Simulation Soccer League

Established 2021

Rulebook version 3.1.0 (edited Mar 11, 2024)

The following Rulebook is designed to create a framework for our players and managers to operate within order to keep the league fun, fair and structured. These rules have been created, copied, altered and edited from previous leagues. Any rule discrepancies found need to be reported to the Commissioner or Board of Directors. The Commissioner and Board of Directors reserve the right to make changes to the rulebook at any time.

Please be sure to know the rules of our league and operate within them during your time in the SSL. Failure to do so will result in guidance, warnings and possible consequences. Thank you.

Table of Contents

A. Personal Conduct Policy        4

1. Suspension Guidelines        4

2. Punishment Guidelines        4

3. Appeal Guidelines        4

4. Illegal Activities        5

B. The League        5

1. League Information        5

2. The Leagues        5

3. SSL Cup        6

4. SSL Academy        6

5. Trade Deadline and Free Agent Signing Freeze        6

C. League Jobs        7

1. SSL Commissioner        7

2. SSL Co-Commissioner        7

3. The Board of Directors        7

4. Commissioner and BoD Accountability        8

5. BoD Processes        8

6. BoD Interns        8

7. Organization and Assistant Managers        9

8. Other League Jobs        10

D. Players        11

1. Player Creation        11

2. Player Traits        13

3. Player Re-rolls        13

4. Rookie Redistribution        13

5. Earning Capped TPE        13

6. Earning Uncapped TPE        14

7. Deadline for Claims        15

8. Regression        15

9. Retirement and Recreation        17

10. Manager Players        18

E. SSL Organizations        18

1. Organizational Structure        18

2. Roster Requirements        18

3. Tactics        19

4. Salary Cap        19

F. Contracts        20

1. Active Status        20

2. Contract Types        20

3. Bonuses        22

4. Contract Extensions        22

5. Minimum Salary        22

G. Player Movement        23

1. Prospect Draft        23

2. Trading        23

3. Signing Active Free Agents        24

4. Signing Inactive Free Agents        24

5. Transfer Value        25

6. Release a Player        26

7. Tampering        26

H. Changes to the Rulebook        27

1. Proposing a New Rule        27

2. Voting and Implementation        27

1. Personal Conduct Policy

1. Suspension Guidelines

1. The SSL Commissioner(s) and/or Board of Directors (BoD) reserve the right to enforce punishments and suspensions for personal attacks (on the forums, on SSL-related Discord servers and in private messages), cheating, and any other action deemed detrimental to the league.
2. Personal attacks and conduct violations can be any term or phrase with racial or discriminatory aspects. Suicidal, family, personal attacks, and all other similar or unethical attacks can be grounds for a suspension without a previous warning.
3. The SSL Commissioner(s) and/or BoD reserve the right to enforce punishments and suspensions towards any user that attempts to cheat or break the rules. This includes multiple attempts at misusing the rules for an individual gain.
4. A user may not post private or team sensitive information (e.g. war room information) that is not intended for public view.
5. A user may not spread information gained through their league job to another user not privy to the information, until it has been officially shared with the league.

2. Punishment Guidelines

1. Punishments can include, but are not limited to: game suspensions, salary penalties, posting suspensions, forum bans and more, depending on the severity of the offense.

3. Appeal Guidelines

1. Appeal conditions can be denied in extreme or repeat cases. An appeal will be conducted either on the site or on the SSL Discord using a private thread only visible to the user appealing and the entire BoD .
2. Users may not appeal on another user's behalf. If there is an issue with a suspension or ban that you feel may be unjust, please submit a complaint to a BoD member or Commissioner. They will bring it to a larger discussion as needed.

4. Illegal Activities

1. Any illegal activity by a user of the site is grounds for removal with no appeal. The SSL does not condone any illegal activities which can be, but not limited to, solicitation, theft, fraud, hate crimes, etc and in some cases local authority may be contacted.

2. The League

1. League Information

1. Each season is scheduled for 9 weeks, ending with a 1 week off-season.
2. During the pre-season, the league and cup champion will play for the SSL Founders Shield.

1. If the same team has won both the league and the cup, the league runner-up will play for the SSL Founders Shield.

3. The SSL Prospect Draft occurs at the end of the off-season prior to the start of the next season.

1. The SSL consists of a major and minor league, as well as an Academy league for newly created players.

2. The Leagues

1. Teams in a major or minor league play each other two (2) times in one season, one home and one away game. The league champion will be the team with the most points at the end of the regular season.
2. Each win is worth 3 points, a draw 1 point, and a loss is worth 0 points. Games in the league do not make use of extra time to determine a winner.
3. Tie-breakers will determine the standings if more than one team has the same amount of points. Tie-breakers are in order:

1. Goal differential
2. Head to head results
3. Goals scored
4. Random draw

3. SSL Cup

1. The SSL Cup is played concurrently with the league.
2. The SSL Cup consists of a group stage and a knockout stage.
3. 16 teams qualify for the group stage. The Group Stage consists of four groups of four teams where Minor and Major league teams from the same organization cannot be drawn in the same group. All teams play one game against other group members. The top two teams from each group advance to the knockout stages.

1. If required, a preliminary qualification stage occurs between the lowest ranked teams based on the league standings of the minor league from the previous season.

4. All rounds of the knockout stage except the Cup Final are drawn randomly and played on a two-leg system, alternating home arenas.
5. Games will run on a 90 minute system, to which at the conclusion, if the teams are still tied on aggregate with the same score, extra time will be used.

4. SSL Academy

1. The Academy League is separate from the SSL Leagues.
2. All prospects will upon approval be assigned to an Academy Team.
3. A prospect may only play in the Academy League until their draft.
4. Each Academy Team will have at least one Coach responsible for its players.

5. Trade Deadline and Free Agent Signing Freeze

1. The Trade Deadline occurs at 11:59 PM PST, on the Sunday two weeks before the Cup Final.
2. After the Trade Deadline, no trades can occur until the start of the off-season.
3. After the Trade Deadline, no Free Agent signings can occur until the start of the next season.

3. League Jobs

1. SSL Commissioner

1. The SSL Commissioner is appointed by the Board of Directors after a period of open applications. All members with an active player in the league are eligible to apply, except if they are a Team or Assistant Manager.
2. The SSL Commissioner is appointed indefinitely but can resign or be terminated.
3. If a new Commissioner is needed, a current member of the BoD will post applications for the open positions within two weeks.
4. The SSL Commissioner is not considered a member of the Board of Directors, but actively takes part in BoD discussions and is counted as a vote in the BoD processes.

2. SSL Co-Commissioner

1. One SSL Co-Commissioner may be appointed by the Commissioner after a period of open applications. All members with an active player in the league are eligible to apply, except if they are a Team or Assistant Manager.
2. The SSL Co-Commissioner is appointed indefinitely but can resign or be terminated.
3. The SSL Co-Commissioner is not considered a member of the Board of Directors, but actively takes part in BoD discussions and is counted as a vote in the BoD processes.

3. The Board of Directors

1. The Board of Directors (BoD) consist of at most 9 members.
2. A BoD member is appointed by the current members of the BoD and the Commissioner after a period of open applications. All members with an active player in the league are eligible to apply.
3. The BoD and Commissioner(s) may not consist of more than one third (1/3) of members whose players are owned by one SSL organization.

1. In the event that a trade or acquisition of a player results in an SSL organization occupying more than one third, one or more BoD members affiliated with that organization must be replaced in order to fall below the threshold no later than the next scheduled appointment of BoD members unless additional player movement occurs to rectify the situation.

4. A BoD member is appointed for 3 seasons, afterward the member's position will be put up for open applications. The member can also resign or be terminated. A member whose term has expired may re-apply for the position.
5. The SSL Commissioner, or a current member of the BoD, will post applications for the open positions on the BoD once a season, anywhere between the third week of the season and the Trade Deadline. The tenure of the BoD member starts after the subsequent off-season. A member who resigns during their tenure will be replaced no later than the next scheduled appointment.

4. Commissioner and BoD Accountability

1. The Commissioner or Co-Commissioner can be terminated by a two-thirds majority of the BoD.
2. A member may be terminated from their position by a two-thirds majority of the remaining BoD and SSL Commissioner(s).

5. BoD Processes

1. The BoD may only take action in regards to terminations of other league jobs, suspensions or punishments if the majority, unless otherwise stated, of its members are in favor of that action.
2. The BoD may only change aspects of the league if the majority, unless otherwise stated, of the BoD members are in favor of that change.
3. If a member of the BoD has announced their unavailability prior to a decision for a process or change, they are considered in absentia and is thereby not counted in the vote tally.
4. In the case of a tie, the SSL Commissioner is the deciding vote.

6. BoD Interns

1. The BoD may hire at most two BoD Interns.
2. A BoD intern is appointed by the current members of the BoD and the SSL Commissioner after a period of open applications. All members with an active player in the league are eligible to apply, except if they are a Team or Assistant Manager.
3. A BoD intern is appointed for 1 season. An intern whose term has expired may re-apply for the position.
4. The SSL Commissioner, or current member of the BoD, will post applications for the open intern position once a season, anywhere between the start of the season and the Trade Deadline.
5. An intern who resigns during their tenure will be replaced during the next application period.

7. Organization and Assistant Managers

1. Each SSL Organization is run by a maximum three, minimum one person managing group, led by an Organization Manager.
2. The appointment of a new Organization Manager when someone retires, resigns, or is removed will be up to the discretion of the SSL BoD.

1. The appointment of Assistant Manager(s) is delegated to the Organization Manager.

3. The SSL BoD reserves the right to remove an Organization or Assistant Manager from their position if the Manager is no longer performing their duties to an acceptable level.

1. If multiple players or a Manager bring forward concerns regarding a Manager’s performance, these concerns can be used as evidence for the Manager’s removal.
2. Other evidence of no longer performing duties include, but is not limited to:

1. Multiple instances of breaking rules.
2. Instances of missed deadlines.
3. Conduct detrimental to the league.
4. Inactivity in the team locker room.

4. An Organization Manager is responsible for making sure that their organization follows all rules set forth in this Rulebook. This includes rules regarding individual players as well as organization and team rules.
5. A Manager Group must follow roster, contract, and regression deadlines set by the BoD. Failure to do so may result in the removal of the Manager(s).
6. A Manager Group must keep track of their current draft picks, both their own and picks they have traded for. Multiple instances of trading picks that the organization does not control may result in the removal of the Manager(s).

8. Other League Jobs

1. All current league jobs are defined in the League Job Handbook. The Handbook includes the minimum requirement for fulfilling the duties of the job.

1. The BoD reserves the right to add, remove or adjust the League Job Handbook when required.

2. All jobs will be hired through an open application process led by the BoD or the relevant Department Head unless otherwise stated earlier in this section.
3. A user who fulfills their position's minimum requirement will be able to claim earning for that week.
4. A user who holds multiple jobs is not able to claim multiple Capped TPE during a week. A user who holds multiple jobs is not able to earn more than the combined monetary earnings of the lowest and highest tier.
5. A user who does not fulfill the expectation or minimum requirement of their position will be issued a warning and/or a deduction of their earnings.
6. A user who gives reasonable prior warning of not being able to fulfill the minimum requirement for a single week, will not be given a warning.
7. A user who has accumulated three warnings within a two season period will be removed from the position.
8. A user who has been removed from a previously held position is not allowed to hold any league job for two seasons after the removal.
9. The BoD reserves the right to remove a user from their position, without issuing a warning, either if they are punished or suspended in accordance with Section 1 of the Rulebook or if the BoD by unanimous decision votes for the removal of the user.

4. Players

1. Player Creation

1. A user is allowed to have one player in the league at the same time unless they have retired their old player.
2. All new players start with 350 Total Points Earned (TPE) to build their player upon creation. These TPE can be spent on given attributes according to the following scale:

3. Every attribute starts at 5, and has a maximum value of 20. Stamina and Natural Fitness are fixed at 20 for every player.
4. Every player has the same Hidden Attribute ratings and these cannot be changed by the user. Only the BoD reserves the right to change the values,  which will impact all current and future players in the league.

5. Players choose one primary position and two secondary positions. A primary position corresponds to 20 XP and a secondary position corresponds to 15 XP in Football Manager.

2. Player Traits

1. Upon creation, users will have the chance to select a wide range of traits to direct how they want their player to play on the field. An outfield player can choose 2 traits they want to start with when they create their player. A goalkeeper starts with no traits.
2. Players can have up to 7 traits to add to their player over the course of their career.

3. Player Re-rolls

1. A re-roll can only be done during the off-season.
2. A player is only allowed one full re-roll during their first 2 seasons in the SSL Tier Leagues.

1. A BoD member or Updater will message a user if an error is seen during the first week after creation. Any corrections made will not count against the one re-roll maximum.

4. Rookie Redistribution

1. A player in their first season after being drafted may re-distribute their positional experience and up to 100 TPE one time.
2. A player looking to submit a redistribution must show where the TPE is being taken out of as well as where it is being put into.
3. Any player who has been created as a goalkeeper has until the end of the first season to do a full re-roll if they intend to switch to an outfield position.

5. Earning Capped TPE

1. A player can earn at most 12 Capped TPE per week.
2. An earning week runs from Monday 12:00 AM PST/PDT to Sunday 11:59 PM PST/PDT.
3. Capped TPE tasks are directly claimable in the update thread.
4. Capped TPE can be claimed from any two of the following tasks every week:

6. Earning Uncapped TPE

1. A player can earn unlimited amounts of Uncapped TPE per week.
2. Uncapped TPE tasks can only be claimed after they have been graded.

1. Training Camp TPE can be claimed directly in the update thread.

3. Uncapped TPE tasks include:

1. Predictions
2. Training Camp
3. Career Point Tasks (CPT)

4. A CPT can earn your player Uncapped TPE and can be completed at any time prior to the player’s first regression update. One new task opens up at the start of each new season in the player’s career and offer different rewards based on its theme.

7. Deadline for Claims

1. Any earnings made during a specific season must be claimed prior to the end of the next season’s off-season.

8. Regression

1. Regression is a loss of TPE starting at the end of the player’s 9th season after creation according to the following percentages:

2. Regression must be done in the player’s update thread using only TPE earned PRIOR to that season’s regression post.

1. All TPE earned after that season’s regression post is not part of the regression and can be applied normally after the regression has been done.
2. A Career PT must be earned and claimed prior to or in the regression update. After the first regression update has been processed, a player may not claim any more Career PTs.

3. A player can reduce their banked TPE or regress their attributes to fulfill the regressed TPE..

1. A player may not remove more than 24 TPE above their regressed TPE from their attributes. Ex. a player regressing 150 TPE may regress attributes worth at most 174 TPE.

4. It is the responsibility of the user that created the player to submit a regression update before the regression deadline specified in the Regression Post. Any player affected by regression is ineligible to play in League or Cup games until the regression update has been processed by an Updater.

1. In case of an IA player being affected by regression, it is up to the manager where the player is under contract to submit a regression update meeting the requirements specified in 1.c before the deadline specified in the Regression Post.
2. In case of an Active player not submitting a regression update during the first update cycle of the regression period, a manager may submit a regression update prior to the deadline. A manager may not make any TPE claims in this update and any unclaimed earned TPE from prior to the Regression Post is lost.
   
   If the player posts a regression update prior to the deadline, it takes precedence over the manager's post.
3. A manager must post a regression update within 24 hours of the deadline in case the player has not done so. A manager may not make any TPE claims in this update and any unclaimed earned TPE from prior to the Regression Post is lost.
4. In case of a Free Agent IA player being affected by regression, it is up to the BoD or Update team to only update the new regressed TPE on the player page. If the player is later signed in Free Agency, it is the responsibility of the user (Active) or manager (IA) to submit a regression update. The player is ineligible to play until the update has been processed by an Updater.

5. The BoD can issue punishments for the following infractions regarding regression. The severity of the punishment is assessed on a case by case basis.

1. If a regression update of a an Active player is submitted after the deadline, the BoD can issue a punishment to the player, including but not limited to:

1. A bank fine
2. Player suspension

1. If a regression update of an IA player is submitted after the deadline, the BoD can issue a punishment to the organization, including but not limited to:

1. A cap fine
2. Player suspension

2. Any attempt by a player to circumvent regression, including but not limited to the delay of claiming or applying TPE earned prior to that season’s regression post for the purpose of altering their regression TPE count will be punished. The BoD can issue punishments including, but not limited to:

1. $3.0 million bank fine.
2. 5 game suspension.
3. Loss of TPE equal to double the amount circumvented from regression.

9. Retirement and Recreation

1. A player can announce their retirement at any point in their career.

1. Announcing a retirement prior to the Trade Deadline results in the player being retired at the end of the current season.
2. Announcing a retirement after the Trade Deadline results in the player being retired at the end of the subsequent season.
3. A retirement can be reversed up to 24 hours after posting with no penalties. After 24 hours have passed, retirement is final.

2. After announcing their retirement, a user can not earn any more TPE on that player.
3. Inactive players affected by regression with less than 500 TPE will be automatically retired.

10. Manager Players

1. A Manager’s new player will automatically go to the managed organization, bypassing the SSL Prospect Draft, if the Manager has been managing within the organization for more than 2 seasons.
2. A Manager’s new player will go through the SSL Prospect Draft if the Manager has been managing within the organization for 2 seasons or fewer.
3. A Manager’s player must play for the organization that they are managing.

5. SSL Organizations

1. Organizational Structure

1. Each SSL Organization consists of a major and minor league roster.
2. Players under contract with an organization may move freely between the major and minor league teams if the teams fulfill each the roster requirements.
3. An organization must have at least 22 players and may not have more than 28 players under contract.

2. Roster Requirements

1. A major or minor league team may have between 11 and 14 players assigned to them.
2. A major league team may not have more than three (3) Inactive Status Contracts assigned.
3. A team is given  one (1) super sub BOT outfield player that does not count against the roster maximum. The BOT has 10 in every outfield and goalkeeper attribute and 20 positional XP at every outfield position.

1. The BOT is only used for unplanned substitutions in case of injuries if there is no other player on the bench capable of playing the position.

4. Any player that is not signed to a contract cannot play in a league or cup game for a team.

3. Tactics

1. A team may submit a tactic consisting of Mentality, Tactical Style, Tactical Instructions, Formation, Starting XI, Set Piece Takers, Captains and Jersey Numbers.

1. At the start of the season, a team may submit the six choices to the FM24 Set Piece Wizard prompts. The set piece routine may not change during the season and the automated FM Set Piece Coach will automatically select the best suitable players for the chosen routine roles during the season.
2. It is not allowed to submit a tactic that includes parts from other areas of FM.
3. It is not allowed to submit a tactic where an outfield player is playing as a goalkeeper. Any such submission is deemed invalid and the previous legal tactic will be used.

2. Teams may also submit two (2) half-time substitutions restricted to player for player with no changes to tactics or player role. Substitution instructions must be submitted for every individual matchday the substitution should be made.

4. Salary Cap

1. The Salary Cap is set to 100 million per organization.

1. A major league team within an organization may not exceed a total assigned player salary of 55 million.
2. A minor league team within an organization may not exceed a total assigned player salary of 45 million.

2. An organization may exceed the salary cap from the start of the off-season to the manager tasks deadline of the subsequent season.

1. An organization will incur cap fines of twice the amount exceeded for the current and subsequent season for their major roster.
2. Any organization must directly resolve their cap situation by releasing or trading players.

5. Manager Tasks

1. Manager Tasks are to be submitted by the tactics deadline for pre-season, defined by the SSL Calendar and/or BoD. A current list of tasks is published on the SSL Forums for Manager viewing.
2. To fulfill the tasks, each organization must meet the task requirement and meet the rules listed in this Rulebook for the organization (chapter E).
3. Failure to fulfill the manager task requirements will result in the following punishments based on when the tasks are fulfilled. All punishments are cumulative. Managers on probation automatically get the next punishment in the order.

1. A day late - Manager(s) are warned and put on probation for one season.
2. Two days late - Manager(s) are fined their seasonal salary.
3. Three days late - Manager(s) may not claim job TPE pay for 3 weeks.
4. Four days late - Team forfeits their first available 2nd round pick.
5. Five or more days late - Manager(s) are fired

6. Contracts

1. Active Status

1. Any player who’s user has not posted on the forums for more than 21 days is considered Inactive.
2. Any user who actively accepts a contract is signing an Active Status Contract.

1. An Active Status Contract will convert to an Inactive Status Contract at the start of a season if the player fulfills the Inactive status at the start of the same season.
2. An Inactive Status Contract will convert to an Active Status Contract at the start of a season if the player fulfills the Active Status at the start of the same season.
3. An Organizational Manager may request the BoD for a change from an IA status contract to an Active Status contract at any time after the start of the season if the user has posted in two consecutive Activity Checks. The Manager must provide relevant links to the user's posts.

2. Contract Types

1. All academy players are signed to a BoD funded Academy Contract of $3 000 000 per season until their Prospect Draft.

3. A player must sign a Rookie Contract as their first contract.

1. The length of a Rookie Contract is 2 seasons.
2. The maximum salary of a Rookie Contract is $4 000 000 per season.        
3. If an unsigned Prospect is Inactive, the organization holding their draft rights may sign the player to a one season minimum salary Inactive Status Contract.
4. If a Prospect is not signed to a Rookie Contract prior to the Trade Deadline of the season they created, they will be sent back to the prospect pool, eligible for the next season's Prospect Draft, without any compensation to the organization.

4. After the conclusion of a Rookie Contract, a player may sign a Regular Contract.

1. The length of a Regular Contract is at least 1 season and at most 3 seasons.
2. All players must be paid at least their minimum salary determined by their earned TPE at the time of signing. The maximum salary of a Regular Contract is $7 000 000 per season.
3. A single contract must carry at least the same salary cap in each subsequent season of the contract. No front-loading of contracts is allowed.
4. All contracts, fines and job pay must be set in $100 000 increments.
5. The only allowed additions to a contract are:

1. No Movement Clause (NMC)

1. Players with a NMC cannot be traded or exposed unless they waive their NMC.
2. If a player signed with an NMC is Inactive, the BoD reserves the right to waive the NMC.
3. An organization may have at most four (4) players signed with an NMC clause.

2. Veteran Clause (VET)

1.  A VET clause can only be added to a contract after a player's first regression update. A contract signed prior to a player's first regression may include the VET clause on the seasons affected by regression, their tenth season and onwards.
2. A player with a VET clause will have their salary automatically adjusted down to the minimum salary of their TPE Interval after the regression update has been processed.

3. Majors Clause (MAJ)

1. Players with a MAJ cannot be moved to a minor league roster unless they waive their MAJ.
2. If a player signed with a MAJ is Inactive, the BoD reserves the right to waive the MAJ.
3. An organization may have at most eleven (11) players signed with a MAJ clause.

6. Options of any kind are not allowed.

3. Bonuses        

1. An organization may give out a bonus to a player that they hold the rights to once per season, limited to max 2 million.

1. A bonus can only be given after the trade deadline of the current season.
2. The bonus is counted towards the salary cap of the organization holding the player's rights for the season it is given out.

4. Contract Extensions

1. A Manager can start negotiating a contract extension during the last season of a current contract. An extension will come into effect once the previous contract has fully run out.
2. A contract extension of an Inactive player can only be signed during the off-season of the current contract.

5. Minimum Salary

1. The minimum salary of a player is determined by their total earned TPE (claimed and unclaimed), accounting for regression, at the time of the signing.

7. Player Movement

1. Prospect Draft

1. The original draft order is set by the reverse major league standings of the previous season.
2. A player is eligible for the draft if any of the following requirements are met:

1. The player has been approved after the previous SSL Prospect Draft AND prior to the end of Week 8 of the current season.

1. The player was eligible for the previous SSL Prospect Draft but has never signed with any organization prior to the end of Week 8 of the current season.

2. Trading

1. One party in the trade must create a new topic in the Trades Subforum titled with all organizations involved in the trade, ex. “CABA/AFC - HOL/FCK”. The post must contain all details of the trade. All involved players and Organizational Managers must be tagged in the post.
2. A trade is official when all involved Organizational Managers have publicly accepted the trade.

1. An Organizational Manager may give prior notice to the BoD if they allow specific Assistant Managers to approve trades on their behalf.

3. Apart from players, an organization may trade draft picks from Round 1 to Round 4 of the current and subsequent one (1) upcoming SSL Prospect Drafts.

1. An organization may not trade a draft pick they do not currently control. Any such trade will be voided.
2. An organization may trade a pick from round 5 or later only during the Prospect Draft the picks are from.

4. The SSL allows no future considerations in trades.

3. Signing Active Free Agents

1. The following players are considered Free Agents:

1. A player who has concluded a contract,
2. A player who is released from their contract,
3. A prospect that has not been drafted in either of their two eligible Prospect Drafts.

2. Any Manager is able to start negotiating with an upcoming Free Agent at the start of the off-season of the player's last season under contract.
3. Absolutely no other form of currency, merchandise, or incentive may be offered when talking to Free Agents.

1. If a Free Agent uses language in public or private conversations that reflects signing with an organization, and then attempts to later dispute or back out of that signing, they will be punished with a suspension of 3 regular season games. Regardless of suspension the player MUST sign with the organization they agreed to sign with first.

4. Signing Inactive Free Agents

1. Any Inactive Free Agent (IFA) can be signed to a one season Inactive Status Contract through a bidding process.

1. An organization places a claim for an IFA Transfer at their minimum salary and starts a 24 hour timer. The Manager must:
   - create a new topic on the Transfer Subforum titled “IFA Transfer - Player Name”,
   - include the transfer value of the player and
   - are required to tag the inactive user.
   
   Any topic that is not correctly posted does not count as the first bid or the start of the bidding session.
2. Any other organization can place a higher bid in increments of $200 000.
3. The bidding session ends 24 hours after the initial bidding post, or 12 hours after the most recent counter bid, whichever comes first.

2. If the IFA comes back to activity during the bidding process, the player may halt the bidding process and enter regular contract negotiations.
3. All bids on a player are final upon posting. Any deletion or editing of a post or topic for the purposes of altering a bid will be punished via a cap fine equal to twice the amount of the initial bid before changing and an inability to sign the IFA.
4. No bidding may start after the season’s Trade Deadline. Any bids started before the Trade Deadline will be allowed to continue until the bidding concludes.

5. Transfer Value

1. Every player in the SSL has a Transfer Value calculated by the following formula:
   
   Transfer Value =  rounded to the nearest whole number.
2. Every signing of a Free Agent (active or inactive) requires that the organization pays the Transfer Value of the player either from their Transfer Budget or via draft picks.

1. Each organization has a Transfer Budget capped at $200 million. At the start of each season, the Transfer Budget will increase by $100 million but never exceed its cap.
2. An organization may instead of the Transfer Budget forfeit draft picks to pay the Transfer Value in accordance with the following limits:

1. Transfer Value above $66M = 1st Round Pick
2. Transfer Value between $33M and $66M = 2nd or earlier Round Pick
3. Transfer Value below $33M = 3rd or earlier Round Pick

6. Release a Player

1. An organization can release a player, but half the salary must be paid and will be counted towards the cap until the end of the contract.

1. A Rookie Contract can be released without any salary or cap penalty.
2. Any Inactive player can be released without any salary or cap penalty during the off-season.

2. If a released player is signed to another organization within 48 hours of the release, the releasing organization is not required to pay half the remaining salary or count it towards the cap.

7. Tampering

1. Tampering is the illegal contact of any player that is under contract with another organization, without the contracted Organization Manager’s prior approval.

1. The only exception is contacting upcoming Free Agents during the off-season of the player’s last season of the current contract.

2. Tampering will be met with punishments which may affect a player or an organization.

1. Punishments can include, but are not limited to:

1. Player Punishment

1. 1st Offense: Loss of current season salary
2. 2nd Offense: 1 season suspension + loss of salary

2. Organization Punishment

1. 1st Offense: Loss of draft picks +  Cap fine of $2.0 million
2. 2nd Offense: Manager is fired from the position + previous punishments

8. Changes to the Rulebook

1. Proposing a New Rule

1. All managers and members of the BoD are able to propose changes (additions, revisions, or reductions) to the SSL Rulebook during the season in a dedicated forum or channel.
2. Any proposed rule change must be well thought out and take into account all other rules that might be affected by the new proposal.

2. Voting and Implementation

1. During the off-season, all proposed changes will be put to a vote for the members of the BoD and Commissioner(s).

1. The BoD reserves the right to issue an emergency vote during the season for a rule change that is seen as vital to the improvement of the league.

2. A proposed rule change is implemented if more than 80 percent of the total votes are in favor of the proposal.
3. A vote is considered closed after three days (72 hours) of it starting. The total number of placed votes at the time of closing is considered the total number of votes.