ECD
East Coast Dynasty
2026 Season · Sleeper

League Constitution

East Coast Dynasty — The official rulebook of the league. Effective for the 2026 season.

League
East Coast Dynasty
Season
2026
Sleeper League ID
1180969834529763328
Article 1

League Overview

  1. Platform: Sleeper
  2. Format: Dynasty, Full PPR
  3. Quarterback Format: 1QB (single quarterback)
  4. Teams: 14
  5. Divisions: 2 (The North / The Deep South)
  6. Playoff Teams: 8
  7. Trade Deadline: Week 14
  8. Playoff Weeks: 15, 16, 17 (single-game, win-or-go-home)
  9. East Coast Dynasty is a competitive, long-term league. Roster construction is a multi-year commitment carried out through trades, rookie drafts, and FAAB waivers.
  10. Unless a rule states otherwise, every league vote in this constitution passes by simple majority: 8 of 14. Abstentions count as no votes.
Article 2

Roster Construction

Each team carries 10 starters plus bench, taxi, and IR slots.

Starting Lineup

  1. QB: 1
  2. RB: 2
  3. WR: 2
  4. TE: 1
  5. FLEX (RB/WR/TE): 2
  6. K: 1
  7. DEF: 1

Bench, Taxi, and Reserve

  1. Bench: 7 spots (reduced from 9, pending league vote)
  2. Taxi Squad: 3 slots
  3. IR / Reserve: 3 slots

Taxi Squad Rules

  1. Taxi slots are reserved for rookies only. No veterans.
  2. Players can remain on taxi for up to 2 seasons.
  3. Taxi deadline is Week 4 of the NFL season. After that, taxi rosters lock.

IR / Reserve Rules

  1. 3 IR slots available.
  2. Eligible designations: OUT and Suspended.
  3. Players designated Doubtful, DNR, or COVID are not IR-eligible.
Article 3

Scoring

East Coast Dynasty uses full PPR scoring with bonuses for big plays, yardage milestones, and first downs. The complete scoring breakdown is set in the Sleeper league settings, which serve as the official source of truth. Managers are responsible for reviewing the settings in Sleeper prior to the draft.

Article 4

Waivers (FAAB)

  1. Each team begins the season with $100 in FAAB, reduced from $1,000, to keep the waiver wire competitive throughout the year.
  2. Waiver Type: FAAB blind bid
  3. Minimum Bid: $1
  4. Waiver Processing Day: Tuesday
  5. Waiver Clear Time: 1 day after processing
  6. Daily waivers are off. Standard weekly processing only.
  7. Offseason adds are disabled.
  8. Managers are advised to budget carefully, as exhausting FAAB early can leave a team unable to address bye weeks and late-season injuries.
Article 5

Trading

  1. Trade Deadline: Week 14
  2. Trade Review Period: 3 days
  3. Draft Pick Trading: Enabled
  4. Veto System: League vote, 8 votes needed to veto
  5. Veto Votes Visible: Yes
  6. Auto Poll: Enabled
  7. Dynasty trades frequently involve future draft picks. Managers are encouraged to evaluate moves on a long-term basis, as a first-round pick two years out may prove decisive in a future championship window.
Article 6

Rookie Draft

  1. Rounds: 3
  2. Format: Slow draft
  3. Draft Order: Determined by prior season finish. Non-playoff teams draft first.
  4. Pick Trading: Enabled
  5. Draft Date: June 22, 4:30 PM ET (confirm via the group chat vote)
Article 7

Playoffs

  1. Playoff Teams: 8 of 14
  2. Playoff Start: Week 15
  3. Round Format: Single game, no byes
  4. Seeding: Based on regular season record
  5. Consolation Bracket: Yes (losers bracket)
  6. The bracket spans Weeks 15, 16, and 17. Every game is win-or-go-home.
Article 8

Championship Pot (Buy-in)

  1. Solo owner teams: $100
  2. Co-owner teams: $150
  3. Total pot: $1,500
  4. All dues are due by Week 1 of the NFL regular season.

Payouts

  1. 1st place: $1,300
  2. 2nd place: $100 back ($150 if co-owner)
  3. 3rd place: $100 back ($150 if co-owner)
Article 9

The Crown Awards (Optional Add-on, Pending League Vote)

The Crown Awards are a proposed optional add-on, pending a league vote. If adopted, they operate as set out below.

The Crown Awards are separate from the championship pot. Buy-in is $50 per person across 16 participants, creating an $800 pot. Crown Awards dues are not due until the end of the season.

All awards are based on regular-season fantasy results, except The Gauntlet (Article 9A) and The Underdog Award (Article 9B), which are weekly games.

  1. Rookie of the Year: $250 — team that rostered the NFL rookie with the most fantasy points
  2. Most Points For: $150 — team with the highest total points scored all season
  3. The Underdog Award: $200 — most Top Dogs of the Week over the regular season (see Article 9B)
  4. The Gauntlet: $200 — last manager standing in the weekly elimination game (see Article 9A)

Eligibility (points-based awards)

  1. To qualify, the award-contending player must remain on the manager's roster for the entire season.
  2. If the manager trades the player away, that player is disqualified from the manager's award entirely. The award passes to the team whose qualifying player finished with the next-highest fantasy point total and who retained that player on its roster all season.
  3. The same applies if the manager drops or cuts the player. Releasing the player disqualifies him for that team just as a trade does.
  4. A player counts only toward the award of the team that rostered him all season. Acquiring a contending player mid-season does not make the acquiring team eligible for that award.
  5. Eligibility rules above apply to the Rookie and Most Points For awards. The Gauntlet and The Underdog Award have their own rules in Articles 9A and 9B.
Article 9A

The Gauntlet (Weekly Elimination Game)

The Gauntlet is a weekly survival game that runs inside the Crown Awards. It funds the $200 prize listed in Article 9. If the Crown Awards are adopted, The Gauntlet runs as follows.

The format

  1. All 14 teams begin the season in The Gauntlet.
  2. Each week, the team with the lowest weekly total score among the teams still alive is eliminated from The Gauntlet.
  3. Eliminations run weekly from Week 1 through Week 13. One team is eliminated each week, reducing the field from 14 to 1.
  4. The last manager standing after the Week 13 elimination wins The Gauntlet and the $200 prize.
  5. The Gauntlet is separate from the head-to-head matchups and standings. A team can lose its weekly matchup and still survive The Gauntlet, and vice versa. Only the raw weekly total score matters.

Who counts each week

  1. Only teams still alive in The Gauntlet are compared each week. Once a team is eliminated, its score is ignored for all future Gauntlet weeks.
  2. A team that has been eliminated cannot be eliminated again and cannot re-enter. Elimination is permanent.
  3. Because only living teams are compared, a team survives a week simply by not being the lowest scorer among the survivors. A team is never required to be the highest scorer, only to avoid being last.

Ties for the lowest score

  1. If two or more living teams tie for the lowest weekly score, the team with the lower total season points-for (cumulative through that week) is eliminated.
  2. If those teams are still tied on season points-for, the team whose lowest-scoring individual starter scored the fewest points that week is eliminated. (The team with the single worst starter goes out.)
  3. In the extremely unlikely event teams remain tied through both tiebreakers, the next-lowest individual starter score that week is compared, and so on down each team's starting lineup until the tie breaks.
  4. Only one team is eliminated per week. Ties never remove two teams in the same week, so the field reduces by exactly one each week and reaches a single survivor at Week 13.

Edge cases

  1. If a living team fails to set a lineup or fields an incomplete lineup, its actual posted score still counts. A zero or near-zero week makes elimination likely, which is the manager's responsibility.
  2. If a scoring correction after the fact changes who was lowest, the commissioner applies the correction and the originally announced elimination is reversed only if the correction is confirmed before the next week's games begin. After that, the announced elimination stands.
  3. The Gauntlet concludes at Week 13 with exactly one survivor. Week 14 is not used for The Gauntlet. There is never a scenario with multiple survivors at the end, because exactly one team is eliminated every week from a starting field of 14.
  4. The Gauntlet result is independent of dues status, but a manager must be paid into the Crown Awards to collect the $200 prize, per Article 14.

Tracking: The commissioner posts the surviving field and the weekly elimination in the group chat and on the site each week, so the bracket of survivors is always current.

Article 9B

The Underdog Award (Weekly Improvement Game)

The Underdog Award is a weekly improvement game that runs inside the Crown Awards and funds the $200 prize listed in Article 9. It rewards teams that consistently outplay their own season-to-date average.

The format

  1. Regular season only: Weeks 1–14.
  2. Weeks 1–3 are baseline weeks. No Top Dogs are awarded; scores are recorded to establish each team's running average.
  3. Starting Week 4, each team's weekly score is compared to its own season-to-date average (the average of all completed weeks BEFORE the current week).
  4. Top Dog of the Week is awarded to the team with the highest improvement percentage over its average, among teams that scored at least the minimum-score gate.
  5. Minimum-score gate: the team's score for the week must be at least 110 points (fixed standard, league-vote configurable). Beating your own average is not enough if you scored below 110.
  6. If two or more teams tie for the highest improvement percentage, multiple Top Dogs are awarded that week.
  7. At season's end, the team with the most Top Dogs wins the $200 prize. If teams tie on Top Dog count, the prize splits evenly.

Locking and corrections

  1. Weekly results are recomputed every Tuesday morning after Monday Night Football finalizes.
  2. A scoring correction is honored only if confirmed before the next week's games begin. Once the next week's games start, the prior week is locked and the announced Top Dog(s) stand.
  3. The commissioner may manually lock or override any week's result for documented reasons; overrides are recorded in the audit log.

Tracking: The Underdog leaderboard, weekly Top Dogs, and underlying improvement percentages are published live on the Crown Awards page.

Article 10

Weekly Parlay (Lowest Scorer Penalty)

  1. The team with the lowest score each week incurs a $10 penalty, and the commissioner places the parlay on that manager's behalf.
  2. A manager may select any player and is not limited to their own roster, though selecting from the manager's own roster is strongly encouraged to avoid overlap.
  3. If two managers submit the same pick, no additional pick is made. The pick stands as submitted and counts toward both managers' hit rates.
  4. Hit rates are tracked throughout the season and posted in the weekly recap.
  5. The parlay penalty runs through the end of the regular season (Week 14). It does not continue during the playoffs (Weeks 15 through 17).
Article 11

Rivalry Week

  1. Rivalry Week is set for Week 9.
  2. Matchups are scheduled based on manager requests and prior head-to-head history.
  3. Full pairings are determined and announced by the commissioner ahead of Week 9.
Article 12

Commissioner & Disputes

  1. The commissioner administers the league, places weekly parlays, tracks hit rates, posts recaps, and maintains the Sleeper settings.
  2. The commissioner is a full participant and is subject to all the same rules as every other manager. No exceptions.
  3. Any dispute that directly involves the commissioner or the commissioner's team is resolved by a league vote, not by the commissioner alone.
  4. The commissioner may make routine administrative corrections (lineup glitches, scoring errors, processing issues) without a vote. Anything affecting competitive balance requires a vote.
Article 13

Co-owner Teams

  1. Co-owner teams pay the higher buy-in ($150) and count as one franchise with one vote.
  2. Co-owners share full control of the roster, lineups, trades, and waivers. They must sort out internal decisions between themselves. If co-owners disagree on a vote, they must submit a single combined position. A team that cannot agree forfeits its vote on that matter.
  3. Both co-owners are jointly responsible for the team's dues. If one co-owner leaves mid-season, the remaining owner is responsible for any unpaid balance.
  4. The league and other managers are not responsible for mediating co-owner disagreements. A team that cannot field a lineup because its co-owners disagree is treated under the inactivity rules in Article 15.
  5. If one co-owner drops out, the remaining owner may continue solo or recruit a replacement co-owner, subject to commissioner approval. Dues already paid are not refunded.
Article 14

Dues & Enforcement

  1. Due dates are set in Article 8 (championship) and Article 9 (Crown Awards).
  2. A team that has not paid championship dues by the Week 1 deadline is not eligible for any payout and may have its roster moves restricted at the commissioner's discretion until paid.
  3. Repeated or season-long nonpayment is grounds for removal under Article 15 and forfeiture of the franchise.
  4. If the Crown Awards are adopted, a manager who opts in and does not pay by season's end forfeits eligibility for any Crown Award.
Article 15

Inactive & Abandoned Teams

  1. A team is considered inactive if it repeatedly fails to set a valid lineup, leaves starting slots empty, or stops responding to league communication for an extended stretch during the season.
  2. When a team is flagged as inactive, the commissioner notifies the league and brings it to a vote that determines whether the team is declared abandoned and any corrective action.
  3. While a vote is pending, the commissioner may set the inactive team's lineup to its highest-projected starters to protect competitive integrity. The commissioner may not add, drop, or trade players for that team.
  4. An abandoned franchise is offered to a replacement owner under Article 16.
Article 16

New Owners & Franchise Transfers

  1. When a franchise opens, the commissioner sources a replacement owner. Preference may be given to anyone on a league waitlist or recommended by current managers, subject to a league vote if the choice is contested.
  2. A new owner inherits the existing roster and all future draft picks as they stand. Rosters are not reset or redistributed.
  3. Any unpaid dues attached to the franchise must be settled before the new owner gains full roster control, or waived by league vote.
  4. Buy-in for a mid-season replacement is handled case by case and confirmed with the league before the transfer is finalized.
Article 17

Competitive Integrity

  1. Every manager is expected to field a competitive, legitimate lineup every week, whether contending or rebuilding. Starting players who are on a bye, ruled out, or otherwise known to be inactive in order to deliberately lose is prohibited.
  2. Rebuilding is legitimate. Trading veterans for youth and future picks is a normal dynasty strategy and is never on its own a violation. The test for any trade is whether the value exchanged is fair, not whether a team got worse.
  3. Intentional tanking is prohibited. This means deliberately fielding a non-competitive lineup to lose, as distinct from a fair rebuild.
  4. Collusion of any kind is prohibited. This includes lopsided trades designed to strengthen one team at no real cost, dumping players or picks to a specific manager, or coordinating lineup decisions between teams.
  5. Suspected violations are brought to the league. A majority vote may reverse a transaction, void a result where feasible, or in severe cases remove an owner under Article 15.
Article 18

Tiebreakers

  1. Division standings and playoff seeding: head-to-head record first, then total points for, then total points against.
  2. Crown Awards: if two managers' qualifying players finish with identical season fantasy point totals, the award is split evenly between them.
  3. Most Points For: ties are broken by the higher single-week score on the season; if still tied, the award is split.
  4. If every applicable tiebreaker above still results in a tie, the commissioner resolves it with a public coin flip or random draw witnessed in the group chat.
Article 19

Voting Procedure

  1. Votes are conducted in the group chat or through Sleeper's poll feature, at the commissioner's discretion based on the nature of the vote.
  2. Every vote opens with a stated deadline consisting of a specific date and time by which it must be completed. The window varies by vote depending on urgency, but no vote is opened without a posted deadline.
  3. Routine or low-stakes votes are allotted a minimum of 48 hours. Major votes, including rule changes, removals, and franchise transfers, are allotted a minimum of 72 hours to allow every manager a fair opportunity to participate.
  4. The commissioner may extend a deadline when turnout is too low to reach a fair result, in order to ensure sufficient participation. Any extension is announced in the group chat together with the revised deadline.
  5. Because passage requires 8 yes votes (Article 1, Rule 10) and abstentions count as no votes, low turnout makes a proposal harder to pass. This is the basis on which the commissioner may extend a deadline rather than allow a proposal to fail on participation alone.
  6. Votes are tallied at the deadline and the results are posted in the group chat. The threshold for passage is the standard league vote in Article 1, Rule 10 unless a specific rule provides otherwise.
Article 20

Amendments

  1. Any manager may propose a rule change at any time by submitting it to the commissioner, who puts it to a league vote.
  2. A proposed amendment passes by the standard league vote (Article 1, Rule 10) and follows the procedure in Article 19.
  3. Amendments passed during the offseason take effect the following season unless the league votes to apply them immediately.
  4. No rule may be changed mid-season except by league vote in a genuine emergency (for example, a Sleeper setting error or an integrity issue). Routine rule changes wait until the offseason.
  5. Once passed, an amendment is recorded in this constitution and the updated version is re-pinned in the group chat.
Article 21

Ratification

This constitution is the official rulebook of East Coast Dynasty for the 2026 season. Where it is silent, the Sleeper league settings govern, and the commissioner rules on anything not covered until the league can vote.

Any questions or disputes are directed to the group chat.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Quick answers to the most common questions. Where a question touches a formal rule, the relevant article is noted. In any conflict, the Constitution governs.

Roster & Lineups

Waivers & Trades

Draft & Playoffs

Money & Prizes

Weekly Games

Voting & Rule Changes

Teams & Ownership

The Gauntlet

East Coast Dynasty · The Network · 2026