DISCORD Channel link: Real Team Allegiance League on DISCORD
This is a place you can talk to other members of this league and me - the commissioner - in real time all year round (in or out of season) and is hosted on my BLM Fantasy Games server where I have separate channels for different sports and separate fantasy draft type leagues I run.
REAL TEAM ALLEGIANCE
Keeper Deadline Date: Sunday, Aug 28, 2022
Live Draft Date: Monday, Aug 29, 2022 at 3:00pm US EDT / 8:00pm UK BST (Auction style draft)
Full RTA settings can be viewed here: RTA League Settings
Bold & Boxed text always means new for this season (to aide returning GMâs to quickly find internal rule changes or new rules).
This league was my smallest ever league - just 10 teams - but from 2020 was expanded after a poll in 2019 voted for this. The poll result (see below) went in favour of just having two expansion teams and becoming a 12 team league.
For better or worse (often worse when it comes to the live draft client) this league is currently hosted on NFL.com .
I like each and every league I play in to have a different feel and strategy etc. making them unique and very different in how they work. I have plagiarised some rules I have seen mentioned in other peoples custom leagues on other NFL forums over time - they do say that plagiarism is the best form of flattery so if you see any rule you had first being used in this league then all I can say is thank you for the idea.
RULES
As the league name suggests my #1 golden rule will be all team names and logoâs within this league will be of real current NFL teams. In theory you will be coach of your beloved team and there can only be one of any team in the league.
Unbelievably in previous seasons Iâve met resistance from players selecting the current and up to date team logo for their respective teams. Itâs tiring to have to keep asking owners to do this so as itâs my #1 golden rule I am taking the decision to replace owners that canât be arsed to meet this small request. So should a team not display the correct and up to date logo after being asked to do so for 3 consecutive weeks then they will be replaced. YOUâVE BEEN WARNED!
It is a league requirement that you must start 2 players (one Offensive and one Defensive) from your real team every game week - including post season - with the exception of your teams Bye week.
This league is a long term dynasty league so you have the option to select up to 22 keepers from your finishing team the previous season (subject to the internal cap restrictions - see next).
CAP / DRAFT BUDGET
The draft money per team default is 200 and your player roster is 22 players so to make things simple for all and for me to administer it, this is how it works - keepers cost you money from your draft allowance budget as follows:
Any RTA player kept will cost 5 from your draft budget allowance.
All other keepers will cost you 10 from your draft budget allowance.
This is a very simple thing for me to work out annually and leaves all of you to now work out which players on your roster from last year you want to pay that price for or if you should let them go back into the draft and take your chances finding better value there.
Please note you have to carry a minimum of $40m into the live draft room so if you donât have enough to cover paying for all your keepers I will override your keeper settings removing the last player(s) on your keeper list to make sure you have enough to comply with that NFL.com system setting.
(In earlier seasons I used to increase everyoneâs budget to allow for this setting should any ones total keepers mean they didnât have enough to comply with this NFL.com rule setting but from 2018 onward this no longer happens.)
To allow me to adjust the team draft budgets accordingly I have to make the keeper lock date the day before our live draft day so pay attention to the keeper lock date once a draft date has been set for this year.
This league uses an auction style draft (and not the usual snake style draft). From 2017 the draft was changed to a Custom Linear nomination order⊠in a reverse of the previous years final league standings.
Waivers will be done by a blind bid system known on NFL.com as the Waiver Acquisition Budget or WAB for short.
Waiver Acquisition Budget (WAB) - Each team is allotted a seasonal budget. This seasonal budget is the amount of points that each team has at their disposal to bid on available players. The team with the highest bid wins that player and is charged the amount of WAB points that they bid to obtain the player. If you bid on a player, but lose to a higher bid, you do not forfeit the amount of points that you bid. All of the WAB points that you bid will be returned to your seasonal budget. In the event of a tie, the team with higher waiver priority will win the bid.
PLAYER POACHING (Introduced from year 2 onward)
As this league is a maximum keeper league I wanted a way where GMâs could still get hold of their favourite players and change the look of teams season to season. I wanted to have something really different to any other league I am in and so came up with this idea - âPlayer Poachingâ.
In a new twist for this RTA league every week of the regular season (not play-offs) the winner of each game can select one of their starting players from that game and swap him for a starting player from the team they beat - within the following criteria:
Only starting players on each team can be swapped.
The players swapped must be of the same position so QB for QB or LB for LB (not LB for TE etc.).
RTA players are exempted - so any players in the team of the real team represented are protected. So for instance in my case I am GM of the Detroit Lions so any Detroit Lions players in my starting line up can not be poached even if I lose.
Further clarification - after a dispute and poll during week 1 of the 2020 season (see below) no longer can a player that registers zero stats in a game be sent back in a poach request if he did not take part in that weeks game. A zero stat player in a starting line up can still be poached - played or not - but a zero stats player can not be sent back in return unless he took part in a game. Scoring 0 or a minus score is fine as long as the player took part in a game that week. But 0 with no stats (as in did not set foot on the field of play) whatsoever is now forbidden. Any such poach requests will be denied. For avoidance of doubt a player injured in a game regardless of if he is out for the rest of the season or not can still be sent away in a poach - that is just a bad beat and lucky for the team off loading them who still managed to win. For the avoidance of doubt when a player is being sent back in a poach that scored 0 I will use NFLâs GSIS website to check they played in that weeks game. Then poaches will be approved or denied based on if they did play or not according to game stats found there.
More Clarifications / Ruling on Poaching (after being asked a valid question).
If a trade is agreed for a player who is then requested in a poach, the poach request takes precedence with the exception of if the trade was agreed prior to any games starting that week (but then is held over by the system to the following Game Week to process due to a player having played, i.e. on a Thursday). Rule of thumb is donât start a player your trading away. Such Trades will not process or be over ridden by me to do the poach request and should such a trade have gone through between the end of a game week and waivers I will still do the poach request and return the player traded away to the team who has now lost the poached player.
Game winners must post on the leagues message board (aka wall) before midnight Wednesday (going into Thursday) UK time their swap (so everyone can see it). If it breaks any of the above rules it will not be actioned. Assuming it is bona-fide it will be actioned between midnight Wednesday and Thursday morning.
Should any team fail to start the required number of RTA players on any given week (except the teams real bye weeks) then they forgo their chance to poach a player that week should they win!
The Player Poaching rule if everyone buys into it and takes advantage of it throws up new strategies on who you start and sit against other teams as the season unfolds. It will also offer a very new dynamic to get to grips with long term, as well as allow for greater roster movement throughout the season in this dynasty league.
Lastly if a match is a TIE then no poaching occurs.
STRIKES RULE XXX
A three strikes and out policy is in effect in the RTA. The reason for this is I want a competitive but fun league. The bane of most leagues (as anyone who has played for a while knows) is flaky owners that give up when they are not doing well or donât pay enough attention with regard to setting valid line-ups a few weeks in when the initial interest has waned or they have decided their team sucks.
As the RTA is now my joint smallest league (12 teams) I will have no truck with owners who show the league this kind of disrespect.
Strikes are usually only given if you do not win your match up (i.e. lose or tie). In that event then for each player in your starting line up on a BYE, or who was listed as INACTIVE, on INJURED RESERVE or OUT etc. for a game at least one day prior to the actual game-day of said player a strike will be issued (though RTA players are exempt - see more about this below under 'Further Polls that have shaped the RTA rules and regulationsâ). Also a strike will be given for a player who you start that has been CUT as he can not play in a game while he is not with any team and this again is find out-able before game-day. To check any of your players statusâs just click on their name when on your team page and it brings up information about them - if you click the arrows to go back and forth it gives you previous updates and at the top of each update there is a date when that information was published. I use these same updates myself when checking on players that appear not to have played in owners starting line ups and this is how I make a judgement on whether or not a strike is justified. Lastly strikes will also be awarded for each EMPTY spot in your starting line up too - so be careful when picking up free agents off the waiver wire as they donât automatically slot in to your starting line-up even if that was the player you cuts spot.
Also strikes will be awarded for not starting your minimum required Real Team Allegiance players on any weeks other than your real teams Bye week. These Strikes are awarded regardless of whether you win your match or not and is the only way you can pick up strikes when winning your match up (as itâs a fundamental part of this custom league). You will pick up 1 strike per minimum RTA player not started (1 offensive & 1 defensive).
From the 2020 season strikes also became issued for not being seen to vote in an official poll posted within the league on NFL.com. Itâs been the hardest thing for me as a commissioner to get people to engage with me on rules and proposals to do with the league like having a trade deadline, expansion etc., so now itâs mandatory to partake in polls and to be seen to have voted.
I am not sure how you do this on the phone app but to do this via the standard internet using a browser - which can also be done on a smart phone - you scroll down the leagues home page to the message board and to the right of this you will see the latest poll. To the bottom right of this poll box you will see a link that says âMore Polls >â click this and it will open the poll with its message board below it. Here (you may need to scroll down) you sometimes will find more information about the poll and is also the place you type âVotedâ to show you have voted after you have done so in that particular poll. To the top right of the poll you will see an arrow < and that will let you navigate back to see older polls and where you should check you have voted in each one and posted below each one to say you have Voted as if you have not voted or forgotten to post you have and not everyone has voted then anyone I canât be sure did vote will pick up a Strike after 28 days of the Poll being posted. I hate having to do this but for many seasons people have just not been engaging enough to help me shape the league by voting in polls so felt I had to do this so I can weed out and replace non committed GMâs with ones who buy into the ethos behind this dynasty league.
I recognise everyone can make a mistake or have PC issues etc., so that is why it takes 3 Strikes to lose your spot for the following season and 6+ Strikes to be struck out immediately. Strikes also carry over to the following season but with each season one strike is deducted if you werenât banned so if you only earned 1 or 2 strikes in a season and came back the next season your strike tally would be back to 1 (if you had 2) or none (if you had 1). So just like points on a driving license if you have not triggered a ban you can get them slowly removed for good behaviour (or in this case not messing up in starting a valid team each week and voting in official polls).
Later on in a separate post within this thread will be a list of any Struck Out GMâs if that happens as a reminder to me who is no longer welcome in this RTA league and why they were struck out of the RTA (# of strikes picked up - 6+ to be permanently banned).
SURPLUS DRAFT BUDGET RULE (introduced in 2018)
Any unspent live draft funds will be converted to WAB points and added to your seasons WAB budget total.
UNSPENT WAB POINTS (introduced in 2018)
Any unspent WAB points at the end of each season will be carried over and added to a teams Auction Draft budget amount the following season. So the first time this change will be felt will be in the 2019 draft. This change will allow teams to accumulate a bigger salary cap to increase either their live drafting power or mean they can afford to keep every single player on their roster should they wish to do so.
So from the start of the 2019 season each teams income is a fresh $200m salary cap draft budget + whatever WAB they carried over from the previous season.
Here is last years final season table where you can see how much WAB each team had left:
SETTINGS HISTORY - In this leagues inaugural season some rules I had the original GMâs vote on and so due to the poll results (below) this league is an IDP and fractional scoring league.
- Would you prefer this league to have IDPâs (Individual Defensive Players) or a block team Defence?
Poll result: A Block team DEFENCE - 33% / IDPâs - 67% (9/10 voted)
- Should we use fractional points scoring or rounding up/down to whole number scores?
Poll result: Fractional points - 100% / Rounded up/down - 0% (8/10 voted)
From 2017 an adjustment to the IDP scoring settings was made to factor in the real life rule the NFL introduced back in 2015 that the defence could score off a turnover on a PAT or two-point conversion by returning it the other way for a touchdown - worth two points. - So I added this scenario into the RTAâs scoring settings also.
DRAFT ORDER
From the 2018 season onward, I decided to change the Draft Order from a Random Linear draft to a Custom Linear draft - based on a reverse of where teams finished the previous season. So in effect the last placed team will nominate first and the current champion will nominate last each round. I donât think it makes that big of a difference in an auction draft league compared to a standard draft league but we will see.
From the 2018 season onward, this league became a HPPR scoring league with Receptions earning 0.5 points. (So half a point per reception).
Poll result: Stay as Standard - 40% / Switch to PPR - 60% (10/10 voted)
I ran a second poll during the 2019 season to consider awarding 0.5 points for a completed pass to go along with the PPR switch to boost QBâs scoring but the result of the poll was negative (majority not in favour - so have shelved the idea - at least for the time being).
Poll result: 0.5 points a completion YES - 22% / NO - 78% (9/10 voted)
Further Polls that have shaped the RTA rules and regulations
RTA Players in starting line ups can no longer earn you strikes. You may leave them in even on their Bye week and win, lose or tie they will not earn you a strike. This means you can leave RTAâs in that are a doubt without fear of picking up a strike if you donât win. This will also allow you to tactically take a risk of playing less players especially on your RTA players bye week rather than having to cut players you donât want to, just to field a full team to avoid the possibility of picking up strikes.
Analysis: From 2021, 6 teams will now make post season, 3 from each conference - #1 seed in each conference will get a Bye to the Conference Championship game - #2 v #3 seed in each conference will play each other off for the right to meet the #1 seed in the Conference Championship game. This will make the Post Season now cover 3 weeks as opposed to the current 2 weeks.
Analysis: Okay the poll was clearly in favour of no trade deadline which makes sense as this is a dynasty league so trades can be made all season long.
RTA 2022 Final Draft banks
âReserved for screen grab of final draft banks at conclusion of live draft.â
Each teams remaining $'s will be converted to WAB points and added to your 100 WAB points each team gets per new season.
WEEKLY STRIKE COUNT 2022
WK1 - no strikes issued
WK2 - no strikes issued
WK3 - no strikes issued
WK4 - 2 strikes (Indianapolis Colts - Felipe Thorndike x1 & Miami Dolphins - Abraham Cervantes x1)
WK5 - 1 strike (Miami Dolphins - Abraham Cervantes)
WK6 - 1 strike (Arizona Cardinals - Carl Fisher)
WK7 - no strikes issued
WK8 - 2 strikes (Miami Dolphins - Abraham Cervantes x2)
WK9 - no strikes issued
WK10 - no strikes issued
WK11 - no strikes issued
WK12 - 1 strike (Miami Dolphins - Abraham Cervantes)
WK13 - 2 strikes (Miami Dolphins - Abraham Cervantes x2)
WK14 - 6 strikes (Miami Dolphins - Abraham Cervantes x6)
WK15 - no strikes issued
WK16 - no strikes issued
WK17 - no strikes issued
Link to previous years table: WEEKLY STRIKE COUNT 2021
Additional Strikes (for not voting in polls):
Draft Budgets for each team after last years unused WAB points have been added (keeper costs will come out of these budgets prior to live draft):
After Keeper Deadline Reached
Keeper costs to come off their respective teams draft budgets (Keepers $10 / RTAâs 50% discount)âŠ
Keeper Costs:
AFC
DENVER BRONCOS - 175
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS - 0
MIAMI DOLPHINS - 135
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS - 175
PITTSBURGH STEELERS - 75
TENNESSEE TITANS - 85
NFC
ARIZONA CARDINALS - 170
CAROLINA PANTHERS - 155
DALLAS COWBOYS - 120
DETROIT LIONS - 90
GREEN BAY PACKERS - 75
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS - 110
Adjusted auction draft budgets (amounts teams will enter this seasons live draft with):
DRAFT DATE & TIME POLL
I used the website called Doodle again this year as suggested to me by GM of the Seahawks (Christian) last year but sadly unlike last year we did not have a clear winner this year with 3 options tying for most votes (7 votes a each). Last year we was lucky one option was good for 11 out of 12 of us. This result means Iâve had to do a run off poll between the 3 dates and times that tied on Doodle (this time in the league itself on NFL.com) but as time is short this run-off poll is only up for all of today and whatever the majority option is at midnight tonight my time (UK time) will be used for this years live draft date & time. I donât know of a better way to sort this out annually - think we had far less options this year as to figure out a date as it took me ages to find a replacement for Jetsy (and needed to fill the league before I could look into a draft date poll).
Well despite me leaving the run off poll up a lot longer than I meant to (an extra 30 hours), still only 3 people bothered to vote (and one of them was me) but here is the result:
So we are drafting this Monday 3pm US ET / 8pm UK time (29 August 2022).
HOUSE KEEPING - 2022 Poll Results
Polls Run in 2022 that will apply going forwards (either immediatly or from the 2023 season onwards).
Okay - first Poll of the season has had all 12 teams vote and the majority would like to see the TE included in the Flex starting roster spot so from now the flex spot is RB/WR/TE (previously just RB/WR). This will be implemented right away and apply from the 2022 season onwards.
If you are interested in joining this FREE league it has a waiting list which I always look to first when a current GM leaves or gets struck out.
To be added to the waiting list simply post here on this thread with the team you support and your name (first and last) and I will be in touch. 
- The current waiting list can be seen in the very first post on this thread.
Week 4 Strikes (x2)
Sad to report the following strikes are awarded for NFL Week 4:
Indianapolis Colts - Felipe Thorndike x1 for:
x1 --RTA OFFâ - Didnât start an RTA player on Offence.
Miami Dolphins - Abraham Cervantes x1 for:
x1 WR --emptyâ - did not start anyone.
(LC) Such a shame two of the new guys for this season picked up these unnecessary strikes which have come about by not checking ones line up (the empty slot) and not reading the rules above (not starting the required RTA player on Offence). The later also means even though Indianapolis won they forgo their chance to poach this week (as per rules).
Week 5 Strikes (x1)
Sad to report the following strike is awarded for NFL Week 5:
Miami Dolphins - Abraham Cervantes x1 for:
x1 WR --emptyâ - did not start anyone.
(LC) Very strange this as thatâs two weeks in a row Abraham (Miami Dolphins) has picked up a strike for the exact same offence. I understand you might be protecting your WRâs from being poached by benching them but there must be a better way as picking up strikes will get you replaced as GM sooner rather than later. Just 1 more (total 3 strikes) and I will be looking to replace you in the off season. Hit 6 in a season and I look to replace right away within the current season.
Week 6 Strikes (x1)
Sad to report the following strike is awarded for NFL Week 6:
Arizona Cardinals - Carl Fisher x1 for:
x1 DL 2 starting slot âemptyâ - did not start anyone.
(LC) As Carl (Arizona) is a long term stalwart of this league and for sure knows the rules I am assuming this was a calculated decision - like a professional foul in soccer - but even so still picks up the yellow card equivalent in soccer - a strike. However this now puts him on 2 strikes total so 1 away from losing his auto right of return for next year - thus no more technical fouls can be risked in 2022 if he does wish to guarantee coming back next season.
Week 8 Strikes (x2)
Sad to report the following strikes are awarded for NFL Week 8:
Miami Dolphins - Abraham Cervantes x2 for:
x1 Started RB - Chuba Hubbard - (CAR) who was ruled out before his teams actual game day.
x1 Started RB - Cole Holcomb - (WAS) who was ruled out before his teams actual game day.
(LC) Sadly Abraham (MIAMI) has picked up another two careless strikes starting players that were ruled before their actual game day. This now moves Abraham to 4 strikes on the year and means I need to look for a replacement in the off season but just 2 more strikes in season and I will look to replace him right away. So if anyone reading this supports an AFC team thatâs not already in the league (or supports the FINS) make yourself known as I could be looking for someone sooner rather than later to step in.
Week 12 Strikes (x1)
Sad to report the following strikes are awarded for NFL Week 12:
Miami Dolphins - Abraham Cervantes x1 for:
x1 --RTA IDPâ - Didnât start an RTA player on Defence.
(LC) Bit of a brain fart I think here - the whole ethos behind the RTA is the connection to the real franchise you are GMâing and thus the unique custom internal rules. So not adhering to those rules (in this instance not starting the required RTA player on Defence) is a slam dunk strike!
Week 13 Strikes (x2)
Sad to report the following strikes are awarded for NFL Week 13:
Miami Dolphins - Abraham Cervantes x2 for:
x1 --RTA IDPâ - Didnât start an RTA player on Defence.
x1 Started LB - Shaq Thompson - (CAR) on BYE.
(LC) Two more careless strikes for Abraham (MIAMI DOLPHINS) bringing his total to 7 strikes on the year. This warrants immediate replacement - though this league is proving difficult to find players willing to buy in and take it seriously despite the crazy custom rules. I really felt my Mexican friend would have been one such person but Iâve been proved so very wrong since he joined the RTA. 
Week 14 Strikes (x6)
Sad to report the following strikes are awarded for NFL Week 14:
Miami Dolphins - Abraham Cervantes x6 for:
x1 --RTA IDPâ - Didnât start an RTA player on Defence.
x1 Started RB - Caleb Huntley - (ATL) on BYE.
x1 Started RB - Tyler Allgeier - (ATL) on BYE.
x1 Started WR - Parris Campbell - (IND) on BYE.
x1 Started K - Wil Lutz - (NO) on BYE.
x1 Started DL - Montez Sweat - (WAS) on BYE.
(LC) Sadly I have not been able to find a replacement for Abraham as yet and heâs clearly fucked this league off by not even bothering to set his team now. I think I may have to use commissioner controls to set his team in future weeks myself. It doesnât really make a difference to you all as now we are into the play-offs poaching is not a thing so setting his team will just save me the admin of giving out more strikes and posting screen grabs here next week. If anyone reading this knows someone or you your-self would like the challenge of this league please make contact - post a message here on this thread or PM me your e-mail address I should use to invite you to the league. Also donât forget to be honest and tell me which real NFL team you support.
UPDATE
I did find a replacemnet for Abraham towards the end of the season - the franchise moved cities but stayed in the state of Florida with The Dolphins moving to Jacksonville and becoming the Jaguars under new GM CĂ©dric Aubut-Boucher (Discord username - CoachCed).
I hope the existing GMâs will make him feel welcome and he himself will get something out of the challenge of taking over a failing franchise and making it competitive in this crazy ruled dynasty league set up.