2024 ZEALOTS FIELD RULES & CODE OF CONDUCT

The Zealots Field Rules Document covers both Classic and PPR leagues. Rules in Common are a default set of rules that are part of all Zealots Field Leagues. Format-specific rules are listed after the Rules in Common.

RULES IN COMMON (RIC)

I. ADMINISTRATION AND CODE OF CONDUCT

INTRODUCTION
Zealots Field Leagues (ZFL) are dynasty leagues. Founded in 2002 by Oscar Knight, Zealots Field is designed to reward the fantasy football zealot by incorporating some of the best rules in the world of fantasy. NFL-size rosters, offensive and defensive players, extensive scoring, unlimited trading and free agency periods and zealous owners combine for the ultimate fantasy football experience. Zealots Field will always be a non-payout league, so the only price for joining ZFL is a small administrative fee and blood, sweat and tears; the only reward is the right to be called the best of the best.

GOVERNANCE & ADMINISTRATION OF ZEALOTS FIELD
Zealots Field is owned by Sandi Soto. Owners have traditionally anointed themselves as Lord Zealot. Sandi prefers to be Chair of the Vice Lords. Five Vice Lords work as a Board to administer the Zealots empire. The Vice Lords will name a staff of Czars to administer Zealots Field and other projects to keep the community running with as much fun and efficiency as possible. Syndicate Czars are responsible for naming league commissioners. Each Zealots Field league shall be run by a League Commissioner.
 
FEES AND PAYMENT OPTIONS
Zealots Field will be run as a not-for-profit Fantasy Football Community. Every year the fee for participating in Zealots Field will be posted in the Field House and e-mailed to all owners. The fee will be based upon the costs associated with using the internet management service and message board service of our choice. Management will always undertake to negotiate the lowest possible cost for owners with the greatest possible service. Owners are required to follow all steps required as part of the payment process, including completely filling out online forms to document their payment. Owners who do not fill out the proper forms will NOT be marked as paid and will delay their league's participation in off-season activities. Payments may be made through PayPal or through check made payable to Sandi Soto. In situations where a team is offered free of charge for services rendered to Zealots (commissioner, etc.), the owner receiving the free team MUST fill out the appropriate online forms to document their complimentary team. Team fees are non-refundable after the RFA period. Any funds received in excess of the required fee will be accounted for on the message board and used to improve services or to expand operations at Zealots Field. A contingency fund will be maintained to cover unexpected cost increases for services..
 
DISHONESTY IN FINANCIAL MATTERS 
All owners join Zealots Field with the understanding that it is a non-payout league. There is no financial betting or wagering allowed. No monetary rewards and no collection of a pool of funds for distribution based upon finish are permitted. If it is discovered that any owners or commissioners publicly or privately are engaged in these prohibited activities, they will be immediately banned from Zealots Field. There are several opportunities in the world of fantasy sports to engage in these activities, but this is not one of them.

SYNDICATE CZAR RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Respond to E-Mails, PMs, and threads in the czar realm
2. Monitor and provide oversight of all Commissioners and leagues within their designated syndicate.
3. Keep Zealots Staff informed of potential issues with Commissioners or their leagues so they can be resolved in a timely and efficient manner, protecting against conflicts of interest by having the Operations Czar or Vice Lords assist with any leagues in which they are a member.
4. Assist Commissioners with Code of Conduct and Rules Document enforcement, following documented procedures and communicating with other Zealots Staff as necessary.
5. Maintain contact with Commissioners throughout the year to ensure they are aware of upcoming deadlines, rule changes, or accommodations.
6. Assist with filling all syndicate league openings for Commissioners and owners.
7. Post changes to team ownership in the Member List Changes thread to aid the Operations Czar in maintaining it accurately.
8. Verify all syndicate leagues are paid in full in Bank & Trust prior to RFA.
9. When necessary, act as a proxy owner to aid with roster compliance issues or draft picks.
10. Convert syndicate leagues on MFL each year in preparation for the upcoming season.
11. Specialty Czars will work with the Operations Czar in disseminating rule changes and conducting Rule Change Committees after the annual Zealots Field Classic/PPR Rules Committee has concluded.

COMMISSIONER RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Respond to E-Mails, PMs, and threads in the czar realm
2. Keep the Czar informed of any potential league issues so you and your Syndicate Czar can work on potential solutions in a timely and efficient manner.
3. Enforce the Rulebook and Code of Conduct and work with the syndicate czar when disagreements on interpretation occur.
4. Preside as chief record keeper for the league.
5. Maintain a thread with updated owner contact information.
6. Oversee four mandatory league check-in periods:
a. When owners are required to state their intentions on returning for the following season.
b. Free Agency deadline
c. Beginning of the rookie draft
d. By the Thursday three (3) weeks prior to the start of the NFL regular season to ensure all owners will be ready to go for the upcoming season,
7. Post team name changes in the Team Name Changes thread in the Commissioners Hall to aid the Operations Czar in maintaining an accurate Member List..
 
REMOVAL AND REPLACEMENT OF AN OWNER
The removal of an owner is a serious and unpleasant matter, which the league will seek to avoid if possible. An owner may be removed under the following guidelines:
1. The commissioner can ask the Syndicate Czar to immediately remove and replace an owner. The czar will not remove an owner until a review of the situation has occurred and approval has been given by a Vice Lord.
2. The commissioner may ask for an owner removal vote.
3. Three league owners together may ask for an owner removal vote.
4. The owner will be removed if eight owners vote to have the owner removed.

REMOVAL AND REPLACEMENT OF A COMMISSIONER
Removing a leader is also an extremely serious situation. A commissioner may be removed under the following guidelines:
1. The Syndicate Czar may remove a commissioner with approval from a Vice Lord.
2. Three league owners may ask the Syndicate Czar for a commissioner removal vote.
3. The commissioner will be removed if a simple majority of the league owners (7 of 12) vote to remove the commissioner.
 
DISCRETIONARY REPLACEMENT
Zealots Field retains the right to remove an owner from one or all Zealots leagues at any time, at their discretion and without an Activity Review, for the reasons listed below. Owners who are removed after the RFA period may not receive a refund.
1. Failure to pay annual dues by the deadline indicated in the Calendar of Important Dates. Owners who have a legitimate financial constraint should communicate with a Vice Lord.
2. Refusal or inability to respond to Staff inquiries.
3. Situations which are so severe that they require immediate removal based on a review by the Vice Lords.

MFL AND UNIFORMITY GUIDELINES
The appearance of our MFL management sites may be altered in minor ways to reflect the preferences of the commissioner, but should not depart from the overall image promoted and approved by Zealots Field. Owners should be reminded to use only acceptable logos in their profile and icon sections. The icon section of the owners profile setup contains the image used for the front page standings report and should not be altered by the commissioner or an owner. Any changes other than appearance must be approved by Zealots leadership in advance. All MFL setups regarding scoring, general league setup, security, transactions, lineups, etc are uniform throughout the Zealots empire.

DICE ROLL INSTRUCTIONS
A. The following instructions are for use in Dice Rolls use to determine tie-breakers, dispersal draft orders, or RWD draft orders.
1. Use the dice roll server located at http://www.cyrnus.co...-bin/rollem.cgi
2. For "Character Name" owner will enter their Zealots ID.
3. For "Roll" owner will enter 1D1000 (leave the last box blank).
4. Do not check drop high, drop low or reroll.
5. For "What is this roll for?" owner will enter their Zealots League Name & Team Name (i.e. Classic 51 Patriots)
6. For "Your E-mail" owner will enter their email address.
7. For "DM's E-mail" owner will enter their commissioner's email address (if commissioner is involved in the Dice Roll, use Czar's email address).
8. Select "Rollem".  

ZEALOTS FIELD CODE OF CONDUCT

A. PARTICIPATION
1. Owners are expected to participate in league activities, such as the rookie draft, free agency, and waivers. 
2. Owners are expected to submit competitive weekly lineups during the regular season.
3. Owners are expected to take part in any league votes necessary to fulfill procedures outlined in their format Rules Document.
4. Owners are expected to respond during all mandatory check-in periods. 
5. Owners are expected to make draft picks in a timely manner. 
 
B. AWARENESS OF LEAGUE RULES AND DEADLINES
1. Owners are expected to be acquainted with the Zealots Field Rules Document and all dates listed on the League Calendar.
2. Owners are expected to submit payment by the league deadline, following the procedures listed under FEES AND PAYMENT OPTIONS.
 
C. COMMUNICATION
1. Owners are expected to regularly visit the Zealots Field forums in order to be up-to-date on realm- or league-specific news.
2. Owners are expected to respond to emails from Zealots Field Staff in a timely manner and adhere to stated deadlines.
3. Owners are expected to keep their contact information up to date on the league's MFL site and in the appropriate league forum thread. If contact information is out of date, the owner is held responsible for anything that is missed.
4. Owners should avoid advertising or engaging in any form of commercial solicitation without approval from Zealots Field Staff.
5. Any forum or email communication that constitutes spam (multiple copies in one area, or the same message spread across several subforums) is not allowed.
6. The dissemination of information or material that advocates or discusses illegal activities with the intent to facilitate them is not allowed. This includes distribution of copyrighted material, or links to copyrighted material.
 
D. COMPETITIVENESS
1. Collusion – Two or more owners conspiring to provide an unfair advantage to a single team is not tolerated.  Examples of this include throwing games, renting players (when a player is traded to another team with the understanding the player will be returned to the original team at a later date), dumping players (in an attempt to give another team a waiver advantage by giving them inside knowledge of player availability), or owning multiple teams within a single league. Owners found guilty of collusion will be immediately removed from the league without refund. 
 
2. Tanking and Neglect – Owners are expected to submit competitive weekly lineups, and make the necessary transactions to ensure this occurs.  Players who are injured, suspended, or on bye are not considered viable starting lineup options. Similarly, players who have no reasonable expectation of scoring points should not be started over more viable lineup options.
 
E. SPORTSMANSHIP & DECENCY
1. Owners are expected to treat each other with respect, even when disagreements occur.
2. Zealots is a family-friendly site. Foul language will be automatically censored by the forum software.  Attempts to circumvent the forum software by using replacement characters will not be tolerated.
3. Offensive humor is not allowed. Jokes involving mockery of race, religion, political affiliation, or gender are not allowed.
4. Personal attacks, unwelcome attention, or harassment may result in removal from the league.
5. Personal avatars or signature graphics may not contain full or partial nudity, simulated sexual activities, foul language, violence, or drug use.
6. Owners are expected to understand that each owner values players and draft picks differently. If there is an issue with the perceived fairness of a trade, owners should follow the appropriate procedure for contesting trades, and refrain from complaining, berating, or insulting the other owners in private or public.
 
PROCEDURE FOR ACTIVITY REVIEW
1. If an owner has three or more Code of Conduct violations within the last 365 days, a league Commissioner or fellow owner may ask for the Commissioner to initiate an Activity Review.
2. An Activity Review may be initiated at any time if an owner violates the Zealots Field Sportsmanship and Decency guidelines. Zealots Field Staff will act according to the severity of the offense.
3. The Commissioner will contact the owner whose conduct is in question via email and forum PM, with a copy of each to the Syndicate Czar, to solicit an explanation for the violations.
a. If the violating owner is the Commissioner, the Syndicate Czar will contact the owner, along with a Vice Lord or the Operations Czar.
b. If the violating owner is the Syndicate Czar or another member of Zealots Staff, the Commissioner will contact the Operations Czar or a Vice Lord, who will contact the owner.
4. If a reasonable explanation is provided within 2 days during the season or 5 days during the offseason, the violating owner will be given a chance to immediately rectify their behavior going forward. If this occurs, no further action will be taken unless the behavior recurs.
5. If an explanation is not given within 2 days during the season or 5 days during the offseason, or is deemed unreasonable or false, the owner will be notified of their removal from the league. Until a replacement is found, the Czar will set weekly lineups for the team.
6. If the Commissioner and Czar are unable to agree on the quality of explanation, they will bring in a Vice Lord or Operations Czar to provide further input.
7. After an Activity Review has been completed, if a fourth violation is accrued within the following six months, the owner will be notified of their removal from the league.
8. If a second Activity Review is required on an owner within a year of a previous Activity Review, the owner will be notified of their removal from the league
9. If an owner is removed from one league and an Activity Review is initiated in another league within 6 months, the owners will be removed from Zealots.

II. GAMEPLAY

TEAM IDENTITIES
Team names will be selected from a pool of existing NFL team names. ZFL team images, sounds and other identifying team characteristics should be consistent with their NFL counterpart. An NFL team is not permitted to be used twice in the same league.

CONFERENCE ALIGNMENT
A. Twelve teams are placed into a single conference divided into three divisions.
Procedural Note Prior to 2019 Season: Teams will be realigned from four divisions to three divisions using the "Assign all franchises randomly to divisions" feature in MFL.
 
SCHEDULE
A. ZFL has a 14 game regular season.
1. In NFL regular seasons that are 17 weeks, ZFL plays a 13 week regular season schedule with one week as a doubleheader for a total of 14 games in the season. The doubleheader week will always be the last week of the fantasy regular season during which no NFL teams are on bye. The doubleheader week will consist of games against one division and one non-division opponent.
2. In NFL regular seasons that are 18 weeks, ZFL plays a 14 week regular season schedule with one game each week.
B. Each team plays division opponents twice and non-division opponents once.

PLAYOFFS:
A. The three division winners and three wild card teams qualify for the playoffs. The following steps shall be used to determine those teams and their playoff seeding.

B. Determine the three Division Winners, using the following tiebreakers within the division.
1. Overall winning %
2. Head-to-Head Winning %
3. Division Winning %
4. All-Play Winning %
5. Total Points Scored
6. Total Points Against
7. Dice Roll

C. Determine the three Wildcard teams from the nine remaining teams, using the following tiebreakers:
1. Overall winning %
2. All-Play Winning %
3. Total Points Scored
4. Total Points Against
5. Dice Roll

D. From the three Division Winners, determine seeds #1 and #2 using the tiebreakers from Step C.

E. From the remaining Division Winner and three Wildcard teams, determine seeds #3-6, using the tiebreakers from Step C.
[Note: The third Division winner is only guaranteed a playoff spot. They may or may not end up as the #3 seed.]

F. First round playoff games - Three weeks prior to the last week of the NFL regular season, the following matchups will occur:
#1 Seed & #2 Seed (byes)
#3 Seed vs #6 Seed
#4 Seed vs #5 Seed

G. Semifinals - Two weeks prior to the last week of the NFL regular season, the following matchups will occur:
#1 Seed vs #4/#5 Winner
#2 Seed vs #3/#6 Winner

H. Zealots Championship - One week prior to the last week of the NFL regular season: Semi-Final winners meet in the Championship Game

I. The following tiebreaker is used if a playoff game ends in a tie:
1. Home field advantage: Higher seeded team advances

INJURED RESERVE
A. Each team will be limited to 6 IR spots.
B. Owners may place any player on the injured reserve list only if he is listed as "(I)" by MFL. (Other designations may be added by NFL and approved by Zealot Staff if situations occur requiring a modification.)
C. Players may be placed on Injured Reserve starting at 11:59PM ET 9 days before the first NFL regular season game. (This should be a Tuesday night if the NFL's first regular season game is on a Thursday.)
D. Players on the injured reserve list who are no longer listed as "(I)" by MFL must be activated from injured reserve. Failure to do so will prevent an owner from submitting a lineup.
1. This will be enforced on MFL via the "In case of an IR violation, prevent owner from submitting lineup?" option.
 
SCORING CHANGES AND APPEALS
1. Each league's MFL site will be configured to automatically process MFL's scoring changes each week.
2. Scoring each week is considered final when MFL processes the weekly scoring changes.
3. In the event of an unforeseeable issue with the NFL schedule, Zealots leadership will communicate the plan for needed adjustments as soon as possible after the situation is announced. Leadership will take into account any rulings by the NFL, and procedures implemented by MFL, on a case-by-case basis.

TEAM FINANCES
A. ZBs are used for free agency bids, blind bid waiver acquisitions, and as a trading commodity.
B. Teams are not permitted to have a negative ZB balance at any time.
C. ZBs can be obtained in the following ways:
1. When a new league is opened, each franchise is awarded a starting amount of 100ZB.
2. At the conclusion of each season ZBs are allocated based on rookie draft position and will be deposited into the accounting balance before the start of free agency.
Team1 304 ZB (Team finishing 1st in rookie draft order)
Team2 290 ZB
Team3 276 ZB
Team4 262 ZB
Team5 248 ZB
Team6 234 ZB
Team7 220 ZB
Team8 206 ZB
Team9 192 ZB
Team10 178 ZB
Team11 164 ZB
Team12 150 ZB (Champion)

3. Owners who lose a player in Restricted Free Agency will receive the amount of ZBs bid by the acquiring team.

4. ZBs may be obtained via trade.

TRADES
A. Any combinations of players, ZBs, and/or draft picks may be traded. These are the only assets that may be traded.
1. These are the only assets that qualify as tradeable. 
2. Both teams must send and receive one or more qualified assets for a trade to be considered valid.
B. No trades may be made that include real cash, future considerations, or a player to be named later.
C. When draft picks are involved in a trade, only draft picks for the current draft year (January 1 through December 31) and/or the following draft year may be traded. For example: After the 2006 draft through the end of the season, only picks for the 2007 draft are available. After completion of the 2006 season up to the 2007 draft, picks are available for the 2007 and 2008 draft.
D. No player can be involved in a trade for the rest of the week after their game starts. MFL considers the week to end four (4) hours after kickoff of the last game of the week.
E. Any trade that appears to be suspicious or detrimental to the integrity of the league may be vetoed by a super-majority (2/3) vote of the owners not involved in the deal. For example, in a 12-team league with a 2-team trade, 7 yes votes would be required for a veto.
1. During the season, owners will have 24 hours from a trade’s consummation to contest it. During the off-season, owners will have 7 days from a trade’s consummation to contest it. 
2. The owner wishing to contest a trade must:
a. Post in the league forum announcing intent to contest the trade
b. Include details of the teams and players involved
c. Send a leaguewide email from the MFL page alerting everyone to the thread
d. Contact the Syndicate Czar to let them know the protest has been initiated. The Syndicate Czar is responsible for overseeing the process and assessing the status of the vote, thus ensuring there are no conflicts of interest for the league Commissioner.
e. If the Syndicate Czar is in the same league as the contested trade, the Czar will contact the Operations Czar or a Vice Lord to oversee the process.
f. The designated overseer will create a poll in the league forum detailing the contested trade and outlining the details of the voting process.
g. Voter names will be set as public, not anonymous.
h. The poll will have two choices: "YES" to vote in favor of the veto or "NO" to vote against. No other poll options may be submitted.
3. During the season, the owners involved in the contested trade must list a substitute starter for each player in the trade if they are starting, in case the trade is vetoed.
a. The substitute player must be listed in the contested trade thread.
b. Substitute players must not have already played for the week.
c. Failure to post a substitute starter will result in a 0 for any vacated starters.
d. If the owner replaces a player from a contested trade with a different player in his lineup on MFL, the player started on MFL will override any substitute starter submitted on the forums.
4. If a super-majority is not reached within 48 hours of the poll (during the season) or 7 days of the poll (during the off-season), the trade will not be vetoed.
5. If a super-majority is reached within 48 hours of the poll (during the season) or 7 days of the poll (during the off-season), the trade will be vetoed.
F. No trade may be made between the start of the first NFL game in the week including the first Zealots playoff game and the deadline to state intention to return for the next season.


FREE AGENCY AND WAIVERS
A. General Auction Rules
1. All auctions must be conducted on the league management site (MFL) and set up with bid via proxy permitted.
2. All auctions at ZFL are run with a rolling 48 hour deadline from the time of the last change in high bidder. The highest bidder will then be awarded the player.
3. There is no limit to the number of auctions owners may start if they have the ZBs to cover those auctions.
4. There is a minimum required $1ZB starting bid for each free agent auction, and accelerations may be done in $1ZB increments.

B. Free Agents are acquired during the regular season only via blind bid waivers.
1. Free agents will be processed by MFL's automated waiver window system. Waivers will be processed on Wednesday morning (4:00am ET), Thursday morning (4:00am ET), Saturday morning (4:00am ET), early Sunday morning (4:00am ET), and noon on Sunday (12:00pm ET), starting with Saturday morning of week one, and ending Sunday of the week of the Zealots Championship.
2. There is a $1ZB minimum bid and bids are done in increments of $1ZB (i.e. - no decimals).
3. All players listed in the MFL player database are eligible for blind bid waivers.
4. Ties in weekly blind bid waivers will be broken using the following MFL settings:
a. Overall Winning Percentage (lower overall winning percentage wins)
b. All-Play Winning Percentage (lower all-play winning percentage wins)
c. Total Points Scored (fewer total points scored wins)
d. Reverse Order of Points Against (higher points against wins)
e. If two bids are still tied after tie-breakers a-d, MFL resolves the tie by awarding the waiver to whichever bid was submitted first.

C. Off-season Free Agency Period
1. Each team may protect up to 40 players and list no more than eight restricted free agents (RFA). Owners must cut their roster to no more than 48 players by the deadline to designate RFA's.
2. The deadline to designate restricted free agents is 11:59PM ET two days after the NFL League Year. (e.g. if the NFL Year begins at 4PM ET on March 13, our FA designations are due at 11:59PM ET on March 15). Any team that misses this deadline will have their free agents designated by the syndicate czar.
3. The Zealots off-season free agency period will start 9 days after the start of the new NFL League Year, at a time determined by the commissioner, provided setup of the MFL site is complete.
4. The off-season free agency period is not permitted to start unless all twelve franchises have owners and all owners have paid. Commissioners must receive approval from their Czar to begin the RFA period. Czars will confirm leagues are paid in full with the appropriate posts in the Bank & Trust forum.
5. If the team of origin does not win the auction for one of their RFA they will be awarded the winning amount in ZBs. Commissioners are expected to update the accounting at the MFL site within 48 hours of the completion of an auction.
6. Any auction on a RFA must be started within 2 weeks (336 hours) of the off-season free agency period starting for the original owner to receive ZB compensation.
7. Free Agent auctions are available from the start of off-season free agency until 11:59PM ET on the Tuesday 9 days before the first NFL regular season game with two exceptions. Auctions will be turned off to convert MFL sites to the following year and during the Zealots rookie draft. Any auction that begins during this time frame will be permitted to finish.
8. Player Eligibility
a. Auctions cannot be started on players who will be rookies for the upcoming season until after the completion of the Zealots annual rookie draft.
b. Players in the NFL Supplemental Draft become free agents at ZFL at the completion of the Supplemental Draft.
c. All other players listed in the MFL player database are eligible for auctions
d. Players not listed in the MFL player database are eligible for off-season auctions under the following conditions:
i. The player has been signed to a contract with an NFL franchise, and that contract can be verified through legitimate news outlets (ESPN, NFL.com, Rotoworld, official team site, etc). In the event of a dispute, the Zealots Field Staff will be responsible for deciding the validity of the news source.
ii. An owner must request that the commissioner enter the player as a custom player in the league's site. Using an existing player as a proxy for the player that is not in the database is not allowed.

ZEALOT DRAFTS
A. Commissioners will use an informal 24-hour draft clock to ensure the draft proceeds in a timely manner.
1. Commissioners will not use the MFL draft timer, as MFL does not provide satisfactory automatic options.
2. Any violation of the informal 24-hour clock will count as a CoC violation.
a. If an owner will not be able to meet the demands of the draft timer due to pre-existing obligations or circumstances, that owner must notify their Commissioner and Syndicate Czar prior to the draft starting to determine reasonable accommodations.
b. The league must be notified of any accommodations. If necessary, the draft clock can be extended for the league to ensure all owners receive the same amount of time on the clock.

B. If the clock expires, the draft will be paused. The Commissioner will contact the Owner via email and forum PM, with a copy of each to the Syndicate Czar, who will be designated as a Proxy for drafting purposes. If the Syndicate Czar has a conflict of interest, they will further contact the Operations Czar or a Vice Lord to act as Proxy instead.
1. The Proxy will make a reasonable player selection based on their interpretation of roster needs and player value.
2. No trades will be accepted by the Proxy while acting in lieu of an owner.
3. If the Owner makes their selection prior to the Proxy, the pick will be allowed to stand. However, the Owner must confirm with the Commissioner that they are prepared to make their subsequent draft picks within the designated time limit.
4. The Proxy will make subsequent draft picks until the Owner responds to confirm their participation for the rest of the draft. If the Owner does not respond or confirm their participation, at the conclusion of the draft, the owner will undergo an Activity Review.

C. No draft is permitted to start until all owners have been notified of the start date and have responded to the notification. Inaugural drafts will not start until all owners have paid dues for the current year.

 
INAUGURAL VETERAN DRAFT - This section is under format-specific rules.

ANNUAL ROOKIE DRAFT
A. A six round rookie draft will be held every year.
B. The annual rookie draft is not permitted to start until all owners have been marked as paid for the upcoming season by the Vice Lords. Beginning in 2020, this point will be changed to state, "The annual rookie draft is not permitted to start until all owners have completed the rookie draft check-in and state they are aware of the rookie draft date."
C. The annual rookie draft will begin no later than June 1st. Commissioners must get approval from their syndicate czar to start the rookie draft after June 1st.
D. All rookies listed in the MFL player database are eligible for the annual rookie daft.
1. If a rookie is not listed in the MFL player database an owner can request that the commissioner create a custom player provided that the player meets one or more of the following criteria:
a. The player was drafted in the current season's NFL draft
b. The player was signed as an undrafted rookie free agent subsequent to this season's NFL draft
c. The player appears on the draft prospects list for the current year at any of the following sources (ESPN, CBSSports, NFL.com, DraftTek)
E. The annual rookie draft order will be determined by:
1. The Zealots Championship winner will pick 12th.
2. The Zealots Championship loser will pick 11th.
3. The Semifinals losers will pick 9th and 10th. See tiebreakers section below.
4. The losers of the first round playoff games will pick 7th and 8th. See tiebreakers section below.
5. The non-playoff teams will pick 1st through 6th. See tiebreakers section below.
F. Tiebreakers
1. All rookie draft tie-breakers are based on the standings at the completion of scoring changes in the last week of the Zealots regular season. These standings can be found on MFL at "Reports => Standings => Power Rank => Power Rank as of Week 13"
in the case of a 17 week NFL regular season. In the case of an 18 week NFL regular season, apply "Power Rank as of Week 14."
2. Team with lower winning percentage (or points) picks before team with higher winning percentage:
a. Overall winning %
b. All-Play Winning %
c. Total Points Scored
d. Total Points Against
e. Dice Roll

OWNERSHIP LIMITS FOR CLASSIC/PPR LEAGUES
A. Any new Zealot may own only one Classic/PPR ZF team, unless they have been accepted as a member of leadership.

B. Once a Zealot has completed one entire season and one RFA Season, he/she then becomes eligible for a second Classic/PPR team.

C. Once a Zealot has completed two full seasons as an active owner (meeting all required owner responsibilities), he/she then becomes eligible for a third Classic/PPR team.

D. Once a Zealot has completed five full seasons as an active owner, they may make a request of the Operations Czar to add a fourth Classic/PPR team. Requests for additional teams in this manner should be made in the appropriate thread on the League Openings forum. Acceptance is not guaranteed, and is dependent upon ownership behavior as set forth in the Code of Conduct. Prior Activity Reviews will be examined closely.

E. Commissioners are automatically eligible for four Classic/PPR teams. After serving two years as a commissioner with no issues, a commissioner may make a request of their Syndicate Czar to add a fifth Classic/PPR team. Requests for additional teams in this manner should be made in the appropriate thread on the League Openings forum. Acceptance is not guaranteed, and is dependent upon ownership behavior as set forth in the Code of Conduct, as well as the fulfillment of expected Commissioner Responsibilities. Prior Activity Reviews will be examined closely.

F. Czars are eligible to own up to seven Classic/PPR teams, assuming they are performing their assigned duties.

G. Zealots Leadership reserves the right to override ownership limits at their discretion

H. No current Zealots Field League Owner will be permitted to drop an existing Classic/PPR team to acquire a different team (new or orphaned) in Classic/PPR formats in the same off-season. Such acts are seen as attempts to disregard the integrity of Zealots Field and are considered a violation of our Code of Conduct. For example, if an owner drops a Classic/PPR team after the 2021 season, they may not assume control of a team in another Classic/PPR league until the end of the check-in period in January 2023.

I. Owners may petition the Syndicate Czar to transfer from their current League to take control of a vacated team in another League. The team being adopted may not be involved in an ROD or RWD and there is no guarantee of permission granted. Owners may utilize this option once every three years.

J. An owner who is removed from any Zealots league may not acquire a new team in any Zealots format for 365 days after their removal.

K. In the event of an oversight, an owner who exceeds the limits of Classic/PPR teams will be required to drop teams to comply with these limits.

L. All instances of team ownership in Zealots Field are subject to review by leadership at any time to ensure that owners are meeting their responsibilities. Owners can lose a team(s) based on the leadership review.

M. Team limits are put in place to avoid major disruption should an owner resign or be banned from Zealots Field.

REPLACEMENT OWNERS
A. REPLACING ONE OWNER DURING THE OFF-SEASON (Off-season is the period of time during which roster size is expanded.)
1. All auctions are frozen until the open franchise has an owner and one time free acquisitions have been completed.
2. The new owner will have one week to pick up any available free agent with no ZB charge. The new owner must remain within the roster limits at the time of joining the league. The commissioner will inform the new owner when the one week deadline begins.
3. If a new owner joins during off-season free agency the other teams' RFA's are not eligible to be acquired with the one time of free acquisitions.

B. REPLACING MULTIPLE OWNERS DURING THE OFF-SEASON (Off-season is the period of time during which roster size is expanded.)
1. If multiple openings are filled during the offseason prior to March 1, the new owners may choose to have a dispersal draft per the rules in section D.
a. If all owners agree to take an existing team then t hey can waive their right to a dispersal draft. They are entitled to hold a a Replacement Waivers Draft (RWD) per the rules in section E.
b. If one owner requests to have a dispersal draft, then all new owners joining prior to March 1 must participate in the dispersal draft.
2. Any openings filled after March 1 are not entitled to have a dispersal draft, will be considered a single-owner replacement, and will follow the rules in section A.

C. REPLACING OWNER(S) DURING THE SEASON
1. When one opening occurs during the season, the new owner will takeover the open team intact (no free add/drops), and will be credited $50zb.
2. When multiple openings occur at the same time during the season the new owners will conduct a dice roll to decide which owner fills which open team, with the high roll selecting their choice of open team first. The new owners will each be credited $50zb and take over the open team intact (no free add/drops).


D. DISPERSAL DRAFT
1. All auctions are frozen until the open franchises have owners and the dispersal draft is completed.
2. All players on the open teams are released into the pool of free agents.
3. The dispersal draft is serpentine and will consist of 61 rounds. Each owner will draft up to 60 players plus one rookie draft pick package, and may forfeit all their remaining draft picks at any time.
4. The rookie draft pick packages are created as they currently exist. Each owner can only select one rookie draft pick package.
5. Dispersal draft picks cannot be traded. Players, rookie draft picks, and ZBucks can be traded during a dispersal draft.
6. The ZBucks from the open teams are divided equally amongst the new owners. All ZBuck totals are rounded up to the nearest whole number.
7. The commissioner sets up a dice roll to determine the draft order for the dispersal draft. The commissioner must state prior to the dice roll which method will be used to determine draft order:
a. High dice roll gets first draft slot, remaining draft slots are assigned in descending order of dice roll results. (Default method if commissioner fails to specify a method)
b. High dice roll gets first choice of draft slot, remaining draft slots are selected in descending order of dice roll results.
8. If a dispersal draft is conducted during off-season free agency, the other teams' RFA's are not eligible to be acquired during the dispersal draft.

E. REPLACEMENT WAIVERS DRAFT (RWD)
1. The roster limits at the time of the draft are in place.
2. Owners may drop existing players to continue drafting waiver players.
3. The draft will be serpentine with an unlimited number of rounds (Owners can pass whenever they are done) and the draft order will be determined by dice roll.
4. The commissioner sets up a dice roll to determine the draft order for the RWD. The commissioner must state prior to the dice roll which method will be used to determine draft order:
a. High dice roll gets first draft slot, remaining draft slots are assigned in descending order of dice roll results. (Default method if commissioner fails to specify a method)
b. High dice roll gets first choice of draft slot, remaining draft slots are selected in descending order of dice roll results.
5. There is no ZB charge to draft players in the RWD.
6. If a RWD is conducted during off-season free agency, the other teams' RFA's are not eligible to be acquired during the RWD.

F. PLAYER ELIGIBILITY FOR FREE ADDS/DISPERSAL DRAFT/RWD
1. Prior to the annual rookie draft, all unowned players listed in the MFL player database that are not rookies for the upcoming season are eligible for free adds/dispersal drafts/RWDs.
2. After the annual rookie draft, all unowned players listed in the MFL player database are eligible for free adds/dispersal drafts/RWDs
3. Players in the NFL Supplemental Draft are not eligible for free adds/dispersal drafts/RWDs until the completion of the Supplemental Draft.

RULE CHANGES
A Rules Meeting may be called at any time by a committee selected by the Vice Lords. Any amendment to the Rulebook must receive the support of more than 2/3 of the votes of the Rules Committee. The Vice Lords must approve all changes by a simple majority.
 

ZEALOTS FIELD CALENDAR OF IMPORTANT DATES

 (All deadlines are 11:59PM Eastern unless specified differently)

January 10th:
1. Mandatory Check-In period - Owners state their intentions to return for following season

January 11th:
1. Commissioners will restore the owners' ability to propose and accept trades
2. Lord Zealot will send payment information to all owners this time of year.

February 1st-15th:
1. Zealots administration will send instructions to upgrade the MFL site for the following season.
2. Commissioners communicate with Syndicate Czar on openings and owners who have not met the intentions deadline.

March 1st:
1. Commissioners send e-mail to league members to remind them of the upcoming mandatory Check-In period.

Two Days After the Start of NFL League Year (March 15, 2024):
1. Deadline for owners to complete dues payments for the season.
2. Deadline for owners to cut rosters and designate their RFA using the Taxi Squad on MFL.
3. Deadline for owners to meet the mandatory check-in period and state they are ready for the upcoming free agency season. Commissioners can combine these three steps (paying dues, cutting your roster, and designating RFA counts as the check-in)
4. Syndicate czars will verify that each realm in their syndicate has updated the ZBucks earned from previous season.

Two Days After Start of NFL League Year until 9 Days After the Start of NFL League Year:
1. Syndicate Czars cut rosters and list RFA for all teams that missed the deadline.
2. Syndicate Czars verify all players have been activated from IR by now.
3. Commissioners prepare MFL for the free agency season to begin 9 Days After the Start of NFL League Year.
4. Syndicate Czars must approve any request to begin FA more than 2 weeks after the Start of NFL League Year.

March-April:
1. Deadline to start a new RFA auction in the off-season free agency period, 2 weeks after start of free agency.

April:
1. Commissioners will hold a mandatory check-in period where all owners state they are ready for the rookie draft and they are aware of the rookie draft date.

After NFL Draft until June 1st:
1. All leagues should begin their annual rookie draft. (NOTE: The ability to start a new auction should be turned off during the Zealots rookie draft.)

June 1st:
1. All rookie drafts must have started by now unless permission was granted by the syndicate czar for a delay.
2. After completion of the rookie draft, auctions will be turned on.

August 1st:
1. Commissioners send e-mail to league members to remind them of the upcoming mandatory Check-In period.

August; Thursday 3 weeks prior to the start of the NFL regular season:
1. Deadline for owners to check-in for upcoming season.

August; 11:59PM ET on the Tuesday 9 days before the first NFL regular season game:
1. Commissioners will change MFL setting to allow owners to put players on Injured Reserve.
2. Deadline to start a new auction will be 11:59PM ET on the Tuesday 9 days before the first NFL regular season game. Any auctions started after that time will be removed by the Commissioner.
3. Commissioners will turn off owners' ability to start a new auction in MFL.
4. After all auctions complete, commissioner will convert accounting dollars to blind bid dollars.

September; Tuesday before NFL regular season begins (End of Off-season):
1. At 7:00PM ET, all rosters must be cut to 53 active players in Classic and 51 active players in PPR.
2. Syndicate czars will cut all rosters that miss this deadline.
3. Commissioners will change maximum roster size from 60 to 53 in Classic and 51 in PPR.

December; End of last Zealots regular season week:
1. Commissioners will set playoff brackets at MFL

December; First NFL game three weeks prior to the last week of the NFL regular season:
1. Trade Deadline; Commissioners will verify league calendar entry for “no trades allowed” is set for 8:15PM Eastern.

December; End of Zealots playoffs (Beginning of Off-season):
1. Commissioners will post the rookie draft order for following season.
2. Commissioners will remove all remaining blind bidding ZB funds.
3. Commissioners will make accounting adjustment for the yearly ZB allocation.
4. Commissioners will restore the owners ability to propose and accept trades. (Steps 2-3 must be completed before trading can be turned on).
5. Commissioners will change MFL setting to allow draft pick trades for two years out.
6. Commissioners will change maximum roster size from 53 in Classic and 51 in PPR to 60.
7. Commissioners will promote any players on IR and remove owners ability to put players on IR.
8. Commissioners will communicate to their league members that there is a January 10th mandatory check-in period.

Weekly Events during the season:
Wednesday - 4:00AM ET - Waivers run
Thursday - 4:00AM ET - Waivers run
Thursday - 2:00PM ET - Scoring changes from previous week are usually posted at MFL by now
Saturday - 4:00AM ET - Waivers run
Sunday - 4:00AM ET - Waivers run
Sunday - 12:00PM ET - Waivers run

CLASSIC-SPECIFIC RULES

ROSTERS
A. Rosters are limited to 53 players for Classic during the season.
B. Roster spots will be expanded to 60 players at the conclusion of the Zealots Championship Game. Rosters must be cut back to 53 players by 7:00PM ET on the Tuesday before the first NFL game of the regular season.
C. The syndicate czar and commissioner will work together to cut any roster that misses a deadline.
 
STARTING LINEUPS AND POSITION ELIGIBILITY
A. Each ZFL Classic team must consist of the following starting lineup during each week of the season:
1 QB
2 RB
2 WR
1 TE
2 O-Flex (RB/WR/TE)
1 DT
1 DE
1 DL-Flex (DT/DE)
3 LB
1 CB
2 S*

*In the event that MFL supports a second defensive flex option for defensive backs, one starting spot will be changed from S to DB-Flex (CB/S).

B. MFL is the official position source.

C. If no lineup is submitted by a team, their previous weeks lineup will be used. The MFL setting for this is as follows: Copy Previous Week's Starters For Franchises Without Lineups: (1) "As Soon As The Previous Week's Results Are Available".

D. Partial lineup submissions (i.e. lineups with less than the required 18 players) will be dis-allowed, by utilizing the "No, partial lineups are never allowed" option in MFL.

E. Players cannot be moved into or out of the starting lineup once MFL locks their status shortly before kickoff of their game.
 
SCORING SYSTEM
A. The following scoring rules are for all positions and apply to Classic leagues:
Passing Touchdowns (Quarterbacks): 4 pts
Passing Touchdowns (All Other Positions): 6 pts
All Other Touchdowns (including Rushing, Receiving, interceptions, fumble recovery, special teams - blocked FG, punt, Missed FG): 6 pts
All 2-pt Conversion (Passing, Rushing, Receiving): 2 pts
Each Rushing or Receiving Yard: 0.1 pts
Each Passing Yard: 0.04 pts
First Downs (Quarterbacks): 0.2 pts
First Downs (All Other Positions): 0.5 pts
Each Interception: -2 pts
Fumbles (lost to Opponent): -2 pts
Safety: 4 pts
Interceptions: 3 pts
Fumble Recoveries (from Opponent): 2 pts
Forced Fumble: 2 pts
Tackles for Loss: 2 pt (1/2 TFL = 1 pt)
Blocked Punt/FG: 3 pts
Length of Blocked Punt/FG TD: 0.1 pt
Blocked Extra Point: 1 pt
Passes Defended: 1 pt
Kickoff Return Yard: 0.025 pt
Length of Missed Field Goal Return TD: 0.025 pt
Punt Return Yard: 0.05 pt
Interception Return Yard: 0.1 pt
Offensive Fumble Return Yard: 0.1 pt
Defensive Fumble Return Yard: 0.1 pt
Defensive Conversion Returns: 2.0 pts
Safeties for 1 Point: 2 pts
Tackles (Defensive Backs): 1.75 pts
Tackles (Linebackers): 1.5 pts
Tackles (All Other Positions): 2 pts
Assists (Defensive Backs): 0.75 pts
Assists (Linebackers): 0.75 pts
Assists (All Other Positions): 1 pt
Sacks (Defensive Line and Linebackers): 3 pts (1/2 sack = 1.5 pts)
Sacks (All Other Positions): 2 pts (1/2 sack = 1 pt)
QB Hits: 1 pt
Field Goal Made (30 yards or less): 3 pts
Field Goal Made (greater than 30 yards): 3pts plus .1 point for every yard over 30 yards
Extra Point Made: 1 pt
 
B. If a player finishes a game with negative yards in any yardage-based category, the player is awarded a proportionate total of negative points for that category.
 
INAUGURAL VETERAN DRAFT
A. The Inaugural Veteran Draft for all ZFLs will be odd random serpentine ordered by the MFL automated system.
B. The Inaugural Veteran Draft consists of 53 rounds in Classic.
C. The rookie draft order in the inaugural year will be the reverse order of the inaugural veteran drafts first and second round and will be serpentine.  

PPR-SPECIFIC RULES

ROSTERS
A. Rosters are limited to 51 players for PPR during the season.
B. Roster spots will be expanded to 60 players at the conclusion of the Zealots Championship Game. Rosters must be cut back to 51 players by 7:00PM ET on the Tuesday before the first NFL game of the regular season.
C. The syndicate czar and commissioner will work together to cut any roster that misses a deadline.

STARTING LINEUPS AND POSITION ELIGIBILITY
A.  Each ZFL PPR team must consist of the following starting lineup during each week of the season:
1 QB
1 RB
2 WR
1 TE
1 O-Flex (RB/TE)
3 O-Flex (RB/WR/TE)
1 DT
1 DE
1 DL-Flex (DT/DE)
3 LB
1 CB
2 S*

*In the event that MFL supports a second defensive flex option for defensive backs, one starting spot will be changed from S to DB-Flex (CB/S).

B. MFL is the official position source.

C. If no lineup is submitted by a team, their previous weeks lineup will be used. The MFL setting for this is as follows: Copy Previous Week's Starters For Franchises Without Lineups: (1) "As Soon As The Previous Week's Results Are Available".

D. Partial lineup submissions (i.e. lineups with less than the required 18 players) will be dis-allowed, by utilizing the "No, partial lineups are never allowed" option in MFL.

E. Players cannot be moved into or out of the starting lineup once MFL locks their status shortly before kickoff of their game.

SCORING SYSTEM
A. The following scoring rules are for all positions and apply to PPR leagues:
All Touchdowns (including Passing, Rushing, Receiving, interceptions, fumble recovery, special teams - blocked FG, punt, Missed FG): 6 pts
All 2-pt Conversion (Passing, Rushing, Receiving): 2 pts
Each Rushing or Receiving Yard: 0.1 pts
Each Passing Yard: 0.04 pts
Each Reception (Tight End): 1.5 pts
Each Reception (All Other Positions): 1 pt
Each Interception: -2 pts
Fumbles (lost to Opponent): -2 pts
Safety: 4 pts
Interceptions: 3 pts
Fumble Recoveries (from Opponent): 2 pts
Forced Fumble: 2 pts
Tackles for Loss: 2 pt (1/2 TFL = 1 pt)
Blocked Punt/FG: 3 pts
Length of Blocked Punt/FG TD: 0.1 pt
Blocked Extra Point: 1 pt
Passes Defended: 2 pts
Kickoff Return Yard: 0.025 pt
Length of Missed Field Goal Return TD: 0.025 pt
Punt Return Yard: 0.05 pt
Interception Return Yard: 0.1 pt
Offensive Fumble Return Yard: 0.1 pt
Defensive Fumble Return Yard: 0.1 pt
Defensive Conversion Returns: 2.0 pts
Safeties for 1 Point: 2 pts
Tackles (Defensive Tackles): 3 pts
Tackles (Defensive Ends): 2.25 pts
Tackles (Linebackers): 1.5 pts
Tackles (All Other Positions): 2 pts
Assists (Defensive Tackles): 1.5 pts
Assists (Defensive Ends): 1.25 pts
Assists (Linebackers): 0.75 pts
Assists (All Other Positions): 1 pt
Sack (Defensive Tackles): 3 pts (1/2 sack = 1.5 pts)
Sack (All Other Positions): 2 pt (1/2 sack = 1 pt)
QB Hits: 1 pt
 
B. If a player finishes a game with negative yards in any yardage-based category, the player is awarded a proportionate total of negative points for that category.

INAUGURAL VETERAN DRAFT
A. The Inaugural Veteran Draft for all ZFLs will be odd random serpentine ordered by the MFL automated system.
B. The Inaugural Veteran Draft consists of 51 rounds in PPR.
C. The rookie draft order in the inaugural year will be the reverse order of the inaugural veteran drafts first and second round and will be serpentine.