Welcome to SportSims - The Ultimate In Online Fantasy Football Simulation Games. Play for FREE!

SALARY LEAGUE OVERVIEW
Do you think you can manage a professional football team better than the guys who do? Here�s your chance! Start your football franchise in your choice of 32 cities. Bid for and sign Free Agents. Draft players in the live SimDraft. Send them to Training Camp. Customize your GamePlan. Lead your team into every game of a 16-game season and post-season. Endure player injuries and retirements. Then do it all over again year after year under a Salary Cap to build your football dynasty! In this Rule Book, each phase of the game is explained in detail. Read the entire rule book, or scroll down to a specific category.

TIMELINE...WHAT HAPPENS WHEN?
Days 1-4: Pre-Draft and Free Agency; Day 5: Live Draft; Days 6-7: Training Camp; Day 8: Finalize Roster and Pay Player Salaries; Days 9-24: Games 1-16; Days 25-27: Playoffs; Day 28: SimBowl.

PRE-DRAFT... WHAT IS IT AND WHAT DO I DO?
The Pre-Draft lasts four days. View your roster and players to prioritize what your team needs. Scout the Draft List to view players and their scouting reports. Players are sorted by position and current rating. Next fill out your Draft Plan. Use the CPU analyzer to help you determine what players your team needs. If you will be away from your computer on Draft day, or if the 90-second draft clock runs out during your pick, the CPU will access your Draft Plan to make your team�s selection.

You can also make player and/or draft pick trades with other owners and sign Free Agents.

FREE AGENCY - HOW DOES IT WORK?
On Day 1, any Players whose contracts have expired or any Player who has been actively cut from a team will be placed in Free Agency. You may place a bid on any and as many players in Free Agency as you wish. Type your maximum bid for the Player in the bid box and whichever Owner has the highest bid at midnight of Day 6 signs that Player.

The bidding process is an Ebay-style bid process where you type in your maximum bid and SportSims places bids on your behalf in increments of 0.1 SimPoints. SportSims bids only as much as necessary to make sure you remain the high bidder, up to your maximum amount. When placing a bid, your maximum bid must be 0.1 higher than the current bid - bids lower than the current high bid are not accepted. You must have enough SimPoints banked to cover the Maximum Bids of the combined total of the bids you're winning.

When bidding on Free Agents from Days 1-6, the Free Agents you acquire will not be paid for until Day 8 when your team salaires are paid. When acquiring Free Agents after Day 8, the amount you pay for the Free Agent will be deducted from your Bank at the time you sign him.

SIMPOINTS - WHAT ARE THEY?
SimPoints are the official currency of SportSims.net. They are used primarily to pay Player Salaries in the Salary Leagues and may be used for future premium content. Owners can purchase SimPoints at any time and are sold in 25 SP ($1), 140 SP ($5), 300 SP ($10) and 700 SP ($20) increments. They are non-transferable, non-refundable and do not expire.

TRADES... WHAT CAN I DO?
In a word... anything!

You may choose as many players and draft picks from your team as you wish to trade. You can propose a trade to a specific team owner by offering players and picks, or you may make a player(s) available to any team in your league.

Important: The trade deadline is Day 8.

EXTENDING PLAYER CONTRACTS
You can sign a contract extension with any Player on your Roster as long as the Player is in the last year of his contract. Just click on the contract link from your Roster page. You can choose to re-sign the Player to a 3, 4, 5, or 6-year contract extension.

CUTTING PLAYERS
You always have the option to cut any player from your roster by going to the Cut Players tab and selecting the player you wish to cut. You may be assessed a Cut Penalty for cutting your player, depending on the length of his contract, how many years remain on his contract and his current salary. For example, a player with four years remaining on his contract getting paid 15 SimPoints per year would be charged a Cut Penalty of 30 SimPoints (It is calculated this way: Years x SPs x 50% = Cut Penalty). The Cut Penalty is not counted against your Salary Cap, but is deducted from your SimPoint balance. This rule is in place so that you can cut an expensive player in order to get below the cap but with a penalty, simulating real life.

PLAYER RATINGS... WHAT DO THEY MEAN?
General Player Ratings for every player: Rating � current talent level on a scale from 1 to 100. In general, a 95 is star-level, a 90 is a good starter, an 85 is a solid starter, and a 80 is an average starter. Anything below 80 is back-up quality. Potential � the highest rating this player may achieve, on a scale from 1 to 100. Experience � how much this player has played, whether in games as a starter or back-up, or in practice. Durability � how susceptible a player is to injury. The higher the durability number, the more resilient he is; 50 is average. Leadership � a reflection of the player�s ability to lead his team. Leadership is listed in the Player Information screen.

Please note: QBs and RBs have two ratings: QB ratings are passer rating/running ability; RB ratings are rushing ability/pass catching.

PLAYER RATINGS... WHAT ARE POSITION-DEPENDENT RATINGS?
Position-dependant Ratings are found in the Player Information screen and are unique to certain positions.

Offense
QB: Accuracy� completion percentage and interception rating; Deep Pass�throwing downfield; Pass Endurance�pass attempts per game; Pocket Awareness�times sacked; RB: Running Ability� yards per carry; Run Endurance� carries per game; Breakaway� long runs; Blocking� blocking; Fumble Prevention� holding onto the ball. WR: Catching� catching the ball; Deep Threat� getting downfield; Blocking� blocking; Fumble Prevention� holding onto the ball. TE: Catching�catching the ball; Deep Threat � getting downfield; Blocking� blocking; Fumble Prevention� holding onto the ball. OL: Run Blocking� block on running plays; Pass Blocking� block on passing plays.

Defense
DL: Run Defense� against the run; Pass Rush� getting sacks. LB: Run Defense�against the run; Pass Coverage�covering receivers; Blitzing� getting sacks/Blitz. DB: Run Defense�against the run; Pass Coverage� covering receivers; Interceptions� getting interceptions; Blitzing�get sacks/Blitz.

Special Teams
K: Accuracy� converting field goals; Leg Strength� hitting long field goals. P: Accuracy�placing punts inside the 20; Leg Strength� hitting long punts. KR: Kick Return�return kickoffs for a good average; Breakaway�long returns, including touchdowns. PR: Punt Return�return punts for a good average; Breakaway�long returns, including touchdowns.

DRAFT ORDER... HOW IS IT DETERMINED?
Draft order is based upon the reverse order of regular season standings. If two or more teams are tied in the selection order, the strength-of-schedule tie breaker is applied with the team with the weaker schedule awarded the higher pick. If any ties cannot be broken by strength of schedule, they are broken by a "coin flip". Draft order is subject to the following exception for SimBowl teams: The SimBowl winner is last and the SimBowl loser is next-to-last.

LIVE DRAFT... HOW DOES IT WORK?
The Live Draft takes place on one day - a Sunday. (Day 5) Get caught up in the electrifying selection process to acquire new talent for your team.

Any trades for picks or players made with other team owners prior to draft day are finalized. The draft order, draft list and player details can be viewed during the Live Draft. The draft clock visible on your screen displays how much time remains for each team making their selection. When you�re �on the clock,� you will make your selection from the available players. You can make some or all SimDraft picks yourself or the CPU will make your selections for you (based on your pre-determined HotList and Draft Plan) if you do not make them.

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT... HOW DO PLAYERS IMPROVE?
Each player�s development is unique, but does follow a general pattern. Players improve with experience. Young players progress by completing the "REPS" assigned to them during training camp and by starting in games during the season. While players do gain experience just by being on your roster, starters benefit most by gaining more experience. Who will start (and thus gain the most experience) is your choice. Players continue to improve until they reach their peak potential. As age and injuries increase, a player�s rating declines and will ultimately lead to his retirement.

TRAINING CAMP... WHO GETS THE REPS?
Training Camp takes place over two days (Days 6-7). Training Camp enables you to select how much training your players will receive.

Assign each player with �REPS� which will improve his performance. Training camp will increase each player�s experience and durability ratings. Keep in mind, the more REPS you assign a player the more his chances of a first-game injury increases (as a result of training camp fatigue).

FINALIZE MY ROSTER... WHY AND WHEN DO I DO IT?
You have one day to finalize your roster (Day 8). When it's time to finalize your Roster, you will be told how many Players must be cut. All Rosters must be trimmed to 55 Players; no more, no less. You will then pay your Player's salaries for that season from your bank of SimPoints. You are only responsible for the current year's salary.

GAMEPLAN... HOW DO I SET MINE UP?
Set up your Gameplan to reflect the skills of the players. There are several styles of gameplan templates you can choose. The templates are provided as a jumping off point - you can modify them to maximize your talent. After modifications, click on "Submit GamePlan" for it to be saved and used. If you so desire, you can modify your GamePlan before each and every game.

GAMES... HOW ARE THEY PLAYED?
Games last 16 days (Days 9-24) with one game per day. For each game, you have the choice of viewing the QuickSim (allowing you to track the game�s progression in mere seconds), or getting your boxscore. The statistics and records for your league can be viewed at any time during the season.

INJURIES... WHAT TYPES ARE THERE? HOW DO I MANAGE THEM?
In Training Camp, the more �reps� a player gets, the more his chance of injury increases. During the season, your starters have an greater chance of injury than other team members. Injuries can range from �nagging� to �career-ending�. Nagging (NAG): 1 to 3 weeks. If played during his injury, he will play at 95% of his ability. Minor (MIN): 1 to 4 weeks. If played during his injury, he will play at 90% of his ability. Moderate (MOD): 2 to 6 weeks. If played during his injury, he will play at 75% of his ability. Major (MAJ): 3 to 12 weeks. Players hurt this badly will not play. Season-ending (SEA): Player is out for the rest of the Season. Career-ending (CAR): Player is out for the rest of the season and will retire. Please note that if you play an injured player, he will have an increased chance of receiving another injury.

Injured Reserve (IR): You may place injured players (those with moderate, major, or season-ending injuries) on IR. This frees up a roster spot to sign a Free Agent to replace the injured player. The player will remain on IR for the rest of the season (and can�t play in any game for the rest of the year, including the playoffs) and will recover quicker from his injury.

Injuries have a cumulative effect over the course of a player�s career. The only way to reduce these effects is to rest the player either on reserve or on IR.

TIEBREAKERS... HOW ARE THEY DETERMINED (Division)?
The following procedures will be used to break standings ties for postseason playoffs. To Break A Tie Within A Division: If, at the end of the regular season, two or more teams in the same division finish with identical won-lost-tied percentage (WLT%), the following steps will be taken until a champion is determined.

Two Teams:
1) Head-to-head (best WLT% in games between the teams.
2) Best WLT% in games played within the division.
3) Best WLT% in games played within the conference.
4) Best net points in division games.
5) Best net points in all games.
6) Strength of schedule.
7) Best net TDs in all games.
8) Coin toss.

Three or more Teams: (Note: If two teams remain tied after the 3rd (or more) team is eliminated during any step, tiebreaker reverts to step 1 of the two-team format.)
1) Head-to-head (best WLT% in games among the teams).
2) Best WLT% in games played within the division.
3) Best WLT% in games played within the conference.
4) Best net points in division games.
5) Best net points in all games.
6) Strength of schedule.
7) Best net TDs in all games.
8) Coin toss.

TIEBREAKERS... HOW ARE THEY DETERMINED (Wild Card)?
The following procedures will be used to break standings ties for postseason playoffs.

To Break A Tie For The Wild-Card Team: If it is necessary to break ties to determine the two Wild-Card teams from each conference, the following steps will be taken:
1) Head-to-Head, if applicable (all teams in a tied group must have played all other teams in the tied group)
2) Best WLT% in games played within the conference.
3) Best net points in conference games.
4) Best net points in all games.
5) Strength of schedule.
6) Best net TDs in all games.
7) Coin toss.

Seeding: After the six playoff teams are chosen, they are seeded 1-6. The teams are seeded by record: 1-4 are division winners; 5 and 6 are Wild Cards. When two seeds play each other, the higher seed gets Home Game status.

PLAYOFFS/SIMBOWL... HOW DO I MAKE IT?
The playoffs and SimBowl are the last 4 days of the season (Days 25-28) To make it, you must win your division or be a Wild Card team. Then, your team will undergo tiebreakers. (See separate Rule for understanding tiebreakers.) The playoff brackets can be viewed after the regular season and they are updated as the games are played. My Career, Awards, the Hall of Fame and Standings are updated after the playoffs.

RETIREMENTS... HOW DO THEY HAPPEN?
At a certain point in a player�s career, the game will become too physically or mentally demanding for a player and he will retire. What factors into a player's retirement?
1) How well he is currently playing (his Player Rating),
2) His age,
3) His injury history/durability,
4) His playing status - starter or back-up, and
5) His team's record.