Rebooting for Season 5 of the NFL Draft League. Live draft will occur after we fill the remaining vacancies. You can view all of our topics from each season in the SimFootball Theme league forum. Post here if you would like to claim a team and join us! We are targeting a Spring live draft somewhere between March-April. 7 straight days of fun. Not time-consuming either, you have your time slot each day scheduled before the draft.

***Revised for Season 5**** For more, drop the classifieds and find our seasons 1-4 with topics of the live draft, rosters/divisions and general commentary in the sim football theme leagues. You'll need to alter the drop down box to the last year option to see all the archives.

Draft League details to build "your" core team:

- 7 live rounds total. All rounds are ON the clock with your scheduled time slot. If miss your time slot, you can make a late pick at your earliest convenience, but the draft keeps moving per the posted schedule. Proxy lists can also be sent ahead of time to multiple owners.

- Make your draft election. This is done after the top 24 bans (explained in detail below) are posted. You choose where you prefer to draft out of the following: Top 1-9, Middle 10-15, or Back 16-24. And, you can specify which number you want to be closer to within that tier. The elections are put into a draft order generator. The overage falls to the next tier. The only rule here is for anyone with 2 teams to not request 2 elections in the top tier.

- Divisions will be posted PRIOR to the start of the ban lists. Therefore, it provides no ban list angle vs anyone, but you also know this information before the draft election and live draft. You know exactly where your division mates will be in the live draft order. Matchups matter. You play 6 games within the division, so like a real draft, you take that into account as you watch the rosters populate. Each season, we will alternate most or all of the single owners to a different division or conference, and also some of the 2 team owners to another division for new matchups each season.

- The personalized ban list! Send in your list of 20 bans via sitemail. We tally up all the owners votes to compile a top 24 banned list. You may vote to ban any player entirely off the draft grid for all years of their career. Or, you may ban a decade of any OL, DL or ST for 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s, 10s, or 20s. Pick one of those. No crossing over decades. Conversely, for the live draft, we use 11 yr bubbles for selections that are the exact years chosen by the owner.

Example of single ban: you would ban 70s Cowboys DEF or 50s Rams OL. This way ban votes on units will sync between the owners personalized lists. No crossing over decades and picking your own 10 year windows on bans.

In the live draft, if NOT in the overall top 24 bans, someone may choose an 11yr BUBBLE of the 75-85 Cowboys DEF— again if they weren’t among the top 24 on the compiled votes banned list. We use 11 yr bubbles in the live draft.

if the 70s Cowboys were a top 24 ban— then the 70-79 Cowboys DEF are banned and not draft eligible. Any individual player in top 24 bans is banned for all years of their NFL career. Here is an example of a personalized ban list to be sitemailed to the ban committee (ban committee is myself and 1 other owner after we have submitted our lists to each other):

RB Jim Brown
2020s Ravens OL
WR Crazy Legs Hirsch
1950s Rams OL
1940s Bears DEF
RB OJ Simpson
QB Matt Ryan
2010s Colts Special Teams
Kicker Skip Butler
TE Rob Gronkowski
TE Jackie Smith
RB Skeets Quinlan
QB Lamar Jackson
2000s Eagles DEF
2010s Saints OL
WR Calvin Johnson
RB Earl Campbell
QB Kurt Warner
2000s Tampa Bay DEF
2000s Ravens DEF

This is hypothetical. But you can see the design here by the list, maybe you want certain shut down DEFs banned while leaving more QBs available. Its your list, you could ban all QBs or DEFs or kickers. But remember that its 1 vote per player or decade unit. The list could be some strategy at a position and some just banning those elites you hate playing. Or just dumping your ban list essentially because you want to open all the elites with one less vote. You could list all backup QBs that surely won't get a top 24 majority vote. Its your list to do it however you want. Owners names and their list will not be shared to the league nor will any single ban not reaching the top 50.

The top 24 bans compiled from all personalized ban lists will be posted and removed from the live draft pool.

- 75 million salary cap. YES- More money than the standard 60 million in open leagues which makes it very hard to win with anything other than extreme offense and cheap defenses. Here is the place for the variety of teams, using more of the inventory and creating your own team style.

10 roster spots are uniquely yours: 7 position spots, OL. DL and ST. No clones. You select any non-banned position player or up-to an 11 year bubble on OL, DL or ST with your 1st round pick, no one else gets them for any year, they are off the board completely. You may select any year of the individual position players you choose in the live draft and do not need to share what season you intend to use. The OL, DL and ST do require the up-to 11 year bubble to be posted when making those selections, but do not need to share what season you intend to use.

- Up-to 11 year bubble protection for OL, DL and ST. Say you select the 1950-60 LA Rams era Offensive Line. No one else gets any year in that bubble. It is exclusive to you with no overlap. You may pick any of the LA Rams OL in your 1950-60 bubble and do not need to share which year you intend to use.

- This is not a progressive league with keepers and trades. If it works well, we hope to be a successful recurring theme where every league is a new and different roster for returning and new owners.

League format and playoffs:

- Standard 24 teams format.
- 6 playoff teams per conference.
- 3 division winners and 3 wild card spots.
- Top 2 seeds in each conf get first round playoff bye.

Live Draft format with roster requirements:

After the banned round, Rounds 1-4 with 1 selection each. Rounds 5-7, you pick two. This gives everyone 10 exclusive starters (no clones) that must consist of the following:

1 Defensive unit (11 year bubble protection)
1 offensive line (11 year bubble protection)
1 QB
2 RB
2 WR
1 TE
1 Flex position- This can be either a 2nd QB. 3rd RB, 3rd WR or 2nd TE.
1 Special Team unit (11 year bubble protection)

As we are adding the names to the banned/drafted list, we also populate the Division/Team Rosters topic. So, we are able to have a birds-eye view of the team building for all teams and what remains on the live draft position requirements. For the other 13 spots on the roster, you fill those spots AFTER THE DRAFT is fully completed, i.e, after all selections are made at the end of Round 7. Then please proceed to fill the remaining 13 spots with anyone not already drafted or listed on the banned list (to get under the 75 mil cap).

Examples:

- Once any position player, OL, DL, ST is drafted - they are off the board and exclusive to that team. Only 1 Matt Ryan in the league. Someone drafts Matt Ryan, then he is completely off the draft grid for any season.

- 11 year bubble protection applies to offense/defense/special teams units. You take the 1970-80 Pittsburgh Steelers defense, then all of the Steelers Defenses from 1970 to 1980 are off the board. Say you take the 1941-51 bears defenses off the board, someone could later take a 2006 bears defense after that. This rule does not eliminate cities or franchises, just that 11 year bubble of that particular OL, DL or ST.

- For those selections where the selected bubble overlaps franchise name changes or city relocation, we will clarify as it occurs. One of the more complicated ones like the 1995-2005 Houston/Tennessee Defenses as such: 95-96 Houston Oilers, 97-98 Tennessee Oilers, 99-2005 Tennessee Titans. All of those teams are off the draft board.

Owners:

1- seay00- IN
2- riverratk-
3- roadhouse19-
4- tidealer-
5- tomhanrahan- possible
6- DCarden34-
7- danpsull71- IN
8- cellkev
9- rjk2781
10- CFSportsClub
11- coolmay_one- IN
12- spaolo
13- jfg1997-
14- PsychoWarper- possible
15- specsman
16- lilspike0738- interested
17- democolson- IN
18- nato6869- interested
19- milest- IN

I am in

I'll try it.

I'd like in

I'm in.So if you draft 2020 Josh Allen can someone else draft 2022 Josh Allen.Or are all years of the player you draft off the board.

Great question. Only one Josh Allen in the league. You draft him and he is off the draft grid completely for any other season. You must elect the season when posting your selection. This will help track your cap as you are building your team.

This prompted another clarification to be made. Only one 1951 Rams in the league. someone may choose the 99 rams thereafter. Cities/franchises aren’t wiped off the board. Someone may select from the same franchise outside of the stated 10 year bubble. Of course, there are the exceptions here and there on individual defensive players. So, its possible that a Darrell Green or Lawrence Taylor could wind up on 2 teams- due to their career longevity. Or someone switching between good defensive teams via free agency or a trade like Charles Woodson or Charles Haley. But that OL, DL or ST franchise era stays with the selectee for that 10 year bubble.

I think a 10 year bubble rule works well. If You take the 51 Rams, then the 1946-1956 rams off lines are off the board. Say you take the 1975 Steelers defense, then the 70-80 Steelers are off the board. We will post and accumulate a banned list after that draft selection.

I am IN

Question: do we draft the entire roster? Backups, special teams, kickers. etc? Would the 10-yr window apply to STs and OLs?

Welcome! The 10 year window is exclusive to OL. DL and ST units. The 1989 Cincinnati Bengals ST would be protected from 84-94. No one can select that ST era of 84-94 for the Bengals thereafter. For recent teams, say the 2020 chiefs, it’s five years back and forward, so the 2015-2022 chiefs are off the board.

Live draft design edited in league intro. 12 picks live per position requirements, then for the other 11 roster spots, you fill privately AFTER THE DRAFT with anyone not already drafted or listed on the banned players list.

Welcome! I did think of you as someone that this theme would appeal to. We can bring back some real strategy and fun to the football sim. The exclusivity is akin to a fantasy draft when you select your pick knowing he is off the board. No copycats. No cookie cutter teams. No formulas.

Draft your dudes. Know the inventory. Supply and demand. Create your vision!

thanks. I like 2 picks per slot for later rounds.

comment: it will take much record-keeping to ensure owners don't draft someone already taken, especially when we get near the end. And when it inevitably happens, there will need to be rules in place for them to change their pick without the draft being interrupted.

I can help build a database and/or monitor some if needed.

Posted by tomhanrahan on 4/29/2023 9:41:00 AM (view original):
thanks. I like 2 picks per slot for later rounds.

comment: it will take much record-keeping to ensure owners don't draft someone already taken, especially when we get near the end. And when it inevitably happens, there will need to be rules in place for them to change their pick without the draft being interrupted.

I can help build a database and/or monitor some if needed.

I can speak from my previous experience in dozens of drafts here or elsewhere. As you pointed out, we collectively monitor any duplicate picks and reply which player was already selected with the specifics.I’d greatly appreciate and welcome any monitoring and support on this subject! We have the owner make a new selection, but the show goes on and the following picks are not halted when each of the following time slots come up. Normally, it’s replied to within an hour by someone and the repick is made the same day. I’m addition to the posts here, we can utilize the site mail.

I hear ya on the record keeping! I’m like geez, that is 1000 name updates on the draft selectees and banned list! But we just chip away at it each day. Could be a separate thread for banned players easily accessible in our forum. We list by position or unit in alpha numeric order.

To make it a shorter draft and keep the premise, I think a 10 round draft would be perfect. Rounds 9-10, you pick two. This gives everyone 12 exclusive starters that must consist of the following:

1 Defensive unit
1 offensive line
1 QB
3 RB
2 TE
3 WR
1 Special Team unit

As we are adding the names to the banned list, we put the owner name by it to keep a tally on the draft position requirements. For the other 11 spots on the roster, you fill those with anyone not already drafted and on the banned list (to get under the 75 mil cap).

what do you guys think? I’d surmise that this will make it more enticing and less time consuming.

* I am fine with fewer (10) rounds
*I I would recommend FG kicker not needed; there are a gazillion to choose from. I suggest special teams unit as a replacement (10 yr window applies); it would be a bit more strategic if someone wants a great single factor (KR/PR), or wishes to get the worst / cheapest and & force other owners to spend more

Sounds good. We’ll switch FG out for ST with 10 yr bubble rule. I’m thinking we also adjust to 3 RB and 3WR. I’ll edit all to read the same.

I already have my first pick(s) queued up, hoping for a fortunate draft slot from the randomizer :)