League Rules

Buy-In and Payout Summary

Each team pays a $100 annual league buy-in. Annual payouts are $900 for first place, $200 for second place, and $100 for third place. League costs are deducted from the second-place manager’s $200 winnings.

Active Roster

• 24 active roster spots
• 2 taxi-squad spots
• 1 in-season injured reserve spot

Taxi-squad players do not count toward the active-roster total or the league’s positional limits.

2026 Starting Lineup

Each team starts 11 players every week. With 24 active roster spots, each team has 13 active bench players.

Positional Limits

Positional limits are suspended during the offseason. For 2026, all roster cuts and adjustments required to return to compliance must be finalized by the NFL’s final roster-cut deadline: August 30, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. Pacific.

Taxi-Squad Purpose

Each team has up to 2 taxi-squad spots for younger developmental players. Taxi players increase the total number of players a team may hold, do not count toward the active-roster limit, and do not count toward positional limits.

Taxi-Squad Eligibility

A player may be placed on a manager’s taxi squad only when all of the following are true:

• The player has not yet completed his third NFL season.
• The manager has never started the player in a fantasy matchup.
• The player has never previously been on that manager’s taxi squad.

Setting the Taxi Squad

Taxi squads must be set by the first game of the NFL season.

• After the season begins, players may not be moved onto the taxi squad.
• A manager may promote a taxi player to the active roster.
• The manager must create an available active-roster spot before promoting that player.
• An emptied taxi spot cannot be refilled until the fantasy offseason begins.
• Managers must announce in league chat whenever a player graduates from their taxi squad.

Offseason Taxi Rules

From the end of the Seatown Shogun championship through the first game of the following NFL season, taxi spots are treated as additional offseason roster spots. Regular-season taxi restrictions do not apply during that period, and taxi squads are not considered finalized until the new season begins.

Injured Reserve

Each team has 1 injured reserve spot during the season. Eligible designations are Out, Suspended, Physically Unable to Perform, and Injured Reserve.

Using the IR spot temporarily increases the number of players a team may hold by one. There is no injured reserve during the offseason. Once the league championship has concluded, a manager must either remove the player from IR and create room on the active roster or drop that player.

Player and Draft-Pick Trading

Managers may trade rostered players, draft picks, or a combination of players and picks.

Future Draft Picks

Draft picks may be traded up to three drafts into the future. For example, during the 2026 league year, managers may trade picks from the 2027, 2028, and 2029 rookie drafts.

Annual Trade Deadline

The league’s trade deadline is determined annually and generally falls on or around Thanksgiving. Trading closes after the annually announced and agreed-upon trade deadline.

Fleaflicker Transaction Downtime

Fleaflicker may also impose its own offseason trading shutdown. The platform typically reopens trading around the NFL Super Bowl.

FAAB Budgets and Free-Agent Bidding

Each team receives a $100 Free Agent Acquisition Budget after the annual rookie and free-agent draft. FAAB is not real money; it is the league’s bidding currency for acquiring available players during the season.

Managers submit blind bids for free agents. The manager who submits the highest bid is awarded the player. Each team’s FAAB budget resets after the annual draft.

Tiebreakers

When two or more managers submit the same winning bid, the player is awarded to the lowest-ranked team.

When Free Agency Opens and Closes

Free-agent pickups begin the day after the annual rookie and free-agent draft. Free-agent pickups close when the Seatown Shogun championship ends and remain closed throughout the offseason. They reopen the day after the following season’s rookie and free-agent draft.

Keeper Limits

Each team may keep up to 18 active-roster players and up to 2 taxi-squad players. Managers may choose to keep fewer than the maximum number of players.

Keeper Deadline

Keepers must be declared at least 24 hours before the annual rookie and free-agent draft.

Offseason Transaction Restrictions

Free-agent pickups are not permitted during the offseason. During the offseason, managers may trade rostered players and draft picks. Free agency reopens the day after the annual rookie and free-agent draft.

Removing Players from Injured Reserve

There is no injured reserve during the offseason. As soon as the Seatown Shogun champion is declared, each manager with a player in the IR spot must either move the player onto the active roster and create the necessary roster space or drop the player.

Draft Format

After the league’s startup season, the annual draft includes incoming NFL rookies and unrostered NFL free agents. Players retained as keepers or on taxi squads are not included in the draft pool. The draft consists of six rounds.

Linear Draft

The annual draft is linear, not snake. Each round begins again with the manager holding the first pick. For example, the manager selecting at 1.01 also selects at 2.01 unless that pick has been traded.

This format is intended to maintain league parity and keep traded draft-pick values consistent.

Keeper and Roster-Space Requirements

Each team may keep up to 18 active-roster players and 2 taxi-squad players. Managers must leave enough open active-roster spots to accommodate the draft picks they intend to use.

More Than Six Draft Picks

A manager holding more than six draft picks must keep fewer than 18 active-roster players to create room for the additional selections.

The manager must create that space when keepers are declared, at least 24 hours before the draft. When a manager keeps the full 18 active-roster players without creating enough room for all held selections, that manager’s latest remaining draft picks will be removed when the draft begins.

Fewer Than Six Draft Picks

A manager holding fewer than six picks may not keep additional players beyond the normal limit of 18 active players plus 2 taxi players. The manager will make selections only in the rounds where picks are held. Any remaining roster openings may be filled through FAAB after free agency opens following the draft.

Draft Order and First-Round Lottery

The draft uses a modified reverse-standings order. The four lowest-finishing teams participate in a lottery for picks 1.01 through 1.04. The lottery is weighted according to each team’s maximum possible points scored during the previous season.

The league uses the least aggressive weighting offered by the 100 Yard Rush lottery software, described in the existing rules as a progressive 5% weighting.

The lottery applies only to picks 1.01 through 1.04. For Rounds 2 through 6, those teams return to reverse-standings order.

Consolation-Bracket Pick 2.13

The winner of the consolation bracket receives the additional 2.13 draft pick. This selection occurs after pick 2.12 and before the third round begins.

Playoff Format

The Seatown Shogun playoffs consist of three rounds, played during NFL Weeks 15 through 17.

Playoff Qualification

Six teams qualify for the playoffs: the top five teams by regular-season record and one wild-card team.

Record Tiebreaker

When teams have the same regular-season record, Points For is used as the tiebreaker.

Wild-Card Team

The wild-card spot is awarded to the team among the bottom seven in the standings with the highest Points For, regardless of that team’s regular-season record.

First-Round Byes

The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds receive byes in Week 15 and advance directly to the second round.

Annual Buy-In

Each team pays a $100 annual league buy-in.

Annual Payouts

League Costs

The second-place manager is responsible for league expenses, including trophy engraving and any other agreed-upon league costs. Those expenses are deducted from the manager’s $200 second-place winnings.

Championship Trophy

The league champion’s name will be engraved on the championship trophy. The champion will keep and display the trophy until the next Seatown Shogun champion is crowned.

Active Starting Lineup

Each team must start an active player at every required position each week. Managers may not intentionally leave a starting position empty.

Best-Lineup Expectation

Each manager must make a reasonable effort to start their best available lineup every week. Managers may not deliberately bench superior players as a tanking strategy.

Commissioner Intervention

When a starting position has been left empty or a player who was declared out before game time remains in the starting lineup, the commissioner may correct the lineup.

The commissioner will replace that player or empty position with the highest-projected eligible player from that team’s bench.

League Enforcement

Any suspected lineup manipulation or other shenanigans will be reviewed and called out by the league as a whole.

Purpose of the Rule

• Prevent inactive managers from affecting win-loss records and Points For totals
• Prevent managers from intentionally weakening their lineups to improve draft position
• Maintain an active, fair, and competitive league

Managers are expected to set their own best lineups. Commissioner intervention is a backup measure when that does not happen.

Determining Last Place

The manager whose team finishes at the bottom of the standings by regular-season record is subject to the league’s last-place consequences.

Champion’s Team-Naming Privilege

The league champion has the privilege of choosing the team name used by the last-place manager during the regular season. If the last-place manager qualifies for the fantasy playoffs, that manager may restore their normal team name for the playoff run. Otherwise, the manager regains control of the team name after the fantasy championship concludes.

Seasonal Last-Place Punishment

The last-place manager must also complete an additional punishment. The punishment for the following season will be selected by league consensus during the annual rules meeting.

The year-by-year punishment history appears under League History rather than being repeated on the active rules page.

Punishment Completion Deadline

The last-place punishment must be completed before the NFL Draft begins.

• If the punishment is not completed by that deadline, the manager forfeits their best pick in the upcoming Seatown Shogun draft.
• If the manager does not hold any picks in that draft, they forfeit their highest pick in the following year’s draft.

Voluntary Beer Bets

Managers may agree to optional side bets in the league chat throughout the year. Unless the managers agree to something different when the bet is made, one “beer” generally means a six-pack of the winner’s choice.

Grant is the league’s current beer-bet keeper.

Under-70-Point Beer Rule

When a team scores fewer than 70 points in a week, that manager owes their opponent one beer.

50-Point Blowout Rule

When one team defeats another by 50 or more points, the winning manager may rename the losing manager’s team for the following week.

Upset Apology Video

When a team with a winning record loses to a team with a losing record, the losing manager must post a press-conference-style apology video in the league chat before the following week. The video must be at least three seconds long.

Week 18 Pro Bowl

• Managers who finish in odd-numbered positions form one side.
• Managers who finish in even-numbered positions form the other side.
• Each fantasy team contributes one player to its side’s composite lineup.
• The normal starting-lineup structure is used, except there is no kicker or team defense.
• Week 18 player scores determine the result.
• The losing side buys the winning side one beer.

Annual Rules Meeting

The league will hold one rule-change event each year. The event will take place during the offseason and before the annual rookie and free-agent draft.

Voting Requirements

The commissioner will determine whether a proposal requires a simple majority or a supermajority.

Rejected Proposals

A proposal that is voted down may not be submitted again at the following season’s rule-change event. After sitting out one full annual voting cycle, the proposal may be reconsidered at a later rules meeting.