Bylaws

*All times included are Eastern

Article 1: OWNERSHIP / HOSTS

The League of Life (LOL) is a GM-style salary cap / auction / contract dynasty that consists of 20 franchises, who will compete every year in the most unique, challenging, and rewarding fantasy basketball format ever imagined.

Each franchise will have 1+ owners with ownership rights to their franchise and its prizes earned, as long as required league dues are paid (see Article 7: DUES / PRIZES). However this league is not about the money. The LOL is designed for those unique people who will be dedicated for life, most motivated by their sheer love of the game. Unlike many dynasties, this format has the staying power and consistent excitement delivered on an annual basis to keep it going forever.

The league will be hosted year around on the Sleeper app. The league also features a custom-built supplementary web app... which pulls from a spreadsheet... both operated by Commissioner @kzingo. The web app and spreadsheet will be intuitive and valuable reference tools that guide owners through the competitive process. While the LOL format may be complex at first glance, it becomes second nature (or a second language) the more it is understood. 

Article 2: ACTIVE ROSTER

Franchises will field an active roster of up to 15 NBA players to compete in head-to-head matchups against each other during the Playing Season, encompassing weeks 1-23 in the NBA (October-March).

Every player will be assigned at least one position — Point guard (PG), Shooting guard (SG), Small forward (SF), Power forward (PF), or Center (C). Franchises will be required to submit up to a 7-player starting lineup from their active roster each week at the following positions: 

Each player will be locked into the starting lineup when their first game of the week starts. Players not in the starting lineup will be placed on the bench, which will have a maximum of 8 spots.

Article 3: SCORING - LOCK-IN

Players in the starting lineup will earn "fantasy" points based on real-life NBA statistics earned in each game they play, but ultimately only one game per starter will count toward the roster's overall point total each week.

Each franchise will choose which game is counted for each starter through the use of Lock-in mode on Sleeper. Franchises can lock-in a player's fantasy point total after their game, any time before they start their next game. 

If a franchise does not lock-in a point total for a player before their final game of the week, the player's point total from that final game will automatically be locked-in.

Points will be distributed in a simple, well-balanced, high-scoring system as follows:

There will be no negative points / categories.

In each head-to-head matchup, the franchise who outscores their opponent will be credited with a win, while the other franchise will take a loss. It is possible (though rare) for a matchup to end in a tie.

Article 4: ALIGNMENT

Each year the franchises will align into four divisions (five franchises each), which are divided into two conferences. Divisional alignment among the teams in year 1 (2023) will based on a random draw as follows:

Conference TERRA

Conference ETHER

Beginning in year 2 (2024), franchises will realign every year based on season-long Maximum Points For (Max PF*) earned in the previous year, using the same sequence above. Thus, in year 2+, the highest Max PF from the previous season will join the Earth Division with the 5th, 9th, 13th, and 17th highest Max PFs. 

*Max PF represents the maximum amount of points a franchise could have scored throughout the season, if they had started a perfect lineup every week — tracked by Sleeper in the standings area.

Franchises are also encouraged to create a fresh new / unique team name and logo each year on Sleeper, to represent the ever-changing nature of life.

Article 5: PLAYING SEASON

Each Playing Season will begin in October with a 13-week Regular Season, where franchises will face their four divisional opponents twice, and their five other non-divisional conference opponents once. 

Although the conferences won't be shown on Sleeper (it will only show four separate divisions), we will internally acknowledge the two conferences and conduct the league accordingly. Earth and Water divisional standings will always be at the top, with Air and Fire standings at the bottom. We will track two separate sets of conference standings, which group Earth/Water and Air/Fire together.

Divisional and conference standings will be based on overall record first, with season-long points for (PF) as the tiebreaker. In the rare event of a tie in PF, season-long points against (PA) will be used. No head-to-head tiebreakers will apply, in order to place a greater reward on scoring lots of points.

Postseason Play-in Games

After the Regular Season is complete, the four franchises highest in their divisional standings (2 from each conference) will become division champions and clinch a spot in a 14-team Postseason bracket across weeks 16-23. The two highest non-divisional winners in each conference standings will earn the next four spots as wildcards. 

The final six spots in the Postseason will be determined by six inner-conference Play-in games (three in each conference), with franchises matched against each other based on their place in the conference standings: 5 vs. 10, 6 vs. 9, and 7 vs. 8. 

Each Play-in game will be played across two weeks (week 14 and 15), where the point totals of the two separate weeks will be summed together for each franchise. Franchises will set a unique starting lineup for both weeks, and lock-in games toward two separate point totals that will be combined to determine the matchup outcome. 

Although Sleeper will count the Play-in games as two separate weeks toward the standings, we will internally recognize that both weeks are combined and track the Play-in games on the web app, making updates in Sleeper's League Chat. 

The three Play-in winners from each conference will make the 14-team Postseason field, which will seed 7 franchises from each conference on opposite sides of the bracket.

First-Four Postseason games

Alongside the Play-in games, the four teams from each conference that clinched Postseason berths will also have a 2-week inner conference matchup that we will track across week 14 and 15, division winner vs. division winner (to determine Postseason seeds 1 and 2) and wildcard vs. wildcard (to determine seeds 3 and 4). These four matchups are known as the First-Four.

Sleeper will also count the First-Four games as two separate weeks toward the standings, but again we will internally recognize that both weeks are combined and track the First-Four games on the web app, making updates in League Chat. 

Postseason

After the the Play-in & First-Four games are completed, the Postseason will begin, featuring four 2-week long rounds. The 1-seed in each conference will earn a first round bye. The 2-seed will then have the right to choose their opponent in the Wildcard Round (week 16 and 17) among seeds 4-7 in their conference. The 3-seed will then choose their opponent next among the remaining franchises, leaving the final two unchosen franchises matched up default. 

The Wildcard Round will technically not be part of Sleeper's built-in playoff bracket, which only allows up to 8 teams. And just like Play-in and First-Four games, Sleeper will count the Wildcard games as two separate weeks toward the standings. We will again internally recognize that both weeks are combined and track the Wildcard games on the web app.

The three Wildcard Round winners from each conference will advance to the Divisional Round (week 18 and 19), joined by the 1-seed, who will have the right to choose their opponent among the three. The two unchosen franchises in each conference will square off by default. The eight Divisional Round qualifiers will then be plugged into Sleeper's built-in 8-team playoff bracket, so that the Postseason can play out automatically from there (as Sleeper does have 2-week playoff round functionality).

Two franchises from each conference will advance from the Divisional Round to the Conference Championships in week 20 and 21. The two conference champions will then square off in the LOL Bowl in week 22 and 23 to determine our league Champion. The loser will earn Runner-up.

The two losers of the Conference Championships will square off across week 22 and 23 for the Bronze Bowl (AKA "3rd place game") to determine 3rd and 4th place in the final standings.

Redemption Bracket

The two teams in each conference that lose in the Divisional Round of the Postseason will form a 4-team Redemption Bracket that will be conducted by Sleeper just below the Postseason bracket across weeks 20 through 23. Conference foes will be matched together in the first round for two weeks, and the two winners will go on to compete in the 2-week Redemption Bowl (AKA "5th place game") to determine 5th and 6th place, while the losers will compete in a 2-week 7th place game to determine 7th and 8th place.

Bottom-Six (Play-in game losers)

The six franchises (three from each conference) that lose their Play-in games will not have an official matchup across weeks 16 and 17, but points earned across those weeks will still accumulate toward their season-long total Max PF through week 17, which will be used to determine which two out of the Bottom-Six make it to the Mid Bracket starting in week 18.

Mid Bracket

An 8-team Mid Bracket will be carried out by Sleeper across weeks 18 to 23, simultaneous to their 8-team playoff bracket (which we will use for the Divisional Round, Conference Championships, and LOL Bowl). All matchups in the Mid Bracket will also be carried out over over two weeks.

The first six spots in the bracket will go to the franchises that lost in the Wildcard Round of the Postseason. The final two spots will go to the two franchises from the Bottom-Six with the highest Max PF through week 17.

The 8 qualifiers will then be seeded 1-8 based on their season-long point total through week 17. The two teams that win in the first two rounds will square off in the Mid Bowl (AKA "9th place game") to determine 9th and 10th place. There will also be additional consolation rounds and 11th, 13th, and 15th place games to determine 11th through 16th place.

Low Bracket

We will also conduct our own 4-team Low Bracket (which we will track on the web app and update in League Chat) for the four leftover franchises, which will play out across two rounds (three weeks each) in week 18-23. The franchises will be seeded 1-4 based on highest to lowest Max PF through week 17, regardless of conference. The two first round (week 18-20) winners will square off in the Low Bowl in week 21-23 to determine 17th and 18th place, while the losers will compete in the Toilet Bowl for 19th and 20th place.

Article 6: ACTIVITY 

Franchises are required to be active and check Sleeper on a regular basis, as one of their priorities in life. 

The LOL is designed to be fun, challenging, affordable, and exciting every single year, built to be rewarding for people who are willing to be invested and committed. 

There will be a ~4-month offseason (April-July) each year where franchise owners can rest up and check out, but during the time when the league is active (July-March), at least 1 owner from each franchise is expected to be available and engaged, especially in August & September for the Annual Auctions.

Franchises that may go through extended periods of unavailability or limited internet access while the league is active should notify the league, as both a courtesy to the remaining franchises, and to ensure good standing.

Thankfully, even when computer access is not available, the combination of the web app + Sleeper mobile app will make it easy to access the league and manage franchises from anywhere owners have mobile access.

Article 7: DUES / PRIZES

Franchises (with the exception of the Commissioner* — see section below) will pay annual league dues of $25, creating a $475 available prize pool for payouts each year. The prize pool will be paid out every year as follows:

Thus, the LOL Champion will win a minimum of $200 each year (collecting the league + conference champion payouts), but more likely $250 if they also won their division. The Runner-up will receive a minimum of $50 for winning their conference, but more likely $100 if they also won their division. 3rd place will win $25 to $75 depending on if they won their division. Any non top-3 placing division winner will receive a payout of $50.

Franchises will always cover league dues for two years in advance. Thus, in year 1, $50 must be paid upfront by each original franchise to join the LOL (to cover year 1 and 2). In year 2+, an additional $25 advance (to cover year 3+) will be due each year by the day after the NFL Draft.

The champion will always pay their next two available advances ($50 deducted from their payout). Thus, every champion will be paid out in advance a minimum of 3 years in the year they are defending their title, or more if they win multiple years in a row. 

$25 will also be deducted from (most all) payouts to any non-champions that owe an advance in the following year. This means that if 3rd place does not win their division and earns the lowest possible payout ($25), they will not receive a physical payout, as their full $25 winnings will be used to cover the advance.

LeagueSafe will be used to facilitate all payments and payouts. All funds raised via current and advance leagues dues will be housed in the same LeagueSafe purse, which will always payout prizes for the current year and roll over the remaining funds into the following year. Annual payouts from the LeagueSafe purse will be initiated by the Commissioner, but majority approval from the rest of the league on LeagueSafe is required to approve any and all payouts from the purse.

At any time, the league can majority-vote to dismantle the LOL. This must be done in the offseason only. Any and all current and advance league dues paid into the LeagueSafe purse would then be refunded in full to each franchise.

*Commissioner plays for the franchises

Operating and managing the LOL is an extensive part-time job and a critical duty to ensure the league's integrity and collective happiness. In generous exchange for his service, and for the countless hours poured into imagining and creating the LOL, the Commissioner will enjoy free entry into the league for life. 

However, the Commissioner is far more interested in the long term health and excitement of the league than prize money, and has opted to donate all future winnings right back to the league, for life. As such, any cash prizes won by the Commissioner will be automatically transferred into the following year's available prize pool (with all prizes that year rising proportionately), significantly increasing upside for remaining league ownership without any additional risk. 

If and when the Commissioner ever builds a dynasty and wins multiple years in a row, the prize pool will grow quite large for the remaining franchises!

Orphans / Inactivity / Collusion / Foul Play

In the event owner(s) leave the league and / or must surrender their franchise (for any reason), they will immediately surrender their right to receive any cash payouts from the LeagueSafe purse, and any paid current year league dues + their $25 advance (up to $50), which will be retained by the league and used to attract replacement recruits.

Lack of owner activity is against the spirit of this league, and will ultimately be grounds for surrendering the franchise.

Collusion among owners of competing franchises and / or the operation of multiple franchises by the same owner(s) is highly illegal in the LOL and grounds for immediate franchise surrender.

Foul play also includes mean-spirited messages in League Chat. Owners are expected to show respect to one another and contribute a positive energy to the league that creates a fun and competitive environment for all. 

Any evidence of continued inactivity, collusion, or foul play will be presented to league ownership. At least 10 franchises (excluding the Commissioner) must vote in favor of a franchise surrender for it to be executed.

Article 8: CONTRACTS

All players will initially go on active rosters as unsigned, but eventually the franchise must sign the player to a contract, where they pay a salary in each year of the contract that counts toward an annual payroll, which counts against an annual salary cap. 

The salary cap will be fixed at $200 Million per year. Franchises may also not have more than 35 total years of committed salaries on their payrolls at any time.

The length (# of years) and salary amount(s) (in each year) of a contract are determined by the franchise that originally signs them. When initially writing a multi-year contract, salaries must ascend (back-loaded), descend (front-loaded) or remain equal as years progress, but cannot move both up and down in both directions, nor can they be front-loaded or back-loaded more than 20% from the contract's average annual salary (AAS). 

The total contract value (TCV) is the sum of all the salaries paid in each year of a contract — the total amount being paid to the player (over time in multi-year contracts). Therefore, the TCV divided by the length (number of years) equals the contract’s AAS.

Non-rookies may be signed to veteran contracts up to five (5) years in length. After a veteran contract expires, the player becomes an unrestricted free agent available to be signed by any franchise. 

Rookies may be signed to rookie contracts up to three (3) years in length. When a rookie contract expires, the player will become a restricted free agent, and the franchise will be awarded contract rights to the player, giving them the opportunity to re-sign the player to a new veteran contract with an AAS that matches the highest bidder among the remaining 19 franchises at the upcoming Annual Auction (see Article 21: ANNUAL AUCTIONS). Contracts rights to players can also be traded (see Article 19: TRADES) between franchises.

The minimum annual salary in all contracts is $1M, at all times.

Article 9: OPTIONS

Franchises may designate the final year of any multi-year veteran contract as a team / self option with a salary equal to the contract's AAS, where they will get to decide in the final year whether they want to exercise the option and take on that final year salary, or decline it and allow the player to become an unrestricted free agent.

With regard to contract loading, options are treated as separate from the rest of the contract. Franchises can apply the contract loading rules however they'd like across all non-option years in the contract while ignoring the option, which will always remain fixed at the AAS. 

The option in an option contract will not count toward the 35-year total contract limit, until / unless it is exercised in the final option year. However, the option year salary will count against that year's salary cap, until / unless it is declined in the final option year.

Franchises can only ever write a new option contract when they don’t have any others on their payrolls. Though a franchise can end up with multiple option contracts via trade, they must wait until all options have been exercised or declined before they can write a new option contract.

Article 10: SIGNING BONUSES

For all multi-year contracts, franchises may convert up to 20% of the current year salary (rounded down to the nearest $100K - $0.1M) into a signing bonus. This can be done once per year / per contract (can be done multiple times to the same contract) during the Preseason only (time period between the Annual Auction and the Playing Season, typically spanning the first three weeks or so in October), and cannot be done in the contract's final year, nor in the final non-option year in an option contract.

Converting salary to signing bonus reduces committed salary and frees up cap space in the current year, but the franchise will pay it back in immediate future year(s), as the amount freed up in the current year must be applied as one or divided into multiple salary cap hit(s) in any or all of remaining non-option year(s) of the contract, however the franchise sees fit, in minimum $50K (0.05M) increments.

Franchises can announce signing bonuses in League Chat, and indicate how they want the cap hit(s) applied. The franchise just needs to have the available cap space in the year(s) they are placing the cap hit(s), in order for the transaction to be processed.

Note that in cases where there is only one non-option year available for a cap hit, the franchise does not have to indicate how they want the signing bonus applied, as the full signing bonus will automatically be applied as a cap hit in that year.

After converting to signing bonus, the current year salary still must be at least $1M. Therefore $1.2M salaries are the lowest that can be converted at the maximum 20%.

Cap hits

Cap hits are logged separately from committed salaries for each franchise on the bottom of their payrolls. They are positive numbers that decrease cap room and count toward the payroll, and they always remain with the franchise that takes them on -- they cannot be traded as they are not considered part of a contract. Cap hits can be in as low as $50K ($0.05M) increments.

Article 11: EXTENSIONS

For all multi-year veteran non-option contracts, franchises will be allowed to offer a contract extension during the Preseason of the final contract year only.

A contract may only be extended once, even if it's traded away. Rookie contracts and option contracts may not be extended. 

When extending a player's contract, the franchise can opt for a one- or two-year extension, with the salary in the extension year(s) preset using a calculation that first establishes a baseline salary, which will be equal to the 20th-highest committed salary at that player's position. If the player has been assigned multiple positions, the highest salary will be used.

In a one-year extension, the extension year salary will be the average between the baseline salary and the player's final year salary (if lower). In a two-year extension, both extension year salaries will be equal to that amount plus a 20% premium.

If the player's final year salary is already higher than the baseline salary, the extension salary in a one-year extension will simply be equal to the player's final year salary, with a 20% premium added to both salaries if extending by two years.

Any extension year(s) in a contract WILL count toward the total 35-year contract limit.

Note that extension salaries will be rounded down to the nearest $100K - $0.1M where needed.

Article 12: FRANCHISE TAGS

Beginning in year 2, franchises will have the right to franchise tag up to one (1) player per offseason coming off an expiring contract, including contracts that have been extended. The franchise tag window opens at midnight after the NBA Finals has completed, and closes at the end of July (just before the Annual Auction).

The franchise tag will act as a 1-year extension, with a salary that will be preset using a baseline salary equal to the average of the top-10 salaries at the player's position from the previous year, plus a 10% premium (rounded down to the nearest $100K - $0.1M). If the player has been assigned multiple positions, the highest salary will be used.

The second consecutive time a player is franchise tagged, the salary will be the baseline + a 20% premium. The third year in a row, it’ll be the baseline + 30%, and the premium will continue to increase by 10% per year in perpetuity, until it becomes too expensive to franchise tag the player any longer — at which point the player will become an unrestricted free agent.

However, a player can never be franchised tagged for cheaper than the AAS of the original contract. Thus, when first attempting to franchise tag a player, if the baseline + 10% calculation is lower than the original contract's AAS, the player must be franchise tagged for the original contract's AAS. If franchise tagging the same player again in the following year, the 2nd year baseline + 20% calculation will apply, which again must be at least equal to or greater than the AAS of the original contract, or again the original AAS will be used. This could theoretically continue each year until the baseline + % calculation grows higher than the original AAS, at which point the calculation would then be used to determine the franchise salary.

Thus, the franchise tag is only meant to be used sparingly to retain franchise-level players for another year.

When an option is declined, the player will not be franchise tag-eligible — as they will immediately become an unrestricted free agent. However when an option is exercised, the player may be franchise tagged the following year after the contract expires.

Note that franchises technically can franchise tag expiring rookie contracts, but in doing so would be signing them to a very expensive 1-year contract and would surrender the player's restricted free agent eligibility. As such, it will likely never be beneficial to franchise tag an expiring rookie contract. 

Article 13: RESTRUCTURES

Franchises may restructure (re-arrange salaries up / down) any contract across its restructuring window, which is all remaining non-option years where the Playing Season has not started yet. 

The current year salary can also never be restructured in the same year a contract is extended (even if the Playing Season has not started), and thus will not be considered part of the restructuring window.

To restructure a contract, franchises must pay a percentage fee of the total summed salaries in the restructuring window. The fee will be based on how many years are remaining in the contract (excluding option years) at the time of the restructure:

The fee will be rounded down to the nearest $100K ($0.1M) and will always be realized against the current year salary cap, even if only future years are being restructured. Franchises must have the available cap room in the current year in order for the restructure to be processed.

Franchises must announce restructured contracts on League Chat and include full details on how they want the new contract structured, adhering to applicable contract writing rules within the restructuring window only. Thus, restructuring a contract can in some cases cause the entire contract to become uneven (moving both up and down, and / or having salaries more than 20% from the total contract's AAS), which is legal as long as the standard contract writing rules were adhered to within the restructuring window. 

All salaries in the restructuring window must sum together to the same exact amount before and after a restructure. Thus, the TCV and AAS of the entire contract will always remain the same. The franchise pays a separately-logged fee that counts toward their payroll and against their salary cap in the current year, in order to re-arrange the contract's salaries however they desire (back-loaded, front-loaded, or balanced) within the restructuring window. 

The same contract can be restructured multiple times (even in the same year), but the applicable fee will be applied each time it is restructured. 

The ability to restructure contracts will be closed from the conclusion of the Regular Season (end of week 13), through Midnight after the NBA Finals has completed, but will be open for the remainder of the year.

Article 14: INJURED RESERVE (IR)

During the Preseason and Playing Season, franchises will also have access to a near-limitless injured reserve (IR) with ten spots for players with the following tags: 

Long Term IR / Cap Credits

Franchises may designate any player on their IR to Long Term IR, in cases where the player is on a multi-year contract and reportedly out for the season. 

Placing a player on Long Term IR will keep the player on contract (for future years) and free up cap space in the current year only, in the form of a salary cap credit (a negative number on the spreadsheet, increasing cap room). 

When placing a player on Long Term IR before their first week 7 game begins, the cap credit will be 50% of the player's current year salary. The credit will then reduce by 7% per week after (43% before week 8, 36% before week 9, etc.), until it is phased out for remainder of the year at the conclusion of week 13. The credit will always be rounded up to the nearest $50K ($0.05M). 

Franchises can place a player on Long Term IR by simply posting on League Chat. The player should already be in an IR spot before the post.

Once a player is placed on Long Term IR, they must remain in the IR on Sleeper for the remainder of the year. However, in the rare event a player placed on Long Term IR makes a surprise comeback at any point during the Playing Season (including the Postseason), franchises will be able to move the player back onto the active roster. In these cases, the cap credit will be removed, so the franchise must have or make the cap space available in the current year to take back on the player's full year salary. 

If a franchise does not wish to move a surprise comeback player on Long Term IR back onto their active roster, their Sleeper roster will be locked, as Sleeper does not allow players without an injury designation to remain on IR. In these cases, the franchise will be allowed to drop the player to unlock their roster, while maintaining ownership over the player's contract. The franchise should post in League Chat, informing the rest of the league of the purpose for the drop. In doing so, the franchise will forfeit their right to have the player back on their Sleeper roster for the remainder of the year, but will keep the contract on their payrolls for the future.

If a player already had an IR or OUT tag at the time they were signed to a contract, the franchise will be ineligible to place them on Long Term IR in the current year.

Article 15: BUYOUTS

Franchises may buyout any player not on Long Term IR, freeing themselves of the contract in exchange for a cap hit in each remaining contract year. When buying out a player before their first week 7 game begins, the cap hit in the current year will be 50% of the player's salary. The current year cap hit will then increase by 7% per week after (57% before week 9, 64% before week 10, etc.), until it becomes 100% (no relief) for remainder of the year at the conclusion of week 13. 

When buying out a contract with multiple years left, any future year(s) will incur a 50% cap hit. Buyout cap hits will always be rounded down to the nearest $50K ($0.05M). 

When buying out an option contract early, franchises will still take the cap hit in the option year, and the option year will count toward the remaining length of the contract.

Franchises may buy out players at any time year around, except for a 2.5-month window from the end of the Playing Season (Late March) through Midnight after the NBA Finals has completed (mid June).

Players can be bought out simply by dropping them on Sleeper. The contract will be eliminated and the cap hit(s) recorded, freeing up cap space in each remaining contract year. Although the franchise will take the cap hit(s), the original contract is removed, net increasing cap room. The player will then become an unrestricted free agent. 

During the Playing Season, players even can be bought out and dropped after their games have already started (before Sleeper has transitioned to the next week). Dropping a bench player will immediately remove them from the active roster, freeing up an open roster spot that can be used in that week. 

When buying out a player in the starting lineup after his first game has started (perhaps in fury), the player’s points for the week (for whichever game gets locked in) will still count toward the franchise's weekly point total, as Sleeper will temporarily keep them on the active roster with an “OFF ROSTER” tag until the next week rolls in, which is when the open roster spot will become available. However, the cap room resulting from any buyout will always be available right away.

Article 16: RETIREMENT

In the event a player retires while still under contract, franchises may buyout the player for a % discount against the regular buyout cap hit in each remaining year of the contract where the Playing Season has not started, based on the player’s age at the time of the buyout:

The discount will always be rounded up to the nearest $50K ($0.05M).

In the event a player comes out of retirement after a franchise has already bought them out, that franchise will not have any rights to the player, nor the original contract, and the player will be treated as an unrestricted free agent. As such, it's always up to each franchise to determine whether it's worth holding onto the original contract in case their retired player decides to return to the game, bearing the full cost of the contract in the meantime.

Franchises may also opt to hold onto option contracts of retired players until the option year arrives, giving themselves the ability to decline the option and get full relief of the option year salary (instead of buying it out at the time of retirement and taking a cap hit in the option year), while bearing the full cost of the contract in the meantime.

Article 17: DISASTERS - DEATH / TRAGIC INJURY / SEVERE ILLNESS / BAN / SUSPENSION / CRIMINAL / HIATUS / ETC.

In the event of a player’s death, franchises will be immediately freed of the contract with a 0% cap hit in all contract years.

In the event a player has been banned or suspended from the NBA for at least one full Playing Season or has been tragically injured or is critically ill,  or anything else beyond retirement that can prove / establish that the player will miss 1+ full Playing Seasons, franchises may submit a request to the Commissioner for a reduced buyout in some or all remaining contract years. They can propose a new buyout package that they deem is fair, up to full 100% relief (in extreme cases), based on how unfortunate / unexpected the circumstances are.

The Commissioner will seriously consider all reduced buyout requests and may ask for guidance from the rest of league ownership before acting on them. Franchises are asked to be cordial and unbiased in jointly deciding what’s fair in these cases.

Whenever a franchise is granted a reduced buyout request, they will be unable to sign the player to a contract until the following year, while any other franchise will be allowed to sign the player in the meantime. 

Article 18: WAIVERS

Before buying out a player, franchises may attempt to offload them to another willing franchise in the league by first placing them on waivers. As with buyouts, players on Long Term IR may not be waived.

If a player is waiver claimed, the original franchise (that waived the player) will be 100% freed of the contract, getting full cap relief in each contract year. If a player clears waivers without being claimed by another franchise, the original franchise will be forced to buyout the player’s contract. 

To waive a player, franchises must post on League Chat something like: “I am waiving Jimmer Fredette” and then immediately drop the player on Sleeper. The rest of the franchises will have until the following day at 11 AM to place a waiver claim on the player, committing to take on the player’s full remaining contract. Thus, any player who is waived after 12 AM will remain on waivers until 11 AM the following day.

Waiver claims must be made by posting on League Chat as well — they can just say: “I claim Jimmer Fredette” and the moment that happens, the original franchise will be freed of the contract, and the contract will transfer to the franchise that claimed them. 

There is no waiver order. Waiver claims are awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis. The first franchise to post a waiver claim on a player will be awarded the contract. 

Franchises will be given 24 hours to restructure for free any contract they claim off waivers. The typical restructure fee that would have to be incurred in the current year will not apply. 

If a waiver claim puts a franchise over the active roster limit, total contract year limit, or over the salary cap in any given year(s), they must make space (via any transaction(s) they'd like) within 48 hours — only after can the player be added to their Sleeper roster. If they also make a waive to free up space, additional time may be given to allow the franchise to see if the player is claimed. Failure to make the necessary transaction(s) within 48 hours may result in forced transaction(s) by the Commissioner, who will make the required decision(s) in the franchise's best interest (including a possible buyout of the claimed player) and may ask for guidance from the rest of league ownership if needed. 

Waivers will be closed at the conclusion of the Regular Season (end of week 13), through Midnight after the NBA Finals has completed, but will always be open the rest of the year.

Article 19: TRADES

Trades can be proposed and accepted directly on Sleeper, and the private "messages" feature is useful for negotiating. When a player is traded, their contract transfers from the original franchise to the new franchise.

Cap room / money may not be directly traded, but franchises do have the option to retain up to 35% of any non-option year salary whenever trading a contract away, as an incentive to get another franchise to take the player. The franchise trading the player away will receive cap hit(s) equal to the retention amount(s) in the year(s) specified, and the franchise receiving the player will take on a newly decreased contract, which might be "uneven" as a result, which is fine, as long as all salaries are $1M or higher after the retention(s) are taken away.

Any salary retention(s) must be promptly posted on League Chat with the trade. Franchises must indicate the retention amount (in dollars) for each contract year a retention is being applied (can be up to 35% of the player's salary in each year, rounded down to the nearest $100K - $0.1M).

All trades will be reviewed by the Commissioner and immediately approved and processed if the trade does not put either franchise over the active roster limit, total contract year limit, or over a salary cap in any given year. In cases where a franchise is over, the Commissioner will not process the trade until the franchise has made the necessary transaction(s) (can be any, including trades) to get themselves under. If they are unwilling to do so within 24 hours, the trade will be vetoed. 

Franchises will be given 24 hours to restructure for free any contract they trade for, after the trade has been processed. The typical restructure fee that would have to be incurred in the current year will be waived. 

In cases where a trade includes a player in a starting lineup whose first game that week has already started, the trade can be considered approved, but the Commissioner will wait to process the trade until Sleeper transitions into the following week. In the meantime, franchises will not be able to back out of the approved trade, and it will go through the following week, regardless of what occurs in the games.

In the rare / specific case where a franchise drops a starter after their first game started, and then makes a trade before the transition to the next week, the dropped starter (with the "OFF ROSTER" tag on Sleeper) will not count toward the franchise's roster limit when the Commissioner reviews the trade.

Trades will be closed from the conclusion of the Regular Season (end of week 13), through Midnight after the NBA Finals has completed, but will always be open the rest of the year. Summer time (especially leading up to and during the Annual Auctions) will be the most active trading period of the year.

Article 20: SILENT BIDDING

All players in the LOL not acquired in a Rookie Draft (see Article 24: ROOKIE DRAFTS / LOTTERY) will be bid on in "silent auctions" either at Annual Auctions or in Free Agency (see Article 22: FREE AGENCY), which will combine into an 8-month time window each year where the league will silent bid on players every single day.

The league will conveniently utilize Sleeper’s built-in waiver cash system to facilitate all silent contract bidding in the LOL NBA. To bid on a player when they are up for auction, simply find the player in the Sleeper player pool (they’ll be showing as on waivers), add them and enter a “waiver cash” amount on that player. 

Any bids entered will show as pending transactions in the roster area that can be edited or removed any time before the auction deadline, which is always at Noon. Bids will have opened up for that auction at Noon the previous day.

At 12:05 PM, Sleeper will showcase silent bidding results in League Chat. This will allow for a true silent bidding system as Sleeper does not show any pending transactions in the backend commissioner tools.

Whenever you silent bid on a player in this league, you are offering an AAS bid - an average annual salary you're willing to offer and pay the player. For all bids on Sleeper, $1 represents $1 Million in AAS you will pay the player if your bid is the highest.

The Commissioner will assign infinite auction waiver cash to every owner on Sleeper because these limits are always erroneous. The true salary caps we be tracked separately using the web app / spreadsheet.

The franchise that submits the highest bid on a player will win the player for the amount of their AAS bid. The contract will ultimately be written by the franchise based on the winning AAS bid.

AAS bids can only be made in $1M increments, but when assigning salaries in multi year contracts, you may use $100,00 increments ($1.3M, $5.9M, etc).

If an owner submits a bid on a player who was not up for auction by mistake, the transaction will be reversed by the Commissioner.

Contract terms

When a player is won at auction, the Commissioner will add the player to their Sleeper roster and initially place them in franchise's payrolls as unsigned, with a 1-year placeholder contract at a salary equal to their AAS bid. The franchise will have until the player's next NBA game starts to sign them to a multi-year contract if they desire, simply by posting the player's name and contract terms in Sleeper League Chat. The franchise must have salary cap room in all applicable years and must have enough contract years available to accommodate the multi-year contract, or it will not be accepted by the Commissioner.

Players can be traded, waived, or bought out as soon as they appear on a Sleeper roster. Any unsigned player can still be traded, waived or bought out, even immediately after they are won at auction. If an unsigned player is bought out, they will first be automatically signed to a 1-year contract, with the franchise taking a cap hit in the current year only, equal to 50% of the AAS.

Any franchise that receives an unsigned player via trade or waiver claim will still have until their next NBA game starts that year to sign them to a multi-year contract. If a franchise does not offer a multi-year contract to an unsigned player by that time, they will be officially signed to their assigned 1-year contract.

If a franchise does not have the cap space in the current year to sign the player to the initial 1-year contract assigned by the Commissioner, or if they are already at the contract year limit, they must make the necessary space (via any transaction(s) they'd like) within 48 hours, or whenever their next NBA game starts, whichever comes first. This may include signing the player (or other unsigned players) to a backloaded multi-year contract. 

If a waive is made to make space, additional time may be given to allow the franchise to see if the player is claimed, if time allows. Failure to make the necessary transaction(s) in the allotted time may result in forced transaction(s) by the Commissioner, who will make the required decision(s) in the franchise's best interest and may ask for guidance from the rest of league ownership if needed.

Franchises may also not make any additional bids on players in auctions when they are over the roster limit, contract year limit, or current year salary cap. If they do, the bid will be considered invalid. 

Any invalid multi-year contracts posted will not be accepted by the Commissioner and new terms will be requested, if time allows. Franchises can use the CONTRACT CHECKER to ensure a contract is valid before posting and accepted by the Commissioner. Keep in mind when setting salaries close to the loading buffer, you must round to the nearest $0.1M increment that doesn't fall below the "Low salary" or above the "High salary".

Retractions and Claims

Franchises will have 10 hours (until 10 PM ET) to retract any winning bid they made in an auction. They can do so by posting in League Chat. Once a bid has been retracted, the next highest bidder may then place a claim in League Chat, and they will be immediately awarded the player at their own AAS bid amount. They can also opt out in League Chat, and the next bidder below them can win the player immediately with a claim. 

Any time before the next highest bidder has posted a claim, other franchises that bid lower amounts on the player may also submit claims in League Chat. If the next highest bidder has not posted a claim by 11 AM the following morning, the next bidder below them to post will immediately win the player at their own AAS bid amount.

If no claims are made by 11 AM, any franchise that bid on the player can make a claim on a first-come, first serve basis, until Noon, and they will immediately win the player for the amount of their own $AAS bid. If a player goes unclaimed past Noon, they will become an unrestricted free agent.

Auction tiebreakers

When franchises tie for the highest bid in a silent auction, Sleeper will immediately award the player to the franchise highest on their internal “waiver priority list”. However, that franchise will not have rights to the player, they will simply hold the player in the meantime, while the tie is sorted out. If they end up losing the player in the tiebreaker, the player will be transferred to the winning franchise by the Commissioner. 

Any franchise involved in the tie can, as always, retract their bid within the first 10 hours. During those same 10 hours, any franchise involved in the tie can also commit to competing in the tiebreaker. If a tied franchise does not retract or commit within the 10 hour period, they will automatically be considered committed to the tiebreaker. Posting the commitment early simply allows the tied franchises to get the tiebreaker process started earlier, without having to wait 10 hours to begin.

If all tied franchises retract their bid, the player will then go through the normal retraction / claim process, where the lower bidding franchises will have a chance to claim the player for the amount of their own AAS bid.

If only one franchise has committed to the tiebreaker within the first 10 hours, they will win the player for the tied AAS bid amount. 

If two or more tied franchises commit, the tiebreaker will officially be on, and the franchise that was first to commit will have the right to post the first tiebreaker bid in League Chat, indicating a higher AAS they're willing to offer the player. If the franchise (that was first to commit) does not post their tiebreaker bid by Midnight ET, any franchise involved in the tie may place the first tiebreaker bid. 

After the first / initial tiebreaker bid is made, any other franchise involved in the tie can make additional tiebreaker bids — each bid in the tiebreaker process must be higher than the last. Tiebreaker bids can be made in the following minimum increments, based on where the current AAS bid is at:

Franchises can continue to outbid each other and are free to ‘duke it out’ in this manner right there in League Chat, until all but one franchise openly concedes (this is encouraged), or the bidding ‘times-out’—one hour after the last bid was posted, or 11 AM the following morning, whichever comes later.

Note that the bidding could theoretically go beyond the following day's Noon auction deadline, if franchises continue outbidding each other (without conceding) every hour after 11 AM. However, most tiebreakers can and should be handled relatively quickly in the immediate aftermath of the auction. 

If a winning bid is retracted and multiple claims are made by franchises with lower identical bids, the tie will be broken using these same auction tiebreaker procedures, though depending on when the tiebreaker is triggered, additional time may be given (beyond 11 AM the following morning) to allow the tiebreaker process to play out.

Conditional drops

Franchises can place bids on players in silent auctions when they are at the roster limit, as long as they include a conditional drop, where they're specifying a player for Sleeper to drop from their active roster if they are the highest bidder. Whenever including a player as a conditional drop on a bid, the franchise will automatically buyout that player's contract if the bid wins. 

Franchises can actually always include conditional drops on all their silent bids, even when they’re not at the roster limit, because Sleeper will always allow franchises to select any player to drop when submitting any silent bid, even when empty roster spots are available.

Multiple bids

Franchises can submit multiple bids on multiple different players in the same auction. In the event a franchise wins multiple players in the same auction, they will have 12 hours to surrender all but 1 of the players they won to the next highest bidder. The next highest bidder will then have 12 hours to claim the player for $1M AAS higher than the bid below them. This process can continue down the line until a franchise finally claims the player, or if nobody claims the player, they would become a unrestricted free agent.

Invalid bids

The ability to submit multiple bids at once can lead to "invalid bids"—an actual Sleeper functionality (as described and shown HERE) that franchises can use to set up bids in such a way to purposely invalidate and (in effect) rescind a bid (even if they are the highest bidder) if they already won another bid in the same auction that was more important to them.

A bid will come back invalid, even if it’s the highest bid, in two scenarios:

Therefore, when franchises only have one (or few) open roster spot(s), or if they have at least one player they're willing to drop from their active roster, they can leverage this for greater bidding flexibility across multiple players without risking winning them all.

Article 21: ANNUAL AUCTIONS

Beginning in year 1, the LOL will hold a highly anticipated mega auction every summer (beginning in August), known as an Annual Auction. They will typically be around 2 months long, lasting up until the first NBA pre-season game in late September / early October.

Trades, buyouts, waivers, and restructures will all be open during Annual Auctions. Any players bought out during an Annual Auction will immediately go into the auction player pool. 

Year 1 Inaugural Auction

The 1st Annual Auction (also known as the Inaugural Auction) will be a 65-day event August 1, 2023, and will be unique from all future Annual Auctions in that franchises will arrive with empty rosters, and the auction player pool will consist of all available players in the NBA —.both rookies and veterans. Veterans will be signed to veteran contracts up to 5 years, and rookies will be signed to rookie contracts up to 3 years.

250 total players will be scheduled for auction ahead of time in two stages: 

The total combined schedule will have 9 "rounds" that span 5-10 days each (55 days total). On the first 10 days (the first round), one player will come up for bidding each day. On Day 1, the #1 player in the Sleeper ADP will be up for bid. On Day #2, the next highest player in the ADP will be up, and so on. 

On day 11, round 2 will begin, and two players will begin coming up for bidding each day. The schedule will continue as follows:

After the 9 rounds are complete, the full pool of remaining available players will begin to 'open' over a 10-day period where waivers will still be executed daily at Noon. 

On the first day, the current top 10 players in Sleeper ADP will be up for silent bidding. After any players are signed out of the pool on the first day, the remaining top 25 players on Sleeper’s available free agent list will be up for bid on day 2. And the schedule will continue on as follows:

As always, the waivers will execute at Noon each day, revealing the silent bidding results. After day 10 of the opening rounds, the 65-day Inaugural Auction will be complete.

Year 2+ Annual Auctions

In each subsequent Annual Auction after the Inaugural Auction, franchises will arrive with players already on their payrolls, so the auction player pool will be smaller, and will consist of two types of players: unrestricted free agents (UFA) and restricted free agents (RFA).

The schedule will be similar to the Inaugural Auction (custom tailored to our format), where one player at a time can be nominated at the very beginning, with a progressively larger number of players being nominated at the same time as the days progress. 

RFA nominations

Franchises may trade contract rights to their RFA up until the start of the Annual Auction. Once the auction begins, RFA will come up for bidding alongside UFA, based on their position in the ADP. Sleeper will initially add the player to the highest bidder’s roster, but the original owner will have 12 hours (till Midnight that night) to express their intent to “match” the AAS and re-sign the player. At that point, the player would be added to the franchise's Sleeper roster as unsigned, with an initial 1-year contract for the player placed in the franchise's payrolls. As always, the franchise will be allowed to sign the player to a multi-year contract up until their first NBA game begins that year.

However, the two franchises involved (the highest bidder and the original franchise) may have incentive to trade during the initial 12-hour window, as the franchise with contract rights ultimately has leverage in deciding the player's fate, and may be more willing to let them go to the highest bidder if they can receive value in return. 

If the franchise with contract rights does not state their intent to match the bid and re-sign the player in League Chat within the 12 hours, the player will be conceded to the highest bidder, who will eventually get to sign the player instead. The original franchise can also openly concede in League Chat well before the deadline if they are content to simply let the player go (this is much preferred over saying nothing and letting the deadline pass).

UFA nominations

In year 2+, nominated UFAs will be standard open auctions handled the same way as the Inaugural Auction, except for when a compensatory nomination is used (see section below).

Compensatory nominations

If a franchise openly concedes a RFA (without letting the deadline pass) to an AAS bid of $20M or higher during an Annual Auction, they will receive a compensatory (comp) nomination, which they can immediately use at any time during the Annual Auction to nominate any UFA, regardless of the player's place in the nomination schedule (simply by posting in League Chat). That player will then be moved up / added in for bidding alongside the next day's auction that's at least 24 hours from the time the comp nomination was made.

Franchises will not be eligible to receive any comp nominations for rookies signed in the Inaugural Auction for more than $20M AAS.

When a fanchise comp nominates a player, they will be given contract rights to the player, meaning they will not have to participate in the bidding once the player is put up for auction. After the bidding is complete, the franchise with contract rights will be given a 12-hour option to sign the player to a contract with an AAS that's $1M higher than the highest bid among the other 19 franchises, or they can concede the player to the highest bidder. 

Note that unlike regular open UFA nominations and RFA nominations, the franchise with contract rights will not be able to take on the player as unsigned — they must immediately sign the player. However, if they concede, the highest bidder will be allowed to take on the player as unsigned, and will have until their first NBA game to sign the player to a multi-year contract, if they choose.

Comp nominations and contract rights to comp nominated players both cannot be traded. The franchise with contracts rights to a comp nominated player will also be locked out of making any trades (including with the highest bidder) during the 12-hour time window. They must simply decide to sign the player, or concede.

It is possible to acquire multiple comp nominations in the same Annual Auction if the franchise concedes multiple RFAs to $20M+ bidders. 

A franchise can choose to roll over a comp nomination into the next year's Annual Auction, simply by not using it in the current Annual Auction. The same comp nomination(s) can continue to be rolled over (and not used) each year, as long as the franchise wants, but keep in mind that they can never be used in an Annual Auction until all six special nominations have been made first.

Article 22: FREE AGENCY

After the Annual Auction is complete, regular free agency will be open — the waivers system will continue to execute every day at Noon (as it was during the Annual Auction) to allow for free agent auctions. Every player in Sleeper's available player pool will be available for silent bidding every day, through the end of the Playing Season. 

Any player who is bought out after 12 AM will not be eligible for bidding in that day's Noon auction, but they will be eligible for bidding the following day. 

Rookie free agents will continue to be offered rookie contracts at free agent auctions, even after the Playing Season has started (for the entirety of their rookie year), and even if they were previously bought out by another franchise.

Article 23: OFFSEASON 

Each offseason will begin immediately after the champion is crowed. All moves will initially be paused through Midnight after the NBA Finals has completed, after which buyouts, waivers, trades, and restructures will all open back up, while free agency will remain closed for the entirety of the offseason. 

The league will also move into the following year salary cap, and all players who were in the final year of an expiring veteran contract will be removed from payrolls and dropped from Sleeper rosters, becoming UFAs in the player pool. 

However, many of these UFAs may be franchise tag-eligible, and will be documented for each owner. Up until right before the Annual Auction, owners may franchise tag up to one of these players by physically adding the player back onto their Sleeper roster. The Commissioner will then add the player back onto their payrolls with that year's position-specific 1-year franchise contract.

RFAs coming off expiring contracts will be placed on each franchise's temporary taxi squad (which only exists during the offseason), which will allow franchises to conveniently trade their contract rights to their RFAs simply by trading them from their taxi squad. All RFAs on taxi squads will be dropped just before the Annual Auction (to allow them to be bid on) — after which their contract rights may no longer be traded.

IR spots will also be eliminated during the offseason, so any player still on contract who ended the year in IR will be moved back to the active roster. If this puts an owner over the active roster limit, they will immediately be required to cut their roster down to 15 players, via buyout(s) or waive(s). However this will not be necessary in most cases, since players with expiring contracts will not be returning to rosters at the beginning of the offseason, typically freeing up plenty of spots on the active roster to absorb players ending the year in IR. 

Franchises that have a contract in its final option year will have until right before the Annual Auction to decide if they want to exercise the final year option. Owners can exercise their option by simply holding the player on their Sleeper roster through the end of July. To decline an option, simply drop the player on Sleeper at any point in the offseason before the July 31 deadline.

Article 24: ROOKIE DRAFTS / LOTTERY 

Beginning in year 2+, each Offseason will effectively end with an annual Rookie Draft that will begin in mid-July, prior to the Annual Auction in August. It will be a 3-round traditional draft (#1 chooses first in each round) where the order will be determined based on a 20-franchise / 4-choice lottery.

All franchises will be awarded lottery balls in two sets each year. 

The first set (210 total) will be awarded based on Max PF through week 17 in the previous year, as follows:

The second set of lottery balls (190 total) will be awarded based on finish in the previous year's final standings, as follows:

400 total lottery balls will be given out each year. Franchises will be ranked by how many total lottery balls they have, and enter into a 4-choice lottery, where the first 4 picks of the Rookie Draft will be simulated and video recorded on a conference call video live on April 1 (that owners will be able to tune into and follow live), using an online draft lottery simulator.

After the first 4 picks are determined, the remaining 5-20 order will be determined based on the number of lottery balls each franchise has, from most to least. 

In the event Last place or the champion end up 0 lottery balls (having traded their unawarded first round pick), they will be slotted in at the end of the draft. If both have zero, Last place will take #19, and the champion #20. 

Draft picks

Draft picks can be traded up to 2 years in advance. Full 2nd round and 3rd round draft picks can always be freely traded whenever trading is allowed. 1st round draft picks can only be traded in full once they have been awarded in a lottery. At this point the pick will appear as an "exact" pick (i.e. 1.01, 1.08, 1.13, etc.) on Sleeper. 

Prior to the Lottery, the pick will look generic (i.e. "2024 1st Round", "2025 1st Round", etc.). If a franchise trades an unawarded first round draft pick that has not been in the lottery, they are actually trading away their FIRST SET of lottery balls earned for that year, based on their Max PF. 

Thus, when a franchise trades for an unawarded first round pick (in any year, as long as league dues are paid), they will have that franchise's first set of lottery balls (based on their Max PF that year) added to their total lottery ball total, which will ultimately move them up in the draft order.

Note that even if a franchise trades away an unawarded first round pick, they will still receive an actual first round pick after the lottery that year, which will likely be a worse pick than it would have been. 

As such, it is impossible to acquire multiple first round picks for any given Rookie Draft until after its lottery has been conducted.

Since the lottery will be conducted on April 1 every year, shortly after the Champion is crowned, this will give franchises several months over the offseason every year to trade full first round picks for the upcoming Rookie Draft. 

Lottery results will also determined exact pick numbers for all traded / held 2nd and 3rd round picks (2.08, 3.19, etc).

Rookie pay scale

All players drafted in Rookie Drafts will be signed to rookie contracts with a pre-set AAS based on the rookie pay scale, as follows:

Top-12 picks in Rookie Drafts can only be signed up to 2 years, while all others can be given the maximum 3-year rookie contract.

Franchises are allowed to vacate any draft pick at any time, up until and including when they are OTC for the pick, simply by posting in League Chat. The franchise will abstain from making a draft pick (and will not take on any new contract with the preset AAS). Franchises may choose to vacate draft picks when they do not have cap space available to sign a rookie, and are unwilling to buyout / waive / trade existing players on their payrolls to make room.

However, once a franchise has drafted a player, that player will immediately be placed on their payrolls, with the preset AAS counting against the current year, however they will be considered unsigned. If the unsigned rookie puts them over the current year salary cap, roster limit, or contract year limit, the same procedures apply as with auctions — the franchise must get back under the limit(s) (via any transaction(s) they'd like) within 48 hours. This may include signing the player (or other players) to a backloaded multi-year contract. 

If a waive is made to make space, additional time may be given to allow the franchise to see if the player is claimed, if time allows. Failure to make the necessary transaction(s) in the allotted time may result in forced transaction(s) by the Commissioner, who will make the required decision(s) in the franchise's best interest and may ask for guidance from the rest of league ownership if needed.

The franchise will have until the player's first game starts in the upcoming NBA season to sign any drafted rookie to a multi-year rookie contract. Any unsigned rookies who are not signed when their season begins will be officially signed to a 1-year rookie contract, with the same pre-set salary that was already on their payrolls.