LEAGUE BYLAWS
I. LEAGUE CODE OF CONDUCT
All players, coaches, staff, administrators, league partners, and league officials in THE DEN* will be held to the same high standard across the board to represent not only themselves but the league in a respectful and favorable light whereas to not diminish or damage the public or private perception/image of the league. All infractions to league bylaws will be handled as follows:
1. The infraction will be witnessed or reported to/by a league representative or commissioner.
2. The evidence including but not limited to screen shots, video etc. will be reviewed by the League Commissioners Committee (LCC)
3. The LCC will conduct interviews with all parties involved for context to the physical evidence.
4. Within 48 hours, LCC will make a ruling of the given incident and issue punishment if needed. A majority vote by the LCC will context a ruling.
5. A sanctioned party will have 24 hours to appeal the ruling set forth by the LCC. Once an appeal is filed, the League Owner, League Vice President and 3rd party source, known as the League Appeal Committee (LAC) will review all evidence presented by the LCC.
6. It takes a unanimous decision from the League Appeal Committee to overturn a League Commissioners Committee decision. All League Appeal Committee decisions are final.
The following are infractions that will result in immediate LCC involvement:
1. Initiating and/or participating in a fight before, during or after any League sanctioned event. Automatic one game suspension.
2. Speaking in a manner and/or tone in which it is meant to incite another party and/or provoke a physical confrontation.
3. Refusing to adhere to the commands of a referee, commissioner, league security personnel or League Owner during a league sanctioned event.
4. A non-eligible player or coach participating in a sanctioned league event.
5. Drinking open containers or smoking on the field of play before, during or after a league sanctioned event.
6. Inappropriate language or gestures toward league media sources.
7. Threatening to use or possession of any weapons on the premises before, during or after the league sanctioned event.
8. Inappropriate interaction with fans during a league sanctioned league event.
The League reserves the right to amend bylaws at any point during the season to accommodate for any unforeseen issues that may arise.
III. LEAGUE UNIFORM POLICY
-All participating teams for THE DEN 2024 Season must have at least two jerseys and one pair of pants. One jersey MUST be a dark color and one jersey MUST be a light color.
-Uniforms cannot be spray painted or generic in nature. The uniforms must adhere to the teams submitted color scheme and display numbers on the front and the back that can be legible on film.
-Players must wear the same uniform number that they are registered under to be eligible for play. Any change in number MUST be reported to the league immediately.
-All players will wear the same uniform exactly.
-All helmets and facemasks must be painted the same color.
-Any Game Commissioner or League Owner can have a player removed from a game if an infraction occurs and the player will not be allowed to continue playing until the infraction is rectified.
IV. ROSTERS
-Every team MUST have a minimum of 30 players and a maximum of 65 players active at all times on their roster.
-All teams MUST have Den approved pictures of all players posted to the league website. The Den will provide opportunities for pictures to be taken at the league wide DEN DAY event. Teams must be in 100% compliance with this rule after Den Day. Players without pictures will not be eligible to play
-Rosters completely lock on Wednesday, April 10th, 2024 at 11:59pm (after Week 3).
-Once rosters lock, players can only move if; a) the League forces a team to fold due to not complying with league mandates, b) the player is in good standing with the league and team, c) the player goes to one of the bottom four teams in the overall league standings at the time of the move, AND d) said team has not exceeded accepting 5 such players. All four factors MUST be met for player movement after the rosters have locked.
-All players on a team’s roster must be registered and in good standing with the league to be eligible for league play.
-Players who wish to transfer before rosters lock will require approval of the original team to transfer. The player transferring will be responsible for a $50 transfer fee paid directly to their former team. The player must also be in good standing with the League and the team. He must have met all financial obligations to the team and returned all equipment issued to them, where applicable. The burden of proof falls on the player to show proof of money paid and/or equipment returned to the original team. A player in good standing with both the original team and the league cannot be refused a transfer.
-Playoff eligibility- players must PHYSICALLY be present and on the sideline as a member of the team for a minimum of FIVE games to be playoff eligible.
-All players must be registered and on the active roster Wednesday 12:00 am to be eligible for the same week’s games.
-Only active playoff players will be eligible for championship rings at the end of the season.
-Participation by an ineligible player will result in the guilty party forfeiting the game and the player being suspended for the remainder of the season. Teams have the sole responsibility to ensure that every player who plays in every game is eligible.
V. GAME FIELDS/GAME BALLS
-All fields must be pre-approved by the league prior to play and must meet all standard requirements including but not limited to length, width and 2 goal posts. The field must be in a safe playable condition if grass and have little to no obstructions or imperfections that could cause harm or injury to players, officials or fans during normal game use.
-The league reserves the right to deem a field ineligible for use if it does not meet all these standards.
- All fields must be approved by Tuesday, 11:59pm to be used for that given week unless an unforeseen and unavoidable situation may occur, an extreme act of nature makes the field unusable, or a State of Emergency is placed by local government making the facility unavailable.
-Home teams are responsible for providing all field markers, 10-yard indicator markers with chains, down marker, and “chain crew”.
VI. GAME START TIMES
-All games must have a start time no earlier than 2pm on Saturday and no later than 8pm or 12pm and 3pm on Sunday (unless mutually agreed upon by both teams).
-DEN DAY games will be scheduled at the discretion of the League.
-No games will be scheduled on Easter Sunday, Mother’s Day, and Memorial Day Weekend
-Bye weeks will be used for make-up games.
VII. GAMEDAY BY-LAWS
-All Den League games will be played with full NFL rules including all kicking rules.
-All Den League games will use the NFL playoff rules for overtime. Each team must possess the ball for one possession before sudden death rules apply. After one full overtime period the rules will then switch to college OT rules and both teams must go for two. The game will continue until there is a winner.
-Designated Home Team must supply visiting team with field information, kick off time, and choice of uniform color no later than Wednesday 11:59pm of that game week. Failure to provide information by this timeline will result in the Away Team having the choice of uniform.
-All Den League games will start no earlier than 2pm and no later than 8pm on Saturdays and no earlier than 12pm and no later than 3pm on Sundays (unless mutually agreed upon by both teams).
-Gameday sidelines are strictly for players, coaches, staff, and media. Anyone who does not fall into one of those criteria MUST be cleared by league officials before being allowed on the sideline.
-The consumption of alcohol on sidelines is prohibited.
VIII. PLAYOFF SEEDING AND TIE BREAKERS
-Top 4 teams in each conference make the playoffs. #1 vs #4, #2 vs #3 in the First Round, Higher seed hosts (all home team rules apply as in the regular season).
-Playoff Tie Breaker will be: Overall Record, Head-to-Head Record (between two teams only), Conference Record, Record vs Common Opponents.
LEAGUE SANCTIONED EVENTS:
All league sanctioned event rules shall be posted either on the league Website or fb group. Failure to adhere to league sanctioned rules for said events will result in league disciplinary action including but not limited to fines, games suspension and or being banned from the league. Any report of league event infractions shall be subject to the leagues standard disciplinary process.
