RULES AND REGULATIONS 

 
 

The Alternative Football Association is an Internet computer football league that employs the Action PC Football simulation. It is a GM-style league in which owners build rosters and set lineups. Unless otherwise arranged, the league host simulates the games and posts results and statistics on the league WWW site.

Quick Usage Rules

  • 44 man rosters
  • 125 pass attempts to start at QB
  • 100 rush attempts to start at RB
  • 10 punt returns to start at PR
  • 10 kickoff returns to start at KR

    Rosters and Eligibility

    AFA teams employ 44-man rosters. Players are eligible for a particular AFA season only if they appear on the season disk issued by the game company.

    Further eligibility restrictions apply to running backs and quarterbacks. At least one of the running backs starting for a team *in any game* must have had 100 or more rushing attempts in the preceding fall development league season. A quarterback must have compiled 125 fall league passing attempts to start any game in the AFA. Kick and punt returners must have compiled at least 10 returns in the fall league to be the featured returner for an AFA team.

    If a player misses an entire fall development season because of injury, he is ineligible for the following AFA season and becomes a free agent in the AFA if or when he returns in the future.

    Drop/Add

    AFA teams may claim a player off the free agent list and drop a current roster player up until the trading deadline. To be acquired as an in-season drop/add acquisition, the player must be on the disk and must have appeared in at least three games in the preceeding fall development season.

    After the fall league begins, and before the AFA trading deadline kicks in, drop/adds may only be done if the team uses the newly acquired player as a starter. This rule is intended to discourage teams from snatching up newly emerging fall league stars and hiding them on the bench. If you claim 'em, you gotta play 'em. Teams are restricted to three of these rebuilding drop/adds during the overlap period.

    Trading

    No trades are allowed after the AFA trading deadline, which kicks in after a designated week of the 18-week season. Trading may resume after the AFA season and continue up until the next season's deadline. Once teams have worked out a deal, both parties need to inform the league host before it is official. Draft picks may be included in deals.

    Injury Replacements

    If you lose a player to injury for three games or more, you are entitled to raid the free agent list for a replacement. When the injured player returns, the replacement must be released to make room. If you grab an injury replacement after the trading deadline, he automatically becomes a free agent once the injured guy returns or at the end of the AFA season. Punters and kicker injuries are exempt from the three game rule.

    Injured Reserve

    When the disk comes out in the Spring, if a player you owned from the previous season is not on the disk for whatever reason (injury, PED suspension, etc.), you may place up to ONE player on Injured Reserve. This player occupies one of your 44 roster spots for the entire duration of the season, and may not be dropped or traded.

    Annual Draft

    Each spring, prior to the start of a new AFA season, each team cuts down from 44 man rosters to 34 man rosters. A 10-round draft is held, with supplemental rounds optional should two more more teams wish to continue. Draft order is determined for non-playoff teams on the basis of regular-season records. Head-to-head results will serve as the tiebreaker and, if the two teams split, net points will break the tie. For playoff teams, the order is determined as follows: The champion is 16th. The runner-up is 15th. The losing semi-finalists are 13th and 14, respectively, their seeding determining which is which. The quarterfinal losers are nos. 9-12, with their seeding serving as the tiebreaker; (i.e., if the 5-8 seeds lose in the quarterfinals, the 8 seed will draft 9th, the 7 seed will draft 10th, etc.)

    Schedule

    The AFA plays an 18 game schedule, without byes, facing all 3 divisional opponents twice, home and away, while facing the remaining 12 teams one time each.

    Playoffs

    After the 18 week season is complete, 8 of 16 teams qualify for the playoffs. The four division winners are seeded #1 thru #4, with 4 wild cards seeded #5 thru #8. Seeding is in order of record, with the tie-breakers being head to head record, followed by point differential, followed by a coin flip. A standard 8 team bracket is used (#1 plays #8, #2 v. #7, etc.), with the final two teams meeting in the AFA Bowl.