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1.01 | The Great American Football League (GAFL) is a 24 team league broken down into two 12 team conferences (AFC and NFC). Each conference will have three 4-team divisions (East, Central, and West). |
1.02 | Franchise names will be at the discretion of owners. Once selected, they may not be changed in order to keep an accurate and simplified league historical database. In-game team colors will be derived from the logo color palette. |
1.03 | The season will be 16 games in 18 weeks (one per week). League play will normally coincide with the current NFL season (September-January). |
1.04 | Joining and playing in the league is free; there are no dues or other charges. |
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2.01 | GAFL uses the latest version of the Action PC Football for all gameplay. Owners are expected to purchase the new copy of the game each season. |
2.02 | Home field advantage will not be used. |
2.03 | Live play is not mandatory, but if both owners wish to play live they may coordinate and play. |
2.04 | All allowable formations inherent in the Action PC Football Game are available for use. If you fail to have enough players to fill the formations you will need to acquire players to fulfill those formation requirements. The only exceptions to this rule are gunners on special teams. The computer will allow you to insert non-gunners at the three positions on the special teams but if you insert a player without a ST rating it will negatively affect your kick and punt coverage. |
2.05 | We will use the NFL rules that were in place for the season we are replaying. |
2.06 | If Action PC Football issues a season disk update, we will use that update prior to the start of the season and also during the season. |
2.07 | Teams must designate their home stadium prior to the season. In the event none is submitted, it will remain the same as the previous season. No in-season stadium changes are allowed. |
2.08 | Replay/Challenge: 2 Challenges per game. |
2.09 | Audible: Limited to 3 per half. |
2.10 | Trick Plays: Limited to 2 per half. This includes Flea Flicker, End Around,
Reverse, Double Reverse, Trick Pass, Hook & Ladder, Reverse Flicker, and
Pass to QB. |
2.11 | Penalties will be set to level 3 for all teams. |
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3.01 | Each team will play the other teams in its division twice (one at home, one away). |
3.02 | Each team will play the remaining 8 teams in their conference once. Four games against one division will be at home, and the other four games against the other division will be away. The home/away matchups will alternate each season. |
3.03 | The remaining 2 games will be played against a division in the other conference. The division assignment will rotate each year, so a team would play the opposing East two years (two teams the first year, the other two teams the following year), the Central the next, and the West next; the cycle will continue rotating. |
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4.01 | Team rosters must be at 53 players during the season. In the off-season, roster size is not enforced until the mandatory roster cutdown date (specified by the commissioner). |
4.02 | Players who did not play in the current season (previous NFL players) may be retained. These players will be designated with "DNP". They may not be used in games under any circumstances. The maximum number of DNP players allowed to be retained is 2. |
4.03 | All teams must have an active player at each of the 22 regular positions (QB, 2RB, 2WR, TE, 2OG, C, 2OT, 2DE, 2DT, ILB, 2OLB, 2CB, 2S). |
4.04 | All teams must also have a Kicker, Punter, Long Snapper, and Holder. |
4.05 | All teams must also have at least 3 kick returners and 2 punt returners on their roster; the combined attempts for kick returns and punt returns (including fair catches) must each total at least 16. |
4.06 | Teams must carry a backup at each of the 22 regular positions. Players may serve as backup to multiple positions provided they are graded at the respective positions. |
4.07 | You do not need to retain backups for Kicker, Punter, Long Snapper, and Holder. |
4.08 | Each team must have a QB who attempted 250 or more passing attempts. |
4.09 | Teams must also be able to fill the lineup positions that are in the game. For instance, in addition to the above requirements each team must have on its roster 3 RBs, 5 WRs, 3 TEs, 2 ILBs/LBs, 6 defensive linemen, 4 linebackers, and 7 DBs to fulfill the various Action PC lineup slots (i.e., 5 WR lineup, 3 TE lineup, Full House lineup, 6-3 defense, Dime and Quarter defenses, as examples). |
4.10 | There is no current requirement for gunners (ST designations) but it would be beneficial for each team to have at least one on their roster for kick and punt coverage. The game will assign either a zero rating or a negative rating to non-gunners. |
4.11 | Players are limited to only positions rated in the game. The only exception
is a player may play out of position due to an in-game injury. There is a major penalty downgrade in the game for using players out of position. |
4.12 | The salary cap for each team will be 128,000,000. The only time a team is permitted to be over the cap is when the new NFL disk comes out and increased values push them over. They will be required to cutdown to get below the cap. The cap is calculated using the built-in "Value" number in Action PC Football. |
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5.01 | We will adjust the overuse penalties based upon the increased percentage factor of games played vs the NFL actual schedule. |
5.02 | Generally, players are allowed to be used as a coach seems fit. Currently we use in-game injuries but not multi-game injuries. |
5.03 | Injuries and game fatigue will dictate player usage. Mild = 10% of real life usage; Moderate = 25% of real life usage; Major = 50% of real life usage. |
5.04 | Season Usage Penalties/Special Team Usage Penalties. Mild = 106% of real life usage; Moderate = 118% of real life usage, Major = 130% of real life usage. |
5.05 | "Partial game injuries are subject to the following player ratings - Average = will occasionally miss time, |
5.06 | Fatigue of 90-100 is Full Strength; 80-89 is early fatigue; 0-79 is fatigued. Overused players are more likely to be injured. |
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6.01 | Results files are due Tuesdays by 11:59pm ET. |
6.02 | The league results will be emailed on Wednesday mornings. |
6.03 | Roster changes (coachf iles) are due Thursdays by 11:59pm ET. |
6.04 | The league play file will be emailed on Friday mornings. |
6.05 | Game results not submitted by the Tuesday deadline will be auto-played by the commissioner on Wednesday morning. A team is allowed 2 sims in a season without penalty; a 3rd sim will result in loss of a 3rd rounder. A 4th sim will result in the loss of a 2nd rounder. A 5th sim is grounds for dismissal from the league. |
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7.01 | We will adjust the overuse penalties based upon the increased percentage factor of games played vs the NFL actual schedule. |
7.02 | Generally, players are allowed to be used as a coach seems fit. Currently we use in-game injuries but not multi-game injuries. |
7.03 | Injuries and game fatigue will dictate player usage. Mild = 10% of real life usage; Moderate = 25% of real life usage; Major = 50% of real life usage. |
7.04 | Season Usage Penalties/Special Team Usage Penalties. Mild = 106% of real life usage; Moderate = 118% of real life usage, Major = 130% of real life usage. |
7.05 | "Partial game injuries are subject to the following player ratings - Average = will occasionally miss time, |
7.06 | Fatigue of 90-100 is Full Strength; 80-89 is early fatigue; 0-79 is fatigued. Overused players are more likely to be injured. |
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8.01 | The 3 Division winners in each Conference automatically advance to the playoffs. In addition, the remaining team with the highest win percentage makes the playoffs as the Wild Card in each Conference. |
8.02 | All league ties will be broken using the NFL tiebreaker rules. |
8.03 | The Super Bowl home team will be the team with the best regular season record. In the event of a tie, the following criteria will be used to break the tie: 1) Best road record 2) Most points scored 3) Fewest sims 4) Coin flip. |
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9.01 | A voluntary Awards Committee will be formed at the end of the season to vote on league All-Pros at all 22 positions. |
9.02 | A league-wide vote will be conducted to determine the League MVP for the completed season. |
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10.01 | An annual draft of available players (unowned players that played in the NFL) will be conducted each year on a date determined by the commissioner. The draft will be held via the league Draft Website and will be at least 10 rounds in duration. |
10.02 | All unaffiliated players on the league pre-draft organization file are eligible for the draft. |
10.03 | The draft order will be set in the inverse order of the final standings. In the event of ties for any position, the previous year's standings will be used. |
10.04 | Draft picks may be traded at any time that trading is open, including during the actual draft. |
10.05 | Instructions, draft order, and a list of eligible players will be distributed prior to the draft. |
10.06 | The draft order slotting will be inverse from the prior year's standings (worst team gets the first slot, best team gets the final slot). |
10.07 | A draft lottery will be used for the 8 worst teams in the league (1st round only). The chances are seeded; the worst team will get 8 chances, the 2nd worst team will get 7 chances, and so on. No team can fall more than two slots from their pre-lottery slots. |
10.08 | If there are teams below 53 players at the conclusion of 10 rounds, additional picks will be added to allow those teams to draft to exactly 53 players. |
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11.01 | Trades can take place at any time during the year, with the exception of short roster freeze periods that will be announced by league management. |
11.02 | No trades are official until reported by both managers to the League Management for confirmation. Trades will be reported to the league in a timely manner via the website and mailing list. |
11.03 | The in-season trade deadline is after Week 10 on the schedule. No trades may take place after Week 10. The commissioner will announce when trading is reopened at the conclusion of the Super Bowl. |
11.04 | Draft picks for the current draft plus one may be traded. For example, for the 2024 season picks in both the 2024 and 2025 drafts may be dealt. Once the 2024 draft is complete, picks from 2025 and 2026 may be traded, etc. |
11.05 | In the event that collusion or other unfair/unethical is suspected, the Commissioner will form a Trade Committee of 5 owners (picked at random) to review the trade in question. If a majority of the Trade Committee feels that there is a breach of ethics and fair play the trade will be overturned. |
11.06 | The Trade Committee will be instructed to only consider foul play and an obvious attempt to cheat; the trade being subjectively uneven is not grounds in and of itself to nullify the trade. |
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12.01 | ALL protests must be submitted ASAP. Keeping this in mind, coaches may protest any game that resulted in a loss that may have been reasonably due to the home coach’s failure to follow written instructions or line-ups for that game. |
12.02 | Failure to follow league rules or the use of an illegal player are automatic grounds for protest. A written report must be sent to both the accused coach and commissioner (who will serve as arbiter) within two weeks of receiving game results. |
12.03 | He must list the reasons supporting the protest. The accused coach then has one week to respond. He must do so in writing to both the commissioner and opposing coach. |
12.04 | The arbiter will then render his decision, which is final. The arbiter will uphold the protest only if in his opinion the decisions made by the defendant might have reasonably affected the outcome of the game. |
12.05 | Any upheld protested games must be made up before the playoffs begin. Any protests involving the commissioner will be arbitrated by a mutually agreed upon league member. |
12.06 | All protests, complaints, and disagreements will be handled between interested parties only. No league wide e-mails are to be used to disparage the league or any member. This will not be tolerated. |
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13.01 | All rule changes to the Constitution must be approved by a two-thirds majority of the voting managers. |
13.02 | New additions to the constitution must receive majority approval. |
13.03 | Any league manager may submit rule proposals. |
13.04 | Voting on rule proposals/charter modifications for the following season will take place within 30 days after the playoffs are completed. No in-season modifications to the charter will be permitted. |
13.05 | The commissioner reserves the right to institute a rule change without league approval or banish a member from the league if it is perceived that undue harm is being done to the league without these changes. |
13.06 | These actions by the commissioner will be communicated to the league and objections to the changes will be recognized followed by a reasonable discussion period. |
13.07 | If more than 50% of the league objects to the commissioner's actions, then the commissioner is barred from taking action. |
13.08 | Any topics not covered by league rules will be addressed by the commissioner as needed. It should not be assumed that a lack of a rule against a practice permits its usage. |
