Overview

The Fantasy Football Players Championship (“FFPC”) is a fantasy football game of skill that offers guaranteed cash awards to its top entrants. This contest will test a participant’s ability to predict player performance both over time and on a weekly basis, as well as to value certain players and positions within the framework of our scoring system, place appropriate bids on free agents based on the relative future value to the entrant’s team and create a balanced fantasy team that will maximize scoring output over the length of the season. FFPC award winners are determined based on the criteria listed in the Rules below.

The FFPC Never-Too-Early Best Ball Tournament is based on the FFPC Best Ball Slim Format with a 20 round serpentine draft. There will be a 14 week regular season with single week elimination playoff bracket weeks 15-17. Optimized scoring lineups are automatically started each week so no lineup submissions are required. Each team will receive the optimum point total for the week, which means that fantasy points of the top-scoring QB, 2 RBs, 2 WRs, TE and 2 Flex will be awarded. Please continue down to the League Structure section of the rules for complete details.

The 2023 Never-Too-Early Best Ball Tournament will consist of a maximum of one hundred twenty 12-team leagues for a total of 1,440 teams in the tournament. Drafts will be held online.

The 2023 Never-Too-Early Best Ball Tournament drafts will run up until the NFL Draft and conclude on April 27, 2023.

Drafts MUST be completed before the start of the NFL Draft and draft clocks may be shortened as needed and/or remaining picks may be autodrafted if needed.

FFPC Never-Too-Early Best Ball Tournament Leagues will be available in live 30-second timer Sit & Go Drafts, live 60-second timer drafts or slow 2-hour or 6-hour timer drafts.

Sit & Go Drafts have a 30-second clock per pick with drafts which begin as soon as the 12th team registers, regardless of time of day or night. Players will be able to exit Sit & Go Drafts at any point prior to the draft filling using the EXIT LEAGUE buttons found on the league home page or the FFPC apps. Drafts will begin within 2 minutes of the 12th team registering, regardless if all teams are present or not. Players understand that if they are not present for a Sit & Go draft, it will not be paused or restarted. Entry fees will not be refunded for a missed draft. It is highly recommended that players download the FFPC iOS or Android apps for use during Sit & Go drafts.

The following rules cover the Never-Too-Early Best Ball Tournament.

How to Enter:

Entry fee for the FFPC Never-Too-Early Best Ball Tournament is $125. No refunds will be issued after draft slots are drawn and/or the draft taking place. Once the event is full at 1,440 teams, no further registrations will be accepted.

Entrants may complete the Online Entry Form for the Never-Too-Early Best Ball Tournament and agree to abide by the official rules and regulations governing the FFPC. Payment can be made via the FFPC’s secure online registration using credit cards or player’s account balance. Upon completing the online entry form, the full entry amount must be paid to reserve the team. After registering and making payment, a link will appear on the participant’s My Teams page for entry into their respective Never-Too-Early Best Ball Tournament League.

Each owner is required to draft a starting lineup of 1-QB, 2-RB, 2-WR, 1-TE, 2-FLEX. If you do not draft a complete starting roster, FFPC commissioners may add players at their discretion after the draft to ensure a valid roster.

FFPC slow drafts are available with a 2 hour or 6 hour clock (timer per pick). There will also be a pause between the hours of 2 AM and 8 AM ET (11 PM and 5 AM PT) to protect teams from missing a pick during nighttime hours. Teams may make picks during the pause when it is their turn. All other Draft room functionality, like adjusting players in Queue and turning on/off Auto draft, will be available during the pause.

A team set to Auto draft will have picks made during the pause when this team is on the clock. Once a pick is made, the next team will be on the clock, but the timer will not run until the draft is un-paused.

Example 1 (Slow draft with a 2 hour clock): A team goes on the clock at 12:30 AM ET, draft clock pauses with 30 minutes remaining at 2 AM ET. The clock will stay paused until 8 AM ET, at which time the clock will continue rolling with the remaining 30 minutes. An auto pick will be made at 8:30 AM ET if the team fails to make a selection.

Example 2 (Slow draft with a 2 hour clock): A team goes on the clock at 12:30 AM ET, the clock pauses with 30 minutes remaining at 2 AM ET. The team makes a selection at 5 AM ET. The following team is now on the clock, with the clock still paused. The clock will start to run at 8 AM ET so this team will have until 10 AM ET to make a selection.

Example 3 (Slow draft with a 2 hour clock): A team goes on the clock at 12:30 AM ET, the clock pauses with 30 minutes remaining at 2 AM ET. The team makes a selection at 5 AM ET. The following team had auto draft functionality on, so this pick is made. The following team is now on the clock, with the clock still paused. The clock will start to run at 8 AM ET so this team will have until 10 AM ET to make a selection.

All examples above apply similarly to slow drafts with a 6 hour clock.

If the team manager does not make a selection within the allotted time frame and does not alert the commissioner to internet or computer problems, this team will be assigned a player according to the team’s Queue (if populated), the team’s rankings, or the draft software’s auto draft settings. The culpable team may subsequently be placed on auto draft for the rest of the draft. The owner may unselect this feature upon returning to the draft room with a simple click of the mouse and may continue drafting in normal manner.

League Structure, Rules and Prizes

The FFPC Never-Too-Early Best Ball Tournament will be comprised of up to 1,400 teams (120 leagues) and will not be expanded. Each league consisting of 12 teams/participants/managers.

There are two distinct parts of the Never-Too-Early Best Ball Tournament season:

• Part 1 – Regular season Weeks 1-14
• Part 2 – Single week elimination Playoff Bracket weeks 15-17

The Never-Too-Early Best Ball Tournament individual league structure will be as follows;

The regular season will run from NFL Week 1 through NFL Week 14.

• After Week 14, two (2) top scoring from each regular season league will advance to Week 14, the first round of the Playoff Bracket, for a total of 240 advancing teams. Advancing teams will be randomly placed into new 12 team leagues with scores reverting to zero.
• After Week 15, three (3) top scoring teams from each league will advance to Week 15, for a total of 60 advancing teams. Advancing teams will be randomly placed into new 12 team leagues with scores reverting to zero.
• After Week 16, three (3) top scoring teams from each league will advance to Week 17, for a total of 15 advancing teams. Advancing teams will be randomly placed into new 15 team leagues with scores reverting to zero.
• The final 15 team Championship League will compete in Week 17 with scores reverting to zero. The highest scoring team will be named champion.

All scores will revert to zero after each round is complete.

If there is a tie between two or more teams for most regular season points at the conclusion of the regular season, the following tiebreakers will be used in order to determine playoff participants:

1. Total starting QB points weeks 1 through week 14

2. Most points scored in week prior

3. Coin toss

If there is a tie between three or more teams for single week playoff rounds in weeks 15, 16 and 17, the following tiebreakers will be used in order to determine playoff participants:

1. Total starting QB points for that week

2. Most points scored in week prior

3. Coin Toss

Ties in the championship round (week 17) will result in prizes being shared.

All drafts will last for 20 rounds, with each team selecting one player per round. Drafts will be held in a serpentine format: Team 1 through Team 12 in Round 1, Team 12 through Team 1 in Round 2, Team 1 through Team 12 in Round 3, etc. Teams may select any player that is not already drafted by another team. There are no limits as to the number of players drafted at each position.

FFPC draft facilitators (aka FFPC Commissioners) oversee most online drafts and have the ability to stop, rewind a draft and change draft picks. Draft facilitators have discretion to rule on any discrepancy involving player selection. This may happen on occasion, as a result of various circumstance which may come up during the draft. All rulings by the FFPC facilitators are final.

Each owner is required to draft a starting lineup of 1-QB, 2-RB, 2-WR, 1-TE, 2-FLEX. If you do not draft a complete starting roster, FFPC commissioners may add a player at their discretion after the draft to ensure a valid roster.

Trading between teams of any kind, including but not limited to, draft picks or players, is strictly prohibited.

FFPC Never-Too-Early Best Ball Tournament Scoring

Each team’s roster will have a maximum of 20 players. Lineups do not need to be submitted in Never-Too-Early Best Ball Tournament Leagues. The league management system will automatically start the optimal lineup based on that week’s scoring. The starting lineups will consist of: 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE and 2 Flex Players (RB, WR or TE).

Player position eligibility and designation is determined by FFPC Commissioners during the pre-season and may be changed any time before the start of the NFL season. FFPC participants agree to accept these designations and understand the final position designations may be different from the time their FFPC drafts were conducted.

The following is the scoring system used for every player in FFPC. Scoring will be calculated to the hundredth of a point. Negative yardage will count as a negative score:

Passing

• 0.05 point – 1 yard passing (multiply total passing yards by 0.05. Example: 275 passing yards = 13.75 fantasy points)
• 4 points – Passing TD
• -1 point – Interception thrown
• -1 point - Fumble Lost
• 2 points – 2-point conversion

Rushing

• 0.1 point – 1 yard rushing (multiply total rushing yards by 0.1. Example 126 rushing yards= 12.6 fantasy points)
• 6 points – Rushing TD
• -1 point - Fumble Lost
• 2 points – 2-point conversion

Receiving

• 0.1 point – 1 yard receiving (multiply total receiving yards by 0.1. Example 126 receiving yards= 12.6 fantasy points)
• 6 points – Receiving TD
• 1 point – Reception for RB, WR, QB, K
• 1.5 points – Reception for TEs
• -1 point - Fumble Lost
• 2 points – 2-point conversion

Touchdowns:

FFPC implements Action scoring for all touchdowns. A TD scored in any way by an individual player is awarded to that player whether he is on offense, defense or special teams, whether that TD came as a result of a fumble, interception, double turnover***, lateral, special teams or any other football play. To reiterate: If a player scores a TD during a game and he is in your starting roster, you are awarded 6 points. (The exception is when a quarterback throws a passing touchdown. Those are awarded 4 points.)

No rushing or receiving yards will be awarded for a TD scored on a fumble, interception, kickoff or punt return.

Never-Too-Early Best Ball Tournament Free Agency Acquisitions and Blind Bidding:

There are no transactions in Never-Too-Early Best Ball Tournament leagues.

Prize Structure & Distribution:

The FFPC Never-Too-Early Best Ball Tournament prize structure is based on 1,440 teams and is fully guaranteed, as set forth in the Prize section.

Winners will be notified by email or regular mail within 10 days after the final league and overall results are posted on the FFPC web site. All award money will be paid in U.S. dollars and will be mailed out no later than January 20th, 2024 to all participants that have provided their tax reporting information. All taxes associated with the receipt of any award are the sole responsibility of the winner. FFPC, LLC. will pay 100% of all FFPC awards directly to each winning principal participant unless a prize split is requested by the principal participant, as described directly below. FFPC, LLC. is not responsible for, or bound by, any agreement between the principal participant and any co-managers or group. FFPC, LLC. reserves the right to substitute any non-cash award by cash or by an award of equal or greater value.

Prize splitting amongst principal participant and their co-managers is available. The principal participant will always remain the sole legal prize winner and MUST authorize payment to his co-manager in writing. The principal participant will fill out and sign the authorization form indicating the name & address of his co-manager and the amount he should receive. Both the principal participant and the co-manager will each fill out a W-9. Once these documents are received and approved by the FFPC, LLC. the prize monies will be released to both parties. At year’s end, both the principal participant and the co-manager will each receive IRS Form-1099 for their prize awards.

Limitations to prize splitting: prize splitting is limited to TWO persons only: the principal participant and the co-manager. Under no circumstance will FFPC, LLC. issue payment to anyone other than these two persons. Only total prize awards of $2,000 or greater will be eligible for prize splitting. This may can be a combination of any CASH prizes won in any FFPC tournament, league or contest. FFPC Dollars or any non-cash prizes are not applicable for prize splitting. Each share of prize split awards must be a minimum of $600. FFPC, LLC. may, at its own discretion, refuse to accept any prize splitting request and process the entire award to the principal participant. Please email info@myffpc.com with any further questions regarding the prize splitting process.

If your gross prize winnings exceed $600.00, the FFPC must file a Form 1099 with the IRS at the end of this calendar year. At that point, we may request your social security number (this will be kept strictly private unless required to be disclosed as a matter of law) to file your prize winnings with the IRS. This Form contains the amount paid to the award principal participant and/or the co-manager, in cases where the prize split has been processed. Award winners will receive a copy of the Form for tax purposes and are responsible for paying any taxes that result from your cash prize. Please consult your income tax adviser for filing advice. If you do not fill out this form and return it to us, you may not get your prize by our listed payout date of January 20th, 2024.

Online Draft Attendance

Draft attendance is mandatory. Please contact FFPC, LLC. should you expect to be late for the draft. Participants must log in to their league and sign into the online draft no later than five minutes prior to the draft start time. In the event that the participant (or co-manager) does not sign in to the online draft, a surrogate drafter may make selections for the team in question or the team may be placed on auto-pick. If a participant signs into the online draft after the draft has started, he will be able to select his next player; however, if any previous surrogate selections have been made, they would still apply. Check your connections in advance of the draft. If you cannot gain access to the draft, you will need to arrange another method to access the draft. The FFPC is not responsible for connection issues, and will not issue a refund.

All Never-Too-Early Best Ball Tournament draft schedules will be posted on the FFPC website. FFPC, LLC. is not responsible for any loss or liability incurred by any participants or co-managers due to the rescheduling of any or all events. At its sole discretion, FFPC, LLC. reserves the right to terminate any FFPC Best Ball League at any time prior to its completion due to any acts of God, natural disasters, terrorism, change in applicable law, interruption in the NFL season (including strikes, lockouts and/or use of replacement players), or failure or ceasing of operations by our fantasy league management platform. In the event that FFPC, LLC. terminates the FFPC, all entry fees would be returned to the entrants.

The Never-Too-Early Best Ball Tournament season begins on, September 7th, 2023 and ends on Monday, January 1st, 2024, which is the first 17 weeks of the NFL regular season. If the NFL changes its season for any reason, FFPC, LLC. reserves the right to amend its FFPC league structure accordingly. Any regular season NFL games that take place prior to the FFPC drafts WILL count towards Week 1 point scoring in the FFPC regular season. If the NFL plays any games with replacement players during a formal league strike or lockout, statistics from those games shall not count for the purposes of this competition.

FFPC, LLC. uses its league management service to handle scheduling, blind bidding, transactions, win-loss records, etc. FFPC uses game statistics provided by SportRadar data feed which will be our basis for scoring. Elias Sports Bureau will often have minor scoring changes during the season. FFPC will automatically have the league management software make stat changes as they occur. FFPC, LLC. will act as the commissioner of the overall event and will have final say over all decisions related and regarding the Fantasy Football Players Championship. Entrants warrant that they are familiar with the workings of Elias Sports Bureau and SportRadar, and agree not to hold FFPC, LLC. liable for any errors caused by, or potential failures of either Elias Sports Bureau or SportRadar.

In the event of a server failure or other technical issues, the last lineup that was submitted will be the official lineup for the week. FFPC, LLC. RECOMMENDS THAT PARTICIPANTS MAKE ALL LINEUP CHANGES AS SOON AS LINEUP SUBMISSION IS AVAILABLE EACH WEEK. In cases of extreme emergency, line up changes may be submitted to support@myffpc.com with the words LINEUP CHANGE in the subject line, or called into 1-888-898-FFPC, as long as these changes are received prior to the weekly deadline for making such changes. The following must be provided for a valid email or phone transaction: League number & team name, login name and password, the name of the player(s) to be placed in the starting lineup, the name of the player(s) to be removed from the starting lineup.

If you feel there is a scoring error, please email support@myffpc.com with the words STAT APPEAL in the subject line. Kindly detail the issue and we will look into it. We are using Elias Sports Bureau to automatically correct any statistical errors, so an appeal is not needed for an error which would be corrected by Elias. Typically, stat changes are received by Elias and SportsRadar on the Thursday following that particular week. Once the stat changes are received, the FFPC will update the standings and results of all FFPC leagues accordingly. All scoring for the prior week will go FINAL by 6:00 PM EST on the Friday following that particular week, and at that time all contestants waive their right to any further appeals. It will be the sole discretion of FFPC, LLC. to make any changes not noted by Elias Sports Bureau.

Online Addendum

The draft is conducted in the ‘live draft’ room found on the league pages. It is strongly recommended that each participant check in a few days before the draft and familiarize themselves with the draft software. The draft will be conducted in a serpentine method starting the first round with Team 1, proceeding through Team 12; the second round will start with Team 12 and will proceed through Team 1; the third round will begin with Team 1 and end with Team 12, etc. until all 20 rounds have been completed. This will result in a 20 player roster. Most drafts last approximately 2 hours, however, participants should allow for 3 hours or more.

IMPORTANT: The draft room software will require each team to draft a starting lineup of 1-QB, 2-RB, 2-WR, 1-TE, 2-FLEX. As an example, if you do not have a Tight End in the final round of the draft, the software will not allow you to draft another position and you will be required to draft a Tight End.

Online Draft Commissioner:

Never-Too-Early Best Ball Tournament drafts will not have a live draft commissioner present, however, drafts will be monitored and flagged for irregular activity. The FFPC reserves the right to review and act on any draft pick or draft which is deemed to be compromised and has the discretion to rule on any discrepancy involving player selection. All rulings by the FFPC facilitators are final. Check your connections in advance of the draft. If you cannot gain access to the draft, you will need to arrange another method to access the draft. The FFPC is not responsible for connection issues, and will not issue a refund.

Online Co-Management during the Draft:

The primary participant is responsible for his draft. If the primary participant chooses to allow his co-managers to be logged in during the draft, they will both have equal ability to select players. This means that if a co-manager selects a player before the principal participant, his/her selection is the one taken.

Online Time Limit:

For Live Sit & Go Drafts, each player will receive thirty seconds (30) to make a selection. Participants should try to make a selection as soon as they are on the clock, as FFPC, LLC. cannot be held responsible for a sudden loss of internet service. If the team manager does not make a selection within the allotted 30 second time frame this team will be assigned a player according to the draft software’s auto-pick computer. This selection may not be changed. The draft software will then place this team’s draft on auto-pick. The owner may unselect this feature with a simple click of the mouse and continue drafting in the normal manner with a 30 second clock.

Online: The Team Roster: Each team’s roster is limited to 20 players. IT IS THE PARTICIPANT’S RESPONSIBILITY TO VERIFY THAT HIS/HER TEAM ROSTER IS CORRECT BEFORE LEAVING THE DRAFT, AND AFTER IT IS UPLOADED TO THE LEAGUE MANAGEMENT WEBSITE. It is the participant’s responsibility to report any errors to FFPC within 24 hours of the roster being uploaded to the league management website. .

Contingency Plans

Please read the FFPC Terms & Conditions, section titled “Official Length of the NFL Season” for our contingency plans should the NFL have unexpected changes to its season.