Fantasy Football – The Rules
By Jenny Mather
Fantasy Football is a fantasy sports game in which participants (called "owners"), arranged into a league, each draft or acquire via auction a team of real-life American football players and then score points based on those players' statistical performance on the field.
A typical fantasy league will employ players from a single football league, such as the NFL or an NCAA division. The salary cap football league is a particular type of dynasty league which adds another factor of realism similar to the NFL: the salary cap. A new style of is modeled after the popular "survivor pool" or "knock out pool" style of weekly NFL wagering that allows each pool member to pick one NFL team to win each week, but he or she can only pick that team once all year.
Some positions seem the most logical choice for a team to accumulate points, however, some unconventional owners have chosen Team Defense/Special Teams to fill this position in hopes of gaining an advantage. Players earn their team points based on their performance in their weekly games; for example, each touchdown counts as 6 points, a certain number of yards gained counts for points, and so on. In almost all cases, players earn points for passing, rushing, and receiving yards. Passing yards (sometimes touchdowns as well) typically earn about half as many points as rushing/receiving
yards. Negative points are also usually given for turnovers, and kickers earn points for field goals and extra points (sometimes negative points for missed kicks). Team defenses earn points for things like sacks, turnovers, safeties, etc.
Individual defensive players typically do not earn points for team-wide stats such as keeping the opponent under a certain score or yardage total, but rather for tackles or turnovers made. Again, there are many variations used: 1 point for 25 passing yards, 1 point for 10 rushing and receiving yards, 1 point for every reception (aka "PPR" for "points per reception"), 6 points for a passing touchdown, 6 points for a rushing or receiving touchdown, 2 points for every interception thrown or fumble lost, 1 point for each extra point made, 3 points for each field goal made (often points are awarded for long kicks, etc. over 40 yds), 1 point per sack and turnover gained by defense, 2 points for a safety by defense, 6 points for each touchdown scored by defense and 2 points for each blocked kick. The weaker cornerback on the opposite side of the field may allow his receiver to catch ten passes and subsequently make six tackles, generating points despite playing poorly. Some leagues award bonus points for runners who post 100-yard rushing games.
Fantasy football allows your dream to become a (virtual) reality.
Jenny Mather is a freelance journalist who has written many articles on Fantasy Football
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