You've reached the internet home page for the MAFL fantasy football league. This page contains the league overview and rules; the ESPN page for the league can be accessed here.
Links to the yearly keeper lists can be found here.
The MAFL is a 12-team, auction-based, keeper league. There are three divisions of four teams each. Division assignments are selected randomly prior to the start of every season. The franchise fee is $100/team.
The MAFL Commissioner can be reached via phone in an emergency at 703-801-5919.
The MAFL uses a live auction for initial team selection. Each owner begins the auction with $175, less the salaries of any players kept. All bids must be in even-dollar amounts. The winning bid for each player sets that player's salary for the year. Any player not selected during the auction is assigned a salary of $10. Owners are required to fill their entire roster during the auction.
Each owner may keep up to three players from the previous year's team. These players are subject to the following mandatory salary increases:
| Year Kept | Salary Increase |
|---|---|
| First | $3 |
| Second | $5 |
| Third | $10 |
| Fourth | $14 |
| Fifth and subsequent | $20 |
The $175 salary cap applies only during the auction. Once initial rosters are set, teams may trade players or acquire new players via transactions without any salary cap considerations. However, when players are traded or dropped, they retain their salaries.
The commissioner will announce the auction and keeper declaration dates approximately one month before the start of the season.
The MAFL regular season is 14 weeks long, followed by a 3-week playoff. Each team plays the other teams in its division twice (six games) and the other teams in its conference once (eigght games). Schedules will use the following format:
Week 1: Divisional Opponent #1 (Game 1/2)At the conclusion of the regular season, the three division winners and three wildcard teams advance to the playoffs. Division winners are selected as follows:
Once the division winners are selected, the three wildcard teams are selected as follows:
The wild-card selection procedure is also used to seed the three
division winners. The playoff schedule is as follows:
First Round: #6 seed @ #3 seed, #5 seed @ #4 seed (seeds #1 and #2 receive a bye)
Second Round: 6/3 winner @ #1 seed, 5/4 winner @ #2 seed
The winners of the second round games will meet the following week (NFL Week #17) in the MAFL Bowl to determine the league champion.
In the first two rounds of the playoffs, the higher seeded team is considered the home team and is awarded a 5-point home-field advantage. There is no home-field advantage in the MAFL Bowl.
A MAFL roster consists of 13 players. The only way this number can change is via a trade involving an uneven number of players. A valid starting lineup consists of 1 QB, 1 RB, 2 RB/WR, 2 WR/TE, 1 K, and 1 D/ST. It is permissible to start an incomplete lineup. Individual players are locked when their game starts each week.
Player Eligibility: During the auction and throughout the season, MAFL owners may acquire or trade any player, regardless of that player's current status (active, unsigned free agent, suspended, etc.). The only exception to this rule is that any player who is listed on a team's official Reserved/Injured list is considered INELIGIBLE and MAY NOT be acquired. If a player on an existing MAFL roster suffers an injury and is subsequently moved to IR, that player may be kept indefinitely and, as long as he is injured, may be kept in one of the two IR roster slots. However, if the player is dropped he may not be reacquired until he is no longer listed on the official Reserve/Injured list.
The MAFL uses a combinational scoring system in which players are awarded points for yardage as well as for scoring. Fractional points are awarded for yardage for tiebreaking purposes.
Note that in the past, rushing and receiving yards were added together before calculating the score. For example, a player with 110 yards rushing earned the same number of points (11) as a player with 55 yards rushing and 55 yards receiving (11). Unfortunately, ESPN does not support this feature, so rushing and receiving point totals are now computed separately. Thus, a player with 55 yards rushing and 55 yards receiving would only score 10 points.
If a kicker participates in an offensive play such as a fake field goal attempt then he earns points in accordance with the rules for offensive players. Similarly, if an offensive players attempts a kick then he is scored in accordance with the rules for kickers.
In addition, the D/ST player is awarded points based on the number of points scored by the opponent:
| Opponent Points | Fantasy Points Earned |
|---|---|
| 0 | 15 |
| 2-6 | 10 |
| 7-13 | 7 |
| 14-17 | 5 |
| 18-21 | 3 |
| 22-27 | 0 |
| 28-34 | -3 |
| 35-45 | -5 |
| 46+ | -7 |
In the event that any game ends in a tie, the winner is determined as follows:
Trades are free and unlimited and are subject only to the typical "anti-collusion" clause: at the sole discretion of the commissioner, if it is apparent that two teams are attempting to combine forces or otherwise make an unfair trade, the commissioner has the right to void the trade. It is legal to trade an uneven number of players. It is NOT possible to trade players for salary cap dollars.
Transactions are free and unlimited, and are processed via the ESPN waiver system. See the MAFL page on ESPN for more details.
There is a total of $1200 in the prize pool, paid out as follows: