EHFL Rules 2025

 

EHFL League Rules and By-Laws as of July 21, 2025 and are subject to change and correction.

 

All times referenced are Central times.

New/Revised Rules are in Red

 

Costs, awards and payouts: The annual League fee is determined by the cost of Myfantasyleague's fees at time of payment to MFL. The cost of a league trophy will be added to the league fee if appropriate. No monetary awards are made.

 Duties of the Commissioner include but are not restricted to: 1) Issue the game schedule. 2) Maintain and issue results and standings weekly. 3) Settle any and all disputes between franchises or appoint a committee to do so. 4) Determine dates and deadlines and conduct the waiver process and annual draft. 5) Interpret the rules. 6) Administer League funds, including collection of fees and determining winnings. (This last duty may be delegated to another league member.)

 Definitions: Throughout the rules document references are made to 'committee', 'notification' and 'official'. These are the definitions: 1) Committee: A group of three owners, including the Commissioner, that may be used to rule on disputes. Ideally the committee should have a member representing each division, plus one alternate member who is used if one of the members is involved in the dispute. Current members are James A. and Keith H. The alternates are Mike Pad. and Dan S. 2) Notification: In terms of lineups, trade reporting and waiver claims, etc., the notification can be via mail, phone, in person or e-mail. These methods are to be used only in case of an emergency which causes the owner to be unable to get online to make adjustments through the league software. No guarantees can be made that the Commissioner will be able to make the requested changes. 3) Official: The league uses statistics provided by Sideline Software as part of the league's MyFantasyLeague (MFL) software package. Verification of scores and the ruling on unusual scoring plays is done thru nfl.com.

 Rule Changes: Any member of the league may propose a rule change, but no change can be put into effect 'during' the current season. Rule changes will be voted on via the MFL polls feature and require 66% approval to 'pass' (currently 8 of 12 are needed). Each franchise is allowed one vote per proposal. The Commissioner retains the right to veto any proposed change prior to league-wide voting and any franchise NOT voting prior to the polls expiration cedes their proxy to the Commissioner.

 Waivers: The primary Waiver procedure is a blind bidding system. Each team is given $350 in league funds to spend on free agent pickups. There are two waiver periods in all normal weeks of the season. The primary waiver window each week begins on Sunday with the kickoff of the early games and culminates on Wednesday nite at 10 p.m. Central time (all times listed below are Central) when owners may place a bid on 'un-owned' NFL players. The minimum bid is $10. Players are awarded to the team which has submitted the highest legal bid. Ties broken according to total points and then overall record. More tiebreak criteria can be found on the site under League-->League Rules-->League Settings. A maximum of 3 blind bid claims per week is enforced. Potential cuts (if needed) must be submitted with claims. Waiver picks or waiver 'funds' may be traded or transferred but may require manual editing of the balance by the Commissioner.

 Another waiver period, "First Come, First Served" or 'Open Waivers' begins at 7 a.m. on Fridays and ends with the first kickoff on Sunday. Note that players whose kickoffs have passed (Thursday, Saturday, & early Sunday i.e. London, Frankfort etc) cannot be claimed once their kickoff has occurred nor can they be waived to open a spot for an eligible that same week. These players ARE eligible for waiver claims to be awarded the following week. There is no limit on FCFS claims per week. All players claimed during the 'open' FCFS period will cost the claiming team $5 in waiver funds. A roster cut is to be made if needed to keep the roster within the limits. The Commissioner may amend these rules and waiver parameters as needed for special weeks (weeks with early games or the final waiver week of the season). The league sponsored NFL Playoff contest will award additional funds for teams finishing first ($35) and second ($20) to be used the following season. This Playoff contest is run at the will of the commissioner. See the League History and Rules page at the MFL site for details on deadlines.

 Post-season waivers: Teams which have qualified for the playoffs may continue to make claims until they are eliminated. Rosters for non-playoff teams and teams eliminated from post-season play are locked and no pickups or cuts can be made. Waivers for teams during the post-season will be run as a Blind Bidding session with the same time frame as during the regular season (claims processed at 9 p.m. on Wednesday). A FCFS period follows the Blind Bidding each week. See the calendar for exact times. No trades are allowed during the post-season. $10 per week in additional league funds are available to playoff teams.

 Preseason Waivers: Following the annual draft and preceding the beginning of the regular NFL season there will be a period of FCFS waivers which is in place to allow owners to fill out or change their rosters. These waivers are subject to the per transaction fee which is in place during the season. And they are counted against the season cap of 30 successful player claims. The weekly limits of three acquisitions per week is in effect. The dates for this period will be determined by the Commissioner yearly.

 Line-ups: Line-ups shall consist of eight players, 1 Qb, 1 Rb, 2 WR, 1 TE and 1 Kicker plus two 'flex' players. The flex players may be any rostered rb, wr, or te. We use the MFL's Gametime option for naming starters. Players are locked once their game kicks off. If a line-up is not turned in, the team in question will receive a score of zero. Previous lineups are NOT carried over. Line-ups must be turned in in through the MFL submission form online. If a line-up is not turned in for any week the commissioner has the option to apply a score of 0 (zero) for that team or submit a lineup on the owner’s behalf that does not exceed the opposing team’s score. (Post-season line-up regulations are listed elsewhere).

 Positions: Player positions are determined by the MFL software and are based on the NFL club's official designation. The Commissioner shall be final determiner of that player's position but will not change a player position manually. If a lineup cannot be submitted due to an emergency involving an owner, the commissioner will submit a lineup for that owner using the suggested lineup at the Fantasy Sharks site.

 Scoring: EHFL scoring is found on the website via League-->League Rules. In the case of an NFL trade involving an EHFL player that allows the player to participate in two NFL games in one week (Thursday/Sunday, Sunday/Monday, etc.) the player will accumulate points only for the game he played with his original team i.e. the team he was listed with when placed in the line-up in the MFL system. The league uses a decimal scoring system which awards points per yard as well as TDs and kicking.

 Scheduling and Game Results: The Commissioner will issue a 14-game head-to-head schedule prior to the season. Each team will play two games versus the other teams in its division and one game versus all the other teams. The schedule is to be generated using the league's software package. The Commissioner reserves the right to adjust the schedule as needed to comply with 'traditional' rivalries and in the event of unforeseen circumstances such as a natural disaster or NFL strike. In each game the team with the highest score is declared the winner. Ties stand during the regular season and count as 1/2 a win in determining the standings.

 Rosters and Trade Regulations: Roster limits and regulations are found at Reports-->Rules-->League Settings. There are no maximum or minimum at any position. Rosters are frozen after the trading deadline or final waiver period (whichever is later) until the conclusion of the season except for post-season waivers as outlined above. Transactions: There is no limit on the number of transactions a team may make in a season other than the fact that teams are limited to the waiver restrictions outlined above. There are NO transaction fees other than waiver claim fees. Trades in General: Only trades involving tangible players/picks are permitted. No non-league assents (beer, cash, etc.) can be included. All trades/deals are automatically sent to the Commissioner for approval. They are official once he approves them. Unbalanced trades (2 for 1, etc.) are permitted if roster limits are not exceeded. Any trade that draws a complaint or appears to give an obvious edge to either involved team is subject to be reviewed by the Commissioner and/or the committee. Traded players may not be reacquired, except via waivers, by the same team during the current season. Trading of 'future' picks is prohibited. Any new owner who obtains a franchise will be liable to honor any such traded picks. Trades in Season: Owners are free to trade players as the opportunities present themselves. Players from any position may be traded. Trades are not permitted after the trading deadline (which follows the conclusion of Week 12 games). Trades made, or reported to the Commissioner, after the start of play in any week are not official until the following week. Waiver cash may be included in trades.

 Each team will have two IR slots available. Players that are officially designated as IR by the NFL (or listed on the NFL COVID list) can be placed in that slot at the discretion of our owners. Those players will remain on our IR for only if they are on IR in the NFL. The MFL system will handle the regulations governing eligibility. Once a player is taken off the NFL's IR list, he must be either activated or dropped in the EHFL. Teams will not be able to submit a lineup with a player in violation of our IR rules. Suspended players are NOT eligible for the EHFL IR list.

 Protected Players (keepers): We no longer allow keepers. As of 2022 we are a total redraft league.

 Annual Draft: Owner Representation: Each owner is required to attend the draft either in person or on the phone, via the online draft site or send a representative. The League will not be responsible for the drafting of players for absent owners unless prior arrangements have been made. The draft will be serpentine, and the order will be determined via MFL randomizing system, normally on the day of the draft but no earlier than 72 hours prior to the draft.

 The commissioner reserves the right to implement a draft timer at any time.

 Post Season:

 Qualifiers, Seeding and Matchups: At the conclusion of the regular season six teams will advance to the play-offs: the three division winners and three wildcards. Wildcards are based on records (our standard tiebreakers are enforced).

 All wildcard qualifiers are seeded by record with our standard tiebreaks applied as needed.

 Teams not making the playoffs lose their ability to enter lineups, waive players, or make claims or trades. Likewise for teams as they are eliminated from the postseason.

 The top two seeded division winners get byes, the third division winner gets the #3 seed. The wildcards (4 thru 6) are then seeded by record with #3 playing #6 and #4 playing #5. The bracket is not re-seeded for the second (semi-final) round. The Hughes Bowl features the two semi-final winners and determines the EHFL champion.

 Standings Tiebreakers: The EHFL uses an adjusted version of the NFL's conference tie-breaking procedures in determining play-off qualifiers. Details can be found in the League Links section on the homepage.

 Post-Season Game Tiebreakers: All playoff games will feature a tie-breaking procedure as follows: Lineups are to include a 'sudden death' player (SDP) who will be used in the event of a tie score. The sudden death player may be any rostered non-starter. In the event of a tie the win goes to the team with the most points by their SDP. If the SDPs are tied the game is decided by (1) total yards in receiving, rushing, and passing by the 8-player starting lineup (not including SDP) and the yardage length of field goals by the kicker. In the event a game is still tied the tiebreak continues to 2) Highest seeded team advances in a game prior to the Hughes Bowl (see #3). 3) Hughes Bowl ties at this point will be determined by extending the game thru Wk 18 and including points accumulated over both Wk 17 and 18.