Constitution and Bylaws

The Smashmouth Football League [SFL] exists to provide for its members, using the Action PC Football © game engine, a self-contained fantasy football universe in which to enjoy both spirited competition and the lasting friendships that grow from a shared passion for the sport of football. Toward these ends, this Constitution and Bylaws, hereafter referred to as C&B, will attempt to reward acumen and sound football judgment, maintain league parity and competitive balance, promote honorable behavior, and most important of all, ensure the strength of the SFL through the satisfaction of all its members.

League Structure

The league uses the current edition of Dave Koch's Action! PC football game. Every owner must own their own copy of the game and must order the new game disk every year. The game can be purchased at <http://www.dksports.com>.

There is no cost to be in this league nor is there a salary cap.  All that is asked from each owner is full participation and fair play. No one person shall run more than a single team. This and any other form of cheating will result in immediate expulsion.

The SFL will consist of 20 teams of which all, or at least a majority of the franchise will be operated at any time by a human GM. The teams will be divided into two (2) ten (10) team conferences know as the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC).

There shall be a post season playoff season conducted by the league at the end of the regular season. [For details of the post season please refer to Post Season Play section below].

Franchise Ownership

Franchise ownership shall be awarded by the commissioner's office as it sees fit.

[For more on the commissioner's office please refer to Commissioner's Office and Powers section below.]  All Franchise Owners must purchase both a copy of the game and the current season disk in order to participate in the SFL.

Although playing head to head is encouraged, it is not mandatory.  Owners are expected to play all away games and report the outcome along with all game files to the commissioner's office by the report date for that week. The Visiting team will play the game if the game cannot be played head to head.  Typically, that report date will be Monday at midnight.

Notification of an owner's inability to play an away game must be sent to the commissioner's office and the home team two days prior to the report date for that week. For example, the typical report date will be Monday by midnight so the notice of inability to play must be received by Saturday at midnight.

If the franchise is abandoned by the penalized owner prior to draft day, any penalties incurred by the old owner will not be applied against the new owner.

If a franchise is abandoned, any existing team can take over open team but is disallowed from trading with former team until new owner is found.

Any owner who is found to be cheating will be expelled from the league with a lifetime ban imposed on him. Cheating is defined by the following examples but they are not themselves all inclusive:

A. An owner altering either his own or another owner's player data.

B. An owner altering another owner's coaching profile without his knowledge or consent.

C. An owner replaying a league game in order to achieve an alternate outcome.

D. Although the following is not cheating it too carries a life time ban. An owner who violates the spirit of the preamble; for example, by using excessive foul or abusive language to another league member to name but one offense.

Team Composition

Team composition shall consist of a 54 players on the roster.

Teams must have a required minimum of players at the positions outlined below at all times during the regular and post season:

2 QB, 3 RB, 4 WR, 2 TE, 3 OT, 3 OG, 2 C, 3 DT, 3 DE, 2 ILB, 3 OLB, 3 CB, 3 S, 1 PK, 1 P, 1 PR, 1 KR, 1 LS and 1 Holder.

Free Agent (FA) pickups during the regular season, at any time, are allowed under the following restrictions:

A. At the time of pickup, a player must be cut from the active roster in order to make room for the FA pickup. The player released enters the FA pool and will be made available to all teams as an FA pickup for the remainder of the season.

B. A FA pickup is signed for the remainder of the regular season and the post season. At the end of the post season he is released back into the FA pool.

C. If at some time, after a player is initially drafted, he is not listed on a roster within Action PC Football, then he may be kept on the roster as an inactive player. Inactive players continue to be counted toward the maximum roster size of 54 players.

Post Season Play

Five teams from each conference will qualify for the playoffs, two division winners, and three wild cards. Wild card winners will have the best W-L records, of the non-division winners. Injuries will carry over into the playoffs from the regular season. Season fatigue will be set to OFF, game fatigue will be set to ON. Teams with bye week will be rested. Length of rested time will be one week.

1st Round: Second best wild card hosts the third best wild card.

2nd Round: Best division winner hosts wild-card game winner from RD 1. Second best division winner hosts the best wild-card.

Conference Championship: Winners of the two second round games.

Super Bowl: AFC Conference Champion vs NFC Conference Champion

Teams with the best W-L record will host the playoff game. Exception, a division winner will always host a wild card winner. If a playoff game can not be played head to head, the teams will send a computer coach to the commissioner, who will auto-play the game.

The Super Bowl game will be played on the same field as the NFL Super Bowl is played on.  Home Field Advantage will be turned off.

Tie Breakers for Divisional Teams

If, at the end of the regular season, two or more clubs in the same division finish with identical won-lost-tied percentages, the following steps will be taken until a champion is determined.

1. Head to Head record between the 2 teams if applicable
2. Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the division.
3. Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference.
4. Internet games record
5. Coin toss.

In the advent of a tie the following formula from the NFL website will be used to determine a single qualified franchise among those teams that are tied. : <http://www.nfl.com/news/981202ties.html>

Tie Breakers for Wild-Card Teams

If it is necessary to break ties to determine the three Wild-Card clubs from each conference, the following steps will be taken.

1. If the tied clubs are from the same division, apply division tie breaker.

2. If the tied clubs are from different divisions, apply the following steps:

a. Head-to-head, if applicable.

b. Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference.

c. Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games, minimum of four.

d. Best net points in conference games.

e. Best net points in all games.

f. Strength of schedule.

g. Best net touchdowns in all games.

h. Coin toss.

Rookie/Free Agent Draft

Rosters must be cut down to 44 players prior to the draft.  You can cut below 44 players in order to participate in the supplemental draft.

The draft will take place at a time of the commissioner's choosing.  Typically the first 2 weeks in August.  The draft will be 10 rounds.

Only players that actually appear on the official season disk provided by Action PC Football © are eligible for drafting.

The draft itself will be held in a prepared lists format at the discretion of the Commissioner's office. The dates of the draft and the formats to be used must be announced by the commissioner's office at least one month prior to it taking place.

• The team with the lowest winning percentage at the end of the previous season drafts first in the NFL Draft.

1. The Super Bowl winner is last and Super Bowl loser is next-to-last.
2. The losers of the Conference Championship games shall select 17th and 18th based on won-lost-tied percentage.
3. The losers of the Divisional playoff games shall select 13th through 16th based on won-lost-tied percentage.
4. The losers of the Wild Card games shall select 11th through 12th based on won-lost-tied percentage.

• Strength of schedule for the previous season is the first tie-breaker for teams with the same winning percentage.

• Divisional and conference records are the next step in the tie-breaking procedure.

- Internet Record

• As a last resort, a coin toss is used to determine the order of selection for teams with the same winning percentage.

Beginning with the 2010 draft, the 10 non-playoff participants will be awarded the first 10 picks in each round, while the 10 playoff teams will pick 11th through 20th, based on their order of elimination in the postseason.

Supplemental Draft

If after the 10 Round draft, you do not have a full 54 man roster your team can participate in the supplemental draft.  The supplemental draft will be held after the 10 Round Draft.  Draft order will be based on team record from previous season. Beginning in 2010 you will have a maximum of 5 picks in the supplemental draft

Trading

Trading is allowed from the day following the completion of the post season until week 10 of the regular season schedule.

Each team must retain at least 4 draft choices, with at least 1 being in the first 3 rounds.  This rule is in place in order that this will not leave a team with no future picks if the team is abandoned by the owner.

Trades are final after the trade is confirmed by both league members and the confirmation is sent to the league and is then approved by the commissioner.  If you are protesting a trade, send an email to the commissioner.   Any league member can request the commissioner to forward a trade to the trade committee for evaluation.

Any trade can be voided if the trade committee decides that such trade is detrimental to one or both teams.  A vote of 2 is required to nullify a trade.

Trade Committee: Mark Van Sickle and the Commissioner.  If anyone on the trade committee is involved in a trade dispute, Mike Andring will replace that member of the committee.

Trades involving multiple draft year picks is not allowable at any time except during the drafting period. It is then and only then that a draft pick from the current year and a draft pick from the immediate following year's draft are allowed to be packaged together.

Nothing other than draft picks and players can be traded. Players to be named later are not allowed in a trade.

 

Player Usage

There are no restrictions on how, or how often, a player can be used. Note though, that Action PC Football © does employ a season fatigue option that will be put into place. Any skilled position player who exceeds 110% of his actual attempt totals,  will start to suffer a deteriorating performance penalty that is accumulative with continued use.

 

Commissioner's Office and Powers

Note that the commissioner's office is the sole arbitrator of what appears in the constitution.

The commissioner's office may make changes to the C&B with the following restrictions applying.

A. No changes may be made during the regular season, post season or within two weeks of, and including, the draft itself without the changes being put to a league vote.

B. A 2/3 majority or 14 of 20 members, with all league members voting, must be recorded in favor of the change(s) for it to take effect.

C. In the off-season any changes may be made at the commissioner's office discretion. No changes may ever be applied retroactively.