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NBC Sports Fantasy Football Championship Official Rules
- Get the chance to win a $100,000 grand prize.
- Compete for the $5,000 league prize.
- Join 395 other die-hard fantasy football players for the coveted title.
- Compete for the top weekly prize through Week 16.
- Receive a goodie bag of items, giveaways and prizes.
- Sign up now and NBC won't process your credit card charges until August 1st!
1. Overview: The NBC Sports Fantasy Football Championship ("Championship") is a skill based, season long competition designed to reward participants who demonstrate the most knowledge of National Football League Games ("NFL") and the players who comprise the various NFL teams. The participants ("Managers") who accrue the best record according to the criteria set forth in Rule 7 will be eligible for cash prizes. Managers will participate in a live draft held at four locations, where they will select the teams ("Team(s)") for the Championship competition.
The Managers will be grouped into 33 leagues ("Leagues"), each of which will have 12 Teams/Managers. The Sponsor may increase the Leagues up to a maximum of 40, in its sole discretion. The competition will be conducted in three phases: (1) an 11 week phase corresponding to the first 11 weeks of the NFL season in which each Team in each League will play every other Team once in head-to-head competition; (2) a two week phase (weeks 12 and 13) that remains part of the regular season, which will be conducted in an "all play format" where the Teams will compete on a League wide basis. The top six teams in scoring for each of those weeks will earn a “win” and the six lowest scoring teams for that week will earn a “loss.” The League champions will be determined at the conclusion of week 13 according to the scoring criteria set forth in Rule 7; (3) a championship round in which the top two teams from each league will compete (week 14-16) to determine the overall Championship winner.
2. Eligibility: The Championship is open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who have reached the age of majority in their states of residence (18, except in Nebraska and Alabama, and 21 in Mississippi). Employees of the National Broadcasting Company, NBC Sports ("Sponsor"), Krause Publications, Stats Inc., their respective subsidiaries, divisions and affiliates, their advertising and promotion agencies, members of their immediate families, regardless of whether they reside in the same household, are ineligible to participate. For purposes of these rules, "immediate families" means parents, spouses, siblings and children.
3. The Draft: The live draft will be held simultaneously in Las Vegas, N.V., New York, NY, Chicago, IL and Orlando, FL on August 30, 2008. Managers will be required to pay a $1300 entry fee for each Team they manage. Each League will be comprised of 12 Teams, which will be formed by random selection on a city-by-city basis once all entries have been submitted in the draft cities. If fewer than 12 Teams are formed from the entrants at a draft city, Sponsor reserves the right to include registrants from other cities to fill the required number of Teams. The draft will be conducted in 20 rounds in a "serpentine" fashion, with each Team selecting a player in each round. The Team designated at random as Team 1 for draft purposes will select first in round one and the process will reverse and Team 12 will draft in round 2. Thereafter, a Round Reversal draft system will be employed to balance the distribution of available talent. Starting with round 3, Team 12 will draft first and the draft will then continue in serpentine fashion for the duration of the remaining rounds. Players can be drafted at any position at any time, but each team must have at least one player for each of the designated positions (see Rule 6) at the conclusion of the 20 round draft.
The Sponsor will also implement a "Kentucky Derby" style process ("KDS") to permit Managers more draft flexibility. Under KDS, Managers will rank their preference for draft slots from one through 12 BEFORE the Leagues are formed. For example, if a Manager desires the third pick and he is randomly selected to draft first, he will start with the third pick. The KDS selections for all Managers who choose this format will be disclosed at the My Settings Page at the Championship site. Any Manager who does not choose KDS will remain in the conventional 1-12 draft position. Managers who can change their draft preference until the deadline (to be announced).
4. Submitting Your Teams: All final lineups must be submitted no later than 5 minutes before the start of the scheduled kickoff. You need not submit an entire lineup of that time. For example, you may choose a quarterback for a game that starts at 1:00 ET and wide receiver for a game that begins at 4:00 ET, provided you submit a full lineup by that qualifying times for each pick for all weekend games. You may change a player at any time up to 5 minutes before kickoff, but only your last qualified player name will be counted. If you try to change a player after the deadline, the last player you named before the deadline will be counted.
5. Draft Protocol
(a) Time Limit:
You must make a selection within one-minute time from the moment the draft
facilitator informs you are on the clock. You will be told when 15 seconds
remains and a countdown from five seconds will continue until time has expired.
The draft facilitator will have final say as to whether a pick was timely
called. If you do not make a selection within one minute, you will be passed
over until the next Manager makes a player selection. You will go back on the
clock for one minute after the selection is made. The draft facilitator also
has final say on the announcement of the picks and the pick becomes final only
AFTER the facilitator announces the pick. (b) Seating: Every team will have two
draft spots available at the table and each team will be seated in a randomly
determined draft order. (c) Behavior: If you engage in any act deemed
detrimental to the League or use unfair methods to participate, you may be
disqualified in the Sponsor's sole discretion. (d) Electronic Equipment: You
can use electronic equipment during the draft as long as it fits in the
allotted draft space at the table as there will be no Internet connections or
electrical outlets, you must bring a laptop that can supply its own power. Cell
phones are not prohibited but we encourage you to use them sparingly and not in
a way that interrupts the draft process. (e) Smoking/Drinking: Smoking will not
be allowed in the Draft Room. A cash bar will be available in the draft room,
but we ask that each Manager to drink responsibly. (f) Breaks: There will be
one 15-minute break after Round 9. (g) You must confirm your team roster before
leaving the draft. Any errors on your roster must be presented to the Sponsor's
management as soon as possible. Once the draft is complete, changes will be
made at management's discretion if rosters were incorrectly inputted or if
there was an error made by staff at the draft.
6. Starting Lineup Requirements: Starting lineups will consist of:
* 1 Quarterback
* 2 Running Backs
* 3 Wide Receivers
* 1 Tight End
* 1 Flex Player (RB, WR or TE)
* 1 Kicker
* 1 Team Defense/Specials Team [A complete NFL Team
(If no Week One lineup is submitted, Sponsor will determine your starting lineup. After Week One, if no starting lineup is submitted, your starting lineup will be that of the previous week.)
7. Scoring: You can accumulate points in the following ways:
PASSING:
* .05 points for every yard passing (works out to 1 point every 20 yards).
* 6 points for every passing touchdown
* 2 points for every 2-Point conversion
* Minus 1 point for every interception and lost fumble
RUSHING:
* .10 points for every yard rushing (works out to 1 point every 10 yards).
* 6 points for every rushing TD
* 2 points for every 2-Point conversion
* Minus 1 point for every lost fumble
* 6 points for a recovered offensive fumble for a touchdown (RB, QB, WR, TE)
RECEIVING:
* .10 points for every yard receiving (works out to 1 point every 10 yards).
* 6 points for every receiving TD
* 1 point for every reception for WRs, Tight Ends and QBs
* 0.5 points for every reception for RBs
* 2 points for every 2-Point conversion
* Minus 1 point for every lost fumble
KICKING:
* 1 point for every extra point
* 3 points for every field goal from 1-30 yards
* 3 points for every field goal plus .10 points for every yard after 30 yards (i.e. a 47-yard field goal would be worth 4.7 points)
DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS:
* 1 point for every sack
* 2 points for every interception or opponents' fumble recovery
* 6 points for every touchdown (interception return, defensive fumble return, punt or kickoff return, blocked field goal return, blocked punt return). All special teams and defensive points are awarded to the team responsible, not the individual player. Should a kicker, punter or field goal holder throw a pass off a fake attempt, however, the offensive output for that offensive play would go towards the individual player, not the special teams. Also, any lost fumble or "muff" on a specials team play does not result in negative points for that individual player.
* 2 points for every safety
* 12 points for a shutout by the entire team
* 8 points for allowing 2-7 points by the entire team
* 4 points for allowing 8-12 points by the entire team
* 2 points for allowing 13-17 points by the entire team
8. Free Agent Acquisitions: Any player who is not on a team roster within your league is considered a free agent for that league. The free agent system will be a "blind bidding" process for each individual league (Free Agent Acquisition Bidding or FAAB). Each team will start with a $1,000 FAAB budget, and will be permitted to bid for free agents on a weekly basis through Week 13. No team will be informed of any other team's free agent bids before they're announced and only the winning bid and the runner-up bid will be announced afterwards to NFFC owners. The team with the highest bid on any given player will be awarded that player. The amount of the winning bid will be deducted from the winning team's free agent dollars. For each winning bid, the winning team must drop a player to make roster room for the free agent acquisition. If a team's free agent dollars goes to zero, that team will no longer be allowed to bid for the rest of the season. No bid will be accepted that is larger than a team's free agent dollars. All bids must be in increments of dollars (no cents).
9. Bidding Time Frame: The bidding process will be held each week after Week 1 and continues through the end of the NFFC regular season. Bids will be accepted on the league web site from Tuesday at 9 am ET until Friday at 9 p.m. ET in each of those weeks. If you are submitting by phone, you must submit your bids by 2:30 p.m. ET on Friday. Rosters will be updated by 10 p.m. ET Friday with the results of all successful bids.
Starting in Week 10, the FAAB deadline will be moved to Wednesday at 4 p.m. EST to comply with the Thursday games as well. No FAAB pickups will be permitted in Weeks 14 through 16. All winning FAAB bids on Wednesdays are final at that time, even if a scoring change is made after that which would affect tied winning bids.
10. Conditional Bids: You can also submit optional conditional bids in the event your bid for a player is unsuccessful at any time during the bidding time frame. The first conditional bid will become relevant only if you are unsuccessful on the first bid. Subsequent conditional bids will become relevant only if the previous conditional bid fails.
11. Tied Bids: If there is a tie bid, the team that receives the player will be determined in order by:
1. Worst league record.
2. Lowest total points.
3. Head-to-head matchups of teams (losing team would get the player).
4. Worst previous week score.
5. Coin toss.
12. Trades between managers: To minimize the possibility of collusion, no trading will be permitted. To preserve the integrity of the competition, all player cuts are subject to review by the commissioner of the Sponsor and can be revoked if the dropped player is deemed too valuable for inclusion in a League's free agent pool. Where a "star" player is dropped for a valid reason, Sponsor may approve the cut, but may keep the player out of that League's free agent listing for any length of time, possibly the entire season. All decisions by the Sponsor will be final.
13. Winners: In weeks 1-13, the 12 Teams in each League will compete in a head-to-head format. The Team with the best won-loss record in each League and the Team with the highest cumulative point total (second highest point total if the team with the best won-loss record also has the highest point total) will advance to the three-week playoffs. Any team that failed to finish first or second in their League, but finishes in the top 10 percent in total points of the total number of Teams will also advance to the playoffs as a wild card team. For example, if the Championship has 396 Teams in 2008, the top 40 teams in total points will be guaranteed a playoff spot in the Championship Round, even if they finished third or lower in their Leagues. Teams will carry their weekly scoring average from the first 13 weeks and will accumulate additional points over the last three weeks of the regular season to determine the overall champion. Teams which did not advance to the playoffs will carry their weekly scoring average from Weeks 1-13 into a consolation round playoff and accumulate additional points during Weeks 14-16 to determine the Consolation Round champion.
14. Tie-breaker procedures: If after 13 regular season games, teams are tied for first place, second place or third place, the following tiebreakers will be used in this order: (a) Total points through 13 weeks (b) Head-to-head won/lost record (if three or more teams, it's cumulative wins against those common opponents) (c) Highest point total from Week 13 (d) Highest point total from Week 12 (e) Highest point total from Week 11 (f) Coin toss In the unlikely event that teams are tied with the same point total during the playoffs for the overall Championship prize, the prize money for first and second place will be added together and evenly divided. The same process applies for all prizes.
15. Prize Breakdown: " NBC Sports Fantasy Football Championship = $100,000, PLUS a crystal NBC Sports Fantasy Football Championship trophy. " Second Place = $15,000 " Third Place = $7,500 " Fourth Place = $2,500 " Fifth Place = $1,300 or free entry in 2009 NBC Sports Fantasy Football Championship " Sixth Place = $1,300 or free entry in 2009 NBC Sports Fantasy Football Championship " Seventh Place = $1,300 or free entry in 2009 NBC Sports Fantasy Football Championship " Eighth Place = $1,300 or free entry in 2009 NBC Sports Fantasy Football Championship " Regular Season Total Points Leader = $1,300 or free entry in 2009 NBC Sports Fantasy Football Championship " Each League Champion = $5,000 ** " Each 2nd place = $2,000 " Each League 3rd place finisher = $700 Taxes are the responsibility of the winners. AAn IRS Form 1099 will be sent to all winners whose prize are $600 or greater. Prizes may not be transferred or substituted. Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value.
** If after Week 13, one Team was head-to-head Champion and another team was total points Champion, the two Teams would each receive $2,000 and would compete in Weeks 14-16 for the remaining $3,000 and the title as League Champion.
17. No Recourse to Judicial or other Procedures:
To the extent permitted by law, the rights to litigate, to seek injunctive relief or to make any other recourse to judicial or any other procedure in case of disputes or claims resulting from or in connection with this Championship are hereby excluded, and you expressly waive any and all such rights. You agree that these Official Rules are governed by the laws of the State of New York, U.S.A. without regard to principles of conflicts of law. Venue for any action shall rest exclusively in a state or federal court of competent jurisdiction in the Southern District of New York, New York.
18. Internet: Sponsor is not responsible for electronic transmission errors resulting in omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operations, inaccuracies or transmission. Sponsor is not responsible for theft or destruction or unauthorized access to or alterations of entry materials, or for technical, network,network; telephone equipment, electronic, computer, hardware or software malfunctions or limitations of any kind. If for any reason the Internet portion of the Contest is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, disruption or termination of the Contest site for any reason or any other causes which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this Contest, Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to immediately cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Contest. Sponsor further reserves the right to disqualify any individual who tampers with the entry process.
19. Severability: If any provision(s) of these Official Rules are held to be invalid or unenforceable, all remaining provisions hereof will remain in full force and effect.
20. Winners List: For the name of the winner, log onto nfc.nbcsports.com on December 29, available for a period of up to 60 days.
21. At its sole discretion, Krause Publications and NBC Sports also reserve the right to terminate The NBC Sports Fantasy Football Championship in its entirety if there are an insufficient number of teams by August 25, 2008. In this unlikely event, Krause Publications and NBC Sports will refund all entry fees within 48 hours of cancellation notice and/or provide a new application form with the newly stated prize figures. All pre-registered applicants would have the right to a full refund or agree to play for the newly announced prize structure. Krause Publications and NBC Sports are not responsible for any loss or liability incurred by any participant or co-managers due to cancellation of The NBC Sports Fantasy Football Championship, including but not limited to travel or hotel expenses, time taken off from employment, etc.
22. Prize Winnings If your prize winnings exceed $600.00, The National Fantasy Football Championship must file a Form 1099 with the IRS at the end of this calendar year. If necessary, we will request your social security number. The Form contains the amount paid to the principal owner (and ONLY the principal owner) and you will receive a copy of the Form for tax purposes. You are responsible for paying any taxes that result from your cash prize. Please consult your income tax advisor for filing advice. The NFFC's 2008 prize structure is based on 392 teams, but the NFFC reserves the right to expand to 490 teams with the guarantee that 75 percent of all additional entry fee money will be returned in the overall prize structure.
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