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Teams

 

There are 16 teams in The Cherry League. The teams are currently divided into conferences and divisions as shown in the following table:

 

The Maraschino Conference
The Jubilee Division	The Bomb Division
The Bomb Squad The Conspirators The Kewpee Burglars Windy's Wonders	Renegades of Funk The Crazed Dawgs The Irish Maulers The Thunder Bees
The Bing Conference
The Pop-Tart Division	The Stem Division
Seek & Destroy The Ballbusters The E-Z-Goers The Rookies	Binki's Bonecrushers The Deanersnorts The Demolition team Udder Chaos

 

Every year, a complete realignment will take place on or about April 15th. All team names will be placed in a hat. The first four names selected will be placed in the Jubilee division. The next four names will be placed in the Stem division. The following four names will be placed in the Bomb division. The last four names will be placed in the Pop-Tart division. The Commissioner and at least one other team owner will be present during this process. This years realignment, as it was drawn, is as follows:

 

#	Team	#	Team
1	The Bomb Squad	9	The Irish Maulers
2	Windy's Wonders	10	The Crazed Dawgs
3	The Kewpee Burglars	11	The Thunder Bees
4	The Conspirators	12	Renegades of Funk
5	The Deanersnorts	13	The Rookies
6	Udder Chaos	14	Seek & Destroy
7	Binki's Bonecrushers	15	The Ballbusters
8	The Demolition Team	16	The E-Z-Goers

(Remember, these are the realignment drawing numbers, not the team numbers)

 

If an owner no longer wants to be part of the ultimate fantasy football experience known as The Cherry League, he (or she as the case may be) may sell or give away his (or her) team. The only catch to this is that the new owner must be approved by a majority of the current owners. This may be done at any time during the year. An owner may also be forced to surrender all rights to his (or her) team if he (or she) has been found to be compromising the integrity of The Cherry League. Scrupulous trading practices, lack of participation, deliberately losing games, and other naughty things will not be tolerated. The team will be taken away and sold to the highest bidder with the proceeds going to the wayward owner after paying off any incurred debts. All entries in the Official Cherry League Record Book pertaining to a team that has changed ownership will remain until they are improved on so that they no longer qualify as a top ten best performance. The lifetime records of the owner that sold the team will remain in the Record Book permanently. The decision to seize control of a team will be made by the Commissioner and the Cherry League elders.

 

Probably the most important thing that you must memorize about your team and the others is the team numbers. These numbers are permanent. They will be used to identify teams on some of The Cherry League information pages. Here, without further ado, are the team numbers.

 

The bottom line is, memorize the team numbers. If you don’t, you’ll have a hard time understanding the information that you receive throughout the year.

Fees

There are two general rules pertaining to fees. Number one, all fees must be paid in advance. You will not be able to make any moves that require a fee until you have dropped a little legal tender. Number two, all fees should be paid in cash or money order in U.S. funds.  A personal check may be sent but a penalty of $25.00 will be paid by you if it bounces and your roster will be frozen.

Let’s rundown the fees:

            <          Each team must pay a $200.00 base fee prior to the auction draft. Failure to do this will result in your being excluded from the supplemental draft, auction draft, and reserve draft. After the reserve draft your active roster will be filled beginning with the players on your rookie list. Starting with your highest salaried rookie, each one will be moved to the active roster if there is an open slot. After the rookie list, the players will be moved from the developmental squad and then the reserve list again using the highest salaried players first. If you still have any open slots after that, they will be filled with players from the free agent pool selected by the Commissioner at a salary of $1.00 apiece. Rest assured that the players that the Commissioner selects for you will not be of the same quality that you would normally select for yourself.

            <          Each player or draft pick involved in a trade will cost $5.00. The costs of a trade may be split in any way by the teams involved with a minimum of 25% paid by each team.

            <          Each player involved in a trade that is a boinger will cost an additional $10.00.

            <          Each player involved in a trade that has a long term contract will cost an additional $10.00.

            <          Each free agent bid that you place will cost you $2.00.

            <          Each free agent that you sign during the regular season will cost you $5.00.

            <          Every player that you place on the injured list will cost you $20.00.

            <          Each player that you place on your developmental squad will cost you $10.00.

            <          Each player that you keep on the developmental squad from the previous year on roster freeze day will cost you $10.00.

            <          Each player that you receive from another team’s developmental squad after a claim  will cost you $20.00.

            <          Each player that you place on the pup will cost you $10.00 for a five week term and $25.00 for a three week term.

            <          Franchising a player will cost you $10.00.

a.                    The Cherry Bowl winner will receive 42%.

b.                    The Cherry Bowl loser will receive 21%.

c.                    The Cherry Cup winner will receive 14%.

d.                    The Cherry Cup loser will receive 10%.

e.                    The Cherry Pit winner will receive 7%.

f.                     The Cherry Pit loser will receive 6%.

The amounts will be rounded down to the nearest dollar.

The Schedule

This year the NFL will play a 17 week schedule. We will use the first 13 weeks for our regular season. Teams will play head to head with the winner being the one that scores the most points. Teams will then be ranked according to their won-loss record. The schedule based on the realignment drawing is as follows:

You can select schedule from the Team Info button above to see the schedule with the team names

The team with the best won-loss record among non division winning teams will play the division winner with the worst won-loss record in the 14th week in a playoff game in each conference. The division winner with the best won-loss record in each conference will get a bye in the 14th week. The winner of the playoff games in week 14 will then play the division winner with the best won-loss record in the 15th week in a championship game in each conference. The winners of the conference championships will then advance to the Cherry Bowl with the losers advancing to the Cherry Cup in the 16^th week. The losers of the playoff games in the 14^th week will play each other in the Cherry Pit during the 16^th week.

The official statistics will come from the Gamebooks on NFL.com. If you discover an error in your score, you must bring it to the attention of the Commissioner by 6:00 PM the following Wednesday if you want your score changed. Every effort will be made to achieve correctness.

Punt returners and kick returners are only allowed to score points for the slot that they are in. They will receive points for their appropriate returns, touchdowns scored on a return, and points for statistics listed in the special teams section of the Defensive Statistics area of the Gamebook. They will not receive points for any statistics while playing on offense or defense. Any player not in a punt return or kick return slot will not receive points for punt or kick returns or touchdowns on returns, but they will receive points for statistics listed in the special teams section of the Defensive Statistics area of the Gamebook. Punters will not receive points for any actions while holding for field goals unless there is an actual punt involved.

The Active Roster

Each team’s roster consists of six sections; the active roster, reserve roster, developmental squad, injured list, the pup, and the rookie list. Here we’ll discuss the active roster.

The active roster is where your points are scored. Each week you will want to fill this roster with the players that you think will score the most points.

Each team’s active roster is made up of 34 players, broken down as follows:

The active roster is filled out during the auction draft. From the completion of the auction draft through May 1 of the following year, each roster spot (except punt returner) must contain a player that is eligible at that position. This means that any time a player is removed from the active roster, another one must replace him immediately.

A player may be removed from the active roster by:

            1.         Placing him on the reserve list

            2.         Placing him in the injured list

            3.         Placing him on the pup

            4.         Trading him

            5.         Releasing him

A player may be placed on the active roster by:

            1.         Bringing him up from the reserve list

            2.         Bringing him up from the developmental squad

            3.         Bringing him up from the rookie list

            4.         Bringing him up from the pup

            5.         Acquiring him in a trade

            6.         Signing him as a free agent

            7.         Drafting him in the auction draft

            8.         The Commissioner on May 1 of the following year if he was on the injured list

All of this must be done while working under the salary cap that is in effect at the time. During the off-season the combined salaries of the players on the active roster and the signing bonuses you are responsible for must not exceed $210.00. After 6:00 PM on roster freeze day and through the end of the reserve draft, the combined salaries of the players on the active roster ,injured list and the signing bonuses you are responsible for must not exceed $170.00 ($5.00 per slot). From the end of the reserve draft through April 30 of the following year, the combined salaries of the players on the active roster, injured list, pup and the signing bonuses you are responsible for must not exceed $190.00. If a player movement is attempted that would cause the salary cap to be exceeded it will not be completed. Furthermore, unless corrective instructions are given to the Commissioner no movement will be made at all. You will not be notified if there is a problem. If you think that there may be a problem talk directly to the Commissioner. He’ll let you know exactly what needs to be done to get your transaction completed. You may report transactions to the league representatives. However, they don’t always know the status of your team.

The number of players allowed on the active roster remains set at 34 throughout the entire year. During the off season, the maximum number of players allowed on your active roster remains set at 34 but the minimum is zero. You may not have more players at any one position than there are slots for. For example, you may have a maximum of 5 receivers on your active roster during the off season.

During the off season and on roster freeze day, you may place a player at one of the return slots if they qualify. A punt returner must have either returned a punt or had a fair catch at  least 15 times during the previous regular season and a kick returner must have returned a kickoff or had a fair catch at least 15 times during the previous regular season to use this option. Check with the Commissioner if you have a question about a player’s eligibility.

The Reserve List

Each team’s reserve list may contain up to ten players. There are two restrictions that apply to this list. The first one is that you may only have two players at any one position except quarterback. For example: If you have two running backs on your reserve list then the other eight players on that list can be listed at any position except running back, keeping in mind that they also can not exceed the no more than two of any one position limit. Once again, this applies to all positions except quarterback. You may only have ONE quarterback on your reserve list. The second restriction is a salary cap. During the off-season the salaries of the players on the reserve list must not exceed $70.00. After 6:00 PM on roster freeze day and through the end of the reserve draft, the salaries must not exceed $50.00 ($5.00 per slot). From the end of the reserve draft through April 30 of the following year, the salaries must not exceed $60.00. If a player movement is attempted that would cause the salary cap to be exceeded it will of course not be completed. Furthermore, unless corrective instructions are given to the Commissioner no movement will be made at all. You will not be notified if there is a problem. If you think that there may be a problem talk directly to the Commissioner. He’ll let you know exactly what needs to be done to get your transaction completed. You may report transactions to the league representatives. However, they don’t always know the status of your team.

The reserve roster may be filled to a maximum of 5 players during the reserve draft if so desired. There is no minimum to the number of players that you may have on your reserve list so if you remove a player from the reserve list you do not need to replace him.

            A player may be removed from the reserve list by:

            1.         Placing him on the active roster

            2.         Placing him in the injured list

            3.         Placing him on the pup

            4.         Trading him

            5.         Releasing him

            A player may be placed on the reserve list by:

            1.         Bringing him down from the active roster

            2.         Bringing him up from the developmental squad

            3.         Bringing him up from the rookie list

            4.         Bringing him up from the pup

            5.         Acquiring him in a trade

            6.         Signing him as a free agent

            7.         Drafting him in the reserve draft

When you move a player from the active roster to the reserve list, that player’s position on the reserve list will be the same as the one that he was at on the active roster during the previous game. However, when you move a player from the reserve list to the active roster, you may place him at any position that he is eligible to play at.

During the season, a player is not eligible to be placed on the reserve list as a kick returner unless he has scored at least one point for your team as a kick returner.

During the season, a player is not eligible to be placed on the reserve list as a punt returner unless he has scored at least one point for your team as a punt returner.

During the off season you may place a player on reserve as a return man if they qualify. A punt returner must have either returned a punt or had a fair catch at least 15 times during the previous regular season and a kick returner must have returned a kickoff or had a fair catch at least 15 times during the previous regular season to use this option. Check with the Commissioner if you have a question about a player’s eligibility.

The Developmental Squad

Each team’s developmental squad may contain up to seven players. The only players allowed to be on this list are ones that come from a rookie list or another developmental squad.

            A player may be removed from the developmental squad by:

            1.         Placing him on the active roster

            2.         Placing him on the reserve list

            3.         Placing him in the injured list

            4.         Placing him on the pup

            5.         Trading him

            6.         Releasing him

            7.         Giving him to another team that has claimed him

            A player may be placed on the developmental squad by:

            1.         Bringing him up from the rookie list

            2.         Bringing him over from another team’s developmental squad or rookie list in a trade

            3.         Receiving him after a successful claim from another team’s developmental squad

There is a fee of $10.00 per player per year to either place or keep him on this list. If you place a player on this list during the off-season and decide to keep him there on roster freeze day, it will cost you $10.00 only when you place him there. If you claim a player from another team’s developmental squad that you previously had on your developmental squad, and wish to place him on your developmental squad again, you must pay $10.00 to do so. If a player on a developmental squad is involved in a trade, said player may be placed on the developmental squad of the team that receives him but that team must pay $10.00 to do so.

A salary will not be applied to a player when he is placed on the developmental squad. That will happen when he is placed on the active roster, reserve roster, pup, or injured list.

During the regular season only, through the second to last week, you may place a claim on another team’s player that is on their developmental squad. Here are the steps needed to accomplish this:

            1.         Pick a player. You may place only one claim per week.

2.         Make sure that you have two draft picks within the next three years that equal the round of the rookie draft that the player was selected in. This is the compensation that the team owning the player receives from you. The next two draft picks that you have will be used. If one of the picks would fall in a year where you have two or more, you must choose up front which one to give up. For example: You choose to claim a player drafted in the third round. You have one third round pick next year and two third round picks the following year. You must give up the pick from next year but you may choose which pick from the following year will go with it. Something to consider here would be which team(s) originally owned the picks and where you expect them to be seeded in the rookie draft.

3.         Contact the Commissioner to place your claim. The claiming period begins at the start of the first free agent period and ends at the end of the first free agent period. The draft picks you need to complete the claim are now frozen. You may not trade them. If a player is claimed by more than one team, the team that is lowest in the standings will be awarded the claim. Tie breakers will be used if necessary. If two teams claim the same player prior to the first week of the season, the tiebreaker will be based on the previous year’s final standings. At this time you must also inform the Commissioner as to where the player will be placed on your roster if your claim is successful.

4.         The Commissioner then attempts to contact the team that owns the player. If the Commissioner does not succeed in his attempts to contact the current owner, the player will remain where he is. If the Commissioner is successful in his attempts to contact the current owner, that owner has until the start of the first free agent period of the next week to decide if he wants to keep the player or let him go. The only way he can keep the player is to promote him. The player may be placed on the active roster, reserve roster or the injured list. The player may not be placed on the PUP or be released. He may not be involved in a trade without promoting him first.

5.         If the team that owns the player decides to give him up or does not contact the Commissioner to express his desires, the player is then placed on your roster. At that time you must pay a $20.00 fee. Your draft picks are then transferred to the team that owned the player. The process is now complete.

6.         You should contact the Commissioner to confirm that the claim has gone through.

This is an easy way to pick up a player when you need to. It’s also an excellent way to screw up another owner’s plans. Don’t be over cautious when another owner claims your player. Some owners have been known to become attached to a rookie that they drafted themselves and then got burnt when they wouldn’t let him go.

Once during each season, one player on your developmental squad may be classified as untouchable for the remainder of the season. That means that he may not be claimed by another team. When you designate a player as untouchable, it will cost you $10.00. This must be done by the player movement deadline for the week. However, if the player that you want to protect has already been claimed by the time you call to protect him, you are out of luck. The best time to protect a player is before the first free agent period so you can be sure the protect request takes effect before he can be claimed. You may not protect the same player two years in a row. The untouchable designation will not be removed until the following season unless you release, trade, or promote the player.

The Pup

Pup stands for physically unable to perform list. Each team’s pup may contain up to two players. The salaries of the players on this list added to the salaries of the players on your active roster and your injured list and the signing bonuses you are responsible for must be at or below the salary cap that is in effect at the time.

            A player may be removed from the pup by:

            1.         Placing him on the active roster

            2.         Placing him on the reserve list

            3.         Placing him on the injured list

            4.         Releasing him          

            A player may be placed on the pup by:

            1.         Bringing him down from the active roster

            2.         Bringing him down from the reserve list

            3.         Bringing him up from the rookie list

            4.         Bringing him up from the developmental squad

            5.         Acquiring him in a trade

Here are the rules that pertain to the pup:

            <         Each time that you place a player on the pup it will cost you $10.00 if you want him to remain there for 5 weeks and $25.00 if you want him to remain there for 3 weeks.

            <         You may only place players on the pup during the regular season from the conclusion of the reserve draft through one hour before the first game of week nine for a five week term and week eleven for a three week term.

            <         When a player’s term on the pup is concluded the player must be removed unless you want to leave him on the pup for another term. You may place him anywhere that he is eligible when he comes off the pup. If you fail to inform the Commissioner as to where to place a player when he is to be removed  from the pup, that player will be placed on the active roster and the player at the same position on the active roster that has the scored the most points during the current season and does not have a long term contract will be released. The salary cap will be taken into account when releasing and adding players to the active roster. If you place a player on the pup prior to week nine for a five week term or week eleven for a three week term, you still must inform the Commissioner of your intentions during the first week of the playoffs even if you are not a playoff team. If you use the consecutive term option, the second stint on the pup must begin prior to week nine for a five week term and week eleven for a three week term.

            <          You may not place a player on the pup on roster freeze day, or during the supplemental draft, auction draft, or reserve draft.

            <          The weeks that a player spends on the pup do not count as qualifying weeks for the reserve list.

            <          A player that is on the pup may not be traded.

            <          You may not place a newly acquired free agent on the pup.

The Injured List

Each team’s injured list may contain up to three players. The salaries of the players on this list added to the salaries of the players on your active roster and your pup and the signing bonuses you are responsible for must be at or below the salary cap that is in effect at the time.

            A player may be removed from the injured list by:

            1.         The Commissioner placing him on the active roster on May 1 the following year

            A player may be placed on the injured list by:

            1.         Bringing him down from the active roster

            2.         Bringing him down from the reserve list

            3.         Bringing him down from the pup

            4.         Bringing him up from the rookie list

            5.         Bringing him up from the developmental squad

            6.         Acquiring him in a trade

            7.         Signing him as a free agent

You may place a player on the injured list during the regular season, post season, or on roster freeze day. When you do you must pay $20.00 fee. If a player is placed on the injured list, he will remain on it through April 30 of the following year. After that he is automatically returned to the active roster where he will remain until roster freeze day unless he is traded. Once he is returned to the active roster and before roster freeze day, the only way to rid yourself of him is to trade him. You may not release him. If he is traded, the same rules apply. The team that receives him must keep him on the active roster and may not release him.

In any case, once roster freeze day arrives, he may be released only if he is not on an NFL roster. If his name is on an NFL roster then he’s on your roster all nice and tidy taking up a space for the auction draft. Once the reserve draft has been completed you may release him.

If a player you currently have on your team is placed on an NFL team’s injured reserve list (for the current year of course) prior to roster freeze day, you may place him on the injured list on roster freeze day. The same rules apply here as above. April 30. To active. No release. May trade. New team no release. Name not on roster. No problem. Name on roster. Could be problem. Remember that his salary will be added to the salaries of the active roster players and then subtracted from the $170.00 draft day salary cap to come up with your available cap dollars needed to complete your 34 man active roster.

You may not place players signed to an option year or players in the last year of a long term contract on the injured list.

Players coming off the injured list may not be placed on the reserve list the following year prior to draft day regardless of the number of weeks accumulated on the reserve list the previous year.

You must keep and eye on the salary caps. The injured list salaries are always added to the salaries of the active roster and the pup (you can only have players on the pup during the regular season) and the signing bonuses you are responsible for . The injured list is considered part of the active roster when referring to the active roster salary cap.

The Rookie List

There is no set amount as to how many players may be on a team’s rookie list. Every team is given one draft pick for each of the six rounds of the rookie draft. These draft picks may be traded thus resulting in an unpredictable number of players on a team’s rookie list. 

            A player may be removed from the rookie list by:

            1.         Placing him on the active roster

            2.         Placing him on the reserve list

            3.         Placing him in the injured list

            4.         Placing him on the pup

            5.         Placing him on the developmental squad

            6.         Trading him

            7.         Releasing him

            A player may be placed on the rookie list by:

            1.         Drafting him in the rookie draft

            2.         Drafting him in the supplemental draft

The salaries of these players are determined by the round of the rookie draft or supplemental draft that they were drafted in. Players drafted in the first round of the rookie draft receive a salary of $6.00 when promoted. Second rounders are $5.00, and so on down to the $1.00 salaries of the sixth rounders. A player selected in the first round of the supplemental draft is designated as a fourth round pick and receives a salary of $3.00 when promoted and a second rounder is designated as a fifth round pick and receives a salary of $2.00 when promoted. A rookie’s salary however, does not “kick in” until he is promoted to the active roster, reserve roster, injured list, or pup. A players first year is used in determining when he needs to be offered an option year or a long term contract. If you promote a rookie in 2006 that was drafted in 2006, you must offer him an option year or a long term contract in 2008 if you want to keep him. If you promote a rookie in 2007 that was drafted in 2006, you must offer him an option year or a long term contract in 2009 if you want to keep him. The bottom line is, if you promote him this year then you will benefit from his services now but you’ll need to make a contract decision sooner. If you wait until next year to promote him, he won’t score anything for you this year but you’ll keep him at his rookie salary longer.

After the rookie draft you may have rookies from the previous year as well as rookies from the current year on your rookie list. The rookies that you drafted this year may remain on the rookie list until roster freeze day of the following year. That means that the rookies that you drafted last year will be removed from the rookie list by roster freeze day of this year. This can be done by any of the methods listed above. If you fail to notify the Commissioner of your intentions for each of the remaining players on your rookie list from the previous year by the roster freeze day deadline, you will be fined $10.00 for each rookie from the previous year remaining on the rookie list and every last one of them will be released. All it takes is a phone call. Chances are that you will be talking to the Commissioner anyway on roster freeze day.

Remember that once a player is removed from the rookie list of the team that drafted him, he may never again be placed on a rookie list.

3.         The first expansion team to draft chooses any player on any of the lists. That player is then placed on the first expansion team’s active roster, reserve list or developmental squad if the player qualifies.

            4.         The second expansion team then selects a player from the lists. After a current team loses two players, that team is off limits for the remainder of the expansion draft.

            5.         Once each expansion team has acquired 16 players, and each current team has lost two players, the expansion draft is over. You can all go home.

Roster Freeze Day

Roster freeze day will usually be the Wednesday before draft day. You must, by 6:00 PM roster freeze day,  inform the Commissioner of the players that you want to keep on your team. Here’s an explanation of each of the six roster sections:

            <         The Active Roster: On roster freeze day your active roster may contain up to 34 players as long as you follow the position limits. The salaries of the players kept here are added to the salaries of the players kept on the injured list and any signing bonuses that you are responsible for and then subtracted from the draft day salary cap of $170.00 to figure the amount that you have available to bid on the remaining players needed to fill your 34 man active roster during the auction draft. Your salaries may not be more than the draft day cap.

            <         The Reserve Roster: On roster freeze day you must reduce the number of players on your reserve roster to zero unless you keep a QB there. To keep a QB on your reserve list, you must also keep a QB on your active roster at a salary equal to or greater than the one on reserve. The salary of the QB kept here is subtracted from the draft day salary cap of $50.00. The remaining amount may be used to draft players in the reserve draft. Your salaries may not be more than the draft day cap. You may have up to five players on your reserve list after the reserve draft.

            <         The Injured List: You must inform the Commissioner of any players, up to a maximum of three, that you would like to keep on your injured list on roster freeze day. Any players kept on this list on roster freeze day must be listed on an NFL team’s injured list. The salaries of the players kept here are added to the salaries of the players kept on the active roster and any signing bonuses that you are responsible for and then subtracted from the draft day salary cap of $170.00 to figure the amount that you have available to bid on the remaining players needed to fill your 34 man active roster during the auction draft. There is a $20.00 fee for placing players on the injured list.

            <          The Pup: You may not place any players on the pup on roster freeze day.

            <         The Developmental Squad: You may place or keep up to seven players on your developmental squad on roster freeze day. For each of these players you must pay a $10.00 fee.

            <         The Rookie List: The only players that you may have on the rookie list after roster freeze day are the ones that you drafted in the rookie draft of this year. The rookies that you drafted last year must be removed from the rookie list. If you fail to notify the Commissioner of your intentions for each of the remaining players on your rookie list from the previous year by 6:00 PM on roster freeze day they will be released.

The only players that may not be kept on roster freeze day are players that have been suspended for the entire season or are currently under suspension with no set reinstatement date. Players on an NFL team's injured list must either be released or put on your own injured list. This includes all players except those on your rookie list. Holdouts may also be kept.

Failure to notify the Commissioner of the players being retained will result in your team being pared down to 34 players on the active roster by the Commissioner. Players with the lowest contract amounts will be released until your active roster reaches the maximum of 34 players. If you still exceed the draft day salary cap of $170.00, players with the lowest contract amounts will continue to be released until you are under the cap. Players with long term contracts will remain on your team. If necessary, players with the same contract amount will be released alphabetically to reach the maximum of 34 players while still being under the cap. All players on your reserve list will also be released. You already know about the rookie list.

On roster freeze day you may keep quarterbacks from only two different NFL teams on your active roster, injured list, and reserve list combined. There are no restrictions as to how many you can keep  on your rookie list and developmental squad.

This is also the time to notify the Commissioner of your desires to sign players to long term contracts. Failure to notify the Commissioner will result in all players entering their third year of service being signed to an option year if they are kept on your team.

All of the owners will receive a complete set of draft day rosters. You will know the players that each team is keeping, their salaries, contract status, and the amount that each team has available to spend on draft day.

The Supplemental Draft

Prior to the auction draft, at approximately 12:00 PM, on draft day, a supplemental rookie draft will be held. Only players that are listed as rookies by USA Today and not already on any Cherry League team’s roster, are eligible to be selected.

The draft order will be determined by reverse order of finish from the previous season. Expansion teams will be placed at the beginning of the list

The supplemental draft will last for six rounds.  If you select a player in any round of the supplemental draft then you will forfeit a rookie draft pick in the following year’s rookie draft equal to the round he was drafted in.  You may pass in any or all rounds of the supplemental draft.  If you do not have a draft pick in the next year’s rookie draft for a particular round then you will automatically pass in that round of the supplemental draft.  All players that you select will be placed on your rookie list.

The Auction Draft

After the supplemental draft comes the auction draft. In this draft teams bid for the players that they want to fill their active rosters. Each team must fill their 34 man active roster at a total cost not to exceed the draft day salary cap of $170.00. Any position eligible player not already on a Cherry League team’s roster is fair game.

Bidding for each player, except quarterbacks, opens at a minimum of $1.00 and proceeds at minimum increments of $.50. The minimum bid for a quarterback is $14.00. The team that won the Cherry Bowl the previous year will nominate and bid on the first player. Bidding continues amongst all teams until only one bidder is left. The high bidder acquires the player for that amount and announces the roster position that the player will fill. The owner that acquired the player will then nominate and bid on the next player. If the high bidder does not wish to nominate the next player, he may pass on his nomination. If all of the other owners also pass on the nomination, the high bidder from the previous player must nominate and bid on a player if he is able to. If he is unable to make a nomination--meaning that his roster is full–the team sitting to his left will name the next player. This process is repeated until every team owner has filled his roster of 34 players.

There are a few little rules and tidbits to remember so listen up:

            <         Players may not be shifted during the auction draft. Once a player is placed on your roster, you can’t move him until after the reserve draft.

            <         You may not nominate or bid on a player that you cannot afford. For example, if you have $3.00 left to spend under the salary cap, and two openings on your roster, you are limited to a maximum bid of $2.00 on any one player. If you do bid on a player that you cannot afford, you will be fined $20.00 and the bidding for that player will be reset to the minimum bid. You are also prohibited from bidding on that player when the bidding resumes.

            <          You may not nominate or bid on a player who qualifies only at a position that you have already filled. For example, a team that has acquired three running backs, may not enter the bidding for any player who qualifies only at running back. If you do bid on a player who qualifies only at a position that you have already filled, you will be fined $20.00 and the bidding for that player will be reset to the minimum bid.

            <          You may not place a player on the reserve list, injured list, pup, developmental squad, or rookie list during the auction draft.

            <          Trading is not allowed during the auction draft.

            <         The rosters printed in USA Today on roster freeze day are the best available source of players, rookies, and position eligibility. However, common sense must be used. Any errors printed in USA Today will be decided on by the Commissioner.

            <          Remember that your available draft day salary cap dollars are figured by adding the salaries of your active roster to the salaries of your injured list along with any signing bonuses the you’re responsible for and then subtracting the total from $170.00.

The Reserve Draft

After the auction draft comes the reserve draft. In this draft, teams bid for the players that they want to place on their reserve list. Each team may add players to any that were protected on the reserve list on roster freeze day for a combined total of no more than five. This must be done at a total cost, not to exceed the draft day salary cap of $50.00. Any position eligible player not already on a Cherry League team’s roster is fair game.

Bidding for each player, except quarterbacks, opens at a minimum of $1.00 and proceeds at minimum increments of $.50. The minimum bid for a quarterback is $12.00. The team that lost the Cherry Bowl the previous year will nominate and bid on the first player. Bidding continues amongst all teams until only one bidder is left. The high bidder acquires the player for that amount and announces the position that the player will be listed at. The owner that acquired the player will then nominate and bid on the next player. If the high bidder does not wish to nominate the next player, he may pass on his nomination but the reserve draft will end for him

There are a rules to remember here also:

            <         Players may not be shifted by position during the reserve draft. Once a player is placed on your roster at a certain position, you can’t move him until after the reserve draft.

            <         You may not nominate or bid on a player that you cannot afford. For example, if you have $3.00 left to spend under the salary cap, you may not bid any more than $3.00 on any one player. If you do bid on a player that you cannot afford, you will be fined $20.00 and the bidding for that player will be reset to the minimum bid. You are also prohibited from bidding on that player when the bidding resumes.

            <         You may not nominate or bid on a player who qualifies only at a position that you already have two of on the reserve list. For example, a team that has two running backs on the reserve list, may not enter the bidding for any player who qualifies only at running back. If you do bid on a player who qualifies only at a position that you already have two of on the reserve list, you will be fined $20.00 and the bidding for that player will be reset to the minimum bid.

            <          You may not place a player on the active roster, injured list, pup, developmental squad, or rookie list during the reserve draft.

            <          Trading is not allowed during the reserve draft.

            <          You may only have one Quarterback on your reserve list at any time.

These drafts are the most important part of The Cherry League. If you screw up here you’ve probably screwed up your season. Regardless of your performance here, your teams are now set and ready to play. Or are they?

Position Eligibility

Position eligibility will be determined by the rosters printed in USA Today on roster freeze day and a little common sense. If, prior to the auction draft, you have a question about a player’s position or think you have found an error in USA Today, bring it to the Commissioner’s attention and it will be ruled on. Once the auction draft begins, it’s the Commissioners call.

Here is a rundown of the players that you may place at each position:

            <          Quarterback-You can only place players listed as quarterback in a quarterback slot.

            <          Running Back-Players listed as running back or full back may be placed in a running back slot.

            <          Wide Receiver-Players listed as receiver, wide receiver, tight end, or h-back may be placed in a wide receiver slot.

            <          Kicker-Players listed as kicker or place kicker may be placed in a kicker slot.

            <          Punter-You can only place players listed as punter in a punter slot.

            <         Kick Returner-Players listed as running back, full back, receiver, wide receiver, tight end, h-back, kick returner, punt returner, return specialist, defensive back, corner back, safety, free safety, and strong safety may be placed in a kick returner slot. During the off-season, on roster freeze day and during the auction draft, any player that you place or retain in a kick returner slot must have had at least a kick return or fair catch as a kick returner 15 times during the previous regular season.

            <         Punt Returner-Players listed as running back, full back, receiver, wide receiver, tight end, h-back, kick returner, punt returner, return specialist, defensive back, corner back, safety, free safety, and strong safety may be placed in a punt returner slot. During the off-season, on roster freeze day and during the auction draft, any player that you place or retain in a punt returner slot must have had at least a punt return or fair catch as a punt returner 15 times during the previous regular season. After the first three weeks of the season, the player that is placed in this slot must have had at least one punt return for a NFL team during the current NFL season. If you do not wish to place a player in this slot after week three, you may leave this slot empty and a salary of $5.00 will be applied to it.

            <          Defensive Lineman-Players listed as defensive lineman, defensive end, defensive tackle, or nose tackle may be placed in a defensive lineman slot.

            <         Linebacker-Players listed as linebacker, outside linebacker, middle linebacker, strong side linebacker, weak side linebacker, or inside linebacker may be placed in a linebacker slot.

            <          Defensive Back-Players listed as defensive back, corner back, safety, free safety, and strong safety may be placed in a defensive back slot.

Other words such as left or right may be used to describe a position. If you have a question as to where a certain player is allowed to play, ask the Commissioner. Players such as Deion Sanders who were listed as CB/WR, could be placed either in a defensive back slot or a wide receiver slot but this must be determined prior to the auction draft.

If a player is listed in the gamebook for two consecutive weeks at a position other than the one he is currently at he must be moved to the new position.  It will be up to all owners to bring any of these occurrences to the Commissioner’s attention since he may not catch it every time.  A request for a position change will take effect by the next player movement deadline.  Players listed as PR or KR will not be forced to move.  We will use common sense when dealing with this one.

Under most circumstances, when a player scores points playing at a position other than the position that you have placed him at, you get credit for those points. The exceptions to this are at the Kick Returner, Punt Returner, Kicker and Punter  positions. These players can only score points for the position that they are placed at.

Player Salaries

A player’s salary is determined by his means of acquisition and will not change until that player is released or signed to a long term contract.

Here’s a rundown by acquisition type:

            <          The Rookie Draft-The salary of a player drafted in the rookie draft is determined by the round that he was drafted in.

                                                First Round              $6.00

                                                Second Round          $5.00

                                                Third Round             $4.00

                                                Fourth Round           $3.00

                                                Fifth Round              $2.00

                                                Sixth Round             $1.00

These salaries do not go into effect until the player is moved off of the rookie list and onto another section of a roster other than the developmental squad.

            <          The Supplemental Draft-The salary of a player selected in the first round of the supplemental draft is $3.00 (representing a fourth round pick) and the salary of a player selected in the second round of the supplemental draft is $2.00 (representing a fifth round pick).

            <          The Auction Draft-The salary of a player acquired during the auction draft is the amount of the winning bid.

            <          The Reserve Draft-The salary of a player acquired during the reserve draft is the amount of the winning bid.

            <          Free Agency-The salary of a player acquired signed as a free agent is the amount of the winning bid.

The salaries of players acquired after being claimed off of another team’s developmental squad, by trading, or during the expansion draft will remain the same.

Prior to a player’s third year of service at his original salary amount you must release him, sign him to an option year, or sign him to a long term contract. If he is released, he goes back to being a free agent and his new salary amount will be determined by his means of acquisition. If you sign him to an option year, his salary remains the same and he will be released by May 1 of the following year. The only way that a player’s salary is changed without him being released is by offering him a long term contract.

There are of course many rules that apply to trades:

            <         Both teams that are involved in a trade must send a signed trade form or an e-mail from an address on record with the details of the trade. All of the information needed to complete the trade must be given by each team involved and once a form is signed or an e-mail sent you can’t take it back. You need to let the Commissioner know where each player is to be placed, which players get released if any, and how much of the fee that each team is responsible for. The information received from the teams involved in a trade must match exactly. Failure to give the same information will result in the trade being nullified.

            <         The active rosters of all teams involved in a trade must be complete 34 man rosters if the trade occurs during the regular season. You also must be at or under the salary caps.

            <          If a trade occurs during the off season, you must make sure that the teams involved do not exceed the position limits on the rosters. You must be at or under the salary caps.

            <          Trading is not allowed during any of the drafts.

            <          Trades do not affect the salaries or contract status of the players involved.

            <          Trades may not involve cash.

            <          Trades may involve future rookie draft picks as long as the picks occur within the next three rookie drafts.

            <          Trades may not involve conditional draft picks.

            <          Trades may not involve supplemental draft picks.

            <          You may not put conditions of any kind on a trade.

            <          If a player from a rookie list is involved in a trade, that player must be placed on either the active roster, reserve roster, injured list, pup, or developmental squad by the team that receives him.

            <          During the regular season for each quarterback that you trade away you must get one in return.

            <          Players that are in the last year of a long term contract, players that are in their option year, and players that have a salary of $12.00 or more are considered “boingers”. During the regular season you may trade boingers to another team provided that for each boinger traded, one is received in the same deal. During the off season you may trade boingers without restriction whatsoever.

            <          You may trade a player that you received in a trade during the current year however he may not be traded to a team that has previously had him on it's roster during the current year.

            <          No more than six rookie draft picks may be involved in a trade.

            <          Only two teams may be involved in a trade.

            <          A trade made between weeks five and six of the regular season may not include draft picks or boingers.

            <          Each team involved in a trade is responsible for paying at least 25% of the cost of the trade.

            <          No more than one trade may be made between two teams each year.

            <          Any player that is received in a trade may not be kept on the reserve list on roster freeze day by the team that receives him.

Make sure that you put a little bit of thought in to your trades. If you keep making trades that hurt your team you will be asked to step down as a team owner. Things like helping another team win games or giving away all of your draft picks just because you don’t want to be bothered by the rookie draft won’t be tolerated.

Signing Free Agents

A player not on any team’s roster is considered a free agent. These players may be signed to contracts during the regular season and post season. Each team is allowed a magical $60.00 per year (in other words it doesn’t really come out of your pocket) to acquire free agents. This is known as your Free Agent Salary Allotment or FASA. You will have a maximum of $10.00 to use for week 1 and a maximum of $50.00 to use during weeks 2 through 13. Free agent bidding will usually take place the day before the first game of each week. Make sure to check with the Commissioner as to what time it will take place.

Free agency will take place in two rounds. Let’s take a looksie:

            1.         In the first round, teams may submit a bid for one or more free agents.

            2.         The minimum bid is $1.00. The maximum is the amount remaining in a team’s FASA.

            3.         First round bids will be accepted until 1 hour After the round began unless the round is shortened by the Commissioner.

            4.         Each free agent selected goes to the highest bidder. If more than one team bids the same amount on a player, and that amount is the highest bid, the player goes to the team that is lowest in the standings based on all 16 teams. If this happens in the first week of the season, the player goes to the team that finished lowest in the standings the previous year.

            5.         In the second round, beginning immediately after the first round, teams that were unsuccessful bidders in the first round, may place a bid on players at the same positions as the players involved in the unsuccessful bids from the first round.

            6.         Again the minimum bid is $1.00. The maximum is the amount remaining in a team’s FASA after the salaries of any players that may have been signed in the first round are figured in.

            7.         Second round bids will be accepted until 1 hour after the round began unless shortened by the Commissioner.

            8.         Each bid that you place will cost you $2.00.

            9.         The salary of a free agent is the amount of the winning bid. Regardless of the week that a free agent is signed, it is considered his first year.

            10.       For every free agent that is signed, it will cost you $5.00.

            11.       You must inform the Commissioner by the end of the second round what to do with your newly acquired free agent. You may place him anywhere on your team except the rookie list, pup, or developmental squad. A free agent may not be released immediately after being signed. He must be kept somewhere on your team for at least one week. When you place a free agent on your active roster you must at the same time release or demote a player to make room for him. Failure to give notification of what to do with a newly acquired free agent will result in his being placed on your active roster and the player at that position that has scored the most points for you during the current season (previous season if in the first week) that does not have a long term contract will be released.

            12.       A free agent signed for a salary of $12.00 or more may not be traded or released during the current season. If such a player is not kept the following year on roster freeze day, a buyout fee of twice his salary or $30.00, whichever is greater, will be paid by the team owning him at the time.

            13.       A player that is on an NFL team’s injured list may be acquired but he must be placed on the injured list of the team that receives him.

            14.       During the post season, the slate is wiped clean and each playoff team will have a FASA of $20.00. Only playoff teams may bid on players during the post season. The minimum bid for a quarterback during the post season is $5.00. Any quarterback picked up as a free agent during the post season will be released after the conclusion of the playoffs.

            15.       For free agent bidding in the first week of the playoffs, the playoff teams will be seeded as follows:

                        1.                  Conference champ with the best W-L record.

                        2.                  Conference champ with the second best W-L record.

                        3.                  Division champ with the best W-L record that was not a conference champ.

                        4.                  Division champ with the second W-L record that was not a conference champ.

                        5.                  Wild card team with the best W-L record.

                        6.                  Wild card team with the second best W-L record.

            16.       The minimum free agent bid for a quarterback during the season is $10.00.

            17.      A player may be bid on as a punt returner or kick returner. If you are high bidder the KR/PR must be put in the KR/PR slot. The player must still meet any qualifications for the position.

The Option Year And Long Term Contracts

Prior to a player’s third year of service at his original salary amount without being released, you must release him, sign him to an option year, or sign him to a long term contract. If he is released, he goes back to being a free agent and his new salary amount will be determined by his means of acquisition. If you sign him to an option year, his salary remains the same and he will be released by May 1^st of the following year unless he is franchised. The only way to keep a player beyond a third year without a franchise tag is to sign him to a long term contract.

Any 1 player that was optioned during the previous season may be designated as a franchise player for the current year. The player’s salary will be an average of the top 5 players at his position however his salary must increase by at least 25%. Return men must use their normal position in calculating the salary. If a return man is only listed as a return man the commissioner will determine which position he will be calculated at. The franchise player request must be made by May 1. A franchised player will be designated as an optioned player and may be traded. A $10.00 fee applies if you wish to do this.

If you sign a player to a long term contract, his salary will increase $3.00 for each year beyond his third year. For example, a player that was picked up in 2004 at a salary of $5.00 can be offered a long term contract this year. If you decide to give him a four year long term contract then his salary becomes $14.00. That’s his original salary of $5.00 plus $9.00 for the three years beyond his third year. He is signed through the year 2009 and his salary will be $14.00 each of those years.

Prior to roster freeze day the year after the last year of a long term contract, a player may then be released or signed to another long term contract. This can happen as many times as you wish. For each long term contract signed after the first, the amount added for each year of the long term contract is raised by $2.00. Continuing the example above, prior to roster freeze day in the year 2010, you may decide to offer your player a two year long term contract. In this case his salary would become $24.00. That’s his first long term contract salary of $14.00 plus $10.00 ($5.00 per year) for the two years of the second long term contract. He is signed through the year 2011 and his salary will be $24.00 each of those years. If you decided to keep him for one more year after that, his salary would be $31.00 ($7.00 per year) and he would be signed through the year 2012. A player may be traded after the last year of any long term contract allowing his new owner to sign him to an additional long term contract.

A signing bonus must be paid into the pot each time a player is signed to a long term contract. For the first long term contract you must pay one half the total value of the contract, but not less than $5.00. For the second long term contract you must pay three fourths the total value of the contract, but not less than $15.00. For the third and each successive long term contract you must pay the total value of the contract, but not less than $25.00.

In addition to the signing bonus that comes out of your pocket, you will be responsible for a signing bonus that applies to your active roster salary cap. The bonuses are figured as follows: $1.00 per year for each $5.00 of salary or any fraction thereof on the first long term contract. $2.00 per year for each $5.00 of salary or any fraction thereof on the second long term contract. $3.00 per year for each $5.00 of salary or any fraction thereof on the third long term contract. And so on. If a player under long term contract is traded or released during the off season, the remaining value of his signing bonus will be applied to the upcoming season. If a player under long term contract is traded or released during the season, his signing bonus for the current year remains on the cap for the current year and the remaining value of his signing bonus is applied to the next season. If a player does not appear on a NFL roster the day before draft day, any remaining signing bonus obligations are removed. The team that signs a player to a long term contract is always responsible for his signing bonus. All signing bonuses remain on the active roster for the entire year. Using the above example, the signing bonus would be $3.00 for each year of the contract through the year 2009. For the second long term contract the signing bonus would be $10.00. You can see why it’s to your advantage to sign a player to a longer long term contract the first time around. Now let’s say that you traded the above player prior to auction draft day in the year 2008. He would still have two years remaining on his contract so the remaining $6.00 of signing bonus would be applied to your active roster salary cap during the 2008 season.

The little things:

            <          When determining years of service, a year is a full season or any fraction of a season. As an example, if you placed a player on your team during the tenth week of the 2004 season and he has not been released since then, this is the year when you must release him, sign him to an option year, or sign him to a long term contract.

            <          You can sign a player to an option year only during the off season.

            <          You can sign a player to a long term contract only during the off season.

            <          A player that is signed to an option year or a long term contract may be traded to another team. The trade of a player does not effect his contract status.

            <          If a player that has been signed to a long term contract does not appear on an NFL roster that we draft from on roster freeze day, his contract is torn up and he is released.

            <          If a player that has been signed to a long term contract is released during the regular season or playoffs by his NFL team, you must release him within two weeks unless he signs with another NFL team. The day that the Commissioner finds out when a player is released is when the two weeks begins. The Commissioner will release the player and put another on in his place if necessary if he does not sign with another NFL team.

            <          If you would like to release a player that is under a long term contract during the off season, you may do so but you must pay a fee of twice the remaining value of the player’s contract. You will still be responsible for any remaining signing bonus.

            <          Players that have been signed to an option year are considered boingers.

            <          Players that are in the last year of a long term contract are considered boingers.

            <          The signing bonuses of all players on your team always apply to your active roster salary cap.

Tie Breakers

If, at the end of the regular season, in order to determine playoff teams or the rookie draft order for next year, two or more teams finish with identical records, the following steps will be taken to break the tie:

            1.         Head to head. The best won-loss-tied percentage between the teams.

            2.         Best won-loss-tied percentage in games played within the division.*

            3.         Best won-loss-tied percentage in games played within the conference.**

            4.         Best won-loss-tied percentage in common games if applicable.

            5.         Most points in division games.*

            6.         Most points in all games.

            7.         Coin toss.

* If only teams from the same division are involved.

** If only teams from the same conference are involved.

If one team wins a multiple team tie-breaker, the remaining teams revert back to step one. If two teams in a multiple team tie possess superior marks in a tie-breaking step, this pair of teams advance to break the tie.

A category point system will be used for playoff game tiebreakers.  Whichever team  is the high scorer in the most of each of the seven categories, (QB, RB, WR, ST, DL, LB, DB) will advance to the next game.  If a tie still exists, it will be broken by the most point scored at PR, then KR, then punter, then kicker.

The movement deadline for Sunday games when there is a Thursday game is set by the Commissioner.

Players that are cut after week 12 are ineligible for the remainder of the year.

Any omissions, errors, or conflicting entries in this rule book will be ruled on by the Commissioner.

When a roster is frozen, scoring will not be allowed.

Players that are on an NFL injured list may be drafted during the auction or reserve drafts. If you draft one of these players, he must be moved to your IR prior to the player movement deadline of week one. If a vacated slot on the active roster can’t be filled by a reserve, rookie or developmental player, the Commissioner will select a free agent player for you at a salary of $12.00 (in other words a boinger that can’t be released during the current season...and he will suck) and place him there.

Important Dates in 2008

May 1st at 6:00 PM  ‑ Off season trading begins. All players that were on the injured list during the previous season are moved to the active roster. The position and number of player restrictions on the active roster and reserve list are lifted. The off season salary caps of $210.00 on the active roster and $70.00 on the reserve list go into effect. Any remaining option year players on your roster from the previous year are released.

May 10 at 1:00 PM ‑ Rosters are frozen.

May 17 at 1:00 PM (tentative time)‑ The rookie draft is held.

August 27 at 6:00 PM - Off season trade deadline.

September 3 at 6:00 PM ‑ Roster freeze day. All rookies from the previous year must be removed from the rookie list. The draft day salary caps of $170.00 on the active roster and $50.00 on the reserve list go into effect. The $200.00 base fee is due. Notification of long term contracts must be made at this time. Players on your team that are listed on an NFL’s injured list may be placed on your injured list at this time.

September 6 at 12:00 PM ‑ Draft day. The supplemental draft is held. The auction draft is held. The reserve draft is held.

September 6 Post Drafts ‑ The regular season salary caps of $190.00 on the active roster and $60.00 on the reserve list go into effect.

November 16 (tentative, depends on NFL schedule) at 10:00 AM ‑ The deadline for placing players on the pup.

November 19 (tentative, depends on NFL schedule) at 5:30 PM ‑ The deadline for claiming players on another team’s developmental squad.

November 27 (tentative, depends on NFL schedule) at 10:00 AM ‑ All players must be removed from the pup.

December 4 ‑ December 8 (tentative, depends on NFL schedule) ‑ The Playoffs.

December 11 ‑ December 15 (tentative, depends on NFL schedule) ‑ The Conference Championships.

December 18 ‑ December 22 (tentative, depends on NFL schedule) ‑ The Cherry Bowl, The Cherry Cup and The Cherry Pit.