2025 Rule Change proposals

Everyone loves more points, but they have been hard to come by in the last two seasons. Between historically slow starts (barely any touchdowns in the first 4 weeks) and some outlandish peformances from QBs (I see you Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson), it’s been a bit of a struggle to feel like your team is competitive.

To fix this, here are a list of rule changes that I’m proposing for next season that should dramatically increase points, making each week a but more fun and competitive.

For each proposal, I’ll provide some background on how it will work and show how it would have changed the outcome for specific matchups in the 2024 season. At the end, you can choose which ones you want to see. One vote per manager (you have to put in your email to submit), 7 votes to pass.

The form is password protected, the password has been sent out in the recap email.

1 Point-per-Reception

This is a simple one - for each reception, a player will get 1 point. This is a big shift from our current system, which only gives points per yards. This will increase scoring, but also make more players valuable (I see you TEs!).

PPR is also the default scoring system for most fantasy leagues, so any rankings or analysis you see will be more relevant.

Example: in the Championship game, Justin Jefferson had 8 receptions for 92 yards. Under current rules, that’s 9.2 points. PPR would be 17.2 points.

4 Point passing TD

Almost every year, the top teams are QB-driven. When these players ball out, it nearly eliminates a chance to come back (especially when we don’t have PPR) - there just aren’t enough points to go around. This will reduce the points per passing TD from 6 to 4, lowering the impact of a QB’s performance.

Yes, this is actualy LESS POINTS…but when you combine it with the next rule change, the intention is actually more competitive matchups.

Example: in the Championship game, Lamar threw for 2 TDs, 32.42 points total. Under the new rule, this would be 30.42 points

+1 Extra FLEX

This is a partner proposal with the 4pt TD. You get one more FLEX slot to start. Almost every team has at least 1 player on their bench that could have started, so this allows you to put them in your lineup.

Having these players in the lineup will also it more valuable to draft skill players, or take a risk on a rookie vs reaching for a QB. Plus, it’s just MORE POINTS!

Example: In Week 14, Shannon had Rachaad White on her bench at 22.9 points, while Jon had Trey McBride at 7.0 points. In the new world, both could have started and changed the final score to 97.32 - 77.02.

.25 Point-per-Carry

RBs are the most valuable players (there are so few of them that score meaningful points). However, they are also the most frequently injured and we have seen a shift to a committee approach across almost all teams. This will add .25 points per carry, making more running backs playable week-to-week, especially if they are the “between the 20s” and less “goal-line” type players.

Example: In Week 14, Tank Bigsby had 18 rushes for 55 yards. Under current rules, that 5.5 points. Under new rules, that would be 10 points.

Scaled penalties for missed field goals

We saw kickers DOMINATE scoring last season. That’s great, but when they are consistently making 40/50/60 yarders, it’s time to tweak things. Right now, a missed field goal is the same at any distance. This will change the penalty for a missed field goal from -2 for all to:

• Missed 0-39: -3 (a PAT is 33 yards, so this lines them up)
• Missed 40-49: -2
• Missed 50-59: -1
• Missed 60+: 0

Example: In Week 1, Justin Tucker missed a 50+ yard field goal and ended with 6.0 points. Under the new rules, he would have 7 points because that long-range miss would now be worth -1.

Week 15 playoff + 4 team bracket

This one has nothing to do with points, and everything to do with the crazy schedule + injuries that we observed in the last week of the season. The NFL has indicated they want to do more Christmas games, so this type of Thanksgiving-like schedule is likely to keep happening.

To make this simple, we move the Championship back to Week 16. In order to do this, we will need to have a 4 team playoff. This also will eliminate the bye week for the top 2 teams. This would make the race for the playoffs a bit more exciting, and add more drama to the loser bracket.

This would have changed the bracket to be Chris-Shannon, Samantha-Erik in Week 15, with Jon and Megan at the top of the consolation bracket.

Example of updated scoring

Let’s look at two matchups from the season.

Matchup 1: Week 6, Blythe vs JB

Much higher scoring, closer overall result, but flipped the outcome.

Matchup 2: Week 13, Ryan vs Erik

This is the infamous DOUBLE-TD game that basically ended the season for Ryan

In the end, the outcome is the same, but the scoring distribution feels much more competitive. The outcome would still have been a fluke - but at least it would have been a much smaller proportion of the total points.

VOTE!