Benchwarmers Constitution

We the people, hold these following truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. The following constitutional legislations and dictations are not stated in a particular order of importance, but merely kept as a source-of-truth documentation for agreements not included nor explicitly stated in the online platform hosting the league.

In editing this constitution, several assumptions have been made, including (but not limited to):

• The league has and shall continue to have 12 active members.
• The commissioner is honest.

This article outlines all rules and organizational decisions regarding the annual pre-season draft for the Benchwarmers fantasy football league.

1. Draft order is determined before the season and is NOT random.
2. Draft order is determined based on the standings of the previous completed season, after the conclusion of the postseason.
3. The first 6 draft picks shall be competed for by the 6 teams that did not qualify for the postseason the previous season, and is done via loser’s bracket format. The previous season’s loser’s bracket champion shall hold the first overall pick in the draft.
4. The remaining 6 draft picks are determined based on the reverse order of the outcome of the postseason bracket. The previous season’s champion shall pick last in each round.

1. The draft shall commence and proceed in a linear fashion, where each league member picks in the same spot in each round e.g. the first three rounds may look as such: 1.05, 2.05, 3.05.
2. In the (rare) case of a redraft, the draft will commence and proceed in a snake-like fashion, where each league member’s picks reverse linearly from round to round. In a 12-member draft, the first three rounds may look as such: 1.02, 2.11, 3.02.
   1. The draft order in the case of a redraft shall be randomized.

1. There is to be predetermined and agreed-upon time limits to draft a player once a league member is “on the clock”.
2. If the timer expires while a league member is on the clock, the league member loses the ability to pick at that position, and moves down one spot. The next league member in the draft order will have the ability to draft in that position. If the timer expires again, the highest queued player on their watchlist/queue OR the highest ranked player remaining on the draft board (in case of an empty watchlist/queue) will be automatically drafted and added to the league member’s roster.
3. Time limits:
   1. Rounds 1-3: 3 minutes
   2. Rounds 4-6: 2 minutes
   3. Remaining rounds: 1 minute 30 seconds
4. If a trade of draft picks has been submitted to the commissioner while the draft is in process, the commissioner is at liberty to pause the draft clock in order to assess the validity of the trade and adjust draft positions.

This article outlines the determined system for standings in the Benchwarmers fantasy football league, including regular season outcome and postseason seeding.

1. The Benchwarmers league shall consist of two 6-team divisions.

1. The postseason bracket shall be set at the conclusion of the final week of the regular season as such:
   1. The 1st place finisher in each division shall be awarded the #1 and #2 seeds in the postseason bracket. The higher seed shall be awarded to the team with the platform-determined head-to-head advantage over the other.
   2. The 2nd place finisher in each respective division shall be awarded the #3 and #4 seeds in the postseason. The higher seed shall be awarded to the team with the platform-determined head-to-head advantage over the other.
   3. The remaining 2 postseason slots shall be filled by wild card teams, determined by the platform.
   4. The postseason bracket will follow a traditional 6-team tournament bracket, with the #1 and #2 seeds being awarded a bye for the first round.

This article outlines the determined system for keepers, including player limits and incurred fees for the Benchwarmers fantasy football league.

1. Each league member has the option to keep up to 5 players from their active roster and roll them over to the following season’s roster.
2. You can only keep a player that was on your roster at the end of the postseason or a player you trade for in the offseason.

1. Each kept player’s fee shall be a predetermined cash amount, agreed upon by league members and the commissioner.
2. A kept player shall incur an additional $5 charge to the league buy-in amount. The player’s cost shall increase 2x for each sequential year he is kept.
3. A player’s keeper fee shall reset to $5 each time he is redrafted.

1. Each kept player shall cost at least one draft pick.
2. A kept player shall cost a draft pick corresponding to the round he was originally drafted in. Each additional year a player is kept, he costs a draft pick that is one round higher than the previous year e.g. a 2nd round pick keeper in 2024 will be a 1st round keeper in 2025, and cost one 1st round pick each following year.
3. If a member does not have a corresponding pick to keep a player, they can use any pick in the earlier rounds. e.g. A keeper costs a 4th, but a league member does not have a 4th round pick. In this case they can use a 3rd round pick to keep the player.

This article outlines the determined rules and system for free agency in the Benchwarmers fantasy football league.

1. The determined free agency system of choice in the Benchwarmers fantasy football league is FAAB (Free Agent Auction Budget).
2. The allocated budget (for each league member) at the start of each season is 200 auction dollars.
3. Auction dollars shall NOT roll over from season to season.
4. You may NOT replenish used auction dollars, unless obtained via trade.

1. After the waivers process, the league member who placed the highest bid on a particular player shall be awarded the player.
2. In the case of a tie, platform-determined assignment shall be used to assign the claimed player to a team.

This article outlines the agreed-upon system for handling financial matters in the Benchwarmers fantasy football league, as well as any fees and buy-in costs.

1. Each league member must pay their predetermined league fee (including keeper costs) by a predetermined date, usually the day of the draft. The currently agreed-upon league buy-in is $50, but this amount is subject to change.
2. Each league member must pay their fee directly to the commissioner, by the commissioner’s preferred method.
3. When you trade a draft pick for a future season (receiving or trading away), you are required to pay the buy-in cost for that season upfront.

1. The league commissioner shall be responsible for storing and handling all league funds, including their own paid fee.

This article outlines rules and regulations of trading draft picks and players in the Benchwarmers fantasy football league.

1. The Benchwarmers fantasy football league shall permit trading of players, draft picks, and FAAB auction dollars. Trading cash is not permissible.
2. Draft picks can be traded up to 2 years in advance, but no later. For example, in the 2026 offseason and regular season you can trade away/for 2028 picks, but not 2029 or later.

1. When a trade is submitted and accepted by the league member who received the trade offer, the trade shall go through barring obvious collusion.
2. In the case of suspected collusion, any league member may propose a vote to veto the trade. If the majority of the league agrees to overturn the trade, the commissioner shall veto the trade suspected of collusion.

1. There shall be a cutoff date determined by the commissioner before the start of the season, where after this date all trading is barred and not permissible until the conclusion of the off-season.

1. After the postseason championship concludes, trading is re-enabled and permissible. Article VI, Section A, Legislation 1 details the allowed trade pieces.
2. You are only allowed to trade away players that you have submitted as a keeper.
3. There is no limit on how many times one player can be traded in one offseason.
4. A player traded in the offseason must be kept by the final team they land in at the keeper submission deadline.

This article details the prize and rewards for the league members who placed on the podium at the conclusion of the postseason in the Benchwarmers fantasy football league.

1. The third place team shall receive their buy-in cost back.
2. The second place team shall receive their buy-in cost multiplied by 2.
3. The league champion shall receive all remaining prize pool money.

1. The league champion will receive a trophy with a new placard to reflect their championship season.
2. After the conclusion of the season, the previous year’s winner shall hand off the trophy (unless the previous winner repeats).

This article details the procedure concerning abandonment of the Benchwarmers fantasy football league by a league member or member(s).

1. If a league member departs during the regular season or postseason for any reason, it is the duty of the league member prior to quitting to find a replacement to manage the remainder of the season, including the postseason.
2. If the league member is unable to OR refuses to find a replacement to manage the abandoned team, it shall be the duty of the commissioner to find a replacement to manage the abandoned team for the remainder of the season, including the postseason.
3. If the commissioner is unable to find a replacement to manage the abandoned team, a committee of 3 elected league members including the league commissioner shall set the lineup each week, using platform-defined projected points for each player to determine their placement in the starting lineup for the remainder of the season, including the postseason.

1. The league member’s paid buy-in and keeper fees for the current season shall NOT be returned.
2. The league member’s paid buy-in and keeper fees for all future seasons shall NOT be returned.

This article details legislations proposed by league members during the lifetime of the league and their status or result(s).

A proposal (“Proposal”) is a desired rule change by a league member.

To submit a Proposal, you must present it to the league commissioner first, who then presents a vote on if the league members would like to vote on the change.
6/12 members must vote in favor to continue to the next stage of the Proposal.

To pass a Proposal, the Proposal must receive supermajority support (66% or more of the league members voting in favor of the Proposal).
In a 12-person league, this requires 8/12 members to vote in favor of the Proposal.

Several league members have argued that 6 points is too much for a QB passing TD, as it skews towards pocket passing QBs and attempts to create a balance with running quarterbacks, who are a minor subset of all quarterbacks.
Potential alternatives:

• Change passing TDs to be worth 4 points, but boost points for yards. For example, instead of 1 point for every 25 passing yards, change to 1 point for every 20 yards.

Result: PENDING

In the 2024 preseason, commissioner Andrey Senyuk instated a rule where a player marked OUT could be stored in the designated IR slot. However, several league members argued that this allows for hoarding of players and essentially increases the size of the bench instead of being a slot purely for long-term injuries.
Result: vote 7-3 in favor of disallowing OUT players to be stored in the designated IR slot. The rule was overturned in the league settings leading up to the 2024 regular season.