LEAGUE RULES & INFORMATION
Everything you ever wanted to know about the Sagebrush Cactus League...and then some.
GENERAL RULES
Rule #1: You do not talk about Sagebrush Cactus League.
Rule #2: You do not talk about Sagebrush Cactus League.
Pony up, Cinderella: If you want to play, you gotta pay. The league fees are $250 Sagebrush Cactus League and $150 for SCL Segundo, plus gratuity for the Commish, of course.
Get Off Your Ass: You must start a full roster of active players each week. No empty roster slots are allowed. If you start a player who is on bye, injured reserve or declared "Out" by the NFL at least 48 hours prior to kickoff, your team will automatically forfeit that week's matchup.
No Spam: Do not continue contacting a league member over and over again about some ridiculous trade offer or idea you have. If they don't respond to you after an attempt or two, or say "no", that means she doesn't want to go to the prom with you.
Because I Said So, That's Why: All trades are reviewed by the Commish to ensure the integrity of the league. The Commish will not evaluate or comment on the "fairness" of the trade, just that the trade was made in good faith with no collusion or deceit between the owners involved.
Trading Places: At the conclusion of the season, the top team from each division of the SCL Segundo will be promoted to the Sagebrush Cactus League and the bottom team from each division of the Sagebrush Cactus League, based on final rankings after the Consolation Ladder, will be relegated to SCL Segundo. The higher ranking team in each instance will have the choice of which team roster they want to assume ownership of.
DRAFT & KEEPER RULES
Draft Date & Time: The Sagebrush Cactus draft is at 19:00 PDT (22:00 EDT) on Wednesday, 8/30/2023. The SCL Segundo draft is at 19:00 PDT (22:00 EDT) on Tuesday, 8/29/2023. But you already knew that.
Draft Format: Auction with $200 budget - because snake drafts are for pussies.
Keepers? Yes, of course you'll be able to keep the Detroit Lions D/ST and Graham Gano! You can keep up to two players of your choice.
But Wait, There's More: Keepers are complicated, so here's a handy list of details to print out and keep in your wallet instead of messaging the Commish at the start of every season...
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The player must have been on your roster at the end of last season.
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A player's keeper price is their draft price or FAAB price from last season.
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If you acquired a player for $0 in free agency, that player will cost $1 (plus applicable Keeper Tax) to keep.
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All keepers are subject to the Keeper Tax based on their Positional Rank (PRK) from the prior season. The Keeper Tax rates are as follows:
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Positional Rank 1-5: add $10
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Positional Rank 6-10: add $7
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Positional Rank 11-15: add $5
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Positional Rank 16+: No additional tax
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Keepers must be selected by 12:00 PDT on Monday, 8/28/2023 in the Sagebrush Cactus League and by 18:00 PDT on Sunday, 8/27/2023 in the Segundo league.
WAIVER RULES
This Ain't Monopoly: Players are acquired from waivers with real cash-money, not that fake stuff.
Establishing Good Credit: Any unspent draft money will be credited to your waiver account (e.g. If you finish the draft with $15 left over, and you acquire a player from waivers for $25 in week 3, you would owe $10 at the end of the season).
Make It Rain: There is no preset budget or spending limit for players on waivers. You can spend as much, or as little, as you want to get that bye week fill-in kicker. Just make sure you can afford to pay up at season's end.
Get Out Your Wallet: Owners will reconcile their waiver claim spending spree at the end of the season or else you'll get a little visit from my friends.
Buyer's Remorse: Commish will contact any owner who bids more than $25 for a player to confirm that it was a legitimate waiver claim. If the claim was a mistake, the player will automatically be rewarded to the next highest bidder. If there is no other bidder, the player will be manually returned to waivers by Commish. Winning bids of $25 or less are non-refundable, even if it was a mistake.
The Groupon Rate: Any player acquired for a $0 bid would still be at no cost.
Winner's Take All: All revenue generated from waiver acquisitions will be paid out to the top 3 teams.
PRIZES & PAYOUTS
SAGEBRUSH CACTUS LEAGUE
League Champion: $900 + 60% FA Revenue
2nd Place: $500 + 30% FA Revenue
3rd Place: $250 + 10% FA Revenue
Consolation Bracket Winner: $150
*Highest Weekly Score: $15
*Highest Weekly Score In A Loss: $10
*Lowest Weekly Score In A Win: $10
Survivor Challenge Winner: $150
*Applies to regular season games only
SCL SEGUNDO LEAGUE
League Champion: $500 + 60% FA Revenue
2nd Place: $250 + 30% FA Revenue
3rd Place: $150 + 10% FA Revenue
Consolation Bracket Winner: $75
*Highest Weekly Score: $10
*Highest Weekly Score In A Loss: $5
*Lowest Weekly Score In A Win: $5
Survivor Challenge Winner: $75
*Applies to regular season games only
COMBINED LEAGUE CONTESTS
Golden Ticket Challenge Winner: 1st Place $150, 2nd Place $75
NFL Pigskin Pick'Em Winner: 1st Place $150, 2nd Place $75
NFL Eliminator Challenge Winner: $50
Sagebrush Cactus League Pro Bowl: $20 per team in the winning league.
GOLDEN TICKET CHALLENGE
Each member selects a starting lineup of NFL players for the entire season. You can choose any player you want for each position and the same player may be featured on multiple lineups. There is no draft. There are no bench players, so bye weeks, injured players, suspensions, etc are worth 0 points. If a player is out, they're out.
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Rosters must only include players from the same conference: NFC or AFC, not both.
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No roster may include more than one player from the any NFL team.
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Every roster must include at least one NFL rookie player. Rookie kickers do not qualify.
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Owners may replace one player on their roster after week 5 ends and before week 6 begins.
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A rookie player can only be replaced by another rookie.
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Scoring system used is the Sagebrush Cactus scoring system.
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First tie-breaker will be total points for K position. Second tie-breaker will be total points for FLEX position.
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Contest ends after week 17 of the NFL season.
SURVIVOR CHALLENGE
Each week, the Sagebrush Cactus team with the lowest total score is eliminated from the contest. The team with the highest total score for the week is given immunity for the following week.
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When only 4 teams remain, immunity is removed from the contest.
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When only 2 teams remain, the contest becomes a best-of-three series. The team with the highest score twice within the final 3 weeks will win.
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Tie-breakers are as follows:
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Rounds 1 - 10: QB points scored.
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Final Round: Total points scored over 3 week series.
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PIGSKIN PICK'EM
Create an entry in ESPN's Pigskin Pick'Em Challenge, and pick the winner of every NFL game each week, straight-up, no point-spreads. The entry with the most correct picks wins the contest. The contest will end after week 17.
BONUS PRIZE: If anyone correctly predicts the winner of each game in a single week, every league member owes that person $10.
ELIMINATOR
Create an entry in ESPN's Eliminator Challenge, and pick one team each week that you think will win their matchup. But, wait! There's a catch. You cannot select any team more than once during the season. The last contestant standing wins the prize. In the event of a tie, the prize will be split evenly among the teams.
