Official Rules & Regulations
FlatMountains Fantasy Football League • 2026 Edition
I. Team Lineups
Complete Roster
Additional roster designations: 2 PUP, 1 IR, 2 Developmental Squad and 1 Taxi Squad.
Weekly Starters
1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 K, 1 DEF and 1 SPT.
During the regular season a franchise must remain at regulation size. Trades may include players, draft picks, FA picks, Developmental/Taxi players and IR/PUP players, but all involved teams must be legal when a regular-season trade is completed.
II. Trades & Free Agents
Free Agents
- Each owner begins with 7 FA picks for the season.
- FA picks may be traded, including future FA picks, except the retained playoff FA pick after the regular-season deadline.
- Unused regular FA picks expire at the post-Thanksgiving deadline and do not carry over.
- An owner may retain one FA pick for the NFL playoffs. It may be used after Week 18 through the Super Bowl only on a current playoff player/position, with the same-position roster requirement described in the official rulebook.
Trade Windows
- Off-season: end of the previous season through the next cut-day deadline.
- Regular season: after the post-cut waiver wire is complete through the post-Thanksgiving trade deadline.
- No trading from cut deadline until the waiver wire is complete, or after the post-Thanksgiving deadline through the end of the season.
Trades judged one-sided or harmful to league integrity may be reviewed by owners not involved in the trade, with involved owners allowed to present their case before a vote.
III. Deadlines & Weekly Submissions
- Expansion invitation deadline: March 1.
- Cut Day: last Wednesday before the NFL regular season, by 7:00 p.m., unless the commissioner announces a season-specific adjustment.
- Waiver Wire: begins after cuts are complete; no trades or FA movement while the waiver wire is running.
- Draft: date/time announced for each season.
Weekly Starters
The current FMFFL website submission system is the official lineup tool. Players lock at kickoff. Owners may submit multiple weeks in advance. A player already locked into a starting lineup cannot be dropped or traded for that scoring week without forfeiting that player's points.
All times are Mountain Time unless the league announces otherwise.
IV. Draft Guidelines
- FMFFL is a dynasty league; owners begin the off-season with the prior season's roster, adjusted for trades and other legal transactions.
- The preseason rookie/free-agent draft is 8 rounds.
- Draft order is inverse of the previous season's final results: last place selects first and champion selects last, subject to traded/compensatory picks and expansion rules.
- Rounds 1–2: 3-minute clock. Rounds 3–4: 4-minute clock. Rounds 5–8: 5-minute clock.
- A traded pick receives a fresh full clock.
- Each owner receives one 7-minute freeze for extended trade discussions; the league may also agree to other pauses.
- Players may be drafted at any eligible position. Teams must be at regulation roster size by the cut deadline.
V. Official FMFFL Scoring
Exact yardage and scoring descriptions are taken from the official ESPN.com box score unless compelling evidence shows a site error.
Standard Touchdowns — Distance Points
| Play | 0–9 | 10–39 | 40–69 | 70+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB Pass | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 |
| RB Run | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 |
| RB Fumble Recovery | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 |
| WR/TE Reception | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 |
Unusual-Position / Defensive Touchdowns
| Play | 0–9 | 10–39 | 40–69 | 70+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB Run/Reception | 12 | 18 | 24 | 30 |
| RB Reception/Pass | 12 | 18 | 24 | 30 |
| WR/TE Run/Pass | 12 | 18 | 24 | 30 |
| WR/QB/TE Fumble Recovery | 12 | 18 | 24 | 30 |
| K Run/Reception/Pass | 12 | 18 | 24 | 30 |
| Defense | 12 | 18 | 24 | 30 |
Field Goals
| PAT | 0–39 | 40–49 | 50–59 | 60+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 15 |
Primary Yardage Bonuses
| Category | Threshold → Points |
|---|---|
| RB Rushing | 100=5 • 150=7 • 200=10 • 250=15 • 300=20 |
| WR Receiving | 100=5 • 150=7 • 200=10 • 250=15 • 300=20 |
| TE Receiving | 75=5 • 125=7 • 175=10 • 225=15 • 275=20 |
| QB Passing | 300=5 • 350=7 • 400=10 • 450=15 • 500=20 |
Alternate Yardage Bonuses
| Category | Threshold → Points |
|---|---|
| WR Run/Pass | 50=5 • 100=10 • 150=14 • 200=20 • 250=30 • 300=40 |
| TE Run/Pass | 50=5 • 100=10 • 150=14 • 200=20 • 250=30 • 300=40 |
| QB Run/Reception | 50=5 • 100=10 • 150=14 • 200=20 • 250=30 • 300=40 |
| K Run/Reception/Pass | 50=5 • 100=10 • 150=14 • 200=20 • 250=30 • 300=40 |
| RB Reception/Pass | 75=5 • 125=10 • 175=14 • 225=20 • 275=30 • 350=40 |
Defense
| Safety | 12 |
|---|---|
| Turnover Recovery | 1 each |
| Sack | 1 each |
| Shutout | 15 |
| Allow 2–3 points | 9 |
| Allow 4–6 points | 6 |
| Allow 7–9 points | 3 |
| 2-point conversion return | 6 |
Special Teams & Other Points
- Special-team touchdown or safety: 15 points.
- 100–199 combined punt/kickoff return yards: 5 points; 200+: 10 points.
- 2-point conversion by run/pass/reception: 2 points.
- TE reception: 1 point per reception.
Non-traditional plays: when the official box-score treatment does not reasonably describe an unusual play, FMFFL awards points/yardage according to each player's actual contribution to the play. The guiding question is what the player actually contributed.
VI. Team Owners & Franchises
Current owners retain first right to their franchises while meeting league obligations. Franchise transfers require league approval under the official rulebook. A new owner taking over an existing franchise may be subject to a four-regular-season-game player freeze unless the applicable exception or unanimous waiver applies.
Expansion
March 1 is the annual expansion invitation deadline. The official rulebook limits normal expansion to one new owner per year and describes the protection list, expansion selections, compensatory draft picks, initial free-agent pool, draft position, FA allotment and first waiver priority.
Defunct Franchise
If an owner quits or fails league obligations and no replacement is available, the franchise may be frozen and the league determines disposition by vote. Previously traded picks held by other owners remain valid as described in the official rulebook.
VII. Roster Options
PUP & IR
- 2 PUP slots and 1 IR slot per franchise.
- PUP is for an injured player expected from a reputable source to miss at least two weeks.
- IR requires the player to be on NFL IR. NFL activation triggers the FMFFL requirement to restore/release the player under the rulebook timeline.
- Replacing a player moved to PUP/IR normally costs an FA pick unless a same-position Taxi/Developmental player is activated instead.
Developmental Squad
- 2 spots; rookies only.
- Two rookies may be placed on Developmental before cut day at no FA cost.
- After cuts, placing a player on Developmental costs 1 FA pick.
- A player may remain through his first two seasons.
Taxi Squad
- 1 spot; non-rookies only, including DEF or SPT.
- Placing a player on Taxi costs 1 FA pick.
- No fixed time limit while the player remains an eligible NFL non-rookie.
VIII. Waiver Wire
- Round 1: all players/positions released at the cut deadline are available. No FA pick is charged.
- Round 2: only players cut as a result of Round 1 selections are available. No FA pick is charged.
- Post-cut waiver order is based on the previous season's finish, worst-to-first, subject to applicable expansion rules.
- A selection requires the roster to remain legal; the owner may make the corresponding cut or use an eligible Taxi/Developmental/PUP/IR designation.
- No trades or normal FA movement occur from the cut deadline until both waiver rounds are complete.
Regular-Season Released Player Waivers
A player released during the regular season is on waivers for 24 hours from the posted transaction. Priority is based on the previous week's FMFFL scores, worst score first. The releasing owner cannot reclaim the player during that waiver period. A successful claim costs an FA pick; if unclaimed after 24 hours, the player returns to the normal free-agent pool.
IX. Rule Changes & Special Cases
Rule Proposals
Changing or overturning an existing rule requires at least a 75% vote. A new rule requires a majority vote.
Player Returns to College
A player drafted by FMFFL who returns to college and later redeclares cannot remain on an FMFFL roster during the college season. The original drafting franchise receives the compensation described in the official rulebook; if the return occurs after the FMFFL cut deadline, the owner receives a free replacement FA.
Historical one-season emergency rules, including the 2020 COVID provisions, are archived rather than treated as current 2026 operating rules.