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Gonzo is a more intense fantasy football experience. With a unique scoring system and a very engaged community, Gonzo is the perfect place to get serious about your fantasy experience.
Yes! GonzoSports.com has been optimized for both web and mobile. Need to make a quick lineup change a few minutes before kickoff from your phone? We got you. Want to sit down at your desktop and do some gonzo research with a few different tabs? We got you there too.
A Gonzo Football season consists of a weekly series of head-to-head matchups between pairs of teams in the league. The game results are determined, and the teams’ standings updated, on a weekly basis. The Gonzo Football regular season coincides with all except the final few weeks of the NFL regular season; the Gonzo Football playoffs take place weeks 15, 16 & 17 of the NFL season.
In each game, one team is at home and the other team is visiting. A home field advantage accrues to the home team in each game.
A “week” is considered to be the interval between two consecutive deadlines during the season, and the draft is considered to take place a week prior to Week 1 of the season.
Yes! Trading is a large part of Gonzo, whether it be in the off-season (May – Aug) or in season, Gonzo owners are constantly trying to improve their teams via trade. With access to team assets such as Players, Gonzo Cash & Future Draft Picks you can wheel and deal until you have the right players to take home a championship (or two!).
Gonzo is great for anyone who loves football. However, Gonzo requires a bit more strategy than your average fantasy football PPR league so be ready for a challenge!
Gonzo has been running premium fantasy football leagues for nearly 40 years! If you want to learn more about our story click here!
At least 40 completions 3 points
At least 450 yards passing 3 points
At least 7.5 yards per passing attempt (min 10 att) 3 points
At least two more TDs (thrown or scored) than interceptions 3 points
At least 20 completions by QB1 1 point
At least 225 yards passing by QB1 1 point
TDs (thrown or scored) by a quarterback 1 point each
At least 150 yards rushing 3 points
At least 225 yards rushing 3 more points
At least 300 yards rushing 3 more points
At least 4.5 YPC (min 10 rushes) 3 points
At least 75 yards rushing by RB1 1 point
At least 125 yards rushing by RB1&2 1 point
TDs scored by a RB 2 points each
At least 20 catches 3 points
At least 28 catches 3 more points
At least 250 yards receiving 3 points
At least 350 yards receiving 3 more points
At least 75 yards receiving by WR1 1 point
At least 125 yards receiving by WR1&2 1 point
TDs scored by a WR or TE 2 points each
Makes all attempted PATs (min 1 PAT) 1 point
Fgs made 1 point each
Fgs made (more than 49 yds) 1 more point each
Makes all attempted fgs (min 1 fg) 1 point
At least 22 yards per kickoff return 2 points
At least 50 total yards in kickoff returns 2 points
At least 9 yards per punt return 2 points
At least 25 total yards in punt returns 2 points
TDs scored by NFL team on kickoff, punt, or blocked kick returns 2 points each
NFL team on a bye 2 points
At least 140 yards rushing by NFL team 2 points
At least 4.5 yards per rush by NFL team 2 points
No more than 1 sack allowed (only if NFL team played) 2 points
At least 20 first downs by NFL team 2 points
Two-point conversions scored by NFL team’s offense 1 point each
NFL team on a bye 2 points
Less than 100 yards rushing allowed (only if NFL team played) 2 points
Less than 3.5 yards per rush allowed (only if NFL team played) 2 points
At least 3 sacks by NFL team 2 points
More def. fumble recoveries than rushing TDs allowed by NFL team 2 points
Safeties scored by NFL team 2 points each
TDs scored by NFL team’s defense on defensive fumble returns 2 points each
NFL team on a bye 2 points
Fewer than 19 completions allowed (only if NFL team played) 2 points
Less than 190 net yards passing allowed (only if NFL team played) 2 points
Less than 6.5 net yards per pass att. allowed (only if NFL team played) 2 points
More interceptions than TD passes allowed by NFL team 2 points
TDs scored by NFL team’s defense on interception returns 2 points each
NFL team on a bye 2 points
_
Type
Fee / Ssn
Pot
Non-Prize
$0
$25(Cr)
Standard
$50
$600
Double
$100
$1,200
Triple
$150
$1,800
*100% of all owner prize fees go directly into the prize pot for league winnings.
Place |
Finish |
Winnings |
Payouts |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1st |
Gonzo Bowl Champion |
$300* |
1/2 |
|
2nd |
Gonzo Bowl Runner-up |
$150* |
1/4 |
|
3rd |
Gonzolation Bowl Winner |
$100* |
1/6 |
|
4th |
Gonzolation Bowl Loser |
$50* |
1/12 |
*Prize winnings displayed are based on a standard $50 prize league with all 12 teams filled. If 11 teams are filled the prize pot would be 1/2 of $550 instead of $600.
All prize funds are available immediately following the Gonzo playoffs.
Prizes can be distributed in multiple ways including Paper Check, PayPal, Venmo or ACH Transfer.
2 Season Package
3 Season Package
* savings and prices based off a standard prize league
A team which pays deposit for the following season will receive Bonus cash. Each team can receive Bonus cash only once per season by renewing. If renewed by:
Each teams keep 10 players from year to year.
8 NFL Players from: QB, RB, WR, TE
2 SU from: K, KR, OL, DL, DB
Team owners will be permitted to choose the players their team will keep.
A keeper list is mandatory. An owner who fails to submit one may be considered to have dropped out of the league.
If a team does not submit its keeper list in time (or if the team is unowned when the keeper lists are due), the keepers will be arbitrarily chosen.
Players not kept will be available in the following draft.
Each team has the following assets:
Teams may trade their assets to other teams whenever trading is open, subject to some restrictions.
Gonzo Cash is a fictitious currency.
Gonzo Cash only has use in Gonzo Leagues for player acquisition. They hold no monetary value outside of Gonzo Leagues.
At the start of off-season trading, each team receives $12K of Gonzo cash.
PLUS
Each team in a keeper league will carry over half of its unused Gonzo cash from the prior season (rounded down to the nearest whole number) to the start of the following season.
During the season, team owners may earn additional Bonus Cash by renewing their teams for the following season. See how much Bonus Cash your team could earn here!
Each team can receive Bonus cash only once per season by renewing, the cash to be awarded as of the first transaction deadline or results mailing following the arrival of next year’s deposit at the Commissioner’s office.
Gonzo cash may be used to:
1. Bid on free agents during the season.
2. It may be given or received in trades
Gonzo cash must be spent or traded in blocks of $1K.
A team may not spend or trade Gonzo cash which it does not have available (or does not obtain by the deadline at which the expenditure or trade is to occur).
A team can spend or trade away all of the Gonzo cash it has available.
Each team starts the season with 12 draft picks–one for each round of the following year’s draft. Draft choices may be given or received in trade (so that a team may actually end up with more or fewer than 12 picks).
A team must always keep enough draft picks to allow it to fulfill its minimum roster requirements. There is no set upper limit to the number of draft choices a team may acquire through trades.
During the season, a team can trade away draft picks — even those acquired from another team — only after its deposit or league fee for the following season has been received.
Draft Picks cannot be traded in redraft leagues.
Each team has a roster consisting of a number of NFL players and special units.
In Gonzo rules, the word “player” refers either to one of the following:
Special Units (SU) are identified on Gonzo Football rosters by the NFL teams they are part of (e.g. OL, MIA)
Individual Players are identified by first initial or initials, last name, position, and NFL team (e.g. T. Romo, QB, DAL).
NFL players or SU may be given or received in a trade.
An NFL player or SU cannot be on more than one team in a given Gonzo Football league.
The minimum roster requirement for a Gonzo Football team is at least 14 players who can form a starting lineup as described below. This requirement must be met at all times between the draft and the end of the season. An owner must name 10 players as keepers at the end of off-season trading. See what happens if an owner misses the keeper deadline.
The maximum roster size for a Gonzo Football team is 23 players.
This limit must be adhered to at all deadlines during the season. During the off-season, a team may exceed this limit due to trades.
Each team must field a complete starting lineup for each game; there may be no empty slots. The composition of a starting lineup is as follows:
2 quarterbacks (QB)
3 running backs (RB)
3 wide receivers (WR*)
1 tight end (TE)
1 team kicker (K)
1 kick return team (KR)
1 offensive line (OL)
1 defensive line (DL)
1 defensive backfield (DB)
* Exception: a TE may be substituted for the third WR (WR #3 only), so that a team may field either 3 WRs and 1 TE or 2 WRs and 2 TEs.
A team’s bench consists of 9 or fewer players on that team who are not in its starting lineup. There are no restrictions on the positions of players on the bench.
NFL players whose teams have a bye week will not automatically be placed on the bench. A team owner who has a position player in the starting lineup during a bye week will receive all zeros for that player’s stats.
SU players whose teams have a bye week will receive 2 points autonamtically for the week, unlike NFL players.
Team owners may play their players only at the position they normally play for their NFL teams, as determined by the Gonzo Commissioner.
Any given player may qualify for only one position.
Unless otherwise mentioned, the draft lists for a league will be used to determine players’ positions. Players may not be played out of position.
The drafting order for a new league will be randomly determined, and will correspond to the league’s random divisional alignment (East drafts first, then Central, then West).
The order will be reversed each round.
A startup season league draft will have 22 rounds.
New team owners will be informed of their draft positions, but will not have an opportunity to trade before the first draft is held.
Each year, prior to the football season, teams will acquire new players through the draft.
Draftees may include any NFL rookies and NFL veteran players or former players who are not currently on a Gonzo team.
Players already on a team in the league, or college football players who have not been drafted by an NFL team, or other football players who are not and never were associated with an NFL team, may not be drafted in Gonzo Football.
The draft will have 12 rounds. The draft order in established leagues is worst to first based on the Final League Standing.
Each team must draft so as to meet the minimum roster requirements (i.e. so that it can field a starting lineup). A team which fails to do this will have its lowest possible pick(s) negated by the Commissioner and will instead receive players of the appropriate positions.
In an established league, the basic drafting order is the same for all rounds, though owners may trade draft picks and thereby alter the drafting order for certain specified rounds.
The drafting order for a new league will be randomly determined, and will correspond to the league’s random divisional alignment (East drafts first, then Central, then West). The order will be reversed each round. New team owners will be informed of their draft positions, but will not have an opportunity to trade before the first draft is held.
In a Live Draft, league members are able to join by:
1. Using their desktop, tablet or mobile device
2. Calling in using a phone number
The Commissioner will call out each team’s name in turn, and the team owner will have a specified amount of time to give his pick.
Complete instructions, lists of available players, and drafting worksheets will be provided by the Commissioner prior to the draft.
In an Email draft, each team submits a list stating which position will be taken for each pick it has in the draft.
One pick should be made for each of the team’s available draft picks.
Each team should also rank the players at each position for which it will be choosing a player in this draft.
When it is a team’s turn to draft, the Commissioner will give it the highest remaining player at the position chosen for that pick.
Some types of conditional choices are allowed in the draft.
Complete instructions, lists of available players, and drafting worksheets will be provided by the Commissioner prior to the draft.
If an owner fails to submit a position list on time for a mail draft (or if a position list fails to name a legal selection at any time during the draft) a player at the appropriate position will be chosen for the team arbitrarily. The position to be drafted by the team during each round will be as follows:
Rounds 2, 4, 13, & 16 — QB;
Rounds 1, 3, 14, & 17 — RB;
Rounds 5, 6, 15, & 18 — WR;
Rounds 7 & 19 — TE,
Rounds 8 & 20 — DL,
Rounds 9 & 21 — DB,
Rounds 10 & 22 — OL,
Round 11 — K,
Round 12 — KR.
A team’s last pick(s) may be changed by the Commissioner to satisfy fulfillment of a team’s minimum roster requirements.
Team owners may trade with other owners in their league when trading is open during the regular season and the off-season.
A trade must involve exactly two teams.
Each party to a trade must give up and receive at least one asset (player, draft choice, or Gonzo Cash).
1. Proposing Team sends trade offer to Receiving Team
2. Receiving Team then Accepts or Declines the trade offer
IF ACCEPTED
3. A league wide email notifying all owners of the accepted trade will be delivered.
4. The Gonzo Commissioner then will Approve the trade (pending validity – usually within 24 hours).
5. Team Assets will be updated on the website.
IF DECLINED
3. Each team owner is sent a notice of the trade rejection.
A confirmed trade will not succeed if it has been illegally made.
Examples of illegal trades include one in which a team would be left without a legal starting lineup, or is trying to trade away an asset it doesn’t have, or hasn’t paid a required deposit.
Team owners should be careful to determine that their trades are legal for both teams, or that they will be legal in conjunction with other transactions.
Each side of a trade may include up to four assets (players & draft picks) plus Gonzo Cash.
During the regular season, a team may not:
>> Trade so as to fall below its minimum roster requirements, unless that deficiency is corrected by another transaction in the same week.
>> Trade away so many draft choices that it will be unable to draft to meet its minimum roster requirements after the next draft. A team may not end off-season trading with fewer than 10 players (the number it needs to keep), and a team must end off-season trading with at least two SUs.
>> A team may trade draft choices only for the next draft, and during the season may trade away draft choices (even those which originally belonged to another team) only after its nonrefundable deposit for the following season has been received.
>> To trade away a Round 1, 2 or 3 draft pick for the next year (again, including those that originally belonged to another team); the team must first pay its league fee in full for that year.
>> If the league folds, or if Gonzo Football LLC. goes out of business, the team will lose any draft picks acquired, and is not entitled to compensation for them.
Tbd
WIP
An available NFL player or SU (one who is not on a Gonzo Football team in the league) is a called a free agent. Free agents must be, or have been, associated with an NFL team and must be identifiable by the Commissioner.
Team owners may try to acquire free agents during the regular season by bidding for them with Gonzo cash. Each team may submit a bid with up to three available players in order of preference, and the amount of Gonzo cash the owner is bidding for each.
A team may sign one free agent from its list each week, generally by placing the highest bid on that player.
Each bid is first considered for legality.
1. If a bid would put a team over its 23-player roster limit (i.e. because the team owner failed to make a trade or cut which would create the needed roster vacancy), it will not succeed.
2. If a bid consists of Gonzo Cash in excess of the team’s current available balance, it will not succeed. Free agents cannot be obtained for $0K.
Once the legality of all bids has been established, all bids are considered in descending order of cash.
1. The highest bid is therefore considered first. The team submitting the bid receives the free agent named and deducts the amount of cash bid from its available total. Lower bids by that team for different free agents, or lower bids by other teams for that free agent, are now disregarded.
2. The process is now repeated for the second-highest bid, and so on until all bids have been honored or disregarded. Bids of identical amounts by different teams for different free agents are resolved in any order; these will not conflict with one another.
>> Bids of identical amounts by the same team for different free agents will be considered in the order the team owner has listed them.
>> Identical bids by different teams for the same free agent will be resolved in favor of the team which would have the lower (worse) playoff seeding*.
>> A team which picks up a free agent must, if necessary, make a cut at the same time so that the team will not exceed 23 players.
>> The only free agent bids which will be identified by team are those which are successful. Unsuccessful bids for a player may be published by the Commissioner, but the bidding team will generally not be identified.
* Week 1 of the season in the event of such a tie, the free agent goes to the team listed earlier in the basic drafting order for the current season.
Following are the restrictions on free agents:
1. A team may sign 1 free agent PER WEEK.
2. Each team is allowed 1 active bid PER WEEK.
3. Each bid contains a primary bid and 2 alternative bids (3 total).
If the primary bid does not win, the alternative bids are then considered.
Teams in a division are ranked from first through fourth according to the following criteria.
1. The team’s regular-season W-L record (percentage – ties count as half a win).
2. The team’s W-L (percentage) record (ties count as half a win) within its own division.
3. The team’s point differential (PF – PA) during the regular season.
4. The team’s remaining Gonzo cash prior to the playoffs (more is better).
5. The team’s draft order for the current season (earlier gets the better seed).
After the final divisional standings have been determined, the 12 teams in each league are ranked in order to determine the playoff berths and seedings.
The top eight teams make the playoffs. The teams are seeded according to the following criteria.
1. The three divisional winners and the best second-place team (using criteria 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 below) are automatically considered to be the top four teams.
2. The team’s regular-season W-L (percentage) record (ties count as half a win).
3. The team’s total points scored (PF) during the regular season.
4. The team’s divisional standing (first, second, third or fourth place).
5. The team’s point differential (PF – PA) during the regular season.
6. The team’s remaining Gonzo cash as of the end of the regular season (more is better).
7. The strength in total W-L (percentage) record of the team’s division.
8. The team’s division (West is best, then Central, then East).
The Gonzo Football playoffs coincide with the final few weeks of the NFL regular season, so that all NFL teams are still in action.
The playoff format is as follows.
First playoff week (Wild Card Playoffs):
The #8 seed visits the #1 seed, the #7 seed visits the #2 seed, the #6 seed visits the #3 seed, and the #5 seed visits the #4 seed. The four winners advance to the second week of the playoffs; the four losers are eliminated.
Second playoff week (Divisional Playoffs):
The four surviving teams are matched up so that the worst remaining team (based on the playoff seeding criteria) visits the best remaining team, and the second-worst remaining team visits the second-best remaining team. The two winners advance to the Gonzo Bowl; the two losers advance to the Gonzolation Bowl.
Third playoff week (Gonzo Bowl and Gonzolation Bowl):
The two teams which won in the second playoff week play for the league championship in the Gonzo Bowl with the worse remaining team (based on the playoff seeding criteria) visiting the better remaining team. The two teams which lost in the second playoff week play in the Gonzolation Bowl with the worse team visiting the better team.
Playoff games, unlike regular season games, cannot end in a tie. If the teams’ final scores in a playoff game would result in a tie under standard scoring procedures, then the following tiebreakers are used in order:
1. More total yards (yards passing + yards rushing + yards receiving + kick returning yards (both kickoffs and punts) + offensive line yards rushing – defensive line yards rushing allowed – defensive backs net yards passing allowed).
2. Home team gets the win.
After the playoffs are finished, the final rankings for the twelve teams in each league are determined.
The ranking criteria are as follows. All rankings are a result of post-season finish.
Draft order based on how teams finish in the playoffs instead of the final standings, like how the NFL determines draft order.
Playoff of the bottom 4 teams to play for draft position. Winner of the 4 Team Playoff (10-12) would get the 1st Overall Draft Pick.
Gonzo Football rewards superior regular season performance by continuing to give a home field advantage throughout the playoffs, including the bowl games.
To mitigate tanking there is a playoff between the bottom four teams not to make the playoffs.
The #9 seed visits the #12 seed and the #10 seed visits the #11 seed. The two winners will be in contention for the first overall pick, the two losers will receive the 3rd and 4th overall picks with the higher seed taking the 3rd pick and lower seed taking the 4th pick.
After each season, a team is assigned a Season Score based on four criteria. The scores for each criteria can range from 0 to 10.
1. Did the team participate in the Gonzo Bowl or Gonzolation Bowl?
10pts for winning the Gonzo Bowl
5pts for losing the Gonzo Bowl
2pts for winning the Gonzolation Bowl
1pts for losing the Gonzolation Bowl
2. Did the team win, or at least finish second, in its division?
10pts for 1st place in division
5pts for 2nd place in division
3. What was the team’s regular season W-L record?
(Win % x 10)pts
rounded down to the nearest whole number
4. How did the team place in the “Team Totals” rank?
(11 – Team Total Rank)pts
minimum of 0
These four numbers are then added to produce a Season Score for the team.
The final Season Score will be between 0 (worst) and 40 (a perfect season).
A Quality Season for a team is a season in which it earns a Season Score of 25 or higher.
A season score of 40 is a Perfect Season.
After each season, a team is assigned a Season Score based on four criteria. The scores for each criteria can range from 0 to 10.
1. Did the team participate in the Gonzo Bowl or Gonzolation Bowl?
10pts for winning the Gonzo Bowl
5pts for losing the Gonzo Bowl
2pts for winning the Gonzolation Bowl
1pts for losing the Gonzolation Bowl
2. Did the team win, or at least finish second, in its division?
10pts for 1st place in division
5pts for 2nd place in division
3. What was the team’s regular season W-L record?
(Win % x 10)pts
rounded down to the nearest whole number
4. How did the team place in the “Team Totals” rank?
(11 – Team Total Rank)pts
minimum of 0
These four numbers are then added to produce a Season Score for the team.
The final Season Score will be between 0 (worst) and 40 (a perfect season).
A team makes the Hall of Fame if they accumulate:
Lifetime Score of 120
Quality Seasons > 2
A Hall of Famer keeps that status for as long as he participates in Gonzo Football.
An owner can be awarded the Triple Honor in 2 ways:
1. Three active teams in the Gonzo Football Hall of Fame
or
2. One active team with Lifetime Score of 360 including 9 Quality Seasons.
The Triple Honor can be temporary and may be lost if the team owner no longer qualifies.
Off-Season Trading
Live Drafts
Prize Winnings
Waiver Bidding
Gonzo Top Ten
League Chatroom
Player Rankings
Gonzo Town Hall
Matchup Projections
Hall of Fame
Direct Messaging
Trade Block
Triple Honors
Gonzo Bowl History
League Leaderboard
Lifetime Score
Team of the Week
