League Contract

League prize pot

The following charges fund the league prize pot:

League buy-in

$100 per team.

Waiver wire pickups

$1 per pickup.

Additional draft auction funds

Each $10 paid during the draft purchases an additional $50 in auction money. The $10 payment goes into the prize pot; the $50 is draft auction money.

Rookie player auctions

Payments made through rookie player auctions go into the prize pot.

Separate competition fees

These fees are separate from the league prize pot:

Weekly category competition

$50 per team. See the Side Competitions tab for payouts.

Home run pool Optional

$50 per participating team. See the Side Competitions tab for draft rules.

Prize payouts

Third place: league-pot charges waived

The third-place team has all of its league-pot charges waived:

• The $100 league buy-in.
• All waiver wire pickup fees.
• All payments for additional draft auction funds.
• All rookie player auction payments.

First and second place: remaining pot

After accounting for the third-place team's waived charges, the remaining league prize pot is split as follows:

First place

70% of the remaining pot.

Second place

30% of the remaining pot.

Separate fees remain due. The third-place waiver does not cover the $50 weekly category competition fee or the optional $50 home run pool fee. The third-place team must still pay both applicable fees.

Pre-draft roster cuts

Before draft day, each team must reduce its roster to no more than 30 total players.

The 30-player limit includes all players on the team: active, injured list (IL), and minor league players. IL and minor league players do not receive an exemption from this limit.

All players released during these pre-draft cuts enter the draft pool and are available to be drafted.

Draft order & format

The order for both the minor league draft and auction nominations is the reverse of the previous season's final standings after the playoffs: last place goes first and first place goes last.

First draft: minor league players

The league holds two roster drafts, plus a separate optional home run pool draft. The first roster draft is exclusively for minor league players.

Draft format

A regular, non-snake draft. The draft order stays the same in every round.

Player eligibility

Players listed by Fantrax as minor league players are eligible for the minor league draft. Fantrax's listing determines eligibility.

Minor league roster spots

Each team has 7 total minor league roster spots. Teams may leave spots empty and are not required to fill all 7.

Second draft: auction draft

The second draft is an auction draft open to all available players, rather than only minor league prospects.

Starting auction budget

Each team receives $150 in auction money.

Additional auction money

Teams may pay $10 in real money for an additional $50 in auction money. There is no limit on the number of additional auction money purchases. Each real-money payment goes into the league prize pot.

Nomination order

The order is non-snake. After the 10th team nominates a player, the order returns to the first team and repeats in the same order.

Tied auction bids

If bids are tied, the team that nominated the player wins the tiebreaker if it is still in the bidding. If the nominating team is no longer in the bidding, priority goes to the first bidder among the tied teams.

Auction roster limit

Teams may continue bidding until their active roster reaches 30 players. IL and minor league players do not count toward this 30-player active roster limit.

Draft auction money is separate from real money. Players are purchased using the team's auction budget. The $10 payment for extra auction funds is a real-money charge.

The two 30-player limits count differently. The pre-draft cutdown counts every player, including IL and minor league players. The auction limit counts only the active roster, excluding IL and minor league players.

Minor league promotions & demotions

When an owned minor league player is called up to the majors, the owner must move that player to the active roster before performing any other team actions.

If a player is sent back down to the minors, the owner may return that player to a minor league roster spot.

Draft-day penalties

Ineligible minor league pick

If a team selects a player who is not listed by Fantrax as a minor league player in the minor league draft, the person making the pick owes a shot.

Misspelled player name

Anyone who misspells a player's name during the draft owes a shot.

Waiver claims & rookie bidding

1. A player enters the waiver pool

Only players currently on MLB teams appear in the waiver pool. Minor league players and unsigned free agents are excluded.

When a player is called up to the majors or an MLB team signs a veteran free agent during the season, that player enters the pool on waivers and becomes available for claims.

2. Submit your claim

Waiver bids are for real money. A rookie waiver bid is a bid in actual dollars, not draft auction money or a virtual budget. Any resulting auction charge is owed in real money and goes into the league prize pot, in addition to the separate $1 pickup fee.

Non-rookie bids above $0 will be canceled. Fantrax will accept bids above $0 for non-rookies, but league rules do not allow them. The commissioner will cancel any non-rookie waiver claim submitted with a bid above $0. Only rookies may receive bids above $0.

• Rookies: A player is eligible for paid rookie waiver bidding if MLB considers them a rookie at the time the waiver claim is processed. Once MLB no longer considers the player a rookie, claims must use a $0 bid.
• Non-rookies: Submit a $0 bid to claim the player. Bids above $0 are not allowed.

3. Make changes before bidding closes

Your initial bid is not locked in. You may raise or lower a rookie bid before the waiver bidding deadline—for example, from $50 to $10. Non-rookie claims must remain at $0.

Review and edit your bid in Fantrax's Pending Transactions menu, which also shows the waiver processing date and time. Your final submitted amount at the deadline is the bid that counts.

4. Claims are decided

The league uses Vickrey/Proxy (eBay-style) bidding. The highest bidder wins, but pays the next-highest submitted bid rather than their own maximum bid.

For example, if one team bids $10 and another bids $2, the $10 bidder wins and owes $2 in real money for the auction, plus the separate $1 pickup fee—$3 total.

If bids are tied, the team higher in the waiver priority order receives the player. This includes competing $0 claims for a non-rookie.

An uncontested bid costs $0. If you are the only team to submit a bid or claim for a player, the auction charge is $0, regardless of your submitted bid. For example, if you bid $10 on a rookie and no other team submits a bid or claim, you receive the player for $0 rather than $10.

5. The pickup fee applies

Each successful waiver wire pickup carries a separate $1 fee. A $0 claim does not waive that fee. Rookie auction payments also go into the league prize pot.

Weekly category competition

Entry fee

$50 per team, separate from the league prize pot.

Weekly payout

The competition pays out $25 each week.

Category selection

The commissioner randomly selects the category each week by spinning a wheel.

Ties

If there is a tie, that week's payout rolls over to the next week. If no weeks remain, the remaining payout, including any accumulated rollover money, is split equally among all teams tied for the win.

Home run pool Optional

Entry fee

$50 per participating team, separate from the league prize pot.

Draft day

A separate home run pool draft takes place on draft day.

Selections

Each participating team selects 4 players.

Scoring window

Home runs count from the beginning of the season through the end of the season.

Payout

Winner takes all: the team with the most total home runs from its 4 selected players receives the entire home run pool pot.

Draft order

Names are drawn from a hat to determine the draft order.

Draft format

Snake draft: the order reverses after each round.

Playoffs

Eight teams qualify for the playoffs.

The playoff bracket is reseeded after each round, with the highest remaining seed facing the lowest remaining seed.

Regular-season ties

There are no tiebreakers for regular-season matchups. If a matchup ends in a tie, both teams receive a tie.

Standings tiebreakers

Ties in the standings, including those affecting playoff qualification and seeding, are resolved in this order:

1. Head-to-head record versus all teams tied with.
2. Most total category points for the entire season.
3. Random selection.

Playoff matchup tiebreakers

Tied playoff matchups are decided using the following rules, in order. Move to the next rule only if the tie remains unresolved:

1. Head-to-head record versus all teams tied with.
2. Highest seed.
3. Home team gets the win.

Stat corrections

Stat corrections follow the league's Fantrax stat-freeze settings:

Each scoring period

Stats freeze 1 day (24 hours) after the final game of the scoring period is completed. Corrections applied before that deadline count toward the period's results.

End of season

Stats freeze 3 days (72 hours) after the last game night of the season.

Corrections applied after the applicable freeze deadline do not change the league's results.

League voting & trade vetoes

League-wide votes

League-wide proposals require unanimous approval from all teams to pass.

Trade vetoes

Trade vetoes are an exception to the unanimity requirement. A trade requires 5 votes in favor of a veto to be vetoed.

League conduct

Owner activity

All teams are expected to keep their lineups up to date throughout the season.

• Fill your active roster: Keep every active roster spot filled.
• Manage starting pitchers: Start your pitchers for their scheduled outings. Strategically choosing to sit a pitcher is allowed.
• Keep injured players out of the active lineup: Do not leave players who are on the MLB injured list in active roster spots.
• Clear ineligible IL spots: Move players off your fantasy IL when they are activated from the MLB injured list.
• Stay competitive: Continue managing your team and making an effort to compete throughout the season.

Reasonable injury exceptions apply. If injuries overwhelm a team's available roster and IL spots, the owner is not required to drop players worth retaining solely to fill every active spot or remove every injured player from the active roster. These expectations should account for the team's injury situation and whether the owner is continuing to actively manage the team.

If the league determines that an owner is consistently failing to set their lineup, the league may remove that owner and bring in a replacement.

Owner removal requires unanimous approval from all other teams. The owner being considered for removal does not vote and is excluded from the approval requirement. In a 10-team league, all 9 other teams must approve the removal.

New owners

League members may suggest prospective new owners. The commissioner makes the final decision on who joins the league, including replacement owners.

League punishment: pending a vote

The league plans to establish a punishment. The punishment and who it applies to must be decided by a league-wide vote, with unanimous approval required. No punishment has been finalized under this proposal.