News

It was decided today that the Johnson Cup Playoff format for 2023 will be more similar to that of years prior to 2022. With only 2 teams on bye Week 14 rather than 6 as there were last season, it was felt like that was not prohibitive to using Week 14 for the first round of the playoffs. There will be no Johnson Cup Qualifying Tournament this year. The regular season will be a full 13 weeks with the playoffs beginning Week 14 and ending with the Fantasy Bowl in Week 17. The complete 2023 schedule including the playoff format will be available on August 25. (14-May-2023)

It was determined today that the 2023 PREFARD Selection order was incorrect as originally posted on the ESFFL website. The errors were corrected and the PREFARD link has been reloaded to the website and is now accurate. (4-May-2023)

Two new rule changes were approved today by the Fantasy Board of Governors. The first change, RC2302, allows teams to reserve one fewer player each year and receive one additional pick in the Player Redistribution and Free Agent Rookie Draft. For the 2023 season, teams can now reserve 8, 9, or 10 players. If they reserve 9, they will receive one additional PREFARD pick and if they reserve 8, they will receive 2 additional PREFARD picks. These additional picks will be restricted to only players reserved by 2 or fewer teams.
The second change approved today is RC2303. This change eliminates Week 18 from the ESFFL schedule and reduces the ESFFL Fantasy Bowl to a single week contest. Going Forward the Fantasy Bowl will be played in Week 17 only. Finally today, one rule change proposal was made but failed to pass. RC2304 was not adopted. The proposal was to order the PREFARD via a different method. It only garnered two yea votes. (15-April-2023)

The Fantasy Board of Governors have approved RC2301. This is a series of updates to the Official Rules for the 2023 season. Included in these changes are an increase in reserves from 8 to 10 this season, an increase in Initial Roster size from 18 to 20, an increase to the Seasonal Roster from 20 to 22, and an increase in Active Roster size from 17 to 18. The Taxi Squad will increase from 3 to 4 players. To account for the increase in Initial Roster size, the Salary Cap will increase from $28,000,000 to $30,000,000. Additionally, several planned changes for the 2024 season will be included in the 2023 Official Rules. Those planned changes will include the provision to plan for the increase of reserved players from 10 to 11 for the 2024 season.  The Initial Roster will remain at 20, the Seasonal Roster at 22, and the split between the Active Roster and Taxi Squad will remain at 18/4. (10-April-2023)

The granitestate ill-tempered- gators have announced they will not be returning for the 2023. Owner Eric Soucy stated the need to concentrate on his other fantasy football leagues as his main reason for leaving. The list of 2022 Final Rosters and the 2022 Final Free Agent List have been updated to reflect the departure of the gators. (12-January-2023).

The carolina blueskies have undergone a change in team ownership. Mike Stuckey has taken over control of the team from former owner Devon Weaver. When asked to comment, Devon suggested he simply didn’t have enough time to keep up with the demands of keeping an ESFFL team relevant. The ownership change has been approved by league headquarters and officially becomes effective today. (20-September-2022)

Two rule change proposals were passed today, both via unanimous, 5-0 votes from the Fantasy Board of Governors. Rule Change RC2204 specifies that initial rosters must contain at least one player at each scoring position. This rule, a carryover from the league format prior to 2021, was intended to be kept, but simply left out of the official rules when the league format changed following the 2020 season. Rule Change RC2205 changes the restrictions for the at large players expansion teams can add to their rosters under the rules for expansion. It eliminates the ambiguity for expansion teams which draft inside the Top 30 of the PREFARD. Such teams can now add no more than 3 players drafted from the Reserve List prior to their draft slot (not within the Top 30 as previously stated). The complete rule changes can be viewed by following the hot links included above (15-August-2022)

Rule Change Proposal RC2203 was voted down by a 4-1 nay to yea vote. This proposal would have eliminated Week 18 from the ESFFL schedule. It would have made the ESFFL Championship Game, the Fantasy Bowl, a one-week contest, Week 17 only. As it is, the Championship Game will remain a two-week game, played in Week 17 and Week 18. (6-August-2022)

Travis Davis of the carolina clammerin’clams has won the election to become the newest ESFFL Fantasy Governor. Look for an upcoming podcast with Governor Travis! (2-August-2022)

The Fantasy Board of Governors have approved Rule Change RC2202 which modifies the formula used to adjust player salaries following the PREFARD Draft. The formula adjustment will prevent salaries of undrafted players from rising following the draft. (30-July-2022)

One additional team has announced their departure from the ESFFL. After 16 seasons, the hubcity redraiders are ceasing operations for at least a year. They are not ruling out a return in 2023. The team formerly know as the earleville destroyers ends their current run with a 102-125-4 lifetime record. (24-July-2022)

Due in part to the recent departure of a few teams at the top of the PREFARD draft, the Commissioner has updated the ESFFL Calendar by moving back the start of the PREFARD and the Reserves deadline. Reserves will now be due at 8:00 PM on July 22. The PREFARD will begin on August 3. (17-July-2022)

Following a down 2021 season, the landenberg bluehoagies have announced they will be exiting the league this year. In doing so, the bluehoagies are giving up the #1 draft slot in the PREFARD draft. The philadelphia fellas will inherit the #1 draft slot (if their entry fee is paid on time that is). (13-July-2022)

The fogcity unicorns have announced that they will not return to the ESFFL for the 2022 season. Following four straight losing seasons, unicorns owner Justin Skaife has decided to join a different fantasy football league which competes at the minor league level.
(12-July-2022)

After 13 ESFFL seasons the elkton underdogs have decided to exit the league. The underdogs’ bark and bite have both been insignificant for the past few season and 13 years is about the average lifespan for a dog. Owner Dan McGroerty has confirmed that the underdogs have been humanly euthanized.
(24-June-2022)

The results of a recent vote among the entirety of the ESFFL membership were announced today. The voting was conducted to determine the playoff format for the 2022 season. The Option 3 format, which is to conduct a playoff qualifying tournament during Weeks 12 through 14, was the format chosen. It received 9 total votes compared to 5 votes for Option 2 and 2 votes for Option 1. In this new format, the regular season will end after 11 weeks. The top 20 teams will qualify for the “Johnson Cup Playoff Qualifying Tournament” which will be held between Weeks 12 and 14. The Johnson Cup Playoffs proper will begin in Week 15 with 8 total teams. The reason for the change is to be able to conduct the Johnson Cup Playoffs without the presence of bye weeks.
(14-June-2022)

After 19 years of membership in the ESFFL, the elkton fightin’filipinos have decided to exit the league. The team cited poor ownership for their reason for disbanding. For the record, it was the team owner who issued the press release. (6-June-2022)

Team headquarters for the clammerin’clams has recently moved from Arizona to the metro Charlotte area in North Carolina. Going forward, the clams will be known as the carolina clammerin’clams.
(27-May-2022)

The ESFFL has expanded its ranks once again, this time awarding a new franchise to Andrew Bidwell, son of chicago toucans owner, Charles Bidwell. The ESFFL’s Bidwell’s are no relation to former and current Arizona Cardinal’s owners Bill and Michael Bidwell. Andrew’s yet to be named new team brings the current ESFFL membership to 36 total teams. (21-February-2022)

New Hampshire cheese magnate, Eric Soucy, has broken his affiliation with the league champion bradford shadowtalons such that the can enter a team in the ESFFL for the 2022 season. His yet to be named team will be the first ESFFL team to be located within the state of New Hampshire. Soucy has yet to provide a name for his new team, but rumors indicate the team’s motto will be: “live free or die, as long as you eat cheese.” (17-February-2022)

The Fantasy Board of Governors have approved RC2201. This change updates the Official Rules for the 2022 season. The Official Rules for 2022 are posted on the website main page. The significant changes are as follows: Teams will be able to reserve 8 players (up from 6 in 2021) from their final roster. The Initial Roster will increase from 16 to 18 and the Seasonal Roster will increase to 20. The Active Roster will increase to 17 and the Taxi Squad will increase to 3. All of the above changes were already planned for the 2022 season. Additionally, the formula for adjusted salaries of undrafted players will be adjusted slightly. A full explanation can be viewed from the link above. The salary cap for initial rosters will increase from $25,000,000 to $28,000,000 to account for the two extra Initial Roster positions and the salary adjustment formula change. The other minor changes can be viewed from the link above. One final rule change to note here is a change to Rule 9F. This rule has been re-named the Anti-Tanking Rule. It was created in response to an infraction of the original rule. The carefree clammerin’clams were found to be in violation of this rule during the 2021 season. The clammerin’clams made free agent moves and changes between their Taxi Squad and Active Roster which were deemed to be efforts to purposely lose. Such behavior is not acceptable in this league. The prior rule was deemed insufficient to sanction the clammerin’clams (outside of this public announcement of their violation), so the rule was re-written to more accurately state what is and what is not acceptable. It also provides clear sanctions for any team found in violation of the rule. All team owners are encouraged to read this rule (in section 9F of the Official Rules for 2022) and abide by it going forward. Once again, all these rules are spelled out in RC2201. (4-February-2022)

The sochesco swampdrainers have announced their exit from the ESFFL. Along with this move, their co-owner, Ray Temple, has concurrently resigned from the ESFFL Fantasy Board of Governors. We will look to fill this open position prior to the start of the 2022 ESFFL Season (most likely in June or July of 2022). Anyone who would like to be considered for this open position should contact Commissioner Jeff. (18-January-2022)

The Sidoriak family has just doubled their presence in the ESFFL. Joining Ted and Susan, owners of the collegeville house-of-pain and phoenixville peeps respectively will be joined in 2022 by their daughters Emma and Maggie who will each maintain their own team. It’s likely to be some time before the names of their franchises are decided upon. (25-December-2021)

The Fantasy Board of Governors approved RC2104 which limits the ability of franchises to receive PREFARD picks in lieu of reserves. For the 2022 season and beyond, returning teams will be able to receive just one addition PREFARD pick rather than two. Additionally, players eligible to be picked will be restricted to Reserved List Players reserved by 2 or fewer teams and players on the Non Reserved List. The Official Rules have been update with this change.
(23-August-2021)

The expansion class of 2021 will include four total teams. With five teams departing the league, that leaves the ESFFL with 33 total teams for 2021. To avoid byes weeks due to their being an odd number of teams, the Fantasy Board of Governors has passed Rule Change RC2103, which allows for games against the league average. To ensure a 13-game schedule for each team without byes or multiple games in a week, each team will play one game against the league average this season. (14-August-2021)

After an eight-year stint in the ESFFL, the northeast riverrats have decided to call it quits. They did not give a reason for their sudden departure, but one can only conclude their disappointing finish to the 2020 season had to have factored into their decision. In pole position for the #1 overall playoff seed going into the regular season’s final week, a 21 point outburst from Tyreek Hill doomed them to a one-point loss. That loss coupled with a five-point win for the cecilcounty bayfoxes, who also benefited from Hill’s big game, gave the bayfoxes the top seed. A week later the riverrats made an early exit from the playoffs, an always demoralizing scenario for sure. (12-August-2021)

A fourth, and likely final, 2021 expansion team has been awarded to Jeff Morris. Another alumnus of Pennridge High School, Jeff joins his former high school basketball teammates, Jon Thatcher and Jeff Rogers, in an attempt to dominate them in fantasy football like he once dominated them in the pseudo-sport of “un-basketball.” Jeff’s team will be known as the mainline maulers. (12-August-2021)

A third expansion team for 2021 has been awarded to Liam Perlmutter. The team will be known as the ambler colonials. Liam, the son of long-time ESFFL combatant and ambler emus owner Frank Perlmutter, was negative 10 years old the last time his father won the ESFFL Championship. (10-August-2021)

The 2021 expansion team owned by Mark Mitchell have officially adopted the team name, “willowstreet cockapoos.” (7-August-2021)

The knights franchise has decided to represent a larger market, and are therefore changing their team name to the “connecticut knights.” Their owner, Scott Harley, sees no reason not to disappoint the entirety of the state of connecticut, not just the clinton metroplex, with the performance of his fantasy football team. (6-August-2021)

Dan Martin has announced a name change for his franchise formerly known as the happyvalley endings. Going forward, Dan’s team will be known as the “pleasantville renegades.” Dan did not cite a reason for the name change, but one speculates he simply wishes to avoid the question, “what’s a happy ending?” from his daughter in the next few years. (6-August-2021)

A second expansion team has been awarded to Mark Mitchell of Willow Street, Pennsylvania. Mark competed with Commissioner Jeff in the SiriusXM Ring of Honor League last season so he is expected to be tough competitor. His team name is still to be determined. (5-August-2021)

An expansion slot in the ESFFL has been awarded to the bradford shadowtalons from Bradford, Massachusetts. Owned by Jon Thatcher, former high school classmate of Commissioner Jeff Rogers, the shadowtalons are expected to be a highly competitive team. 32 years after taking a loss in the “Great Meatball Eating Contest of 1989,” the shadowtalons are using fantasy football as a means to seek revenge against the commissioner and his meatball eating prowess. (2-August-2021)

The wilmington walkers will be the fourth team not returning to the ESFFL this year, joining the wilmington penthouse, delmar tollrunners, and cuyahoga crunch. A total of 30 teams have submitted reserves indicating there is likely to be 30 or more teams in the league this season, given the potential for expansion teams. Commissioner Jeff has announced that the Sid number will be 3 this season. This means that once Initial Roster selection is complete, a free agent will be defined as any player on 2 or fewer teams, and such players can be added to teams, via the waiver process, until they are on 3 teams total. (21-July-2021)

The cyahoga crunch announced today that they are exiting the ESFFL following 16 seasons of play. In fact, with the exception of their beloved Cleveland Browns, the crunch owner has given up on watching NFL games due to the political direction the league has taken. (19-July-2021)

The delmar tollrunners have decided to exit the ESFFL citing their history of losing attention midway through the season. The tollrunners are calling it quits after 9 seasons. (18-July-2021)

Though the ESFFL schedule won’t be released until August 26, it was revealed today that the Johnson Cup Playoffs will begin in Week 14. Please note that there are NFL byes in Week 14, so plan accordingly. (10-July-2021)

The wilmington penthouse announced today that they will be exiting the league. Over their nine year history, the penthouse won two ESFFL Championships. (7-July-2021)

Rule Change RC2102 was unanimously passed by the Fantasy Board of today. This change eliminates the pre-season auction and replaces it with a more standard waiver period. The Official Rules for 2021 have been updated to reflect this change (22-June-2021).

The Official Rules for 2021 were posted today. Based on these news rules, the format for the ESFFL will change slightly from previous seasons. In the coming weeks, Commissioner Jeff will release a series of videos which explain the changes being made for the 2021 season. The changes stem from RC2009 which was passed in October 2020. The Official Rules also encompass RC2101 which was a modification made for expansion teams. Click on the links above to view further details, and feel free to contact Commissioner Jeff with any questions regarding the 2021 season. (26-April-2021)

Following the recent resignation of Jim Sullivan from the Fantasy Board of Governors, the open governor position was filled today. With the backing of the remaining four governors, the Commissioner offered the position to Ray Temple of the sochesco swampdrainers. Ray finished a close second in last year’s governor election. He has accepted the position and is looking forward to the challenges of planning for the upcoming 2021 season. The Commissioner would like to thank Governor Sullivan for his many contributions to the ESFFL, and also thanks Governor Temple for taking on this new commitment. (16-March-2021)

In a meeting with the Fantasy Board of Governors, the Commissioner announced that a move to the “Option 2” format is likely for the 2021 Season. Formal announcement and more specific information is expected in May. (1-March-2021)