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Loophole in our league rules...

Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 4:47 pm
by TTHTD
10 man .5PPR 3-keeper league. Drafted players kept cost the round above their draft round to keep. Players claimed off waivers count as a 10th rounder (the next waiver keeper would be a 9th, etc...)

Short backstory, there was a lot of discussion about the rules and what should be allowed etc before we started the draft but I wasn't a part of it as I joined the league last minute. Among some of the things I didn't agree with was a waiver claim system instead of FAAB. I noticed that the way things were worded there were a lot of legal strategies that could really imbalance the league and I brought this up and some patchwork was done which improved things a lot, but now the rules are finalized and anything is fair game that isn't collusion.

I drafted David Johnson and because he is now on IR he is cuttable. Because benches are so shallow I considered the possibility of cutting him if I needed to so I was reading through the rules again and noticed that: "Dropped players that are picked up from FA will be counted as 10th round if kept". I realized that if I drop him when I have the first waiver priority and then reclaim him technically I would be able to keep him at a 10th round draft value. It's like cutting a player and then re-signing him for cheaper. Obviously this is a bit of a cheap maneuver, but it is technically a legal one according to our league rules and it has been said that anything not against the rules is fair game. Should I

A) Do it and get away with it if I can and profit from finding cheap but legal strategy (keeping in mind I've been telling the league the rules could be manipulated and everyone saying not to worry about it they could change them next season)

B) Bring this loophole to the leagues attention and move to have it corrected

Re: Loophole in our league rules...

Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 5:16 pm
by Mjvb5
I would personally for two reasons
1. Rules should not ever be changed in season for any reason other than a major issue that compromises a key part of the league, namely something like a tiebreaker issue that results in a true tie and thus an addendum must be added to deal with it or a collusion clause after teams do something like bye week swapping with players.
2. Due to the first statement if you try and drop him and let him sit there any team that is statistically eliminated will most likely start adding good injured players who take up roster spots on better teams to use as late round keepers, therefore if you drop him to clear space i would assume a team would claim him as a late keeper ( I feel like things may have been set up this way to help bad teams rebuild and be better the next year)

Re: Loophole in our league rules...

Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 6:38 pm
by moishetreats
I'd do it.

Then, you have two options:

1) If people gripe and say, "Man, brilliant. I never thought of that!", then you're good... and then petition for that to be changed in the off-season.

2) If people legitimately suggest that this was entirely not what they were intending and that this is an unintended loophole, then I'd be the bigger man and suggest that they vote to change it right now -- and that you'll abide retroactively by the result of that vote. The goodwill and the league-first mentality will be far better for you and for the league long-term than a cheap DJ.

You do have a third option, which you noted: contact the Commish privately ASAP and explain the loophole. Let him know that you're planning to drop DJ now. If the loophole is closed, you're fine with it. If not, though, then you'll pick DJ back up.

All three are good options.

The only option that I would NOT choose is taking advantage and then defending it to the death. It's owners like that who will bring a toxin into the league that ultimately gets him booted or disbands the league. Trust me.

Re: Loophole in our league rules...

Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 8:29 pm
by TTHTD
Thanks for weighing in, those are all very good points to consider. I think I'm going to patiently wait to climb to the #1 waiver position and then I will likely go for it and see what happens. Best case scenario I get DJ next year for a 10th. Worst case I can use this loophole as a platform to suggest that our league switch to FAAB.

Re: Loophole in our league rules...

Posted: Wed Sep 13, 2017 3:27 pm
by Slackalacker
To go along with those reasonings I'd also throw in:

The Patriots exploit loopholes all the time, and they haven't been kicked out of the NFL yet :dance:

Re: Loophole in our league rules...

Posted: Thu Oct 05, 2017 7:32 pm
by elruderino
Be careful before you proceed.

Not sure what site you play on, but many sites don't allow you to place a waiver claim on a player you dropped. The player has to clear waivers and become a free agent before you can re-acquire said player.

In our keeper league, we made our rule such that this is the case. If a player is dropped, he retains his draft cost until he hits free agency (not hits waivers). If he's claimed off waivers, his cost remains. If he goes unclaimed, then he is a free agent and his cost resets.

In your first note, you said that 'free agents' have the cost reset. Claiming someone off waivers is not the same as picking up a free agent.

And as I mentioned, some sites prevent you from making a waiver claim on a player you dropped. If that's the case, you'll drop your guy and then not be able to get him back and lose him to another team because you're trying to game the system. Or, potentially, you'll drop him, use your top waiver priority to pick him back up, and then be told that he was never a free agent (he wasn't) and you'll have wasted your top waiver priority for no reason (as well as the opportunity cost of not using waivers week after week while waiting to get top waiver priority).