Official Bylaws

Article I — Trade Voting

1.1. Every trade submitted is subject to a league-wide veto vote.

1.2. Six (6) vetos on a single trade results in the trade being reversed and not processed.

1.3. The co-commissioners jointly reserve the right to issue a commissioner veto on any trade, independent of the standard vote count, in the case of an unforeseen and egregious circumstance not otherwise covered by these bylaws (e.g., the Granoff-Holmes trade back trade of 2025, which went viral on podcasts across the country). This power is intended to be used sparingly and only in clear-cut cases.

Article II — Keeper Eligibility

2.1. Keeper Limit. Each manager may keep up to two players per offseason. Keeping is optional.

2.2. Years of Eligibility. A player may be kept for a maximum of three total years, including the season in which he was originally drafted. In practice, this means a manager gets two offseasons in which they can choose to keep a given player before he reverts to the general draft pool (free agency).

2.3. Draft Round Restriction. Players originally drafted in Rounds 1–4 are not keeper-eligible, regardless of remaining years.

2.4. Draft Pick Cost. Keepers replace a manager's picks in the last two rounds of the draft (i.e., keeping a player costs a late-round pick).

2.5. Eligibility Follows the Player. A player's keeper eligibility (years used/remaining) is tied to the player, not the roster spot. Trading or dropping a player does not reset or refresh his eligibility.

Example: If JSN has 0 years of keeper eligibility remaining and is later dropped (e.g., due to a season-ending injury), no manager may pick him up and keep him the following year. His eligibility status carries with him for the remainder of his eligibility window, regardless of who rosters him or how he changes hands.

2.6. Minimum Roster Time. A player must have been rostered by the manager for a minimum of three concurrent (consecutive) weeks during the regular season to be eligible as that manager's keeper. For example, this means a manager cannot add an injured (or any) player in the final weeks of the season with the intent of "banking" him as a keeper, since there isn't enough regular season time left to satisfy the 3-consecutive-week requirement. Any player who does not meet this threshold is not keeper-eligible for that manager, regardless of injury status or perceived future value.

Article III — Good Faith Competition (Anti-Tanking)

3.1. All trades must be reasonably competitive for the current season. A manager may not trade away rostered, contributing players in exchange for a return that is primarily or exclusively "keeper potential" for next year.

3.2. This is a redraft league with keepers, not a dynasty league. Trades should make sense in the context of this season's competition, not solely as a vehicle for stockpiling future assets.

3.3. Trades that are one-sided for the current year — even if defensible as "rebuilding" — are subject to veto under Article I.

3.4. Trading of future draft picks is prohibited. The league has previously permitted this and has shown an inability to wield that power responsibly. For the good of the league, all teams will redraft each year from scratch, with the only permitted long-term investment being the two keepers per manager described in Article II. Draft picks may not be traded, in whole or in part, across draft years.

3.5. Managers are subject to penalty for failing to set their lineup or for starting injured players, unless there is reasonable cause or a legitimate strategic purpose. For example, a manager who has already clinched a win for the week may reasonably leave a roster spot empty rather than risk starting a player with negative upside on Monday Night Football. Similarly, a very last-minute scratch is reasonable cause and will not be treated as a violation. The league relies on managers committing to fielding full, competitive rosters every week, even once they are no longer in playoff contention. A manager will generally receive a strike before this becomes a formal issue, but recurring incidents will result in a commissioner penalty.

Article IV — Roster Churning

4.1. Managers may strategically claim waiver players to box out competitors from a specific player.

4.2. Managers may not engage in add/drop/add/drop cycles for the purpose of cycling players off the waiver wire without any intent to roster them competitively. This is considered churning and is prohibited.

Article V — Playoff Roster Conduct

5.1. Once a manager has been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention and the regular season has ended, that manager's roster is effectively locked for the remainder of the playoffs. Eliminated managers may not make waiver moves that interfere with the rosters of managers still competing for a championship.

5.2. This lock is not just a courtesy — it reflects the fact that, under Article II.6, a player must be rostered for a minimum of three consecutive weeks to be keeper-eligible. Because the playoffs do not span three weeks, there is no legitimate keeper-related reason to add or drop players once eliminated. Any such move would not create a valid keeper and only serves to disrupt the active competition.

RATIFIED BY LEAGUE VOTE

These bylaws are binding for all DCFFL managers for the duration of the season and may only be amended by league vote.