08/12/2026
🏈 FANTASTIC FANTASY LEAGUE
2026 SEASON ANNOUNCEMENT & LEAGUE RULES
HELLO, FANTASTIC FANTASY LEAGUE OWNERS!
Welcome to another season of the FFL! Please read the following information carefully and mark all important dates.
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📅 2026 SALARY CAP DRAFT
Wednesday, September 2, 2026
* 5:15 PM Pacific
* 7:15 PM Central
* 8:15 PM Eastern
Each team will receive a $100 draft budget to select a 14-player roster.
Important: Please edit your ESPN “Autopick Strategy” before the draft. This will protect your team if you lose your connection, arrive late, or are unable to log in.
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🔒 KEEPER RULES
A keeper’s salary will be deducted from the team’s $100 draft budget.
* First consecutive keeper season: Previous season’s draft value
* Second consecutive keeper season: Previous value + $5
* Third consecutive keeper season: Previous value + $10
* No player may be kept for more than three consecutive seasons.
Example: If a player was originally drafted for $15:
* First keeper season: $15
* Second keeper season: $20
* Third keeper season: $30
After the third consecutive keeper season (4th year total), the player must be released back into the draft pool.
Keeper selections must be submitted no later than 1 hour prior to the FFL Draft.
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💵 LEAGUE FEES
Total league fee: $105 per team
* $100 goes into the prize pool.
* $5 is the commissioner fee.
Payment deadline: Wednesday, September 2, 2026 — Draft Day
Payment options:
* Venmo (preferred):
* PayPal: [email protected]
* Cash App: $tkellencarr
All dues must be paid by the deadline unless prior arrangements have been approved by the commissioner.
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🏆 PRIZE DISTRIBUTION
The base prize pool consists of:
20 teams × $100 = $2,000
Additional regular-season low-score fees contribute another $65, creating $2,065 in guaranteed payouts.
Award Prize
FFL Guru Champion $1,000
Second Place $400
Third Place $200
Fourth Place $130
EB Memorial Redemption Bracket Champion $130
Best Regular-Season Record $50
Weekly High Score — $10 for 13 weeks $130
Keith Carr Sportsmanship Award $25
Total $2,065
The FFL Guru Champion also receives:
* The FFL Guru Championship Belt
* All trade-transaction fees collected during the season
The reigning champion (The God Damn Mayo Clinic) will retain possession of the championship belt until a new champion is crowned.
The EB Memorial Redemption Bracket Champion will receive the EB Memorial Redemption Champion Mini-Belt.
The Keith Carr Sportsmanship Award will recognize the league’s biggest and best sh*t-talker. The winner will also receive the Keith Carr Sh*t-Talking Champion Mini-Belt.
Best Regular-Season Record tiebreaker: Most regular-season points scored.
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💰 ADDITIONAL FEES
Trade fees
Each approved trade costs $10 total:
* $5 per participating team
* Payment is due within 24 hours of trade approval.
* All trade fees will be added to the FFL Guru Champion’s winnings.
Weekly low-score fee
The lowest-scoring team each week during the 13-week regular season must pay $5.
* Total collected: $65
* These fees help fund the fourth-place prize.
* Payment should be made promptly after each scoring period becomes official.
If two or more teams tie for the week’s lowest score: Each team will pay $5 and excess money (anything over $65 total for the season) will be awarded to the FFL Guru Bowl Champion.
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🏆 BELT RESPONSIBILITIES
League belts must be properly maintained and returned when required.
If a belt/trophy holder loses or damages a belt/trophy beyond normal wear, the following replacement fees apply:
* FFL Guru Championship Belt: $300
* EB Memorial Redemption Champion Mini-Belt: $100
* Keith Carr Sh*t-Talking Champion Mini-Belt: $100
* FFL Throne of Despair: $50
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🔄 TRADES
Trade deadline:
Wednesday, November 11, 2026
* 12:00 PM Pacific
* 2:00 PM Central
* 3:00 PM Eastern
Trade-veto rules:
* A trade requires 10 league-owner vetoes to be overturned for competitive imbalance.
* Owners should not veto a trade merely because they personally dislike it or believe one team received better value.
* Any trade involving suspected collusion, roster dumping, shared ownership, or improper compensation may be reversed by the commissioner.
* The commissioner may request an explanation from the participating owners before making a ruling.
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📋 WAIVERS AND FREE-AGENT BUDGET
The FFL uses a Free-Agent Acquisition Budget system.
* Each team receives a $100 FAAB budget for the entire season.
* Teams will submit blind bids during the 24-hour waiver period.
* The highest bid receives the player.
* The winning bid is deducted from that team’s remaining FAAB budget.
* If two teams submit the same bid, the player is awarded to the team with the worse record — or whichever team is higher on the ESPN waiver priority list based on last acquisition.
* A team must bid at least $1 in order to acquire a free agent.
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🏈 PLAYOFF FORMAT
* Twelve teams qualify for the FFL playoffs.
* Each division champion receives a first-round bye (Week 14).
* The remaining playoff teams are seeded according to overall record.
* The FFL Guru Bowl and all final-round matchups will be played during NFL Week 17.
* NFL Week 18 will not be used.
Important: Some NFL teams have bye weeks during Week 14. Owners should consider these bye weeks when drafting, trading, and preparing for the first round of the playoffs.
Playoff seeding tiebreakers:
1. Overall record
2. Head-to-head record
3. Total points scored
4. Division record
5. ESPN-generated tiebreaker or commissioner coin flip
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🚽 KYLE HANSON AWARD & THRONE OF DESPAIR
The team that finishes 20th in the final standings after the postseason will receive the Kyle Hanson Award and take possession of the FFL Throne of Despair.
To retain its place in the league, the Kyle Hanson Award winner must pay the reigning champion’s $100 league entry fee for the following season.
If the Kyle Hanson Award winner refuses to pay and is dismissed from the league:
* The remaining owners will each pay an additional $5.
* That money will help cover the reigning champion’s following-season entry fee.
* The Throne of Despair will remain with the last-place team until a new Kyle Hanson Award winner is throned (unless KHAW is dismissed from league and then the trophy will be held by the commissioner until new KHAW).
The reigning champion is responsible for their following season’s $5 commissioner fee.
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📣 FINAL REMINDER
Please reach out to me with any questions, comments, concerns, or requests for clarification.
Looking forward to another FANTASTIC Fantasy Football season. Good luck to everyone (except when you’re playing me)!
Sincerely,
The FFL Roger Goodell
T. Kellen Carr
