El Chico Football League Rules
2024 Season
Basics
10-Team League; Two 5-Team Divisions
Entry Fee: $100 per team - due by draft day.
Weekly Lineup: 1 QB; 2 RB; 3 WR/TE; 1 RunD; 1 PassD; 1 K
Regular Season: 13 weeks; 2 games vs. divisional opponents; 1 vs. non-divisional
Postseason: 5 teams make the playoffs, 2 division winners + 3 wild cards.
Three-week postseason. Division winners and top wild card get bye the first week.
Initial Rosters: 22 slots
There are no restrictions on how many players you draft or carry at each position, with the exception of defenses. A maximum of 3 RD and 3 PD per team may be drafted, but once the season starts that restriction is lifted.
Supplemental Roster: 3 slots
During the regular season, rosters may be expanded to 25 through trades or free agency acquisitions. It is not required that all roster slots be filled at any given time.
Protected Players
Teams are required to protect 2 players from the previous year's roster. Players may come either from the previous year's draft or from players gained through free agency or trade.
Players drafted in rounds 1-4 of the draft are ineligible for protection. Two protection ranges (groups) from each year's draft board serve as the basis for protection - Group 1:rounds (5-12) and Group 2: rounds (13-22). One player from each group must be protected. Owners may protect someone they drafted or, if they so desire, they may substitute players acquired through trade or free agency into one, or both, of those Groups. The stipulations are:
1) Any players acquired through trade retain their draft position and/or protection history, as appropriate, for the ensuing substitution.
2) The substitute(s) are placed in the first available draft position within the target group. This could be either round 5 or round 6 in Group 1 (depending on whether a Group 2 protection from the previous year is protected again, moving to Round 5), and would always be round 13 in Group 2.
3) A fee of FA$20 will be assessed for substituting a player into Group 1 and a fee of FA$40 will be assessed for substituting a player into Group 2.
If a player from Group 2 is protected for a second consecutive year, it automatically moves into the 5th round slot in Group 1, but a player originally appearing in Group 1 must still be protected. In the event that the Group 1 protected player was drafted in round 5 and the Group 2 player is protected in consecutive years, the Group 2 player would move to round 6.
Players protected for the first time always retain their slot in the draft order from the previous year. A player can be protected for a maximum of three consecutive years. New teams have a choice: start from scratch with no protected players or protect from the roster of the team they are replacing.
Free Agency: 4 Rounds
Each team begins the season with a bank of $200 in Free Agent Dollars (FA$). Free Agency Bidding will be conducted following weeks 2, 4, 7, and 10. Free agency nominations + bids are submitted to the Commissioner by midnight on Wednesday during free agency week, with available players going to the highest bidder, announced on Thursdays. In case of a tie, player goes to the lower ranked team in the standings using postseason tiebreakers if necessary.
Important: If you bid on a player that is already on another team's roster, you forfeit those FA$s.
Insurance - Protect Your Top Ten Picks
Insurance is available for those who wish to protect their top 10 drafted players. Insurance is purchased at the beginning of the draft.
Injury insurance coverage applies to injuries that 1) occur in the first 5 weeks of the season; and 2) will keep a player out for an anticipated four weeks or longer. A policy may be cashed in retroactively through week 8 as long as the injured player did not appear since week 5. For a policy to be cashed in, commissioner must agree on the anticipated duration of the player's injury based on available reports.
For policies that include the selection of a substitute player from the existing free agent pool (Gold and Platinum level), the team using the policy must drop the injured player, who then becomes part of the free agent pool. Such players subsequently acquired through free agency retain their draft position and protection status in the protection process for the following year's draft.
Litigation insurance is available as a special option (see below), but regular insurance shall not cover arrests, suspensions, etc.
Injury Insurance Policies:
SILVER LEVEL: Cost is FA$10 per policy. Lose any of your top 10 players for anticipated 4 weeks or more, drop the player and add $30 in FA$. Injured player rights can not be retained. One-time use per policy. Multiple policies can be purchased.
GOLD LEVEL: Cost is FA$25 per policy. Lose any of your top 10 players for anticipated 4 weeks or more, drop the player and immediately select any free agent at the same position to replace him. One-time use per policy. Multiple policies can be purchased.
PLATINUM LEVEL: Cost is FA$35 per policy. Lose any of your top 10 players for anticipated 4 weeks or more, drop the player and immediately select any free agent at any position to replace him. Multiple policies can be purchased.
Litigation Insurance:
Cost is FA$10 per policy as an add-on to silver, gold, or platinum level insurance. Can be purchased at any time prior to or during the draft and extends insurance policy coverage to include suspensions, incarceration, etc.
Weekly Rosters and Submitting Lineups
Lineups MUST BE posted on the website before 1 pm EST on Sundays. In case of early games, applicable players should be posted on the League Message Board. In case the website goes down, lineups must be e-mailed to both the commissioner and your opponent.
Again, weekly lineups consist of:
- 1 QUARTERBACK
- 2 RUNNING BACKS
- 3 RECEIVERS (Any combination of WR/TE)
- 1 KICKER
- 1 RUSH DEFENSE
- 1 PASS DEFENSE
The Chad North Rule states that in the event a team does not submit a lineup for a given week in advance of Sunday kickoff, that team automatically uses its lineup from the previous week. This is a one-time per season provision. If the same team fails to submit a lineup for a second time, it becomes the "Ghost Team" and automatically scores 180 points per game for every game in the season, including the modification of scores retroactively. The offending team also loses its spot in the league.
League Scoring + Spreadsheet
The following is a summary of the league scoring system.
Quarterback
TD = 7 (Passing, rushing, receiving, or fumble recovery)
2-pt Conversion = 2 (Passing, rushing, receiving, or fumble recovery)
INT = (-3)
Completions = (.5)
Comp % ([%] - 50%)/3 Example: 53%=1 pt., 56%=2 pts.
Passing Yds = Yds/30
5-pt. Bonus for 300 yards passing
Rush Yds = (.1)
Running Back
TD = 8 (Rushing, receiving, passing, or fumble recovery)
2-pt Conversion = 2 (Rushing, receiving, passing, or fumble recovery)
Rushing Yds = (.15)
5-pt Bonus for 100 yards rushing
Receptions = 1
Receiving Yds = (.1)
Yards/Carry (min 5 carries, max 15 points)
- less than 5 yds/car = (average -3 )/(.2) Example: 3.2 = 1 pt, 3.4 = 2 pts
- greater than 5 yds/car = 10 points + (average -5)/(.4) Example: 5.4 = 11
Wide Receiver
TD = 8 (Receiving, rushing, passing, or fumble recovery)
2-pt Conversion = 2 (Receiving, rushing, passing, or fumble recovery)
Reception = 2
Receiving Yds = .1
5-pt Bonus for 100 yards receiving
Avg/Catch (min 2 receptions, max 15 points)
- 2, 3 catches = average/3
- 4 or more catches = average/2
Rush Yds = .1
Tight End
TD = 9 (Receiving, rushing, passing, or fumble recovery)
2-pt Conversion = 2 (Receiving, rushing, passing, or fumble recovery)
Reception = 2
Receiving Yds = .1
5-pt Bonus for 100 yards receiving
Avg/Catch (min 2 receptions, max 15 points)
- 2 or more catches = average/2
Rush Yds = .1
Run Defense
(start with 30 points)
Run D Max: 80 points
TD = 6 (fumble returns, special teams fumble recoveries, blocked kick returns)
TD allowed = (-5)
Safety = 2
Fumble Recovery = 5
Rushing Yds Allowed: 110 = 0 points; +/- 1pt every 3 yds +/- 110
Formula: (YDS-110) x (-1/3)
Example 1: 95 yds rushing allowed = (95-110) = -15 x (-1/3) = 5 points
Example 2: 125 yds rushing allowed =
(125-110) = 15 x (-1/3) = -5 points
Pass Defense
(Start with 30 points)
Pass D Max: 80 points
TD = 6 (interception returns, blocked kick returns)
TD allowed = (-5)
Safety = 2
Interception = 4
Sack Recorded = 2
Passing Yds Allowed: 240 = 0 points; +/- 1pt every 5 yds +/- 240
Formula: (Yds-240) x (-.2)
Example 1: 215 yds passing allowed = (215-240) =-25 x (-.2) = 5 points
Example 2: 250 yds passing allowed = (250-240) =10 x (-.2) = -2 points
Kicker
XPT = 1
FG <40 = 3
FG 40-49= 6
FG 50+ = 9
Season Schedule & Divisions
The season schedule is posted on the website.
Team numbers and division groupings are determined by the draft lottery drawing.
Postseason
5 Teams make the playoffs
- 2 Division Winners + 3 Wild Cards
Tiebreakers
Ties Within A Division - Two Teams : 1. Head to Head 2. Division Record 3. Total Points
Ties Within A Division - Multiple Teams 1. Division Record 2. Total Points
Interdivisional Ties : 1. Total Points
Week 14
- Wild Cards 2 & 3 Playoff
- Division Winners and Wild Card 1 have a bye.
Week 15
- Higher Ranked Division Winner Plays Lower Ranked Wild Card
- Lower Ranked Division Winner Plays Higher Ranked Wild Card.
Week 16
- Week 15 winners play in Chico Super Bowl
- Week 15 losers play in Chico Toilet Bowl
Fees and Prize Monies
League Entry Fee is $100 - due to commissioner at or before the draft.
Late Fee Charges: $5 per week beginning Week 2 - NO EXCEPTIONS
Prize Monies - Per Team (combined)
Total Prize Money $1000
Division Winners -- $100 ($200)
3 Wild Card Winners -- $50 ($150)
League Champion -- $325 + Any Late Fees Collected ($325)
Runner Up -- $175 ($175)
Toilet Bowl Winner -- $100 ($100)
Toilet Bowl Loser -- $50 ($50)
