Due to how complex keepers and trades have become I decided to simplify the rules to make my life easier managing the keepers and trades and your life easier understanding who can be kept and for how long. I also modified how the draft lottery will work.
You can find the rules that changed in the following sections: 3.0 League Setup and Competition and 4.0 Rosters and Lineups
I will outline the rules here:
- Players who are kept will always be valued at one pick earlier than they were drafted. Even if they were traded or picked up off of waivers. Un-drafted free agents maintain a 16th round value. You can no longer keep a player for the first time at the same value as they were drafted.
- As a result, 1st round players can no longer be kept. This will allow better players to go back into the draft pool.
- We will put up for a vote how many years a player can be kept. The options will be to remain at 4 years (the year drafted plus kept 3 years) or reduce to 3 years total.
- All drafted players will receive a 4-year contract (or 3-year if voted on). Only three of those players can be kept the following year. See rules section 3.1.1 for more details.
- For the sake of simplified paper management, the kicker and defense positions cannot be declared as keepers. Also to simplify my paper work, please try to keep your team name from year to year. If you would like to change your name, please let me know ahead of time. I will have to make changes to all my spreadsheets and website. You can make name changes in season, like Tom did as a joke (A Team has no RBs), but remember to change them back to your official name before the season is over.
- Players who do not have any years left on their contract cannot be traded in the off-season since they cannot be kept.
- The draft lottery from 2021 forward will now be to win the 1st and 2nd pick overall in the first round only. Rounds 2-16 will remain based on the previous years standings.