The Scandalous League
The Scandalous League uses head-to-head competition that pits owner versus owner each week during the football season. The results of each game is determined by the cumulative scoring of each teams' starting line-ups. A "game" consists of the cumulative stats of each started player during NFL games that fall between Thursday and Monday of each week. The franchises are ranked by won-loss records, with the top 4 teams advancing to the playoffs. The winner of the league is the team that wins the final playoff game - The Fantasy Bowl.
The Scandalous League uses a mix of basic, performance, and distance scoring to calculate the point totals of the individual starting players. The cumulative totals of these players is compared against the opponent's cumulative totals. The team with the most points that week, wins the game. To see a breakdown of our scoring system, please click here: Scoring Breakdown
Statistics are available as a "Live Scoring" option through our online stats provider, MyFantasyLeague.com. Results of Sunday's games will be preliminarily available on Monday morning. Monday results and Final Results of the game will be available on Tuesday mornings.
The Scandalous League is broken up into three 4 team divisions. New divisions will be assigned every three seasons.
Each franchise will play 15 games per season. Each owner will play two games against the franchises in their division, totaling six games. The schedule also features nine games outside the division, including playing one random team twice and all others once.
Each owner is responsible for submitting their starting line-up to both the Commissioner and their opponent. Line-Ups may be submitted via the web, e-mail, or by telephone. Line-Ups need to be submitted prior to kick-off (1:00 PM, usually) each Sunday. Thursday night games and special circumstances involving Saturday games will occur, so owners need to submit starters for those games before kick-off. A starting line-up includes 12 players - 2 QBs, 3 RBs, 3 WRs, 1 TE, 1 Flex (RB/WR/TE), 1 Kicker, and a defense/special teams unit.
Since the inception of the league, if a starting line-up is not submitted prior to 1:00 PM Sunday, the prior week's line-up will be used. The opponent does not to get to start his team against a "0" point line-up to uphold the integrity of the playoff races and competition. If starters from a Thursday night game are involved, those Thursday night starters will not be eligible if the line-up changes in any way prior to Sunday. This isn't meant to give an owner a free preview on Thursday night, but as a failsafe in case no line-up is submitted that week. The Commissioner will not make any assumptions as to starting players on Thursday nights. Nor will the Commissioner make assumptions as to which players will be used as a bye week carryover.
Each NFL team has at least one bye week during the season. In these situations, Scandalous League owners may choose to have their player's statistics carry over into the following week. The Commissioner must be notified about this option while the starting line-up is being submitted. The Commissioner cannot assume that an owner would like to start a player for two weeks. The bye weeks are posted on the website, so it is up to each individual owner to plan accordingly. Starting in 2006, players who are on a bye week may be traded and their stats will count for the team that traded them. Obviously, the trading team will need to start one less player to accommodate the situation. The team that receives the player on bye will need to start someone in his place.
If two teams' starting line-ups tie, the first tiebreaker is the cumulative totals of all the bench players. The second tiebreaker is the number of touchdowns scored by the entire roster.
Teams will be ranked by their overall win-loss records and separated by their respective divisions.
The playoffs will occur during the 16th and 17th weeks of the NFL Season. The three division winners and one wildcard team will advance to the playoffs. The wildcard team will be determined as the team with the best win-loss record that didn't win their division. The first week of the playoffs will have the team with the best overall record pitted against the wildcard team. The 2nd and 3rd division winners will also square off. The winners of each of these games will advance to the Fantasy Bowl. The losers will square off in a consolation game. The winner of the Fantasy Bowl will be crowned champion of the Scandalous League.
1. Playoff tiebreakers
If there is a tie between division winners or a wildcard team, we will use these tiebreakers:
Division Winner
a) Inter-Division Record
b) Head-to-Head Record
c) Total Points Scored
d) Least Points Allowed
Wildcard Winner
a) Total Points Scored
b) Head-to-Head Record
c) Inter-Division Record
d) Least Points Allowed
2. Home Field Advantage
The team with the best overall record gets a "home field advantage" of 3 pts versus the wildcard team.
The Scandalous League consists of 12 teams. Each team will bid on players to end up with a roster consisting of 25 NFL players, including at least 1 NFL team defense/special teams.
Each team needs 2 quarterbacks, 4 running backs, 4 wide receivers, a tight end, a kicker, 1 defense/special teams units, and 12 reserve players of any position. All players must be on an NFL team roster.
Players' names are randomly read aloud one by one to be bid on. The minimum bid is $1. The bid will rise in $1 increments unless an owner chooses to quicken the process by bidding in larger increments. The Commissioner serves as the auctioneer, with other owners occasionally helping out. The last owner to bid on a player is the winner of that player. An owner can bid on any player he chooses provided he has a roster spot available and enough cash to fill out his entire roster. Owners will be bidding on the maximum dollar value of each contract.
Each team has $500 to spend on a roster of 25 players. Once the Auction has ended, owners will get an extra $15 for the current season to help with free agent acquisitions and trades. Starting in 2014, each team will also have a $100 Free-Agent Acquisition Budget (FAAB). This budget will be used for bidding on free-agents in $1 increments.
After the Auction, owners will need to decide the term of each player's contract. A player may be signed for one, two, or three seasons. The contract must be allocated in accordance with the salary cap. A single year contract will match what was paid at the Auction. The total value of a multiple year contract is in relation to what the owner paid at the Auction. For a 2 year contract, the value is twice the 1st year value. For a 2 year contract, the value is three times the 1st year value.
There is no limit to the number of players that you can sign to extensions. The only limit is the guideline of a $500 salary cap for each season. A risk averse owner can play year-to-year and not sign any players to extensions.
There is a minimum value that contract extensions must adhere to. The minimum contract value for Year 2 is $10 and the minimum contract value for Year 3 is $20.
Kickers and DEF/ST are not subject to the minimum contract rule as they rarely go for more than $10 and seldom get kept for multiple years.
An owner may choose to frontload his player's contract. To frontload a contract, the owner must be under the salary cap. Owners can choose to frontload an additional 20% into the first year of a contract. Frontloaded contracts are still subject to the minimum Year 2 or Year 3 salary requirement.
Eg. Player X ($5 auction value) can be signed to a contract that has a three year value of $35 ($5-$10-$20). He can be front-loaded to $12-$11-$12 ($35) or $12-$10-$13 ($35) as choice of the Owner. (Just make sure to stay above $10 in year 2 or 3)
Backloaded contracts are not permitted. The Scandalous League believes in planning for the future, but not borrowing from the future to play the present.
Typically, these contracts need to be decided upon and submitted to the Commissioner prior to Week 10 (trade deadline) of the NFL season.
In 2014 we voted to allow owners to sign free agents that were not selected at the Auction, but were picked up during the first ten weeks of the season. These contracts will be submitted at the contract extension signing period.
In 2009 we voted to allow owners to sign 1 (one) free agent to a contract extension for 1 (one) season. The contract for this one player will be $20. This contract extension will be decided on during the pre-season during the player cut period. Starting in 2017, owners will designate players under consideration as their Option Player prior to the pre-season waiver wire. The owner will have the chance to decline their designations at the cut deadline and will be able to sign a maximum of (1) one Option Player for 1 (one) season. Starting in 2014, Free Agents can be signed to extensions prior to Week 10.
Note: If the player's auction value from the previous season was $20 or more, then the free agent will assume that value for a one year contract. Free Agents that were under contract and carried over from the two prior seasons would not be eligible to be kept for a "4th" year.
In 2011 we voted to make an exception for Kickers and Defenses. If an owner keeps a kicker or defense as their one free agent, the salary will be $5.
If a player is released in the week prior to Auction Day, an owner will be able to reclaim some of that player's salary for extra spending money during the Auction. The penalty will cause an owner to take a 50 % cap hit of that player's salary for the first year of his contract (rounded up to the nearest whole dollar increment). If the player is signed for multiple years, the 50% cap hit will only be charged to the first year of the contract. The second year of the deal with be forgiven and completely wiped off the books.
Eg. Team X releases Player Y that is signed for two seasons at $100 a season ($200 total). Team X will take a cap hit of $50 in Year 1 and $0 in Year 2 (AKA reclaiming $50 for the current season)
The same format is followed during the season. Owners are only responsible for 50% of the first year of the contract. If the player is signed to a 2nd or 3rd year extension, there will be no penalty assessed for Year 2 or Year 3. A player that goes on the IR during the season, the penalty assessed will only be 25% upon the cut.
If a released player is picked up by another owner within two weeks of the cut, the original owner is no longer responsible for that player's salary. After the two weeks is up, the cap hit is finalized and the player becomes a free agent.
* The Commissioner may choose to institute a no-cut list that includes any NFL starters so shenanigans don't occur. Owners will not be cutting a top player because they are 0-8 and want to frontload contracts.
If a player retires during the season, or prior to Auction Day, then the franchise that player is under contract with is no longer responsible for his contract - it is wiped from the books. We had agreed that a retirement is not the same thing as a career threatening injury, holdout, suspension, or as merely being unsigned. Retirement is a formal process through the NFL league offices and is reported by reputable news sources/and/or confirmed at a press conference. Any players that the Scandalous League isn't 100 % sure of will be voted on.
If a player retires during one of our multi-year contracts after he had already been cut by a Scandalous League owner, then that owner is still obligated to keep the cap hit on their books. "A cut is a cut."
NFL Free-Agents may be picked at the auction, added as free agents in-season, and retained on rosters.
An injured player may be placed on the Physically Unable To Perform List (PUP List) or the Injured Reserve List (IR) prior to Week 1 of the season. A player placed on the PUP list is generally off the NFL active roster for 6 weeks, while a player placed on the IR may either be out for the entire season or designated to return after a minimum of 4 games.
In 2020 the NFL instituted a 3 game IR. Teams could designate players to return after 3 weeks. In 2020 and 2021 there also was a COVID injured list.
III. Maintaining Rosters {Top}
Each owner has the right to cut players from his roster to pick up another player from the free agent pool. Transactions will be made from Wednesday through Sunday. Starting in 2014, Wednesday transactions are based on a Blind Bidding Auction. Owners will submit their best bids for free agents without knowledge of what other owners are bidding. The team that bids the most for that player will win that player and his contract. In the case where two owners submit the same bid, reverse order of the standings will determine priority. Owners will have a $100 Free-Agent Acquisition Budget (FAAB) of $100 at the start of the season. Players will be bid on in $1 increments. Thursday through Sunday transactions will continue to be on a first come, first serve basis.
The first transaction period is typically after Week 1 on the NFL season has been completed. In 2021 we voted an exception to this rule - Owners can add a Kicker prior to Week 1 if they were in a sitaution where they didn't have an active kicker to submit in their Week 1 lineups.
Transactions may be made online using the MyFantasyLeague.com website.
Although online transactions are preferred, transactions may also be given to the Commissioner in person, over the telephone, via voice mail, text message, or through an e-mail. Electronic transactions are time stamped. The players will be assigned accordingly.
A free agent may be picked up at the price of $1. Starting in 2014 we decided to allow owners to sign players acquired as free agents that were not picked at the Auction to contract extensions. These contract extensions will follow the same minimum contract guidelines as stated in the "Signing Players" section above. Free agents not signed to extensions at Week 10 may also be re-signed for one additional season for $20. If an owner picks up a player that was released by another franchise within two weeks of the cut, then he assumes the entire contract.
Owners are able to replace an Injured Reserved player with a healthy player from the free agent pool or by activating a player recently activated to his NFL squad. An Injured Reserved player is defined as a player that has officially been placed on the Injured Reserve by the NFL. This news is usually reported through the A.P. Wire and newspapers.
D. Physically Unable to Perform List (PUP)
Owners are able to replace a PUP list player with a healthy player from the free agent pool or by activating a player recently activated to his NFL squad. An PUP List player is defined as a player that has officially been placed on the PUP List by the NFL. This transaction is always made prior to the first game and makes the player inactive for 6 weeks. This news is usually reported through the A.P. Wire and newspapers.
Week 15. No transactions or trades may be made beyond this date.
Beginning in 2006, owners may place players on the pre-season waiver wire. If the player gets claimed by another owner then the new owner will assume the entire contract of the waived player. If the player goes unclaimed, he can be pulled back from the waiver wire. The only catch is that the re-claimed player may not be traded until he clears waivers and all owners have had a chance to claim him. You may, however, choose to cut that player at the designated cut deadline in the week leading up to the Auction.
A trade is when one owner decides to exchange players with another owner. This can be done prior to the season, on draft day, and during the season. All trades are fair game unless decided as grossly unfair by league members. In this case, a Competition Committee will vote on the trade. The trade will either be accepted or voided. This should be extremely rare because any trade that falls within the salary cap generally is fair.
Week 10. No trades may be made beyond this date.
Each team's balance may not exceed $15, or that owner will not be able to make any transactions.
The list of released players must be submitted to the Commissioner on the last Sunday prior to the Auction.
A. Entry Fee - Each owner will pay an entry fee. That fee will go into the money pool to pay for expenses and to pay off the winners. The fee will be determined on auction day.
B. Transaction Fee - In 2008 we eliminated transaction fees.
C. Payoffs - Starting in 2021 we voted to change the payout structure. The #1 Seed will receive $100. The winner of each first round playoff game will each receive $100. The Fantasy Bowl winner will be paid $550, the Fantasy Bowl loser $200, and Consolation Game (3rd place game) $50. (2nd and 3rd division winners no longer automatically get cash. They have to win a playoff game to collect. Also makes that Consolation Game worth something).
Pre-2021: The team
with the best overall record gets $100, The other two Division winners
get $50 each. The Fantasy Bowl winner gets 70 % of the remaining pot,
while the runner up gets 30 %. D. Toilet Bowl
- Starting in 2017, the bottom two teams that face off in the Toilet
Bowl will each be required to open a $50 tab at the following year's
auction. We will drink for free until the $100 runs out and the two
Toilet Bowl participants will serve us our drinks as servents.