Drafting league rules, need suggestions...

[Xtreme]

Greetings all,
I've been the commish my league since it's inception three years ago. However, we've been operating without a formal set of league rules, so I'd like to draft up something for this year. These are the topics that I've come up with, off the top of my head, that should be covered:

1) How the draft order is determined (including what happens in years of expansion or contraction)
2) Entry fees, how prizes and awards are determined and in what amounts
3) Keeper rules, including how many, what positions, how many years, etc.
4) Standard league settings like roster size, starting positions, how points are awarded.
5) Waiver wire and free agency rules
6) Tiebreaker hierarchy, if needed

What other topics should be covered? What items have you included in your league rules?

Thanks for the help.

[Homeless]

Tell us what youve done for the past 3 yrs and then we can refine it from there.

[Xtreme]

Hey Homey, long time no talk...

1) For the draft, 17 rounds long, serpentine format. This is where it gets weird: the first round is a keeper round, if you're keeping somebody, you don't pick in this round, and the order is from worst to best. Round 2 is same order, but everybody particpates, and Round 3 starts the serpentine. Expansion teams pick last in the keeper round, then first in the second round, and in the "last" position during the serpentine rounds (3-17).
2) The total league money (depending on how many teams) is split among the SB winner (60%), the runner-up (30%), and 3rd (10%). But we don't like having all the money riding on the playoffs, so we're thinking about giving some to the best record, and possibly the most points.
3) Right now, you can only keep one player, and only for one year. Positions are irrelevant.
4) Roster size is 17, starting positions differes each year (just to keep things interesting), and the points are standard (10yrds=1pt, td=6pts, etc.) The only difference is we award 10yrds=1pt for return yards as well.
5) No waiver wire, free agency is first come first server. Both of these will probably change this year.
6) Right now, all tie breakers are handled by Yahoo.

Anything not covered here is usually decided by a mjority vote.

[Xtreme]

Not sure if anybody cares, but after putting some thought into it I started putting together the table of contents for my league's rules. Some of these may be specific to my league, but here is what I have:


Introduction
__Executive summary
__League etiquette and expectations

League Fees
__How the amount is determined
__When fees are collected
__Holding of league funds
__Non-payment penalties

The Draft
__Where and when
__Absence policy
__How the order is determined
__Effect of expansion and contraction
__Use of draft sheets/board
__Transfer from draft sheets to online system

Point Distribution
__Positions that receive points
__Positional distribution of points

Transactions
__Dropping and adding with free agency
__The role of the waiver wire
__Making trades with other managers
__Costs of transactions

Competition
__Season-long format
__Week-to-week competition
__Playoff format
__Super Bowl settings and significance

Prize Distribution
__Prizes that will be given
__How recipients are determined
__When prizes will be given

Year-End Banquet
__Where and when
__Role of league members

Rule Changes
__Requesting rule changes
__League-wide approval
__Role of the commissioner

Does anybody have anything else to add?

[Buckychudd]

Check with Slow.....he has a really well thought out set of rules for VXL (although the copy editor still found holes). I'm sure he would be willing to share them with you.

Otherwise, you might want to think about rules for vetoing trades.

[Xtreme]

Hmm, yeah, I didn't consider that. Thanks.

Hey Slow... are you out there?? Yoooo hoooo....