TFL Rules

The Game

R.1 -- Each TFL team shall consist of 14 players chosen from the following NFL positions: Quarterback, running back, wide reciever/tight end, kicker and team defense. Each team must have the minimum starting requirement of one quarterback, two running backs, two wide receivers and/or tight ends, one kicker and one team defense by the time the first NFL game begins each week. The rest of the roster can be filled out as the team owner wishes.

R.2 -- Players shall be selected in an annual draft to be held the weekend of the first regular season Sunday NFL games. The order of the draft shall be determined by random means during July and publicized to all owners. In cases where there is an NFL game or there are NFL games played prior to the draft, results from those games shall be counted in the first week's games. Any player taken during the draft who played in such a game automatically starts if he was drafted before all starting spots at his position were filled by the team taking him. If all the starting spots are filled, then a player in that situation must be a reserve the first week only. The draft consists of 14 rounds and will serpentine (reversing order) each round. No team may draft a third quarterback until the 13th round of the draft.

R.3 -- Owners may substitute players on their starting roster until 5 minutes before their NFL game begins. Once that time has passed, players from that game shall be locked in, either as a starter or as a reserve (with the exception of games played before the draft). Owners may still alter their starting lineup on games that have not begun, including Monday night games. If an owner fails to submit his/her lineup by the prescribed time, their previous week's lineup is automatically started. If the owner does not submit their lineup for the first week of the season, then the starters shall be selected by the Commissioner according to the order in which the players were drafted, with the highest draft picks starting.

R.4 -- At the end of Week 14, the four division champions and a wild card team from each conference advance to the playoffs. The divisional champions are awarded the top seeds. Seeds will be awarded based on winning percentage. Tiebreakers are as follows: For teams not in the same division: 1) Best head-to-head record; 2) Most points scored; 3) Best record vs. other playoff teams. For teams in the same division: 1) Best head-to-head record; 2) Most points scored; 3) Best record within the division; 4) Best record vs. other playoff teams.

R.5 -- In any situation in which tie-breaking criteria is insufficient, a best-of-three coin toss will break the tie.

R.6 -- The first round of the TFL playoffs (NFL Week 15) will pit the No. 2 vs. No. 3 seeded teams in both conferences. The winners advance to the semifinals (NFL Week 16) against the No. 1 seed in their respective conferences. Winners of the conference championship games advance to the Sweeney Bowl (NFL Week 17). The third-place and fifth-place games are also contested during the NFL's Week 17.

R.7 -- Most teams not making the Sweeney Bowl Tournament participate in the eight-team Pee Wee Bowl Tournament. They shall be seeded using the same criteria in R.4 without any concern for conference. The two TFL teams finishing with the worst record each season do not advance to any playoffs. Seeding ties are broken by the same criteria used in R.4. The quarterfinals take place in Week 15, the semifinals in Week 16, and the championship in Week 17. The eight Pee Wee Tournament teams will play during all three weeks with the ninth, eleventh and thirteenth-place games also taking place on Week 17.

R.8 -- In the event any playoff game ends in a tie, the tiebreakers are: 1) Most yards passing, rushing and receiving combined by starters; 2) Most total yards passing by starting QB; 3) Most total yards rushing by starting QB/RBs/WRs; 4) Most total yards receiving by starting RBs/WRs; 5) Best of three coin flip.

R.9 -- In any case where the rules are ambiguous or insufficient, the issue shall be resolved by the Commissioner.

Transactions

T.1 -- Free agents may only be obtained during a specific window each week, which starts at 12:01 a.m. (ET) Wednesday and remains open until 12:45 p.m. (ET) Sunday. On weeks where there are NFL games played before the close of the free agency window, no players from that game may be waived or added once that game has started.

T.2 -- You may release a player and replace him with any free agent for $5. It is each owner's responsiblity to field a full starting lineup each week. If you waive a starter and do not replace him, that roster spot will be awarded 0 points.

T.3 -- All free agent requests submitted prior to 12:01 a.m. Wednesday (ET) shall be awarded based on a waiver wire system. It opens the season based on the reverse order of the first round of the draft. Once a team picks up one player, that team moves to the back of the line.

T.4 -- Once all of the free agents have been awarded via the waiver wire system, any moves made after 12:01 a.m. Wednesday (ET) from the existing free agent pool are based on a first-come, first served system. Teams do not lose their position in the waiver wire queue when picking up free agents under the first-come, first served system.

T.5 -- Any player waived by a TFL team goes into a new free agent pool and be available for waiver wire selection based on this schedule:
Players waived on Tuesday are awarded at 12:01 a.m. (ET) Thursday.
Players waived on Wednesday are awarded at 12:01 a.m. (ET) Friday.
Players waived on Thursday are awarded at 12:01 a.m. (ET) Saturday.
Players waived on Friday are awarded at 12:01 a.m. (ET) Sunday.
Players waived on Saturday are awarded at 12:45 p.m. (ET) Sunday.
Any players waived on Sunday will not be available until the next waiver wire selection time, 12:01 a.m. (ET) Wednesday. Any team interested in picking a player up at that time may do so, but it will cost them their waiver wire position if made prior to the player becoming a free agent. If no team has put in a claim for that player, then that player may be picked up under the first-come, first served system without costing a team its waiver wire position.

T.6 -- Free agents may be added during the postseason under the same rules listed above.

T.7 -- Teams may trade players with other teams. Both teams must fulfill all starting roster requirements by the time the first game is played that week. No trades may take place after 12:45 p.m. (ET) on the Sunday of the Week 10 games. There is no charge for trading players, but subsequent free agent moves needed to balance out rosters will be charged as usual. Any trades between teams cannot be reversed by the owners until there have been four weeks worth of NFL games played. Trades must be consummated within the current TFL season; no player can be traded for another player or draft picks beyond the current season. All trades must be completed within the free agency window (12:01 a.m. Wednesday until 12:45 p.m. Sunday, ET).

T.8 -- The Commissioner has the power to suspend any trade that he/she believes may be unbalanced so that the league has time to look at it, discuss it, and vote on it if necessary. Trades are effective as soon as they are consumated. If the lineup deadline is approaching, both owners should post their new lineups in TrashTalk until the commissioner (or his appointee) can adjust the rosters in the system. In the event that a trade is disallowed, rosters and lineups will revert to their pre-trade status.

TFL Scoring

Here is a quick reference to how NFL players score in the Times Football League:

Running backs and receivers
TD pass, run, catch or return	6 points
50 yards rushing	1 point
Each 25 rushing yards over 250	1 point
50 yards receiving	1 point
Each 25 receiving yards over 50	1 point
8 receptions	3 points
Each 4 receptions over 8	3 points
TD run of 40 or more yards	3 points
TD reception of 50 or more yards	3 points
Conversion run, pass or catch	2 points

Kickers
TD pass, run, catch or return	6 points
Extra point	1 point
Field goal less than 45 yards	3 points
Field goal 45-49 yards	4 points
Field goal 50-54 yards	5 points
Field goal 55 or more yards	6 points
Conversion run, pass or catch	2 points

Defenses
Shutout	6 points
Hold opponent to 9 or fewer points	3 points
Safety	2 points
Int., fumble or blocked kick returned for TD	6 points