Overview

The Black and Blue Football League (BBFL) is a dynasty league that was started in 1988 with 3 owners managing 2 teams each. In 1993, the league added an owner managing two teams. In 2010, the league added an owner managing one team. Each team consists of a Top Team and a Developmental Squad.

The official BBFL web site is at fflinfo.com.

Team Names

1. A team name cannot change for 2 NFL seasons.
2. A team name can change only between the end of the BBFL season and the Spring draft.

Rosters

Number of Players on a Roster

1. The Top Team is limited to 13 players. The rosters will consist of:
   • 2 QBs
   • 2 Ks
   • Either 2 RBs and 7 WRs, or 3 RBs and 6 WRs
2. Exception: The Top Team is limited to 15 players during the first week of the regular NFL season.
3. If a top team goes over the maximum allowed on a position, the team will lose a replacement player to get back in compliance, be charged a transaction, and cannot play the player replaced or find a replacement player until the next transaction week.
4. The number of players allowed on the Developmental Squad is determined by the base number of 12 and adjusted by 4.1, 4.2, and 4.3 below, which reflect the previous season's results.

4.1 Add players based off Rank category

4.2 Add or subtract players based off Hire a Head Coach results

4.3 Subtract players based on the number of transactions (see Transaction Charges)

Developmental Squad

1. A player on the Developmental Squad is cut automatically if not on an NFL roster by the first game of the season.
2. A player can remain on the Developmental Squad for a maximum of 3 years of NFL experience on the player's stat page from ESPN's website.
3. A player on the Developmental Squad is cut automatically if waived for the first time by an NFL team during the off-season.
4. A total of 2 exceptions are allowed per year for rules 3, 4, and 5 above.
5. On the first week of the season, 3 exceptions and over 1 player on the developmental squad are allowed.
6. Teams current year undrafted college picks count toward their developmental starting after week 4.
7. All free agents or players acquired through trade with 3 years or less of NFL experience are eligible for developmental squad.

Restriction: A player cannot be moved up from developmental and then later added back to the same developmental squad during the same NFL season.

Restriction: A player cannot be added to developmental from a top team.

Final Game Replacement Players

1. For the last week of the season, an owner can replace up to 3 players with Final Game Replacement (FGR) players from the Developmental Squad or free agency. No transaction fee is charged for FGR players.
1. Players are selected after regular transactions (if applicable).
2. Player pickup is determined by current standings (first place goes first, and so on).
3. Players return to their respective places at the conclusion of the season.

Transactions

A transaction counts against the number of players that can be kept on a developmental squad. A transaction week is a week when an owner can add NFL players to their Top Team and developmental squad.

Transaction Week Schedule

1. Transaction weeks are after weeks 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, and 16 of the regular season.
2. Transaction weeks can be moved forward or backward to avoid problems.

Transaction Order

1. On the first transaction week, the transaction order is determined by the standings from last season in reverse order (first place goes last, last place goes first, and so on).
2. After the first transaction week, transaction order is determined by current standings in reverse order.

Transaction Players

1. An NFL player can be added to the Top Team.
2. An NFL player with 2 years or less NFL experience can be added to the Developmental Squad.
3. Players dropped during transactions cannot be picked up on the same transaction week (players dropped before transactions start can be picked up).
Exception: If all owners are present, players dropped may be picked up at the start of the next round.
4. An owner can take an IR/suspended replacement player from another owner's team. (This is the rule)
   1. Restriction: The transaction must occur in the first round.
   2. Restriction: The IR replacement must have been picked up after the last transaction week.
   3. Restriction: The acquiring team must pick before the targeted team in the 1st round.

Transaction Charges

1. During transaction weeks, adding/dropping a player on the Top Team counts as a transaction.
2. A transaction is charged for changing an RB's position.
   1. You don't get yardage points from the player's original position.
   2. This change can be done on transaction weeks only.
3. A transaction is charged if a free agent IRR player is added to the roster in the 1st or 2nd round and the IR player plays the next game.
4. A transaction will not be charged for problems concerning bye weeks.
5. Players cut from teams reducing their rosters from 15 to 12 players will not count as a transaction if picked up on the next transaction week.
6. A transaction is charged when switching an IR replacement player, except if the replacement player is traded, moved up from developmental, or acquired through transaction.

For games played early in the week, transactions are due 30 minutes before the 1st game for all games played on the same day. Only count the 1st game of the day if it starts after 11:00 a.m. CT.

Trades

1. During the off-season an owner can trade one college player from one developmental squad to another. The team that gains the player will lose their first round draft pick in the next college draft.
2. A player cannot be traded more than one time per year to the same owner.
3. The trade deadline is at the end of the 12th week.

Drafts

1. Spring Draft

• 1.1 The draft occurs in April before the NFL's college draft.
• 1.2 Owners vote on new proposals. Proposals that receive a majority "yes" vote become rules. All passed and failed proposals from the previous year are voted on a second time.
• 1.3 New coaches can be hired (see Hire a Head/Assistant Coach).
• 1.4 Eligible players for the draft include current NFL players, BBFL free agents, and college players eligible for the NFL draft.
• 1.5 The draft is 6 rounds and is completed in one evening. Extra picks may be added to the end of the 3rd round from Hire an Assistant Coach

2. College Draft

• 2.1 Occurs during the NFL regular season.
• 2.2 Eligible players for the draft include college players only.
• 2.3 The draft is 2 rounds with 1 round per week. A 3rd round may be added from Hire an Assistant Coach.
• 2.4 Transaction order is determined by the standings from last season in reverse order (first place goes last, last place goes first, and so on).

Auctions

Conduct a player auction (existing NFL players only, no kickers) with a hard stop at 8 auctions. This theoretically allows each team a player. Do it before the spring draft. The auction may put better NFL players in play for the draft. Each team would have the opportunity to "call" one player to the auction block (either a league free agent or one from their FFL team). The auction would carry on just as the last auction did. If there are no bids on a player, he would return to the team/status that he previously had. If the current year's stat projections are not available, use the previous year's BBFL season stats. Estimated clock time: 30 to 45 minutes.

Weekly Lineups

1. A lineup must include 7 players from the Top Team.

   1. The lineup must include one and only one Quarterback.
   2. The lineup must include at least one Running Back.
   3. The lineup must include at least two Wide Receiver.
   4. The lineup must include one and only one Kicker.
   5. The lineup can include 0 to 3 backup players.

2. Submission Deadline

   Full lineups are due by Sunday before the opening kickoff of the first game.

3. Non-Sunday Games

   An owner who wants to start an NFL player who has a non-Sunday game must submit, at minimum, a partial lineup including that player before the kickoff of the non-Sunday game.

4. Backup Player Restrictions

   If an NFL player has a non-Sunday game, he cannot be selected as a backup player unless the full lineup is given before the kickoff of the non-Sunday game.

5. Conflict Resolution

   Any starter and backup player conflicts are resolved in the following order: 1) The RT Sports message board, 2) Email, or 3) Transactions and starters on RT Sports.

6. Default starting lineup and backups

   1. Players with the most starts the previous week.
   2. If starting lineup or backups have not been filled after going through top roster, use top scoring players from developmental.
   3. If A or B results in a tie, use alphabetical order as a tie-breaker. If it is the 1st week of the season, use the previous year.
   4. Don't include players from early games. Early games are games that start before 12:00ct on the day with the most games.

   Marking options on replacement player:

   1. Off week replacement if an off week player could have been an option to start.
   2. IRR to the starter that was DNP, and put the starter on IR.
   3. Owner may take a zero.

Incomplete NFL Games

1. Keep game stats if there are less than 5 minutes left in the 4th quarter.
2. If no on (a), take stats from the rescheduled game.
3. If no on (b), take the stats from the player's next playoff game if the game isn't rescheduled or go to backup players.
4. If a player is no longer on the BBFL team before a rescheduled game or the player's next playoff game, use his stats from the next game as a free agent. If a player is injured and was a replacement player dropped by the rules and not dropped by the owner, go to backup players.
5. If no on (d) and the player was dropped by the owner, enter 0 points on the player.

IR/Suspension Players and Replacements

1. An IR replacement player must be on the roster for a minimum of 2 weeks.
2. You can keep an IR replacement player one extra week after the injured player has played.
3. A player cannot be put on IR on their bye week.
4. If an injured player's game is before Sunday, the player can be placed on IR and an IR replacement named later.
5. IR replacement players can be dropped early if the IR player is likely to show up in the basic stats the next week. If the IR player does not show up in the stats, the IR replacement player is put back on the team.
6. IR players can be suspended on the first week they are expected to play.
7. For an IR replacement player to stick on a non-kicker, the IR player must not show up in basic statistics (passing, rushing, receiving) the next week.
8. For an IR replacement player to stick on a kicker, the injured kicker's team must show another kicker is kicking for the team in the statistics the next week.
9. If an IR replacement player is a starter on the first week after being picked up and the IR player shows up in basic statistics, the IR replacement player is dropped and the IR player is made the starter.
10. Once a season, a team may voluntarily suspend up to 3 Top Team players. A suspended player is out exactly 3 consecutive NFL weeks. A replacement player can come from the Developmental Squad or free agency.
    1. Free agent replacement players are subject to IR non-transaction week pick-up rule.
11. A violation of any of the IR, suspension, or other rules will be resolved using one of the following methods, starting at the top and working down, stopping at the first resolution that does not, itself, violate an IR/suspension rule.
    1. If an IR violation, the IR player will be reinstated into the starting roster retroactively and that player's points will be used instead of the replacement player's points.
    2. If 3 weeks are possible, the 3-week suspension rule will be used.
    3. A backup player's points will be used (first to last).
    4. A developmental player's points will be used, namely:
       1. The previous week's top scorer.
       2. If a tie, the first name after an alphabetical sorting of the Developmental Squad.
12. Conditional IR Designations (results if the IR player plays):
    • IR or IR-P: Use the IR player's stats (current rule and default).
    • IR-B: Go to backups.
    • IR-S: Change the IR designation to a suspension.
13. Teams that use a player as a replacement from the wrong developmental team will get the points of the injured or suspended player.

Free Agent Replacement Players on Non-Transaction Weeks

1. Free agent pickup on non-transaction weeks is resolved using the RT Sports RealTime Chat and Message Board.
2. The RealTime Chat should be used to resolve conflicts with other owners before posting final free agent pickups on the Message Board.
   1. Open RealTime Chat 35 minutes before game time to resolve conflicts.
   2. Draft order is last place to first place.
3. Post free agent pickups on the Message Board:
   1. Each team has 2 minutes to post their first pick.
   2. Each team has 1 minute to post their second pick.
   3. With 5 minutes before game time, any team in any order can post their third pick. Conflicts are decided by message timestamp with older timestamps taking priority.
   4. Updating posted messages will update the time.
4. Post a player on the message board before adding the player to the roster.
5. A player can be picked up only on that player's game day.
6. An owner can assign another owner to act as proxy for the above procedures.
   1. The absentee owner should post on the Message Board who the proxy owner will be.

Hire a Head Coach

1. Each BBFL team hires a coach from a non-playoff NFL team from the previous year.
2. Developmental slots are added or subtracted based on the performance of the coach's NFL team and the owner's BBFL team (see Rosters: 4.2).
3. You can replace the coach after 4 years.
4. You can hire a new coach if the NFL team changes their coach.
5. New coaches must be hired after the season in the next event, spring draft or transactions.
6. You may not rehire a coach that was automatically fired from your team.

Automatically Firing a Coach

1. A coach is automatically fired if they have 5 consecutive years out of the green zone (1st, 2nd, 3rd).
2. A coach is automatically fired if they are 3 out of 4 years in the red zone (7th and 8th).
3. A coach is automatically fired if the BBFL team's Total Ranking is greater than 7 points from the 7th place team.
   3.1. For first-year coaches, the team's Total Ranking cannot be greater than 10 points.
4. If the same owner has the 7th and 8th place teams, the 7th place team's coach is automatically fired if the BBFL team's Total Ranking is greater than 7 points from the 6th place team.
   4.1. For first-year coaches, the Total Ranking cannot be greater than 10 points.
5. Hiring a coach after the previous coach was automatically fired restarts the counting for rules 1-4 above.

Hire an Assistant Coach

1. Pick an Offensive or Defensive Coordinator.
2. Pick a coordinator on a team that finished in the bottom half in yardage rank (16-32) the previous year.
3. Draft the coach in the Spring Draft.
4. Reward and Penalty:
   • 3rd round draft pick in college draft = Top 4 in yardage rank (Green Zone)
   • -1 on development = Bottom 4 in yardage rank (Red Zone)
5. If the assistant coach becomes an NFL head coach, you may hire him as your head coach.
6. Replace the assistant coach when he is no longer a coordinator or a coach on the same NFL team.
7. You may replace the assistant coach after 4 years.
8. A head coach that is also a coordinator may be hired if not a head coach on a BBFL team.
9. Compensatory Draft Pick:
   • If a team's coordinator is chosen to be an NFL Head Coach, the owning fantasy team gets a compensatory draft pick at the end of round 3 of the annual Spring Draft.
   • If multiple teams qualify for this compensatory pick, then the order of drafting is decided by reverse order of finish in the previous season.
   • This rule becomes effective June 1, 2024.

Determining a BBFL Champion

1. The team that wins the most categories is the champion.
2. The categories are Total Points, Total Ranking, and Total Record.
   1. Weekly points are the total points a team scores for the week based on the Scoring System. Sum each week to get Total Points.
   2. Weekly ranking is the rank number for a team. Sum each week to get Total Ranking.
   3. The weekly record is either a Win, Loss, or Tie. A win is determined by having a weekly ranking in the top 50%. A loss is determined by having a weekly ranking in the bottom 50%. A tie is determined by the teams having the same score at the halfway point. The Total Record is determined by adding 2 points for a win and 1 point for a tie.
3. In the event of a tie with two or more teams, the champion is determined by 3.1 through 3.6. Return to 3.1 if a team or multiple teams is/are dropped at any point and more than 1 team remains.
   1. The team with the most wins in a head-to-head matchup. If this results in a tie, then 3.2 is used to break the tie.
   2. The best of 6: Compare the teams' highest 3 scores and lowest 3 scores. If this results in a tie, then 3.3 is used to break the tie.
   3. The best of 7: Compare the teams' highest 4 scores and lowest 3 scores. If this results in a tie, then 3.4 is used to break the tie.
   4. The best of 8: Compare the teams' highest 4 scores and lowest 4 scores. If this results in a tie, then 3.5 is used to break the tie.
   5. Keep increasing the highest and then the lowest scores until both reach 8. If teams are still tied, then 3.6 is used to break the tie.
   6. Coin flip.

Current Scoring System

Old Scoring System (2013-2023)