Fantasy Football League Constitution Generator (Free Template)

Article I — The League

Section 1.1. This constitution governs [Your League Name] ("the League"), a fantasy football league of 12 teams. By joining the League, each manager agrees to abide by this document in letter and, more importantly, in spirit.

Section 1.2. The regular season runs Weeks 1 through 14, followed by a 6-team playoff bracket concluding in Week 17. Playoff seeding is determined by regular-season record, with ties broken by total points scored, then head-to-head record among the tied teams, then a coin flip administered by the Commissioner.

Article II — Dues & Payment

Section 2.1. League dues are $50 per team per season, payable to the Commissioner (or the League's designated treasurer) no later than the night of the league draft. An unpaid team may not set a lineup, place a waiver claim, or execute a trade until dues are received in full.

Section 2.2. Collected dues shall be held unspent until payouts are distributed. The Commissioner shall report the pot balance to the League upon request, and no portion of the pot may be spent, loaned, or invested — however promising the parlay.

Article III — Payouts

Section 3.1. The pot is distributed as follows: 60% to 1st place, 30% to 2nd, and 10% to 3rd. Payouts shall be delivered within fourteen (14) days of the championship game — a champion kept waiting is a constitutional crisis.

Article IV — The Draft

Section 4.1. The League draft is a snake draft (the order reverses every round), on a date the Commissioner sets by poll of the managers. Managers are notified of the date, time, and platform at least fourteen (14) days in advance, and the draft is not rescheduled once set unless every manager consents.

Section 4.2. Draft order is set by a random draw that the Commissioner runs in front of the League (a screen-shared randomizer is fine) at least one week before the draft. The order is posted in the League chat and is final once posted.

Section 4.3. Each pick is made on a ninety (90) second clock. If a manager's clock expires, the platform auto-drafts for them from their pre-draft queue and, when the queue is empty, from the platform's default rankings. Auto-drafted picks stand, so a manager who cares about the outcome builds a queue before the draft.

Section 4.4. A manager who cannot attend may submit a queue to the Commissioner, or name another League member to draft on their behalf, in either case before the draft begins. A pick may be undone only when the Commissioner and the manager who made it agree it was an obvious mis-click, and only before the next pick is made.

Article V — Scoring, Rosters & Injured Reserve

Section 5.1. The League uses half-PPR (0.5 points per reception) scoring as configured on the platform. Scoring settings are frozen at the start of Week 1 and may not change mid-season for any reason, including — especially — because a manager's kicker outscored their quarterback.

Section 5.2. Starting lineups consist of: 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE, 1 FLEX (RB/WR/TE), 1 K, 1 DST, plus 6 bench spots. Lineups lock per-player at each player's scheduled kickoff. Managers are expected to field a complete, active lineup every week — see Article IX on effort and tanking.

Section 5.3. Each team carries 2 Injured Reserve slot(s). Only players carrying an eligible designation on the platform (IR, Out, PUP, NFI, or Suspended, per platform rules) may occupy an IR slot. A team with an ineligible player in an IR slot must correct the roster before making any other transaction.

Section 5.4. A player who loses IR eligibility must be activated or dropped within twenty-four (24) hours, and in any case before the next lineup lock. If a manager lets it slide, the Commissioner may drop the player after a warning in the League chat. IR slots exist to hold injured players, not to stash healthy ones, and never to hide a roster that is over the limit.

Section 5.5. Official stat corrections issued by the platform through Tuesday shall stand, even when they reverse a matchup result. The League accepts the platform's final numbers; no manager appeals to the box score gods twice.

Article VI — Waivers & Free Agency

Section 6.1. Free agents are acquired via Free Agent Acquisition Budget (FAAB) blind bidding. Each team receives $100 in FAAB for the season, with no in-season replenishment. Waivers process overnight into Wednesday; ties in bid amount are broken by reverse standings. Unspent FAAB confers no offseason benefit, so bid like you mean it.

Section 6.2. Bids of $0 are permitted. A winning $0 claim costs nothing but still processes through waivers in bid-priority order, so a team that has exhausted its budget may continue to place claims all season.

Section 6.3. Players lock at their scheduled kickoff and enter waivers after their game. Unclaimed players clear to free agency after the waiver period and may be added first-come, first-served. Waiver claims are confidential until processed; publishing another manager's intended claims is a conduct violation under Article IX.

Article VII — Trades, Review & Deadline

Section 7.1. Trades may include players and process immediately upon acceptance unless flagged for review. Managers may negotiate freely; lopsided is legal, collusive is not (see Article IX). Trade-backs, loans, and 'I'll owe you one' arrangements spanning multiple transactions are treated as collusion.

Section 7.2. A trade may be challenged within twenty-four (24) hours of acceptance. A challenged trade is overturned only by a vote of a majority of managers not party to the trade, and only on grounds of collusion or bad faith — never because the voters think one side simply won the deal. Winning a trade is not a crime.

Section 7.3. To challenge a trade, a manager who is not party to it posts the challenge, with a one-sentence reason, in the League chat within the review window. Each uninvolved manager then votes to overturn or to let the trade stand, also in the chat and also within the window; a manager who does not vote counts as letting it stand. The trade is reversed only if a majority of the uninvolved managers vote to overturn, and the Commissioner carries out the reversal within twenty-four (24) hours. A tie or a short count means the trade stands.

Section 7.4. The trade deadline is the end of Week 11. No trade may be accepted after the deadline, regardless of when negotiations began. The deadline exists to protect playoff integrity, not to be cleverly circumvented.

Article VIII — Keepers & Dynasty

Section 8.1. The League is a redraft league. All rosters clear after the championship, and every player returns to the draft pool. Each season begins with a clean slate and equal hope, however briefly.

Article IX — Conduct, Collusion & Competitive Effort

Section 9.1. Every manager owes the League a good-faith effort in every week of the season, including after playoff elimination. Setting a full, active lineup is the minimum expression of that duty. Teams out of contention still shape the playoff race, and the League's integrity rests on their diligence.

Section 9.2. Collusion — any agreement between managers to gain an advantage not visible within a single transaction, including dump trades for future consideration, shared team control, or coordinated waiver behavior — is the League's cardinal offense. A manager found colluding, by a vote of the uninvolved managers, forfeits eligibility for all payouts and may be removed from the League.

Section 9.3. Any manager may report suspected collusion to the Commissioner in writing, or to the League chat if the Commissioner is involved, within seven (7) days of the transaction in question. The accused manager has seventy-two (72) hours to respond. The outcome is decided by a vote of the uninvolved managers and announced to the League with its reasons, and transactions found to be collusive are reversed, where the platform allows, before any penalty is applied. A report filed in bad faith is a conduct offense in its own right.

Section 9.4. Deliberately losing games (tanking) is prohibited, whether out of spite, apathy, or a plan to help a friend. Indicators include benching healthy starters without competitive justification, starting bye-week or inactive players, and dumping productive players for nothing. The Commissioner shall issue one written warning; further violations are penalized as a conduct offense, up to forfeiture of any payout for the season.

Section 9.5. Trash talk is a protected League tradition and shall remain within the bounds of good humor. Personal attacks unrelated to fantasy football fall outside that protection. The standard: sharp enough to sting, clean enough to read aloud at the draft.

Article X — Inactive & Abandoned Teams

Section 10.1. A manager is inactive in any week in which they submit no valid lineup (an empty or incomplete lineup, or one made up of bye-week and inactive players) without notifying the Commissioner. A team whose manager is inactive for two (2) consecutive weeks is declared abandoned. A manager who will be unreachable (travel, illness, family) is expected to say so in advance, and the Commissioner may set a lineup on request.

Section 10.2. After the first missed week the Commissioner contacts the manager directly and posts a notice in the League chat. While a team is inactive but not yet abandoned, the Commissioner sets a best-available lineup so that opponents are not handed free wins, and makes no trades, waiver claims, or drops on the team's behalf.

Section 10.3. Once a team is declared abandoned, the Commissioner recruits a replacement manager, approved by a majority of the remaining managers. The replacement inherits the roster, record, and picks and takes over the team without penalty. The departed manager forfeits any claim to payouts, dues already paid are not refunded, and the replacement assumes any dues still owed.

Section 10.4. A manager who returns before the team is declared abandoned resumes full control without penalty. A declaration of abandonment is final for the season; a manager who returns afterward may ask for a place in the League next season like any other applicant.

Article XI — Last Place

Section 11.1. The League imposes no formal last-place punishment. Finishing last carries its own sentence: a full offseason of reflection and the first question at next year's draft.

Article XII — Amendments & Ratification

Section 12.1. This constitution may be amended by a vote of two-thirds of all managers. Amendments proposed during the season take effect the following season, unless every manager consents to immediate effect. No amendment may retroactively change the result of a completed matchup, transaction, or season.

Section 12.2. Where this constitution is silent, the Commissioner rules according to precedent, platform defaults, and common sense, in that order, and shall record the ruling for future reference. Recorded rulings carry the force of this constitution until amended.

Section 12.3. This constitution takes effect for the 2026 season upon acknowledgment by all 12 managers. Joining the League for the 2026 season constitutes acceptance. Signed (in spirit), the managers of [Your League Name].