s clarification so the history remains auditable.