League rules and the commissioner

For the general steps, see Leagues. This page covers how to read your league's rules and the Commissioner screen, which only the commissioner sees.

Start in the offseason

The create form has a Start in the offseason field. Leave it at Off, start on opening night (default) and the league opens on the first game day of the season you pick. Choose On, start on draft night and the league opens on draft night of the offseason before that season.

A league that starts in the offseason:

• Opens on the Draft board. The lottery has already run, and the order goes weakest roster first, because no club has a record yet. The lottery reveal shows each club's Roster rank.
• Spends half of your club's scouting looks for it, on the prospects around your first pick. Your club keeps the other half to spend before the draft. Clubs that no GM runs spend their whole scouting budget when the draft opens.
• In a scheduled league, holds the draft until the first scheduled sim, so friends can join first. The draft room reads "The draft opens" with the time.
• Runs free agency after the draft, then opens the season you picked with its schedule. Set your season budget at that point, before the opening tip.

A guest demo always starts on opening night.

Read your league's rules

Rules differ from league to league. The game has no separate Rules screen. Check these places before you plan a trade or a signing.

• Front office shows the league's cap numbers. The ledger lists the Soft cap and the Tax line. A normal league runs on a $140M cap and a $170M tax line. A league built from a roster file that carries its own cap uses the file's numbers; see Custom rosters.
• The coach card on Coaching and Overview has a Game rules link. It opens this page in a new tab.
• The commissioner also sees a League rules card on the Commissioner screen. Other members do not see it.

The League rules card shows the version line, for example Cap rules v1 · Game rules v1. The cap rules and the game rules each have a version.

If the league has a switch to v2 queued, the card says v2 rules start next season, and this season stays on its current rules.

Switch to v2

The League rules card of a league that still runs v1 shows a Switch to v2 next season button. The text above it lists what v2 adds. For cap rules that is Bird rights, signing exceptions, aprons and two-way deals. For game rules it is coaching, endgame fouls and All-Star weekend.

1. Select Switch to v2 next season.
2. Read the confirm. It lists what moves and says the switch starts at the next season rollover.
3. Select Schedule v2 rules. Once scheduled, the switch cannot be cancelled.

Games already played stand.

Commissioner controls

The person who starts a league is its commissioner. Open Commissioner to change the settings that every member plays under. Every change applies to every member.

• Advance sims the games that are due, then moves the league to the next step. In the offseason one press runs every step that needs no decision and stops at the next one that does. See Run your season. The page also shows the league Phase.
• Pace sets Game days per advance and, for a scheduled league, Days between scheduled advances. Select Save pace. The new pace applies from the next advance. A league run by hand advances when the commissioner presses the button. A scheduled league advances on its own clock and waits for nobody.
• Trade veto holds an agreed trade until the commissioner selects Let it stand or Veto. See Trades.
• Owner goals turns the owner's season goal on or off. Each owner sets a goal and grades the GM on it.
• League rules shows the cap and game rule versions and holds the v2 switch. See Switch to v2.
• Owners lists the human-run teams. Hand to AI gives a team to the AI.
• Commissioner seat moves the commissioner role to another member. Select Transfer the seat.
• Invite link shows the link that lets anyone join and claim an open team. Select Copy link, then send it to your friends. A demo league has no invite step in its Getting started card. A guest in a demo league does not see Delete league.
• Audit log records pace changes and seat transfers, newest first.
• Delete league deletes every season, team, player, game, contract and trade. There is no undo.

Join a league

1. Open the invite link from your commissioner. Joining takes an account. See Accounts and signing in.
2. Join as a GM.
3. Claim an open team. The Claim a team screen lists the teams by conference and marks taken teams as Taken.

You can also paste the full invite link into Or join with an invite on the My leagues page.