FEBL League Rules

1. Ownership
   1. One team per owner. Owners found to be running multiple teams, directly or indirectly, will be banned for life.
   2. One owner per team. One "official" person will be responsible for trades, roster changes, etc. Owners may have as many assistants as desired, but the Commissioner will only accept changes from the official owner.
   3. All owners must have an active, unique email account. An active ICQ or AIM account is encouraged.
   4. Teams left vacant by owners shall be run by the CPU, until replacement owners can be found.
   1. Owners abandoning teams will be readmitted to the league at the discretion of the Commissioner, based on reasons for said abandonment.
   2. Replacement owners will be admitted on a first-come, first-serve basis.
   5. New owners are required to own the version of OOTP that the league is currently operating with.
2. CPU Run Teams
   1. Owners may request the CPU to temporarily control the team during their absence (i.e., vacation).
   1. Owners leaving teams on CPU control for extended periods of time or in excessive frequency may forfeit ownership of team at discretion of the Commissioner.
   2. Any team without ownership will be run by the CPU until a replacement owner can be found.
   3. Trading with a CPU run team will not be allowed, even if the CPU initiates the trade.
   4. CPU may work outside the Free Agent rules, as there is no way for the Commissioner to regulate these actions.
3. Salary Cap
   1. Currently set at $75,000,000
   2. Owners beginning the season over the cap will have their most expensive player dropped to free agency, then second most expensive player, etc. until team payroll is below cap.
   3. Salary cap may be adjusted with a three-quarter vote of the owners or when the Commissioner feels circumstances necessitate a change.
   4. Teams may go over the cap temporarily due to trade or free ageny signing but will have to be back under the cap by the next sim or risk having Step B applied to them.
4. Relocation
   1. Teams may only relocate in the off-season.
   2. Owner must supply a new city name.
   3. Owner may change team name, though it is optional.
   1. Changing the team name requires a change in team logo, to be provided by Owner.
   2. Owners unable or not wanting to supply a new logo will have one provided for them at a cost of $1,000,000.
   4. New market size will be set to Average and fan loyalty will be set to Good.
   5. Cost of relocating will be $10,000,000 from available cash.
   1. This includes cost of building new stadium (name, factors and dimensions to be provided by Owner).
   6. New owners who took over a team in mid-season will be allowed to relocate their team and create their own stadium free of charge during their first off-season in the league.
5. Adjusting existing ballpark
   1. Ballpark factors/dimensions may only be changed in the offseason.
   2. Cost is $5,000,000 from available cash.
   3. Owners may submit new values based on game limits.
      1. Ballpark factor range 75-125 percent
      2. Wall distance 300-475 feet
      3. Wall height 5-20 feet
   4. Increasing seating capacity beyond 50,000
      1. First 10,000 seats = $3,000,000 per 5,000 seats
      2. Second 10,000 seats = $4,000,000 per 5,000 seats
      3. Third 10,000 seats = $5,000,000 per 5,000 seats
      4. Fourth 10,000 seats = $6,000,000 per 5,000 seats
      5. Fifth 10,000 seats = $7,000,000 per 5,000 seats
      6. Max capacity = 100,000 seats
   5. When existing ballparks are adjusted, the owner must then wait two years before making any further changes.
   6. If owner chooses not to wait two years, changes will be assessed at a rate of $2,000,000 per change. A change being defined as an alteration to a park factor, park dimension or wall height.
6. Rosters
   1. The Designated Hitter (DH) will be used in both leagues.
   2. Active roster may have a maximum of 25 players at one time.
      1. Teams are allowed to have less than 25 at one time, though this is not recommended. Anything less than 23 players will be questioned by the commissioner.
      2. On September 1 (game time), Active rosters may be expanded to 40 players.
   3. Minor league rosters (A, AA, AAA) have no limit to number of players.
7. Lineup Changes
   1. lineup/Pitching/Fielding changes must be submitted prior to the listed deadline for each sim.
   2. Changes unable to be completed due to game incompatibility will be voided for the sim.
   3. Teams bringing players up from minors must make room on the Active Roster first.
8. Trading
   1. Rules for Trading may be found on the Message Board in the "Player Trade" section.
9. Off-Season Free Agency Bidding
   1. The Free Agency bidding period, which lasts 30 days in the game, will be conducted in rounds with each round covering a certain number of days. Commissioner will determine schedule at beginning of Free Agency.
   2. Teams will submit their bids via team exports via OOTP 6.
      1. It is recommended teams password protect their teams during this period to keep other teams from viewing their bids.
      2. At the deadline for a round, the number of days covered by that round will be simmed.
      3. The game will determine which offers the players will consider, accept and refuse.
      4. Owners may continue to submit bids on any unsigned players.
      5. At the end of the Free Agency Period, all team passwords will be removed.
   3. Bids may alternatively be submitted via email, but will not be privvy to privacy from other teams. Bids should be clearly in the following format
      Position - Player's full name - $Dollars for # of years
      (ex. 1B - John Kruk - $2,000,000 for 4 years)
   4. Should an owner release a player(s) during off-season free agency, the owner must wait until the player(s) shows up in the free agent pool on the website before submitting any offers to the player.
      
   5. Should an owner release a player(s) and make offers to the player(s) before he is (they are) in the free agent pool, the following will occur:
      1. If the player(s) in question signed, the player(s) will be released back into the free agent pool at the owner's expense.
      2. The offending owner will be barred from whatever remains of off-season free agency and all outstanding offers will be voided by the commissioner.
      3. The offending owner will be barred from acquiring the player(s) in question by any method other than trade for the season.
10. Amateur Draft
    1. Draft will be held via the FEBL Message Board.
    2. Rules for the draft will be posted to the Message Board under the section set aside for the draft.
11. Renames
    1. Rules for renaming players may be found on the Message Board under the "Player Name Changes" section.
12. Mid-Season Free Agency Bidding
    1. Rules for signing free agents while a season is in progress can be found on the Message Board under the "Free Agents" section.
13. Releasing Players
    1. Owners may release players from within OOTP and submit those releases with their export files.
    2. Owners without the game must submit player cuts via e-mail.
    3. Teams will pay all remaining salary due (full salary times remaining years).
14. Contract Extensions
    1. Extensions can be signed at any point in the season.
    2. Teams must submit extension offers to Commissioner clearly in the following format.
       Position - Player's full name - $Dollars for # of years
       (ex. SS - Jeff Blauser- $6,000,000 for 7 years)
       1. Owners may ask what the player is seeking.
       2. Commissioner will report reason for any rejected offers (ex., not enough money, too much time, etc.)
    3. Players may break off negotiations at any time. This is not under the control of the Commissioner.
    4. Players may be signed for any dollar value or length of time the Owner and player agree upon.
    5. A player must be at least arbitration eligibile before he/she may be signed to an extension.
    6. Owners may use the passwordless league files, made available 3-4 times per season, to negotiate with their players.