When a league is healthy, new teams can be added through an expansion process.
Expansion Eligibility Criteria #
A league must meet the following conditions to qualify for expansion:
- No teams under league control at the Postseason stage
- All GMs have paid their renewal for the upcoming season
Note: The GM’s status (regular or interim) doesn’t matter, as long as their membership is paid.
Setup and Configuration #
At the Postseason stage, the league president decides if the league will expand by adjusting the next season’s settings:
- League Office > Dashboard > Configuration tab
- Select the upcoming season from the dropdown list
- A maximum of two (2) new teams can be added per season
Mandatory Protection List for the Expansion Draft #
The president must set up protection list rules for the expansion draft. This list is mandatory and ensures active teams can safeguard a portion of their roster so expansion teams don’t claim all their top talent.
See section 38 - Protection lists for full details.
Expansion Teams’ Draft Position #
If there is only one expansion team, its draft rank will equal 20% of the number of teams that missed the playoffs in the previous season.
If two expansion teams are added: The 2nd team automatically takes the next slot in the first round. In subsequent rounds, the two teams alternate positions (e.g., 2nd and 3rd overall in the above example).
How the lHow Protection Lists Work #
Configured by the League President
The president defines the protection list rules, including:
Minimum unprotected players
Each team must leave a set minimum of players unprotected, adjustable by position.
Minimum unprotected players under contract
Among the unprotected group, a minimum number must still have valid contracts for the next season.
Maximum protected players (excluding auto-protected players)
Teams may protect only up to a set maximum per position.
Automatically protected players
Players meeting criteria (games played and age) are automatically protected and don’t count against the protection limit.
Draft Rules
The following parameters are customizable: Maximum number of players that can be drafted from a single team Number of expansion draft rounds The guaranteed player count equals: (Number of existing teams, excluding expansion teams) × (Max players drafted per team). Any unprotected players not selected can be sent to free agency after the expansion draft if the option is enabled.
