Rules of the Canton Football League
Updated, Sept. 5, 2008
 
The Canton Football League  

Rules of the Canton Football League

 

I         Teams

The Canton Football League (CFL) is a 12 team league divided into two 6 team Conferences.  Teams in the CFL shall consist of 2 QB, 4 RB, 4 WR, 2 PK, 2 Defenses and 1 Util (RB/WR). The team and Conference breakdown is as follows:

NFC
The Muffs
Big Daddy
Gotham Goliaths
Prodigal Pokers
Phantom Menace
Paterno’s Pros

AFC
Screaming Otters
Breakfast Club
Harrisburg Harlequins
Theban Kings
Jedi Knights
DubMDs

II        Salary Cap, Protection and Draft

Each team will receive $32 toprotect their players from season to season.  A player’s cap value is determined by dividing their total points from the previous year by 10.  All regular season games are counted in the cap number for each player.  If a single player is valued at more than $32, then the cap value for the league that year will be that player’s value (the LT rule).  Owners may protect any combination of players, as long as their combined cap number is less than or equal to $32, and no 2 players/units from the same NFL team are on the same CFL team.  Salary cap information will be sent out no less than 3 weeks before Draft Day.  Individual team protection lists are due back to the commissioner no less than 1 week before Draft Day, and the final CFL protection rosters will be sent out to the league within 2 days of the individual team protection list due date.  All non-protected players go back into the upcoming draft.  Each team will then draft players based on reverse order of standings from the previous year, with the two Super Bowl teams drafting last in their respective conferences.  Teams may only draft players from their respective NFL conference, i.e., CFL AFC teams may only draft players from NFL AFC teams.  Teams will draft until their roster is complete, plus an additional defensive player once all teams have finished drafting.  Individual teams may not draft 2 players/units from the same NFL team.  Teams may also not draft a player/unit that is on the same NFL team that one of the teams’ protected players/units are on.

III       Starting Lineups

Starting lineups consist of 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 Util (any WR or RB, does not have to be the player in the Utility slot), 1 PK and 1 Defense.  Lineups must be called in or e-mailed to the commissioner before the kickoff of the 1st game of that week.  E-mails do not need to be received by the commissioner, just have an Internet postmark of before the first kickoff.  I know that some of us have the ability to change these postmarks as we see fit.  The CFL trusts that no one will hack their e-mail postmarks.  If no lineup is received, then the previous weeks’ lineup will be used. 

IV      Scoring

Scoring for the CFL is as follows:

QB/RB/WR

Rush/Receiving TD   6
Passing TD   4
Rush/Receiving yards   1 per 20
Passing yards   1 per 50
INT   -2
Fumble Lost   -2
2 pt Conversion (catch, run, pass)   2

Kickers

FG < 40  3
40 - 49  4
50 - 59  5
60+  6
PAT  1
Missed PAT  -2
Missed FG < 20  -3
20 - 29  -2
30 - 39  -1

Defenses

Shutout   10
1-6 pts. Allowed   7
7-13 pts. Allowed   4
14-17 pts. Allowed   1
18-24 pts. Allowed   0
25-28 pts. Allowed   -1
29-33 pts. Allowed   -2
34-37 pts. Allowed   -3
38-41 pts. Allowed   -4
42 + pts. Allowed   -5
TD (defense or special teams)   3
TO/Block/Safety   2
Sack   1

The team score is determined by summing up the accumulated scores of the team’s starting lineup.

V       Drop/Add and Trades

Any teams within the same conference may trade with each other.  During the season, trades must be positionally balanced, i.e., the same positions must be traded to/from each team.  During the off-season, trades do not need to be positionally balanced.  Also, teams may trade between conferences, as long as the players in the trade are also changing conferences.  In the case of an inter-conference off-season trade, all players involved in the trade must be protected by their new owners.  This is the Randy Moss Rule.  However,if a player is injured, not on the same team, or otherwise unavailable (cut/waived, suspension, retirement, etc), after an interleague trade is made, then that player does not need to kept by the receiving owner. All trades are subject to commissioner approval.  The trading deadline is CFL Week 10.

Players may not be dropped and replaced unless they are on the NFL injured list and do not play that week.  The NFL injured list has different statuses of injury.  If a player is OUT or Doubtful, then an owner may freely drop and replace him.  If the player is Questionable, then an owner may put in a request to drop and replace the player, which would be fulfilled if the player does not play (the drop/add will be effective that week, and the owner will receive the replacement player’s statistics).  If the player is Probable, then no move can be made until the next week (if he does not play).  Players that did not play the previous week due to injury, or left the previous week’s game due to injury and did not return can be dropped, regardless of status.  Players on the Physically Unable to Perform list (PUP/PUI) can be dropped at any time.  Players that were protected at the beginning of the year or drafted while belonging to no NFL team or on IR are undroppable – they must be kept throughout the entire season.  This is the Barry Sanders Rule.  Players drafted while injured, but not on IR, can not be dropped until CFL Week 2.  Also, players who “give up” in the middle of a season or are suspended for any length of time (basically, the rights are still held by an NFL team, but they are not on the active roster and not on the injured list) may not be dropped.  This is the Kerry Collins Rule.  Injured players may only be dropped; there are no reserving players in the CFL.  If a player is traded to the other NFL conference during the year, the CFL team which owns his rights must give them up.  However, the CFL team has until the next CFL week to release or trade that player to a team in the opposite CFL conference.  If no CFL trade is made, the NFL traded player becomes available for pickup using the normal pickup rules.   This also applies to players that are cut/waived.

The one exception to the Drop/Add Rule is that each team gets 1 free Drop/Add per CFL year.   This free Drop/Add may only be used after CFL Week 7 is complete.  All submissions for free Drop/Add must be submitted by Thursday midnight of that week.  If there are Thursday NFL games, free Drop/Add is due by Tuesday midnight.  Free Drop/Add will be filled on a reverse standing order within each conference.  If a team puts in a request for a player, and that player was taken before that team’s position, then the team does not use their free Drop/Add.  Teams may submit multiple requests in a week for their free Drop/Add, and their highest available will be taken.  Injury pickups supersede Free Drop/Add. If a playoff team makes a drop/add based on injury, the added player must start in that week.  Also, if a playoff team has not used their free Drop/Add, they may do so during the playoffs, and the added player does not have to start that week.

VI      Schedule and Playoffs

Each team will play the teams in their own conference twice (10 games), and 4 teams from the other conference (once each), based on record from the previous year.  This makes for a 14 week CFL season, which runs through NFL Weeks 1-14.  The two top teams in each conference make the playoffs.  Playoff tiebreakers are as follows:

1) Head to Head Record
2) Record in Conference
3) Record against Common Opponents
4) Total Point Differential
5) Point Differential in Head to Head Games
6) Point Differential against Common Opponents
7) Coin Toss

The top two teams in each conference will play a 1 week Conference Championship Game, based on NFL Week 15.  The two winners will then play a 2 week Super Bowl based on NFL Weeks 16-17.  These weeks are combined to get the final score.  Teams in the Super Bowl may change their lineup and make roster changes (if able) between the two weeks.   The winner of the Super Bowl will have their name and team engraved on the Stables Cup, and will receive the trophy at the next season’s draft.  The Stables Cup will then be due back to the commissioner at least one month prior to the draft following receipt of the Stables Cup, and it is the winning team’s responsibility to polish the Stables Cup before being returned to the CFL.

VII     No Mock Jerking Off on the Commissioner’s Leg

This is the Jackson-Ippolito Rule.  Violators of this rule will be automatically banned from the Canton Football League and all league member attended events.