Contract league rules reference

Overview

A contract dynasty league adds two key elements to traditional dynasty fantasy football: salary caps and multi-year contracts. Every player has a salary that counts against your team's cap and a contract that defines how many seasons they're under your control.

This creates realistic GM-style decision-making: who to draft, when to extend, when to cut, and how to build a championship roster within financial constraints. League Tycoon manages all contract mechanics inside the platform, with no spreadsheets required. All settings below show defaults, but commissioners can customize everything.

Season timeline

A contract dynasty league year follows a structured calendar. Here is when everything happens, from the offseason through the next league year.

Drafts

Contract leagues have two core drafts each season: a free agent draft and a rookie draft. Commissioners can also create supplemental drafts. Each draft can be run in different formats depending on the league's preference.

Free agent draft

The primary draft for signing free agents. Available in three formats: auction (live bidding), contract bidding (salary + years), or offline (manual entry). The commissioner selects the format and schedules the draft.

• •Teams bid from their cap space. Holdback ($50 default) is locked until all drafts are complete, ensuring you have at least that amount available for in-season moves
• •The winning bid becomes the player's first-year salary
• •Roster movements (drops, roster slot changes) are locked during the draft

Auction format (live)

Teams take turns nominating players and bidding in real time. The winning bid becomes the player's salary. Fast-paced, typically completed in a single session.

Slow auction format

Same mechanics as live auction, but runs over days or weeks. Teams nominate in rotation, and multiple players are auctioned simultaneously up to a configurable cap (default 20). Uses proxy bidding: you set your maximum bid and the system bids the minimum necessary to keep you ahead.

• •Anti-sniping: when a team is outbid and the remaining time is less than the bid reset timer, the timer extends by the reset amount (default 16 hours)
• •Nightly pause: commissioner can set a pause/resume schedule so the draft freezes overnight and resumes in the morning
• •2-slot exception: teams with 2 or fewer open roster slots can bid on active auctions before nominating, so they are not forced to fill their last spots with nominations

Full guide to slow auction drafts →

Contract bidding format

An optional draft format where teams bid with a salary and a contract length (1-5 years). Longer contracts come with a per-year discount, meaning you pay less per year for a longer commitment but take on more total cap obligation. Discounts are configurable by the commissioner. Available as both live and slow formats. The slow format uses the same proxy bidding, anti-sniping, and pause/resume rules as slow auction.

Full guide to contract bidding →

Must fill roster

When enabled (default), the system reserves enough cap to fill every open roster slot at minimum salary. Teams cannot spend their entire cap on a few players and leave empty slots. When disabled, teams can end their draft early by choosing to stop nominating, and teams with less than minimum salary remaining are out of the draft even if open slots remain.

Rookie draft

Begins in Year 2 of the league (Year 1 rookies enter through the free agent draft). Only rookie-eligible players are available. Available formats: linear (default), snake, or offline.

• •Rookie picks are guaranteed regardless of cap space
• •Salary is determined by the rookie pay scale based on draft position
• •Default contract length: 3 years
• •Rookies can be auto-assigned to the practice squad (enabled by default)

Rookie pay scale

Rookie salaries are based on a percentage of the salary cap (default: 4.5%), scaled by draft position. The base salary is calculated as the salary cap × 4.5%, then each pick applies a percentage of that base. Example for a 12-team league with $250 cap (base ≈ $12):

Draft order

Four draft order types are available. The commissioner selects one for the league.

• •Weighted lottery (default): non-playoff teams receive lottery balls based on finish (worst record = 100 balls, then 80, 60, 45, 30, 15, and declining). Playoff teams pick after lottery teams in reverse order of playoff finish. The commissioner schedules the lottery ceremony and can adjust ball counts before it runs.
• •Inverse standings: non-playoff teams sorted worst to best record. Playoff teams follow in reverse order of playoff finish.
• •Max points for (MPF): non-playoff teams sorted by maximum possible points scored (ascending). Reduces tanking because a team cannot lower its max points by benching players.
• •Manual: commissioner sets the entire draft order directly.

Supplemental drafts

Commissioners can create additional drafts beyond the core rookie and free agent drafts. In contract leagues, supplemental drafts must use auction, contract bidding, or offline formats because every player needs to be assigned a salary. Holdback remains locked until all drafts (including supplemental) are complete.

Commissioner draft controls

• •Pause and resume any active draft
• •Nominate players on behalf of a team
• •Undo nominations and player assignments
• •Manage which teams have ended their draft
• •Edit timer settings, format, and nomination limits while the draft is running

Contracts

Contract lengths & allocations

Contracts range from 1 to 4 years by default. 5-year contracts are available if the commissioner increases the 5-year allocation from 0. Each team has a limited number of multi-year contract slots per season. Allocations are consumed when a multi-year contract is signed, whether during a draft or post-draft. 1-year contracts are always unlimited.

All allocations become available again on April 1st. Unused allocations do not carry over.

Player Salary Increase Per Year

The default salary increase per year is 0% (flat salaries across all years of a contract). When configured by the commissioner (e.g., 15%), each year of a multi-year contract is set higher than the previous year at the time the contract is created. The salary for every year is locked in when the contract is signed. At rollover, the player simply advances to the next year's salary that was already set. Changing this setting does not retroactively affect existing contracts.

Multi-year contract signing

After all drafts are complete, teams can sign players to multi-year contracts (using their available contract allocations) until the first NFL game kickoff. This is a separate action from the draft. Year 1 salary is the player's current salary, and subsequent years are set using the salary increase per year setting (if configured). All years are locked in at signing. Signing a multi-year contract consumes one allocation of that length.

Extensions

A player becomes extension-eligible when their contract is entering its final year at season rollover. A multi-year deal with one year remaining after rollover qualifies. A 1-year deal (drafted players, waiver pickups, or the last year of a multi-year contract) does not, because that contract ends at rollover and the player is dropped. The extension window opens on April 1st and closes at the first NFL game kickoff.

• •Player must be in their final contract year after rollover (not before)
• •Each player can only be extended once per contract (cannot extend a player who has already been extended)
• •A franchise tag adds a year to a player's contract before rollover, so a tagged player lands on a 1-year deal after rollover and becomes extension-eligible like any other final-year player
• •An RFA tender can have the same effect, but eligibility is not confirmed until the RFA auction settles. If the player ends up on a 1-year contract (no bids, or a 1-year winning bid), they become extension-eligible. A multi-year winning bid pushes extension eligibility back until the new contract enters its final year
• •Each extension consumes one of the team's extension allocations for the season

Extension salary calculation

• •Stable (default): the extension salary is the player's current salary multiplied by (1 + yearly increase %). With the default 0% increase, the salary stays flat. The salary cannot go below the minimum extension salary ($10).
• •Performance-based: the extension salary is calculated from the player's recent game performance and position salary data, multiplied by the extension computed percent (default 85%). If the computed salary is lower than the stable increase salary, the stable increase salary is used instead. The salary cannot go below the minimum extension salary ($10). See the "How are performance-based contract salaries calculated?" FAQ below for details on the calculation.

Rookie contracts

Rookies drafted in the rookie draft receive contracts at their pay scale salary with a default length of 3 years. Rookie contracts are tagged with a "rookie" contract type, which determines eligibility for rookie options (if enabled).

Rookie option year

An optional mechanic (disabled by default, 0 per team). When enabled, teams can exercise a rookie option to add one year to a rookie's contract in their final year. The player must be on a "rookie" contract type (not an extended or tagged contract). Can only be exercised once per player. The option window opens April 1st and closes at the first game kickoff. Each option exercised consumes one of the team's rookie option allocations for the season.

Three salary calculation methods:

• •Stable (default): current salary × (1 + yearly increase %). With 0% increase, the salary stays flat. The option salary can never be lower than the stable increase amount.
• •Performance-based: calculated from recent game performance × 70% (default). If the result is lower than the stable increase amount, the stable increase amount is used.
• •Franchise tag %: the position franchise tag price × 50% (default). If the result is lower than the stable increase amount, the stable increase amount is used.

Franchise tags

A franchise tag retains a player who has completed their final contract year for one additional season. The player can only be tagged once in their career. After the tag year, the player becomes a free agent and cannot be tagged again. Tags are disabled by default (0 per team) and must be enabled by the commissioner.

• •Window: after Week 17 through April 1st rollover
• •Eligibility: player must be in their final contract year and must never have been tagged before
• •Tag salary: the higher of two values: the average of the top salaries at the position (default: top 8), or the player's current salary × (1 + yearly increase %)
• •Tag prices: calculated once per season after the free agent auction draft completes, based on the average of the top N salaries at each position
• •After the tag year: the player becomes a free agent and is dropped from your roster. Cannot be tagged again

Full guide to franchise tags →

Contract expiration

When a player's contract expires at season rollover (no remaining years), they are automatically dropped from the roster and become a free agent. There is no dead money on naturally expiring contracts. Dead money only applies when a team actively cuts a player before their contract expires.

RFA Tenders

RFA Tenders are an offseason mechanic that lets a team retain an expiring player by making a 1-year tender offer at a chosen tender level. Each level pairs a salary with a draft pick compensation package. Tenders are signed during the offseason window (end of season through April 1st rollover). After the league rolls over to the new season, every tendered player is queued for the RFA auction, which runs before the rookie draft. The original team has the right to match any winning bid. If they decline, the player goes to the high bidder and the high bidder sends the rookie pick compensation tied to the level the original team selected. Full walkthrough: RFA Tenders feature page.

Eligibility

A player is automatically RFA-eligible the offseason after they complete the last year of an initial contract. The player's contract type is shown on their contract card. Initial contract types are:

• •Rookie: contracts signed in the rookie draft
• •FA Draft: contracts signed in the free agent auction draft (or contract bidding draft)
• •Free Agent: contracts signed via in-season pickups (FAAB or immediate)

Players whose initial contract has been extended or franchise tagged are not RFA-eligible. Commissioners can manually adjust eligibility on individual players if their league wants to deviate from the default.

Window

The RFA tender window opens after Week 17 and closes at the April 1st rollover, the same window as the franchise tag. After the league rolls over to the new season, the RFA auction runs before the rookie draft so that rookie pick compensation is available.

Tender levels

Each tender level pairs:

• •Salary: a 1-year salary set by the commissioner for that level
• •Compensation: the right to match, plus the rookie draft picks the original team receives if they decline

Higher levels carry higher salaries and better compensation. Lower levels are cheaper but the comp picks you collect are weaker. Every level grants the right to match.

Tender level selection rules

• •The tender salary cannot be lower than the player's current salary multiplied by the league's player salary increase per year setting
• •The tender salary cannot be lower than the league minimum salary. Levels that fall below either floor are auto-disabled, and the top level is raised to meet the minimum if needed
• •Commissioners configure how many levels exist, the salary cap percentages, and the compensation picks for each level

The RFA auction

• •The auction runs as a contract bidding draft, configurable as live or slow. Contract bidding is required so that multi-year offers can be matched during the auction
• •Other teams bid contract offers (salary plus contract length, typically 1-5 years subject to league settings)
• •If no team bids, the player stays on the original team at the tender salary on a 1-year contract

Right to match

• •When a winning bid is established, the original team is shown the offer and chooses to Match or Decline
• •Matching keeps the player at the matched salary and contract length. A multi-year match consumes one of the team's contract slot allocations for that length
• •Declining transfers the player to the high bidder. The compensation picks defined by the original tender level transfer from the high bidder to the original team for the upcoming rookie draft
• •Bidding teams must own the compensation picks tied to the tender level before they can place a bid on the player. Teams that don't own the required picks cannot bid on that player at all, so any winning bid the original team is shown is one with compensation already locked in

Extension eligibility after RFA

Players who exit RFA on a 1-year contract become extension-eligible, just like any other final-year player. This applies in two cases:

• •No team bid in the auction and the player stayed on the 1-year tender
• •The winning bid was a 1-year contract

A multi-year winning bid pushes extension eligibility back until the new contract enters its final year.

Salaries & cap management

Salary cap

Each team operates under a salary cap. Your cap usage is the total of all player salaries on your roster (with slot-based adjustments for practice squad and IR) plus any dead money. You must be under the cap to trade, claim from waivers, or update your lineup during the season.

What counts against the cap

• •Active roster: full contract salary (100%)
• •Practice squad: 25% of contract salary (default, configurable)
• •Injured reserve: 100% of contract salary (default, configurable). There is no IR cap discount by default
• •Dead money: current-year dead cap from previously cut players

Cap space = salary cap − (active salaries + PS salaries at 25% + IR salaries at 100% + dead money) + rollover from prior season. All salaries are whole dollars (rounded up).

Over-cap behavior

• •During the season, teams cannot make transactions that would put them over the cap (trades, waivers, roster moves)
• •During the offseason (season complete), teams can make roster reorganization moves while over the cap
• •Future-year overages are allowed by default. If the commissioner enables future cap enforcement, transactions must also leave both teams under the cap in years 2-5

Dead money

Dead money is the cap charge that remains when you cut a player before their contract expires. Dead money does not apply on trades. Traded players transfer their full contract to the new team with no dead money to the original team.

• •Current season: 100% of salary stays on your cap (default). For practice squad players: 25% (default)
• •Next season: 25% of salary per remaining contract year, charged as a single lump sum (default). For practice squad players: 0% (default)
• •Year 3+: $0. Dead money never lasts more than two seasons

• •Commissioners can manually adjust dead money totals for any team
• •All dead money percentages are configurable by the commissioner

Full guide to dead money →

Cap rollover

At season rollover on April 1st, unused cap space carries over to the next season, up to the rollover max (default $25). The rolled-over amount is added directly to the new season's available cap space. If a team has negative cap space or less than $0 unused, the rollover is $0.

Cap space in trades

• •Both teams' cap space is checked on every trade. If either team would go over the cap, the trade is blocked
• •There is no salary matching requirement. Trades can be any combination of players, picks, and cap space
• •Cap space itself can be traded. One team sends cap dollars to another as part of a deal
• •Traded players carry their full contract to the new team. No dead money is charged to the original team on a trade

Waivers & free agents

How waivers and FAAB work

In contract leagues, there is no separate waiver budget. Your FAAB budget is your available salary cap space. Contract leagues use FAAB bidding (rolling waivers are not available).

Players are placed on waivers for two reasons:

1. 1Player is dropped: stays on waivers for the configured waiver duration (default 1 day)
2. 2Player's game has started: stays on waivers until Wednesday morning at 10:00 AM CST

Default behavior (recommended)

The FAAB auction processes on Wednesday morning at 10:00 AM CST. All blind bids submitted during the week are resolved at that time. After the FAAB auction processes, players who cleared waivers become available for immediate pickup for the rest of the week until their game starts. Immediate pickups cost the league's minimum salary (default $1). When a player's game starts, they go back on waivers until the following Wednesday.

• •Bids are blind. You cannot see what other teams have bid until processing completes
• •Players must be owned for at least 24 hours before going on waivers when dropped (configurable). Players dropped sooner go directly to free agents
• •FAAB does not process during the offseason or while drafts are running. It opens after all drafts are complete

FAAB bidding only mode (optional)

Commissioners can enable "Players can only be picked up through FAAB bidding." When enabled, players can never be picked up immediately. All acquisitions require a FAAB bid, and auctions process at 10:00 AM CST on each enabled day (default: Monday, Wednesday through Sunday). This mode is not recommended for most leagues because it prevents teams from picking up players on game days.

FAAB tiebreakers

When two teams submit the same bid for the same player:

1. 1Team lower in standings wins (record, then total points for, then points against)
2. 2Team with the most available cap space wins

Free agent contracts

Players claimed through FAAB or immediate pickup receive a 1-year contract at the acquisition cost (bid amount or minimum salary). They become free agents the following year unless extended or franchise tagged.

Trading

Trade auctions

A public trading mechanism where you put players, picks, and/or cap space on the block. The rest of the league submits offers. The seller selects which offer becomes the current winning offer, and that offer is visible to the entire league. Other teams can submit better offers before the timer expires.

• •The seller reviews all pending offers and selects the winning offer
• •Once a winning offer is selected, the auction is locked and the trade will complete when the timer and review period expire
• •If the remaining time is less than 12 hours when a new winning offer is selected, the timer resets to 12 hours (anti-sniping)
• •After the auction timer expires, there is a review period where the seller can evaluate any remaining pending offers before the trade finalizes
• •The completed trade then follows the league's normal approval process (commissioner, league vote, or auto-approval)

Full guide to trade auctions →

What transfers in a trade

When a player is traded, their full contract transfers to the new team: contract length, salary, extension status, franchise tag eligibility, rookie option status, and practice squad eligibility all move with the player unchanged. No dead money is charged to the original team.

Pick trades

Rookie draft picks can be traded up to 2 years in advance by default (configurable by the commissioner). Picks are tradeable in both direct trades and trade auctions.

Cap space trading

Enabled by default in contract leagues. Teams can include salary cap dollars as part of any trade. One team sends cap space to another, adjusting both teams' available cap.

Trade deadline and offseason

The trade deadline (default: Week 9, configurable) closes trading during the regular season. After Week 17, trading reopens for the offseason. Teams can trade freely during the offseason regardless of the trade deadline setting.

Trade approval

Three trade approval modes:

• •Commissioner approval (default): the commissioner reviews each trade during the review period and can approve or reject
• •League vote: league members can vote to veto during the review period. If the veto threshold is reached (default: 4 votes), the trade is cancelled
• •Auto-approval: trades process immediately with no review period

Practice squad

The practice squad is a separate roster section for developing young players at reduced cap cost. Practice squad players count against the cap at 25% of their contract salary by default, and cutting them carries significantly less dead money than active roster cuts.

Eligibility

• •Default (rookie draft only): only rookies (0 years experience) drafted in the core rookie draft are PS-eligible
• •Alternative (any draft): commissioner can change the setting so rookies drafted in any draft (rookie, FA auction, supplemental) are PS-eligible

Eligibility expiration

By default, PS eligibility never expires. The commissioner can configure it to expire after a set number of seasons:

• •Never expires (default)
• •After rookie year
• •After 2nd year
• •After 3rd year
• •After 4th year

When a player's PS eligibility expires at season rollover, they are automatically moved from the practice squad to the bench.

Moving players on and off the practice squad

• •PS to bench: allowed freely. Salary increases from 25% to 100% of contract salary (cap space is consumed)
• •Bench to PS: allowed if the player is still PS-eligible. Salary decreases from 100% to 25% (cap space is freed)
• •To a starting lineup slot: permanently removes PS eligibility. Once a player is placed in a starter slot, they can never return to the practice squad

PS dead money

Practice squad cuts carry significantly less dead money than active roster cuts:

• •Current season: 25% of salary (vs 100% for active roster)
• •Next season: 0% (vs 25% per remaining year for active roster)

This makes the practice squad a low-risk way to develop rookies. If a player does not pan out, you can cut them for minimal cap impact.

Auto-assign during rookie draft

During the core rookie draft, PS-eligible rookies are automatically assigned to available practice squad slots (enabled by default). If no PS slots are available, they go to the bench while retaining PS eligibility.

Injured reserve

IR slots hold players with qualifying injury designations. By default, IR players count at 100% of their contract salary against the cap (no discount).

Traditional IR (default)

Players with eligible injury designations can be placed on IR. Eligible statuses include Out, Doubtful, Injured Reserve, Physically Unable to Perform (PUP), and similar designations. Players must be moved off IR when they become healthy and ineligible. Moving a player off IR requires available roster space.

Full-season IR

An alternative mode the commissioner can enable. Any player can be placed on IR regardless of injury status, but they must remain on IR for the rest of the season and cannot be dropped until playoffs complete. The IR salary percentage setting determines how much of their salary counts against the cap (default 100%, but can be reduced for cap relief).

IR at end of season

When the season completes after Week 17, IR closes and all IR players are moved off IR. This happens before season rollover on April 1st.

Playoffs

Playoff configuration is customizable by the commissioner: start week, number of teams, lower bracket type, re-seeding, and round duration.

Seeding

Division winners get the highest seeds. Remaining spots are filled by overall standings (record, then total points for, then points against). Higher seed advances in tiebreakers.

Brackets

• •Championship bracket: determines 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. Trophies (gold, silver, bronze) are awarded automatically. Playoff finish determines rookie draft order for playoff teams (champion picks last)
• •Bankrupt / consolation bracket: for non-playoff teams. The commissioner can choose between two modes: losers advance (Bankrupt Bowl, where the loser of each matchup moves on) or winners advance (traditional consolation bracket)

Commissioner options

• •Reseeding: when enabled, the bracket reseeds after each round so the highest remaining seed plays the lowest remaining seed. When disabled (default), seeds stay fixed throughout the playoffs
• •Two-week matchups: each playoff round spans 2 NFL weeks instead of 1. The commissioner can apply this to all rounds or only the championship round
• •Lower bracket type: choose between losers-advance (Bankrupt Bowl) or winners-advance (consolation)

Common questions