Note: Passages listed in red are new rule changes for the 2004 season.

A franchise fee of $20 is due at the draft. The money will be placed in the kitty, which, when combined with fees for free agent signings, is awarded at the end of the season to:

• 35 percent to the season points winner
• 20 percent to the Tech Bowl winner
• 15 percent to each division winner
• 5 percent to each division runner-up and the Tech Bowl loser

Also awarded are weekly money winners. The team with the highest point total in each division for each week will receive 5 cents per point from each divisional opponent that finishes below it for the week. For example, Team A (A Division) scores 70 points. Team B (A Division) finishes with 65. Team C (B Division) has 50, and Team D (B Division) has 49. Team B owes Team A 25 cents (5 cents x 5 points). Team D owes Team C 5 cents, but owes Team A nothing. The commissioner will compile each week's scores and post the winning team and its winnings. Each team's profit/loss status will be updated weekly on the Web site. Weekly winners will be awarded through Week 17.

All profits/losses will be settled after the season ends.

The player draft is conducted in reverse order of the previous year's finish in the points standings, with any new franchises picking after the incumbents. Draft order is reversed in even rounds. Each owner has two minutes to make a selection. Failure to pick within 2 minutes results in the offending owner being severely heckled and skipped and returned to after the next pick has been completed.

The draft will last a maximum of 18 rounds. Owners will have the option of forfeiting their 17th and/or 18th round picks. There is no minimum or maximum limit on the number of players drafted per position. Available positions are as follows: QB, RB, WR, TE, K and team defense.

Active rosters will consist of a maximum 18 total players/defense(s) until starting lineups are due for Week 3. At that point, owners must cut 2 position players from their active roster. Each team will also have a 1-player "injured reserve" slot. Once a player is placed on injured reserve, he cannot be started, released or traded for a 4-week "freeze" period, unless the owner agrees to pay an "early withdrawal" penalty fee of $1 to "unfreeze" said player. After the 4-week freeze period is over, the player can be released, traded, returned to the active roster or returned to injured reserve for another 4-week period. Any player whose term expires and whose owner has not made an acceptable transaction with the commissioner will automatically have his status on injured reserve renewed for another 4-week period.

Before Week 1, owners will turn in a starting lineup consisting of 1 quarterback, 2 running backs, 2 wide receivers, 1 tight end, 1 wild card (additional RB, WR or TE), 1 kicker and 1 defense. Starting lineups must be submitted to the commissioner via phone, e-mail or in person by 1 p.m. Sunday. After Week 1, it is each owner's responsibility to notify the Commish of any change in lineup. The Commish will not update starting lineups for owners who neglect to do so, even if they are starting players who aren't on their roster anymore, are hurt or really suck. On weeks with Thursday or Saturday games, owners must notify the commissioner before kickoff of that day's first game if they want to start a player participating.

Teams will accumulate points based on their starting lineup's performance that week. The following scoring chart will be used to determine each player's production. The Commish will use the NFL.com scoreboard as the official stats provider.

Punts or kickoffs returned for touchdowns will be scored as a run. Yardage accumulated on punt or kickoff returns, or fumble recoveries or interceptions, do not count. A player who returns a fumble or interception for a touchdown will have their score counted as a run (fumble recovery) or catch (interception). Fumble recoveries in the end zone (zero yards) will be scored the same as a 1-yard touchdown run.

The first 13 weeks of the NFL regular season will be TFFL's regular season. Weeks 14-16 will serve as the league's 3-round playoff, while Week 17 will be free of Head-2-Head matchups.

The regular season will work this way: From Weeks 1-13, teams will play scheduled Head-2-Head matchups, with the winner receiving a 5-point bonus. For example, Team A is matched with Team B for Week 2. Team A defeats Team B 95 points to 70 points, so Team A will be awarded an extra 5 points for the win, for a 100-point total. The 5-point win bonus is only recorded in the standings and does not figure into weekly winnings.

The Head-2-Head schedule is determined by splitting the 10-team league into two divisions, with each team playing divisional opponents twice and non-divisional opponents once in a 13-week regular season. The Commish uses a complicated formula (to him, anyway) involving league tenure, average finish and average number of points scored to determine divisional teams. Divisions are reconfigured on a yearly basis by the Commish.

Head-2-Head records at the conclusion of Week 13 will determine seedings for the 3-round playoffs, beginning in Week 14. The first-round matchups will be: Division A 1-4, 2-3; Division B 1-4, 2-3. The team with the worst record in each division does not qualify for the playoffs. The second round pits division semifinal winners. The Tech Bowl will pit division winners. The 5-point bonus system will not be in use during the playoffs.

In the event of a tie at the end of Week 13, the team with the most overall points will get the higher seed in the playoffs. If they have the same overall points, the team winning the regular-season series between the two teams will get the higher seed. If they split that, we'll determine position by higher point total in Week 13, then Week 12 (if tied in most recent week), then so on.

In the event of a tie in a playoffs game, the total number of touchdowns (including defensive) scored by each team's starters will be used as a tiebreaker. If each team has scored the same number of touchdowns, total team yardage will be used as the secondary tiebreaker. Qualifying yardage is as follows: for QBs, passing and rushing; for RBs, WRs and TEs, rushing and receiving.

Rosters are frozen at 1 p.m. Sunday and will remain frozen until 9 a.m. the following Tuesday. All transactions must be reported between 9 a.m. Tuesday and 1 p.m. Sunday.

Trades are permitted until 1 p.m. Sunday, prior to the start of Week 14's games. Players can only be waived or signed after that period. Trades are for players only, and may not involve draft picks for the next season, cash, beads, trinkets or beaver pelts. Teams may trade draft picks during the offseason, but they will not be made official until two weeks prior to the draft date. First-year franchises are not allowed to trade draft picks.

Free agents (unclaimed players not on waivers*) may be signed based on a team's position in the point standings as of 9 a.m. Tuesday. Free agent signings will cost 25 cents each. There is no limit on the number of free agents that may be signed per team or per week. The following schedule will be used:
10th place -- 9 a.m. Tuesday through 1 p.m. Sunday.
9th place -- 1 p.m. Tuesday through 1 p.m. Sunday.
8th place -- 5 p.m. Tuesday through 1 p.m. Sunday.
7th place -- 9 a.m. Wednesday through 1 p.m. Sunday.
6th place -- 1 p.m. Wednesday through 1 p.m. Sunday.
5th place -- 5 p.m. Wednesday through 1 p.m. Sunday.
4th place -- 9 a.m. Thursday through 1 p.m. Sunday.
3rd place -- 1 p.m. Thursday through 1 p.m. Sunday.
2nd place -- 5 p.m. Thursday through 1 p.m. Sunday.
1st place -- 9 a.m. Friday through 1 p.m. Sunday.

In the event of a tie in the standings, the team with the worse record will receive the earlier pickup time. If said teams are still tied, the team with the lower ranking in the previous week's standings will receive the earlier pickup time. In the event of a tie in Week 1, the team with the worse ranking at the end of the previous season will receive the earlier pickup time.

Any player released from a team's roster is considered to be on waivers and is subject to separate signing guidelines than free agents. At the time of a player's release, he is subject to a waiver period that lasts until 4 p.m. Friday. During the waiver period, all teams may submit a claim on that player, but no team may sign him as a free agent. At the conclusion of the waiver period, the player will be awarded to the team submitting a claim that has the highest ranking on the waiver priority list. This list will be separate and unrelated to the current free agent pickup rankings.

Players that pass through the waiver period unclaimed will become free agents. A list of players subject to the current week's waiver period would be displayed on the transactions page. Players signed off waivers would cost the usual quarter paid for free agents. All players released after noon on Friday will be placed into the following week's waiver pool, so as to give all teams a fair period of time to review the waiver list and submit a claim.

The original waiver wire list will be set according to the prior season's finish (inverse draft order). Once a team submitting a claim on a player is awarded that player, that team will drop to the back of the list, and all other teams will move up one position. This "rolling" list will stay in effect the entire season.

Teams may apply for unlimited waiver pickups per week, but must rank the players according to preference. Teams may cancel a claim on a player at any time before 4 p.m. Friday.

A league commissioner shall be elected by a majority vote of the owners to a one-year term at the conclusion of each season. A TFFL commissioner shall keep all records and statistics and stuff so we'll know who wins what, and shall also compile other types of information as directed by a majority vote of the owners, and shall make this information available via the internet. The commissioner shall be empowered to arbitrate disputes, provide interpretations and make league rulings ONLY in the event such differences cannot be decided by a majority vote of the owners. As compensation, the commissioner's $20 entry fee will be waived.

A listing of suggested rule changes will be made available on the league Web site throughout the season. Owners may submit ideas and comments about existing suggestions at any time. The Commish will conduct offseason voting on each suggestion. Any suggestion needs more than 50 percent approval of the league's returning owners to pass (that's six votes for 10 returnees, five votes for nine returnees, etc.). All returning owners are required to vote unless all issues have been decided before they submit their ballot.

Owners can also make rules changes suggestions effective for the coming season at the draft, provided all owners have a chance to vote (including new/expansion teams) and the rule change would not affect draft preparation (something like a change in scoring criteria). Rule changes that have been suggested and turned down in the previous offseason's balloting are not eligible.