GFl9 handbook

2026-2027

League Preamble

The rules and bylaws of this fantasy football dynasty league are thusly dubbed The Bylaws Of The GFL (Garage/Global Football League). As such, we find the judgments and decisions therein just and readily fair, thus worthy of full acceptance. Their quality is of continual negotiation and amendment if it is deemed necessary by the league commissioner, league consensus, or by a vote of the owners of The GFL Council. Further case by case regulations will be firmly rooted in these bylaws as they arise. The intent of these bylaws is for fair play and maximal enjoyment of the sport. It has been crafted and published in the utmost sobriety, detail, and attention in good faith by the league commissioner, and accepted in full detail by the owners of The GFL. May the good graces of this league be with all the teams and their owners and families for future success.

League Dues & Council

1. Fees – Every member of The GFL pledges to pay a set league amount ($50) to the Commissioner to be held until The GFL Award Show. At that time the money will be divvied out to the winner(s) of the League. The champ gets the full prize pool, unless they decide otherwise. This fee is asked to be paid in a timely fashion. The failure to pay the fee could result in the freezing of an owner’s team following the draft until the time the fee is paid. If the owner fails to pay the fee until after the first game of the Fantasy Football season, the Commissioner, if necessary, will run the members team by inserting the players at each position with the highest projected total. This process could be continued until the league fee is paid.

2. League Council - The league will have a Council of owners who will help make decisions in the best interest of the league. The council will make decisions not explicitly stated in the constitution and rule on situations that arise through the season that may be unclear or unforeseen. This includes but is not limited to illegal trading, collusion, rules interpretations, clarity of rulings, app issues etc. The Council will be made up of the Commissioner, Jim Janethon, and two others. One of which being Co-commissioner Boomer Bust, and the other being a randomly picked GM, depending on the situation. GMs may be a part of the council multiple times. If a situation arises that includes the Commissioner or Boomer Bust, then they will be made to excuse themselves in the decision making process. All council decisions will be reported back to the league immediately, with total discussion details. The council cannot overrule any league activities that require a league vote.

League Schedule/Division Settings

1. Schedule - There will be a custom schedule each year in our Dynasty League curated by the man himself, Boomer Bust. This schedule will include set “theme weeks”, including Week 1 Playoff Rematches and Week 7 Rivalry Week. This schedule also guarantees each GM will face their four divisional opponents 2 times each, face 4 members of the opposite division once, and face 1 member of the opposite division twice on a rotating basis over the years.

*New in GFL6 we have approved the addition of two more theme weeks: Week 4 Through the Eras, and Week 9 Garage vs Basement Week.

*New in GFL7 we have approved the following theme week swap: Week 4 Through the Eras will be "Struggle Week".

2. Playoff Seeding/Schedule -  Instead of the top 6 teams in the league making the playoffs and being seeded by overall standings, the top 3 teams from each division will make the playoffs. The division winner will of course retain their first round bye, so the first round matchups will be games between the 2 and 3 seeds in their respective division. This means we’ll follow a playoff style similar to the AFC and NFC in the NFL, where the conferences don’t meet until the very end in the final.

*New in GFL8 the following Playoff Tiebreaker has been implemented; In the unlikely event of a tie in a GFL Postseason game the winner will be determined by the higher score between their declared “Champions” during the week in question. Before any postseason games kickoff in Week 15 each GM must declare a “Champion” to represent their team in the event of a potential tie. The “Champion” will retain their role for the entirety of the postseason and cannot be changed UNLESS they are declared OUT before their game, in which case the GM of the affected team may declare a replacement “Champion.” The replacement “Champion” must not have already played in the current week, and will act as that team's “Champion” for the remainder of the postseason. GMs are responsible for declaring their “Champion” and/or replacement “Champion” in a timely fashion, and failure to declare will result in a “Champion” score of 0.0 PTS in the event of a tie. If the “Champion” scores are also tied, the next tiebreaker will be “highest individual score in the starting lineup.”

3. Divisions - The divisions will remain how they are, potentially forever. A division switch-up may be a thought in the far future, but stay comfy where you’re at. You’re not going anywhere 4 now.

Scoring/Position Settings

1. Scoring Settings - 1.0 (full) PPR. 4 Point Passing TD’s remain. 1 Point per 25 yards on Kickoff/Punt returns. 6 Points for kickoff/punt return TD’s. New decimal KICKER system (a 43 yard field goal equals 4.3 points, a 26 yarder equals 2.6, etc.). For more clarification on full settings, visit the Sleeper app and study away. It’s relatively the same as years prior.

*New in GFL6: approved a scoring setting changing QB INTs to -2, from -1.

*New in GFL7: approved a scoring setting changing QB INTs to -1, from -2. Pick 6 increased to -2, from -1.
*New in GFL7: approved a scoring setting changing FUMBLES (NOT LOST) to 0, from -1.

*New in GFL8: approved a scoring setting changing Kicker XPs Made to +2, from +1.
*New in GFL8: approved a scoring setting changing Kicker XPs and FGs Missed to -2, from -1.

2. Position/Roster Settings - The league will have the following roster positions, which are not to be changed under any circumstance unless unanimously agreed upon by all 10 GM’s. The teams will consist of 26 ACTIVE ROSTER SPOTS (11 starters, 15 bench). Starting positions are as followed: QB, QB, RB, RB, WR, WR, W/R/T, W/R/T, W/R/T, W/R/T, K. There are no position maximums in this league at the moment. 2QB, 2RB, 2WR, 4W/R/T FLEX, 1K. 15 Bench. 4 Taxi Squad.

*New in GFL9: approved change allowing future positional changes to pass with an 8/10 majority, rather than unanimous

3. Injured Reserve - IR will remain the same as the last couple seasons. 2 3 IR slots, period. Abusing IR slots with an illegal roster will result in the Commissioner stepping in to fix your roster manually before the week's games start. Also, you cannot drop a player on your bench once their game starts.

*New in GFL9: approved additional IR slot (total: 3)

4. Taxi Squad - There will be FOUR (4) total Taxi Squad slots. The Taxi Squad is reserved for rookie & second year players only, and is separate from the active roster. They may remain there until the player enters their third professional season. Upon kickoff of Week 1 each year the Taxi Squad will lock, meaning no players can be added to the Taxi Squad midseason after that point. The ONLY time a player can be added to a team’s Taxi Squad midseason is if a player that is currently on a Taxi Squad is acquired via trade, the GM acquiring the player may add them to their own Taxi Squad. This decision must be made immediately following the processing of the trade. A GM can take a player out of their Taxi Squad at any point during the season, but they will no longer be allowed to place that player back on their own Taxi Squad at any point. If a player is activated by a GM from the Taxi Squad during their rookie season, and that player is then traded before the start of the player's second season, the new GM may choose to place them on their own Taxi Squad in the offseason before Week 1 of their second season. The Taxi Squad will be “unlocked” following the conclusion of the yearly GFL Championship Game, meaning GMs can freely move players in and out of the Taxi Squad until it locks again at the start of the next season. The Taxi Squad is meant to provide roster flexibility in the offseason, and to prevent young players from taking up active roster spots at the GMs discretion during the season.

Drafts

1. Startup Draft Format - The startup GFL Dynasty Draft will be completed in a regular snake format. Draft order will be decided by our randomized Draft Royale, the same as GFL Year 4. This will happen in July so you have plenty of time to figure out your strategy. The draft will have 30 Rounds to match the number of ACTIVE roster slots. Free agency/waivers will open up after to compensate for any players you want to immediately send to IR/Taxi Squad. Visit Sec. VI for more info on our new waiver system. All players drafted from the original draft in 2022 will be kept from one season to the next until they are dropped, retire, or traded. The only way to change a roster is through trades, rookie draft, and waivers.

2. Yearly Rookie Draft - Following the first season, and every season moving forward, there will be a 4 round rookie draft, to be held shortly (ideally one week) after the NFL Draft. Rosters will be expanded by 10 (36 total roster slots not including 4 taxi squad slots) following the rookie draft to accommodate the rookies drafted, any accumulated draft picks, or undrafted free agents. Following the draft any unselected player will become a free agent and can be added through waivers after the draft. All rosters must be cut back to 26 players prior to the season at 7 PM on the Thursday Week 1 kicks off.  FAAB will also reset to $250 on that same date. All Rosters must be cut back to 26 following the GFL Championship Game, and no players may enter the offseason on the injured reserve. An owner has until the GFL Award Show to cut their roster back to 26 players. Any players in the IR designated spots after that date are subject to become free agents. Players may be added and cut from the 26 man roster during this time.

*New in GFL9: approved default Draft Day options

3. Rookie Draft Order - The rookie draft will be linear, similar to the NFL Draft. Draft order for our 4 non-playoff teams will be based on regular season records. The team with the worst record would receive the first pick of all four rounds of the draft. The team with the second-worst record would receive the second pick in all four rounds, so on and so forth. Lossman does not automatically receive the 1st pick in the draft. There is no reward for being Lossman, only punishment. For our 6 playoff teams, the CHAMP will automatically receive the 10th pick in the draft, and the runner-up will receive the 9th pick. The consolation game between those that finish 3rd and 4th will decide who gets the 7th pick and who gets the 8th pick. So the winner of the 3rd place consolation game will receive pick 7, and the loser of that game will receive pick 8. The same can be said for the 5th & 6th place consolation game. The winner of that game will get the 5th pick, and the loser will get the 6th. This is to ensure those consolation games have a bit more meaning behind them. 

4. Draft Trading - An owner is allowed to trade current and future draft spots in exchange for other current or future draft spots, and/or players. An owner cannot trade a draft spot more than two years (or two drafts) in advance. Draft Trading will be enabled in the original startup draft, and of course in every single rookie draft moving forward.

FAAB/Waivers

1. FAAB -  Each owner will receive $250 (phony) dollars at the beginning of the season to spend on waiver transactions. This is called the Waiver Budget. Once a player is placed on the waiver wire, owners will have one day from the time the player was dropped to place a bid on the player. The owner with the highest bid will receive the player. Since this is done blindly, no owner knows what another owner is bidding. You will need to be strategic and aware of what other owners might bid for a player in order to succeed. The minimum bid for a player is $2. Once you run out of $$$, that is it until the season ends, so do not go betting $250 on one single player (unless you really want to, I guess). $250 will be reset for everyone after the conclusion of the GFL Award Show.
*The league voted to uphold the rule of a minimum bid of $2 for GFL9.

Example: Daniel Jones is dropped from a roster, and moves into the waiver period. During that waiver period, Team A bids $10 for D. Jones, Team B $17, and Team C $20. Team C would receive Daniel Jones and lose $20 dollars from their Waiver Budget. Team A and B would not receive Jones and would keep the money they bid. (In case of a tie bid, the player with the highest waiver priority would receive the player. Every time an owner makes a claim on the waiver wire, they move to the back of the waiver priority list.)

2. Wait Period - There are no limits on the number of acquisitions an owner can make from the waiver wire. Any player that is dropped from a roster into the free agency pool will go through a one-day waiver period. This assures that all interested owners will have a chance to place a bid on the player before the player is optioned to the owner with the highest bid. Players not selected in the startup GFL draft will go through a waiver period at the start of the season. The Waiver Wire will run blind bids during the regular season Wednesday-Saturday as usual.  In the off-season, waivers will run twice a week, Wednesdays and Saturdays.
*New in GFL6: approved daily waivers to process at 10:00am every day during the offseason.

Trading

1. Trade Deadline - The trade deadline for Dynasty will officially be at the end of Week 11. Trades may then resume after the GFL season has ended, officially after the Award Show. From that date until the date of the GFL rookie draft owners will be able to make trades. Once the GFL rookie draft begins, trades can be made during the draft until the season’s trade deadline. There is no trade limit. All trade dates and deadlines will be posted on Sleeper.

2. Off-Season Trading - GM’s are allowed to engage in off-season trading of any player on their twenty-six-man roster. Players must be removed from the Injured Reserve once the season is completed, before the Award Show, and all rosters must be kept at 26 until the GFL Rookie Draft. All trades that occur in the off-season will be executed through the league host site.

3. Veto Process/Council - All trades will be reviewed by the commissioner. If the Commissioner feels that the league council needs to review a trade because it involves collusion/dumping/borrowing etc. then they can bring the attention to the leagues council for review. Their job is not to make sure they think a trade is fair, but to decipher if any trade has collusion. It is each owners responsibility to decide what moves are best for their current and future franchise. If foul play is involved, full permission will be given by the council to the commissioner to veto the trade. The council will also answer any questions or controversies that come up in the league throughout the season regarding rule interpretation or any unforeseen issue that may rise. If a trade or controversy involves one of the members of the council, then they will be excluded from the decision-making process. If multiple members of the Council are involved in a trade/dispute, then it may be necessary to bring in an outside member to break a tie.

4. Collusion/Borrowing - I don’t think I need to go over this much. We have a very trust-worthy group here, but of course, any form of collusion is prohibited and could result in a permanent ban from the league. This includes letting another team “borrow” a player for a week and then sending them back a week after. It’s never been done in the GFL, so I trust that it never will.

5. Trade Pieces - Owners are only allowed to trade players and/or draft picks. Any other form of payment is strictly illegal. This includes, but is not limited to cash, gifts, or anything else that could be considered of significant value that would make an owner make a trade that they otherwise would not accept if the use of this external payment was not made. Any owners found in violation of any of any such behavior is subject to be removed from the league. Please note that trading of FAAB $$$ will not be allowed in Dynasty Year 1 (GFL5) until we know how valuable/not valuable the money is. We must test the market, per say. It can easily be implemented in years future, but for now, just players & picks.
*The league voted to uphold the rule of no FAAB trading for GFL6&7.

Misc. Issues

1. App Issues - If at any point during any given week should the Sleeper app give you any sort of personal issue (i.e. not opening, crashing, lag, etc.) you must contact the commissioner right away and let them know your issue. As long as it’s not a league-wide issue, the commish will be able to do whatever it is you need to get done. He can swap a player, pick someone up, drop someone, adjust IR/Taxi, etc. There have been times in the past as an example where someone makes a switch in their line-up, but the app doesn’t register it and a GM might not notice it till it’s too late. That is not an excuse. It is your job & duty as a GM to make sure your team looks the way you want it to before gametime. If you want to make sure your line-up is set properly or the move you try to make goes through properly, there is a Sleeper Desktop website to double check all of that. Once again, if you have any potential app issue, contact the commish immediately. Using “my app didn’t register my line-up change!” or “my app wouldn’t open so I couldn’t adjust things in time” as an excuse will not be tolerated. You’re outta luck. Pay attention to your team and contact the commish if anything arises.

2. Leave Of Absence - If you ever need to take a leave of absence, such as going on vacation without much cell service, medical emergency, or anything else like that, you are allowed and pretty much required to either let the commissioner run your team in your absence or you can pick any other GM in the league to run things, as well as a possible outside source that can competently run things in the meantime. If possible, just let the commissioner know ASAP, otherwise it will be the commissioner running your team by default until your return. 

3. Lack Of Involvement - If at any point during the season the commish or other GM’s notice you simply not putting any work in (not setting line-ups, never making trades, never using waivers, not doing Power Rankings in a timely manner, ignoring write-ups and announcements) or otherwise just showing a “I don’t care” mindset, you will be asked to be more active or be asked to leave the league. The GFL stays the great league it is by constant involvement by all 10 teams. A lack of effort will simply not be tolerated. That is separate from tanking (see section X for that), I’m talking about just not doing anything from a lack of caring. Trust me, we will understand if you simply don’t want to be involved any more. We can find a replacement. Stay active with your leaguemates, participate in discussion, be active with your trades and moves in general, and there will be no problem here. Everyone did great in GFL4, this is not to call anyone out. Dynasty is a whole different animal and it requires 10 dedicated individuals. This does not include the off-season, if you want to take a few months to reset your strategy or whatever, that is totally fine. Basically don’t worry about this unless the commish specifically reaches out to you. 

4. Power Rankings - The Power Rankings will remain the way they are, and they will be sent out as usual after the final game of the week is played and all points are added to the standings. You must submit your rankings within 24 hours of receiving the voting form. They take literally 3-10 minutes max to do. The commish will not be happy having to reach out to you to say “hey, did you do the rankings?” after 24 hours have passed. It’s unacceptable and unfair to the writer. Of course, if a situation arises where you’re genuinely not able to complete, all is well. Your votes will just not be counted that week. But please, for the sake of Jim Janethon, do your rankings as quickly as possible. Multiple violations of this will result in some type of disciplinary action. I understand forgetting from time to time, but it will become an issue if it’s a consistent thing.
*The GFL Council unilaterally decided to abolish GM-sourced Power Rankings entering GFL6. 

Team Transfers & League Expansion

1. Leaving Process - In the event that a team’s owner decides to exit the league and no longer participate in the GFL, the following guidelines will detail that exit process whether it occurs midseason or during the off-season. It is the goal of the league to fill the ownership position as soon as possible and maintain normative league activities as best as possible during that time in which a team is ownerless. In the event, an exit from the position of owner occurs mid-season the Commissioner will run the former owners team by inserting the players at each position with the highest projected total until the ownership is filled.
*Please look at the departure of GM Crumbs and the sale of the Stocking Stuffers as the gold standard.

2. Exiting GM’s Responsibility - If a team’s owner no longer wishes to continue to participate in the GFL, please contact the League Commissioner as soon as possible in order that they may arrange a replacement owner because there are a number of things that the remaining league owners will need to decide before a replacement is offered to another person. The goal is to not have a time sensitive issue disrupt normative league activities. Your cooperation will be greatly appreciated and go a long way toward your consideration for a later re-entry into the GFL if sought after.

3. GM Replacement - The new participant will be selected at the discretion of the GFL Council. The GFL Council will work diligently to identify a candidate(s) who seem qualified for the intensity of our league and embody the GFL spirit  While the council may choose to consult with other league owners to discover candidates, it is not required. The GFL Council may agree upon terms to make the ownerless team more attractive to a new owner if the league feels it is necessary (no league payment, slightly better draft pick, etc.) The new league owner is strongly encouraged to read the handbook upon entry into the league.

4. Forceful Removal Of GM - If an owner is not adhering to proper ownership guidelines (setting rosters, engaging in the pick-up of free agents, not responding to league communications, colluding, accepting improper trades, etc.) then they are subject to possible removal. The removal process will take place by a two-thirds vote (7) of current league owners. This process is only to be administered to owners who are not fulfilling responsibilities, not because someone is disliked.

5. Co-Owners/Assistant GM’s - Assistant GM’s are totally acceptable and even encouraged in the situation of a GM leaving the league. They will have first dibs on vacant teams before reaching out to outside candidates. Feel free to have a whole front office if you so choose. More the merrier.

6. Expansion - There will be a whole process for adding an expansion team that does not need to be explained at the current time.
*Expansion has since been teased as a potential future endeavor, but there are no plans for it at this time. All expansion teams/owners and rules must be agreed upon unanimously by all current and prospective owners. 

Tanking

1. Trade Tanking Rule - Tanking is not encouraged, but it is not completely banned from the GFL either. It’s simply a part of the sport, but just think about it for a second, is blatantly tanking your team for a whole season truly worth the #1 pick in the rookie draft? One player is not going to make you an unstoppable powerhouse. That’s just not how things work. It’s tough to draw a line here, but once again I trust all 10 of you to be fair and smart with your decisions. All trades that have even the slightest HINT of tanking will be reviewed by the League Council and they have every right to veto it. They will even work with you throughout this process and try to make the trade happen without it being detrimental to the league as a whole. Keep this in mind when offering tank worthy trades. It will NOT go through until reviewed by the council. Period. If you desperately want that 1.01 pick, simply make an offer to trade up in the draft come closer to draft time. Use your brains.

2. Roster Tanking - Choosing not to set a line-up to guarantee a loss will simply not be tolerated. The commissioner will manually insert the highest projected players from your bench to your starting line-up to prevent this and you will receive a warning. Multiple warnings will lead to your removal. Don’t be silly. I promise you once again, that #1 pick is not worth causing a headache to the rest of your league mates. Setting consistently underwhelming line-ups to score as little as possible will also be noticed and not be tolerated. There are very few situations where this could be viewed as OK, if any. 

3. Dropping Top Players - Come on, do I need to explain this any further? Simply dropping someone like Jonathon Taylor just because you want your team to be worse later in the season will not be accepted. That player will be placed back on your roster immediately. Once again, any situation like this will be reviewed by the League Council. I genuinely trust you all to be smart and fair with any tanking attempts. Once again, it’s not banned, but it’s also not encouraged, just like in any sport. Be wise.

Editing Of Constitution

1. Access & Agreement - These bylaws are first to be reviewed by each owner upon joining the league. Once an owner accepts their membership to the league they are also acknowledging their acceptance of the leagues bylaws. Each member will be provided with a link and access to view this document, and it is their responsibility to do so and know the bylaws within it. Digital copies and hard copies (if possible) will be given to each owner. In the event of amending the constitution bylaws, all agreements of the bylaws will be carried over from the original constitution and should be reviewed by each owner.

2. Amending - Amending bylaws can be initiated by a two-thirds vote (7) of active league owners (unless differently stated in an article or section). A team owner can present an amendment change to the League Commissioner during the GFL Award Show as always. With this being the first year of dynasty, I expect some changes to be made in the future, and it will follow the same process as years prior.

ANY ISSUE WITH ANYTHING IN THIS HANDBOOK MUST BE BROUGHT TO THE ATTENTION OF THE COMMISSIONER IMMEDIATELY. LONG LIVE THE GFL.