# Franchise League Football — Full Reference

> Franchise League Football (FLF) is dynasty fantasy football with real front-office depth: multi-year player contracts, a live salary-cap auction, automatic injury substitutions, and a college (farm) draft. Gather 8–14 friends and run your franchise for a full season for just $10 per manager.

This document (`/llms-full.txt`) contains the complete product overview, official rulebook, scoring, and FAQ in a single file for LLMs and AI agents. It is a superset of `/llms.txt`. Canonical site: https://franchiseleaguefootball.com

Franchise League Football is a mobile fantasy football game for iOS and Android that simulates being a real NFL general manager. Unlike traditional redraft fantasy, FLF is a contract-based keeper league where roster decisions compound over multiple seasons. It won the 2025 FSGA award for Best Product Experience.

## Key details

- **Price**: $10 per manager, per season.
- **League size**: 8–14 friends (managers).
- **Platform**: iOS and Android mobile app; also playable on the web.
- **Scoring**: Half-PPR.
- **Salary cap**: $100M, applied during the pre-season auction only (no cap during the regular season).
- **Season length**: 14-week regular season (NFL Weeks 1–14); playoffs in Weeks 15–17.
- **Award**: 2025 FSGA Best Product Experience winner.
- **Led by**: Renee Miller, Ph.D., neuroscientist and fantasy-sports analyst (The Athletic, ESPN, NBC).

## Get the app

- Get started / download: https://franchiseleaguefootball.com/download
- iOS App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/franchise-league-football/id6744412905
- Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.flf.bundle
- Play on web (free demo): https://demo.franchiseleaguefootball.com

## Official Rulebook

### 1. Quick rules summary

Franchise League Football is a contract-based keeper league with a $100M pre-season salary cap and no cap during the season. Franchises manage a 14-player active roster (plus 2 reserve spots) with multi-year contracts, free agents (FAs) and restricted free agents (RFAs). Contracts run 3 years by default, with optional extensions starting in Year 3 at a fixed cost per year. College players can be stashed on reserve and enter on a low-cost contract before becoming RFAs.

Before the season, each team protects 6–9 players and participates in a three-part auction: RFA, FA and a one-round College Draft. In-season player acquisition uses a weekly $100M supplemental budget, with free agents available afterward. No direct reserve signings allowed.

Lineups must be submitted before each player's game. Scoring is half-PPR. The 14-week season culminates in a 4-team playoff round robin in Weeks 15–17. Non-playoff teams compete for next year's draft order.

### 2. League overview

Franchise League Football is a contract-based keeper league where each franchise manages a roster of players with varying contract statuses. Players sit under one of three main contract statuses:

- Regular multi-year contract
- Free agent (FA)
- Restricted free agent (RFA)

**Salary cap.** Each franchise operates under a $100M salary cap, which applies only during the pre-season auction. There is no salary cap during the regular season.

### 3. Salary cap & rosters

**Active rosters.** Each franchise may carry up to 14 players on their active roster at all times during the season.

**Starting lineups.** Each franchise starts one QB, two RB, two WR, one TE, one FLEX (RB/WR/TE), one K and one D/ST each week.

- Players may only start at their primary position.
- You still receive points a player scores lining up elsewhere (e.g. a TE or RB split out as a receiver, or a RB taking a direct snap).
- The point totals of five non-starting players do not count toward the franchise total.
- Official lineups live in the app — franchises have until five minutes before the start of their players' games to make changes.

**Reserve roster.** A maximum of two players per franchise may be on the reserve roster at any time (this includes the college farm player).

- There is no injury requirement to place a player on reserve.
- A player placed on reserve must stay there a minimum of four weeks unless released. Once released, any player — including a college farm player — is eligible to be picked up by any franchise.
- After Week 12, the four-week minimum is waived.
- During the playoffs, players may be activated from reserve, but no additional active spots are allowed. A player placed on reserve during the playoffs must remain there through the playoffs.
- NFL players may not be picked up directly onto reserve — they must first come from the active roster (though they may immediately move from active to reserve).
- Players traded from a reserve roster must go to the new franchise's reserve roster.
- College farm players are placed directly onto reserve and count toward the two-player maximum. They cannot start or accumulate points while still in college.

### 4. Player contracts & extensions

All contracts are initially three years, with the salary set during the pre-season auction. Heading into the third year of a contract, a franchise can:

- **Drop** the player.
- **Retain** the player at the same salary for one final year. That player becomes a free agent at the end of the year and cannot be protected the following season.
- **Extend** the player for additional years at a fixed price increase per year. Once the extension ends, the player becomes a free agent (a player may not receive a second extension).

By the league's keeper deadline, franchises must declare all contract extensions. Extension salary formulas:

- **QB · RB · WR**: Old salary + (years × $2M)
- **TE · K · DEF**: Old salary + (years × $1M)

**Example.** A running back won at auction for $24M starts a 3-year contract at $24M. He can be dropped anytime (a new franchise assumes the contract). In Year 3 he enters the extension zone: drop him, keep him at $24M for a final year, or extend at $2M per added year — a 5-year extension makes his salary $34M, and he can be kept at $34M for those five seasons.

**College farm players** activated by the keeper deadline become RFAs at the end of their initial contract, with salaries of $2M (Yr 1), $4M (Yr 2) and an RFA base of $6M (Yr 3).

### 5. Pre-season auctions

Each league sets its own auction timeline — start time, nomination windows and blind-bidding periods. Reaching the keeper deadline initiates the auction in the app. The pre-season consists of RFA rounds, regular FA rounds and a College Farm Draft.

**Keepers.** Before the auction, franchises designate between 6 and 9 players to keep under their current contracts (including RFAs and activated college farm players), submitted via the app before the league's deadline. Each franchise must be under the cap at this time, accounting for a minimum of $2M per remaining roster spot.

**Restricted free agents.** Any kept player who was not under contract the previous year (picked up mid-season) is an RFA, as are college players entering their third year under contract.

- RFAs are bid on in alphabetical order by last name.
- Any franchise can acquire a player off another roster by bidding above that player's salary; the original franchise may match the winning bid.
- Bidding opens and closes at league-set times; the highest submitted bid wins and becomes the player's salary — the start of a new 3-year contract.
- The original franchise has a set window to match and retain the player; no declaration is treated as no match.
- A franchise cannot outbid its cap — it must always keep at least $2M for every remaining roster spot.
- If no one bids on an RFA, the player stays with the original franchise on a new regular contract at the minimum RFA salary for the position.

**Regular auction.** Franchises run a multi-round auction until every roster reaches 14 players, taking turns nominating FAs (in random order). Blind bids are placed within the allotted time; the highest bid wins and starts a new 3-year contract. Once a roster is full, that franchise can no longer nominate. Ties go to the first bid submitted, and no franchise may outbid its cap.

**College player draft.** After the auction, a one-round college draft is held. In Year 1 the order is random; afterward it's set by the Weeks 15–17 non-playoff tournament plus the finishing order of playoff franchises. The non-playoff tournament seeds teams by power ranking (its winner earns the first college pick); the champion picks last. A drafted college player occupies one of the two reserve spots, can be dropped, picked up (into a reserve spot only) or traded. If a player returns to college, the franchise may keep his rights but forfeits that year's pick — decided before the draft begins.

### 6. Scoring

Half-PPR scoring. A franchise earns the points its starters produce for their NFL teams.

| Event | Points |
| --- | --- |
| Touchdown scored | +6 |
| Touchdown thrown | +4 |
| Interception thrown | −1 |
| Lost fumble | −1 |
| 2-pt conversion (scored/thrown) | +2 |
| Rushing / receiving yard | +0.1 |
| Passing yard | +0.04 |
| Reception | +0.5 |
| Safety | +2 |
| Defensive interception | +1 |
| Defensive fumble recovery | +1 |
| Sack | +0.5 |
| Field goal (under 39 yds) | +3 |
| Field goal (under 49 yds) | +4 |
| Field goal (under 59 yds) | +5 |
| Field goal (60+ yds) | +6 |
| Missed FG (under 39 yds) | −1 |
| Extra point | +1 |
| Missed extra point | −1 |

**Defensive bonus.** Defenses earn bonus points based on the points they hold the opposing offense to:

| Points allowed | Bonus |
| --- | --- |
| Shutout | +10 |
| 1–6 pts | +8 |
| 7–13 pts | +6 |
| 14–20 pts | +4 |
| 21–27 pts | +2 |
| 28+ pts | 0 |

**Special teams.** All fantasy points earned by special teams are awarded to the D/ST, not to the individual player.

### 7. In-season transactions

**Supplemental draft.** Held every week at a set time using a FAAB system. Each franchise gets a $100M supplemental budget for the season. In reverse power-ranking order, franchises nominate a player to auction; bidding continues until one high bidder remains, and the winning bid is subtracted from that franchise's budget.

- Players dropped during supplemental are eligible to be nominated right away. The auction ends when no franchise nominates a player.
- Afterward, all free agents are available with no impact on the supplemental budget; players dropped after the auction are available immediately.
- Supplemental runs through the playoffs, but a player picked up from the supplemental before the first playoff game is not eligible to be kept the following year.
- A winning bid has no impact on contract status or salary. A kept free agent becomes an RFA the next season; a contracted player who is picked up retains the same contract.

**Free agents.** Once supplemental is complete, franchises add/drop players first-come, first-served in the app. A player can only be signed to the active 14-man roster — never directly to reserve.

**Trades.** A trade is final once agreed by both franchises and announced to the league via the app. The trade deadline is the start of Week 12. Under the "no player rentals" rule, a traded player cannot be traded back to his former franchise for at least two weeks. Trading resumes after the fantasy playoffs conclude.

### 8. Regular-season gameplay

**Schedule.** Each franchise plays a 14-game schedule across Weeks 1–14 of the NFL season, determined randomly at the start of each season.

**Starting lineup.** 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE, 1 FLEX (RB/WR/TE), 1 D/ST and 1 K.

**Injury replacement.** If a starter is declared out mid-game, a designated bench backup replaces their points for subsequent quarters — e.g. the backup scores from Q3 onward if the starter exits at halftime.

### 9. Playoffs

**Field.** Four franchises make the playoffs — the top three by overall record plus one wild card.

**Wild card.** The fourth spot goes to the franchise with the highest power ranking (⅓ record, ⅓ points, ⅓ matchup, each ranked 1–12 and averaged). Tiebreakers: head-to-head, then overall record, then most points.

**Seeding.** The #1 seed picks the order of its three round-robin games. The decision is due by 11:59pm Tuesday of Week 15, otherwise it defaults to #1 vs #4, then #1 vs #3, then #1 vs #2.

**Round robin.** The four playoff franchises play three games across Weeks 15, 16 and 17. Champion and runner-up are decided by: record of the three games, then total points, then head-to-head. A 3-0 team is champion; otherwise the 2-1 team with the most points wins (ties broken head-to-head).

**Record tiebreakers.** For ties in record — whether for a playoff spot or seeding — the order is head-to-head, then total points for the season, then the franchise with the longer playoff drought, then a coin flip. When three or more franchises are tied, head-to-head among all tied teams is used first, then season points, then playoff drought. If any franchise is eliminated by a tiebreaker, the process restarts with those remaining.

**Non-playoff franchises** compete in a three-week tournament to set the draft order for the next college player draft.

## FAQ

**What is Franchise League Football?**
Franchise League Football is a contract-based keeper league where you manage a roster of players across multi-year contracts, free agents and restricted free agents. It emphasizes strategy, player contracts and a unique pre-season auction system.

**How does the salary cap work?**
Every team operates under a fixed salary cap, and each player counts against it based on their contract value. You balance star talent against cap room when you sign, extend or trade players — going over the cap simply isn't allowed, so smart cap management is core to building a contender. (The cap applies during the pre-season auction; there is no cap during the regular season.)

**How do player contracts and extensions work?**
Players sign multi-year contracts at a set annual salary. As a deal nears its final year you can extend the player to keep them, let them reach free agency, or trade them away — every choice shapes your long-term cap flexibility.

**What is the pre-season auction?**
Before each season, managers compete in a live auction for available free agents and rookies. You allocate your free-agent budget across the players you want most, bidding against other managers — all while keeping your roster under the cap.

**What is the college player draft?**
The college draft lets you stash top prospects before they enter the NFL. Drafting a college player secures their rights, so when they turn pro you can promote them — rewarding managers who scout the future early.

**What happens during the regular season?**
Each week you set your lineup and play head-to-head against your league mates while competing in site-wide weekly tournaments. Automatic injury subs, trades and the free-agent wire keep you actively managing all season.

**How are playoffs and draft order determined?**
The top teams advance into a round-robin playoff so the best team rises instead of being knocked out on a single bad beat. Teams that miss the playoffs are seeded into next season's draft order, giving struggling franchises a path back to contention.

## Blog articles

Deep-dive strategy pieces published with RotoViz:

- An Introduction to Franchise League Football: https://www.rotoviz.com/2025/08/sharp-dynasty-managers-are-changing-the-way-the-game-is-played-an-introduction-to-franchise-league-football/
- The Franchise League Football Auction Playbook: https://www.rotoviz.com/2025/08/the-franchise-league-football-auction-playbook-how-to-secure-your-must-have-targets-while-balancing-elite-stars-and-minimum-salary-breakout-candidates/
- Making the Most of a Suboptimal Roster: https://www.rotoviz.com/2025/08/making-the-most-of-a-suboptimal-roster-the-franchise-league-football-blueprint-part-2/
- 5 Things I've Learned from the Inaugural Offseason: https://www.rotoviz.com/2025/09/5-things-ive-learned-from-the-inaugural-offseason-of-franchise-league-football/
- Win Your College Farm Draft: https://www.rotoviz.com/2025/10/win-your-franchise-league-football-college-farm-draft-and-set-your-team-up-for-long-term-success/

## Leadership

- Renee Miller, Ph.D. — CEO. Neuroscientist and fantasy-sports analyst (The Athletic, ESPN, NBC); author of "Cognitive Bias in Fantasy Sports."
- David Sukoff — CSO/CFO/COO.

## Legal

- Terms of Service: https://franchiseleaguefootball.com/terms
- Privacy Policy: https://franchiseleaguefootball.com/privacy-policy

## Contact

- Email: renee@franchiseleaguefootball.com
- Support: support@franchiseleaguefootball.com
- X/Twitter: https://x.com/FLF_Fantasy
- Discord: https://discord.gg/r7HKmqcsJf
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/franchiseleaguefootball