TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction Message From The Commissioner About The AFL Your Role and The Role Of The Commissioner Cost League Fees Payouts Fines League Rules And Regulations The Draft Picking Up A Player After The Draft Tie Breakers Notes and Tips Schedule

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INTRODUCTION

This is the official rules and regulations of the Akley Football League. It is a simple to use guide that goes over every facet of the AFL. Whether you or a new owner, or the owner of an existing franchise, your first order of business is read this manual. Everything you need to know about the league can be found here.

In the past we have given out an Owner's Manual every year. That practice seemed kind of silly considering the time consumed each year as well as the expense involved in producing an Owner's Manual that had few changes, so the practice was stopped before the 1997 season. Now with the addition of the AFL Web Site we can keep the Manual updated when ever needed.

Here it is ladies and gentlemen The Owner's Manual. It is in a format that now allows it to be updated continuously. With the amount of time that has been spent preparing it, I fully expect everyone to read and comprehend it. Any questions that are asked when I suspect you haven't read this manual will simply be answered with a "See the Owner's Manual."

The league was formed in 1993 with twelve teams. In 1995 we expanded to the current 24 team format. At times it has been a rocky road getting to where we are now. The best part is the League has been set up to be fun whether your winning or losing. If your winning, more power to you, and if your losing you can build on next year with the Leagues reverse order draft and Franchise Player system. Keep that in mind and just don't forget to have fun!

Were we "are now" is definitely Fantasy Football nirvana. An interactive web site, online newsletter, a yearly auction, a simple scoring system and a multitude of other benefits. I'll compare this League to any in the country.

As a team owner in the AFL you are required to:
Follow the rules and regulations set forth for the league.
Read all guides, memos, newsletters, etc., put out by the League Office.
Continue to follow your team even if it has been eliminated from playoff competition.
Keep track of all rosters using the newsletter transaction section.
Not call the house of Steve Akley during an NFL game.
Pay all league fees, transactions, and fines by the required dates.
Realize the Commissioner job is not a paid position put in place to serve you.
Not to put me in a situation were I have to bend the rules for you. If it's 11:30 on game day and you forgot to call in, don't put it on my shoulders, you screwed up.
Live with the decisions made by the Commissioner. I do the best I can. From time to time situations occur that warrant a decision to be made by me and whoever comes up short in these situations tends to get angry. What will happen in the instances is a case can be made for both sides but ultimately a decision must be made with a winner and a loser.
Keep track of your scoring. With only one person doing all the stats, mistakes will occur. Again don't get angry, let me know and I will correct them. What is official is what occurs on the field, not what I type in the newsletter.
(In the event of a scoring error, you have two days after the final game of the week (8:00 p.m. of that day to be exact...example: If the last game of the week is a Monday night, you have until 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday to have it corrected). If you do not notify Steve of this prior to that time, it will not be corrected. Yes, this may cause the occasional scoring error to slip through the cracks, but it does save us from having to go through and audit every game at any time. This would akin to a referee error in the NFL...yes, they do happen, but even when an error changes the outcome of the game it is not corrected...the games stand with what occurs during the time of the match. We'll keep the two-day window to eliminate as many problems as possible. Also, we should always have the checks-and-balances of you checking your scores, your opponent checking his/hers as well as yours and even others in the division/league that want to keep track of any game.
Show up promptly on draft night and be aware of what's going on. Again if I make a mistake with a player or draft order just let me know.

What you can expect from the Commissioner:
Everyone will be treated fairly. I don't care if your my best friend, wife, or we've never met, if your in this league everyone plays by the same rules.
Newsletters will be available first thing on Tuesday morning, barring any unforeseen difficulties.
Any assistance you need with the league as long as you have read the Owner's Manual. Whether it be with a specific rule or you just need a receiver for week two, I can help.

The dues for the AFL beginning in 1998 will be $125. One hundred percent of this money goes to cash prizes. At this time no further increases are being looked at. If, at a time in the future, I decide to raise the dues I will put it together in the form of a proposal with all cost and payouts outlined. All owners will be allowed to vote on the raise and it will take a 3/4 yes vote to get it passed.

Additionally, for new franchises there is a $25 franchise fee. This was put into place in 1998 with the introduction of our ongoing Jackpot Pools. This assessment is used to offset the fact a new owner get full benefits of all league services, the AFL Treasury as well as "buying into our existing ongoing jackpots.

In addition to the $125 league dues the following fees are assessed to cover the cost of running the League Office:
$15 + $5.00 per owner. In the past we have had a $5.00 per team policy, but in fairness to the single owner teams we need to make it $5.00 per person.
You can have a silent partner on your team be exempt from the extra $5.00 if they meet the following criteria.
A. Only one of the owners shows up to the draft.
B. Only one of the owners calls my house in a given week. I get
enough calls without worrying about answering to two owners.
C. The silent partner is not eligible for any of the benefits offered by the league.

I enjoy running the league in the manner that it is currently being run. I'm able to run it like an office with a professional feel for everyone. I know some would rather have their $15 and no league services, but that's not how this league is currently being run. If the $15 league fee makes a difference in your desire for a team please don't get in the AFL

The following is the breakdown of the AFL payouts:

CONFERENCE PRIZES
1st Place-$350 + 2/5 of the Transaction Pot
2nd Place-$150 + 1/5 of the Transaction Pot
3rd Place-$100 + 1/5 of the Transaction Pot
4th Place-$50 + 1/5 of the Transaction Pot

SUPER BOWL PAYOUTS
There are four participants in the Super Bowl. The payouts based on scoring for that game are: $200/$100/$75/$25. Ties are broken with overall regular season scoring.

BONUS JACKPOTS
Each conference will have one winner with the best of the three* winning the larger jackpot.

BONUS JACKPOT HOW TO WIN BEST 2nd/3rd
Lowest Score Fewest pts.-regular season game* $50 $25
Highest Score Most pts.-regular season game $50 $25
League Scoring Most total points-Regular season $100 $50
QB Points Most starter QB points-Reg. season $50 $25
RB Points Most starter RB points-Reg. season $50 $25
Rec Points Most starter Rec points-Reg. season $50 $25
Kicker Points Most K points-Reg. season $50 $25
Defense Points Most Def points-Reg. season $50 $25
Non-Playoff Pts. Most regular season total points by a
team not making the playoffs $50 $25
Non-Playoff Wins Most wins by a non-playoff team $50 $25
Bad Beat Most points in a regular season loss $50 $25
Best Defense Fewest points allowed regular season $50 $25

*The L Conference is not eligble for Bonus Pools
**Lowest score pool runs through week 11 and does not have to be above 0 as it has in the past...but you must start a full lineup with no injured/players on bye.

WEEKLY PAYOUTS
Each week we will now have weekly prize awards. There are two prizes and the same team can win them both, but there is just one award of each of them for the whole league, not two weekly awards per conference. These awards are $10 each per week and are as follows:

Highest Score - The team that score the most points.

Largest Margin of Victory - The team that wins by the largest number of points.
The weekly awards are only paid out during the regular season.

NOTE: In the case of ties, the AFL treasury pays out all winners the same amount so you win a full $10/not a watered down prize.

ONGOING RECORDS JACKPOTS
These jackpots were implemented to salute some of the great teams and accomplishments in AFL history. These records and payouts are listed on the front page of the AFL Web site. If you can match or better one of these records, you win the jackpot. If no one matches or beats these records, the money is carried over until the next year and so on. It should be noted, these awards are based on year end record. Example: The all time game high score is 64 points. In week 7 you score 70. If someone scores 72 in week 9, they win the jackpot at years end.

LUCKY & GOOD
There isn't a better combination than being "lucky and good." In the AFL that combination can net you $100. Here's where you need to go to learn more: http://aflsports.com/main/library/100Dollars.php

In order to enforce rules established for the league a series of fines have been implemented. These fines are not just a way for the League to extort money from the owners. Actually it is quite the opposite. These fines have been established to preserve the integrity of the league. Rules are made and everyone agrees to follow them until they pertain to them individually, at which time they feel the rules should be bent to adapt for them. Establishing fines for a variety of situations forces owners to become more aware of the league and it's rules. With no fines in place rules like paying your dues on time or turning in your lineup at least an hour before the game were tough to enforce because every situation became personal between me and the offender. Now the league has its own way of enforcing it's rules and I just serve as the collection agent.

I would also like to say that these fines can be avoided with a little common sense. An owner who only halfway pays attention to this league will avoid fines altogether. For most of our owners adding fines to the league should add no additional investment from you to the League. Plus you get the benefit of having a system in place to preserve the integrity of the league. I was getting sick of owners who were either too cheap, or disinterested in picking up a player that if both of their kickers had a bye they wouldn't even make an acquisition. This just isn't right to roll over in these situations. Everyone has too much money invested for an individual to be creating an unfair system by not picking up a player.

Furthermore, these fines will benefit everyone. All fines are not going to the winners of the League, instead they go to the AFL treasury, benifitting all owners.

The following page contains a chart with all of the fines that are in place, as well as the amount of the fines, and the reason why the fines are in place.

For years I have been angry as I could only stand idly by with no way to enforce the league rules as individuals would do things like starting no kicker. I spend too much personal time and effort on making this league fair and fun for everyone for that to happen anymore. Remember a little preparation and attention on your part and you can avoid the fines altogether.

1. LEAGUE FEES (overview of all possible fees/you may or may not incur some of these individual fees)
-The league dues of $125 + your league fees are due on August 1st. Though there is a one week grace period to get your money in by August 8th, there is a $5 fine if it is received August 2nd-August 8th. If it is still not paid by the 9th, your team goes to the next person on our waiting list.
-In addition to the $125, a $5 fee for each additional owner is assessed.
-First year owners pay a one-time $25 franchise fee which buys you in to the ongoing pools and jackpots we have.
-If you do not participate in the Buffalo Trace League (an additional AFL offering with some great prizes/see below for more details), there is a $10 adminstrative fee

2. All teams must start the first week with 2 QB's, 2 RB's, 4 Receivers, 2 Kickers, and 2 Defensive/Special Teams. After the first week, teams may compose their roster in any manner in which they like. (ex. 3 QB's, 3 Rec., etc.)

3. Owners must submit their weekly lineup an hour before the start of the first game of the week. First games are usually on Sunday, but there will be Thursday and Saturday weeks. Absolutely no exceptions! See fine section for ramifications.

4. Owners must designate a franchise player on draft day. There is no trading in this league of franchise players or draft picks. If you have two legitimate franchise players we don't want you helping out your buddy by trading one away. Everyone must use the legitimate avenues set up by the league to improve their team.

5. Owners must start 1 QB, 1 RB, 2 Rec., 1 Kicker, and 1 defensive/special team unit each week. Any deviation from that will not only result in that week being excluded from the low score bonus, a fine will follow.

6. We have one roster expansion. You can add a player to your roster without being forced to cut someone after the first week of the season.

7. A player that has been cut from one teams roster may not be picked until after they have missed one NFL game. A cut player becomes available to everyone on the Tuesday following the game missed by that player.

8. Points are scored directly by players scoring.

10. Two point conversions do not count for special team points unless you have the particular player who scored the points.

11. The League reserves the right to adjust the rules as necessary in the event of unique situations that inevitably come up during the season. This isn't done to favor any individuals, but necessary as we can't foresee every possible situation that may occur.

12. The following are the only way defensive/special teams may score:
A. Any interception returned for a TD
B. Any kickoff or punt returned for a TD
C. Any fumble recovered and returned for a TD (Defensive players only count. i.e. Steve Young recovering a Rice fumble does not)
D. Any field goal or punt that is blocked and returned for a TD
E. Any fumble recovered and returned for a TD on special teams.
F. And finally a safety

13. The Commissioner must approve all trades and lineups that are turned in. This isn't often enforced but must be put in place so teams that have been eliminated from the playoff race cannot help load up a friends team with players, or start all their scrubs to help a buddy win a game.

14. For any moves made during the playoffs, the process is the same but the prices double (Tuesday/Wedensday moves are $10/Moves after 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday are $20). Half of the money is distributed to the winners as always, and the other half goes to the AFL Runners Club. The one exception is any moves made in the week prior to the Super Bowl, in which case the prices are the same but all of the revenue goes to the Runners Club.

15. If you don't show up the night of the draft we'll draft a team for you. We have you pay in advance to guarantee you'll be there the night of the draft, and if you don't show up, you'll have to live with the team drafted for you.

16. There are no "trade backs". Here is what can happen. Say you trade your backup quarterback to your buddy because he has a bye conflict with his guys and you think you won't need your backup anymore. The week after his bye your starter gets hurt and you want your old backup, so you try to work a "trade back". Sorry we do not rent or borrow players in this league. This group team concept is not acceptable and that is why I personally monitor each trade and transaction very closely.

17. If a quarterback throws a touchdown to himself (it happens), the player only receives six points. There is no play where an individual player can receive more than six points.

18. Owners may have a financial interest in only one team. We will no longer allow individuals to own more than one team. If a situation occurs where we are unable to fill out the league, an owner may be allowed to have two teams for only one year. After that year we will get a new owner or assign it to a different existing owner each year until we can fill the spot. The one exception will always be myself. Each week I work many hours on this league and need a financial interest in each Conference to stay interested.

19. You have until 8:00 on the Wednesday follownig a game to challenge any score that has been posted. After that, the scoring becomes official and will not change even if there is an error. In the past we've had individuals trying to go back and change scoring, days, or even a week plus later. This can cause problems, particularly at end of the year when playoff seeding occurs. Please do help ensure the AFL scores are accurate, just do so as soon as you can after the player's score are posted.

20. Cellular phones, computers and the use of phone lines at draft is prohibited. If you can't make it you can have someone draft for you or I will assign someone to draft for you!

21. If the AFL assigns someone for you, that person will automatically recieve 10% of your gross winnings at the end of the year. This compenstes them and protects your interest in getting the best team possible.

22. After the final game of the AFL regular season, you have one week to get your account settled if you are not in the playoffs. All playoff team accounts are settled after the Super Bowl.

23. All-In Week - In week 16 we have a not-so-secret way you can win $100. If you did not make the playoffs, just start a lineup. The highest scoring non-playoff team that week wins a hundred bucks. It's the AFL way of helping you turnaround a bad season! There are a few rules...if you start a lineup week 15 or 17, you have just disqualified yourself. The other rule is that you must participate in the Buffalo Trace league with no more than one week where you didn't start a lineup (see rule #24 for more information on that league).

24. Buffalo Trace League - We have partnered with Buffalo Trace (www.buffalotracefootball.com) to create a unique AFL offering with some great prizes. With that league you can start any NFL player but you can only use them 5 times (that includes their 12 week regular season and 4 weeks of playoffs). Not only can you win some great weekly and grand prizes from Buffalo Trace, AFL partcipants can win the following:

-A weekly prize just for our participants
-$25 Buffalo Trace store credit at the Buffalo Trace Store (http://www.buffalotrace.com/giftshop.asp) for the person with the most points during their regular season
-$50 Buffalo Trace store credit for the person with the most points during Buffalo Trace's playoffs
-$50 in cash for the person with the most points combined in the Buffalo Trace regular season and playoffs
-A bottle of Buffalo Trace bourbon for anyone finishing in the top 25 in their playoffs
-A free Buffalo Trace food item for anyone winning the "Comstock Challenge" (finishing higher than brand manager Kris Comstock in the Buffalo Trace playoffs)

Please note that if you elect not to participate in the Buffalo Trace league, or you do not start a lineup 2 or more weeks, you will be assessed $10 administrative fee either at the beginning or end of the AFL season (the timing is based on whether or not you participated the year before).

25. There is a fourth AFL L Conference that differs from the A, B & C conferences. It is known as the L Conference as a tribute to the greatest film in this history of American cinema...the Big Lebowski (please watch it 4 times before you judge it...first viewing is a little tough to get through). Here are the L Conference rules:

-The cost for an L Conference franchise is only $25.

-All team names (no exceptions) must have a Big Lebowski theme. There are no Wildcats, High Rollers or Greenwings in the L Conference. We're all about the Marmots, Dudes, Pee Rugs, or whatever you can come up with that ties back in to the Big Lebowski! To keep it fresh, team names are retired each season and new names replace them.

-In the L conference you draft 15 players. You must have the AFL format of 2 QBs, RBs, WRs, KRs and 4 WRs. The extra three can be any players you want, and you can draft these in any order you like (example: you could start your first five rounds with QBs if you want to and then fill-in the rest of your roster)

-There are no pickups...at all. If you have two RBs and they both get hurt in week one, you are just out of luck. That's a key part of the strategy to draft a full roster...if you screw up and draft both defenses that have a bye the same week...so be it!

-There are no fines in the L conference. Since you can't control injuries, we won't ding you if you don't have a full roster...and if you get a cheap win over someone with no QB and RB, well that's just the luck of the L conference I guess (one exception, if you don't start a lineup, you do pay that $5 fine).

-The only money paid to the AFL is Super Bowl money which means you get a full share of your Super Bowl winnings but you are not eligible for any other pools, jackpots, secret jackpots, etc....anything other than the money listed in the payouts section above.

-There will be no franchise players in the L Conference...we start with a clean slate every year.

-We'll draw for team number at the draft and then draw again for rounds 1 - 2 (going up and down like the AFL) and then we'll redraw every two rounds, just like the regular AFL draft.

-Each week you do start a lineup like the regular AFL (1 QB, 1 RB, 2 WR, 1 KR and 1 Def). It's just that you have a few more players to choose from.

-The scoring and the format is the same as the AFL. You have a schedule you play each week. There are three division. Each divsion winner and one wildcard make the playoffs, etc.

-The L Conference playoffs narrow it down to one winner. It is a winner take all format with no payouts for anyone but the conference champ. The winner gets $25 cash, a free team the next year and $100 credit to spend on Big Lebowski of Buffalo Trace gear. Additionally, they are bought in to the Super Bowl and are playing as a full contender for that jackpot (see Super Bowl payouts above) and the chance to be recognized as the AFL Super Bowl champ.

-Everything else just follows the regular rules of the AFL. Whether it's tie-breakers, scoring administration issues, it all ties back to what we do in the AFL. While this league is different, it's the same too.

The draft is held on the last Saturday of the NFL's preseason. Conference A drafts at 6:00 pm and Conference B at approximately 8:00 pm. The draft starts out with everyone drawing a number from one to twelve to set up the three divisions in a Conference. At that time we go through and announce our franchise player and team name based on the order of the number we have drawn.

Teams are seeded based upon their previous years performance with the worst team picking first in the first round. In round two we reverse the order and go best team down to the worst team. After round two we draw numbers and draft, going from one to twelve, then reversing the process, and redrawing after every other round.

Draft night is pretty intense and tends to leave the new owners overwhelmed. With twenty four teams drafting I have to stay on top of everyone or we can really get off course. I know this is different from other leagues where the draft is a beer blast with everyone drunk and up until two in the morning but we just can't do it. We had new owner's show up already having enjoyed a few cocktails and the veterans prey on them like a lion chasing a sick gazelle. Charlie Robertson will have you convinced that Neil Lomax is coming back this year and is a sure fire first round pick.

This is a tough crowd. If your thin-skinned you may want to send a friend (or enemy) to draft for you. If you make a bad pick, don't worry, you'll hear several evaluations of it immediately (Who?? Does he still play?? Didn't his leg fall off?? Why don't you try drafting a starter?? etc.) God forbid you draft a guy who has just been cut or was recently injured. How this works is silence until the next guy picks to make your pick official, and then the comments start.

The bottom line is don't take any of this personally. Like I said these guys will be trying to get in your head from the moment you walk in. There be rumors of injuries and cuts sweeping the room. Guys will be trying to steal other guys notes. Baker may try stealing your notes and photocopying them on my machine (it's happened), Charlie usually drops a false set of "notes" in the bathroom hoping you'll find them, Heath will be acting like he's already eliminated from the playoffs, and I'll be chewing people out from all of the pressure. Sit back and enjoy this. None of it's personal, these guys are like this to everyone whether or not they know them.

A few years ago we started an e-mail only pickup policy and we'll go with that again this year.

If you want to make a move, just drop me an e-mail and let me know who you want to pickup. Our official "move days" are Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The pickups become official at 8:00 p.m. on those days.

The cost of a pickup is $5.00. If more than one person is going for a player it goes to "virtual auction." What this means is you need to include a dollar amount you are willing to spend for that player.

Examples
Example 1
Owner A goes for a player and states they are willing to go up to $9.00 for him. No one else puts in for him. At 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday that owner gets that player for $5.00.

Example 2
Owner A bids up to $11 for a player, Owner B puts a bid of up to $8 for the same player and Owner C doesn't put a dollar amount for the same player (by default their high bid is $5). The "virtual auction" goes into effect and Owner A gets that player for $9 (ties go to the lower scoring for the season team).

Remember that you have one roster expansion as well. That means on Tuesday you can pickup one player without cutting anyone (normal fees and protocol applies).

Any moves between 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday and 1 hour before start time of the first game of the week are $10 and given out "first come/first serve."

There are NO moves from one hour before the first game of the week all the way through Tuesday. If you want to make a pickup between those times, make a note of it and contact me on Tuesday about it.

It simply becomes overwhelming for me to keep track of three leagues worth of moves if everyone is submitting them in whenever they want or calling me on my cell phone while I'm driving or leaving me a message at my house when I'm traveling, etc.

We use a very simple system to break all ties in this league. That system is as follows:

If two teams are tied for a Division or Wild Card spot head to head competition will be used as the first tie breaker. If there has been a tie or the teams split a series, the next tie breaker is overall league scoring. If there still is no winner, a lottery system will be used.

If three or more teams are tied for a Division or Wild Card spot the first tie breaker is also head to head record. If there is one team that has a perfect record against all the teams involved (no losses or ties) that team is the winner. If this produces no winner then overall scoring is used. All teams still tied will be in a lottery to produce a clear cut winner.

This tie breaking system is also used in seeding the playoff teams, and is used to break any ties that may occur in a playoff game or the Super Bowl.

The one exception to the rule is in seeding teams for the next season's draft. If three or more teams are tied we will use total points scored to establish drafting order. Any ties will be broken by a lottery system. The earlier mentioned rules will apply to ties of two teams.

Here are a few tips that will help you be successful in the AFL:

Get one of the Fantasy Football guides available at all bookstores beginning in June or use one of the many resources available on the web.

Bring some kind of list of players with you so you can cross off names as they get drafted. Don't try to draft off the top of your head.

Don't fall victim to the head games being played on draft night.

Right now plan on spending around $25 on player moves. I've seen it time after time owner's not wanting to spend money, worrying if they don't improve their team with a move that they have thrown away money they cannot recover by winning. In the meantime other owners are spending money and improving their teams and the teams that don't spend money never win. If you know your a thrifty individual maybe you'd be better off paying for moves in advance to help you psychologically. If you end up not making those moves I can refund your money.

Keep track of your team and the teams you are playing. I always prefer an owner who keeps track of their score as well as that of their opponent. This provides for a fool proof checks and balance system.

Important Dates:
League Fees are due August 1st.
Draft is the Saturday before the start of the NFL regular season.
First expansion occurs after week 1.
Trading deadline is the Wednesday of the 7th week.
AFL auction runs the month of November.
Playoffs start week 15.
Super Bowl is the last week of the NFL season.
All transaction money by non-playoff teams is due immediately following the 14th week.