Red Zone Rulebook

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Red Zone Rulebook - Madden 25

Roster Rules

Contracts

Team Building Rules

Roster Requirements

Every team must have the following roster requirements at all times during the season (practice squad players do NOT count towards these totals)

9 Offensive Linemen, INCLUDING minimum of 2 Centers

2 Quarterbacks

1 Punter and 1 Kicker

53 rostered players

No team is allowed to operate with negative cap space.

Practice Squad players signed to the main roster must maintain a roster spot for the season.

Mentor Tags

You may NOT abuse the “mentor” tag system by stacking your entire roster with an excessive number of low OVR “mentor” vets.

Waiver Wire

During the cycle, when a player that is 75+ OVR, they will be subject to waiver claims, and will need to be announced in the #waiver-wire chat.

Claim order is based on previous seasons record, worst to best.

Once you have won a successful claim, you will be moved to the end of the line.

Players will need to be available for claims for a minimum of 10 hours, and they will ALWAYS process at 4pm Eastern, the same or following day.

Players rated 75+ cannot be released after Week 12.

Contracts

Contract Structuring

Every player that is re-signed OR signed in Free Agency must be given a signing bonus equivalent to 30+% of the total salary given, and it must be between 2 - 4 years (except in situations listed below). Example = If you give a $1,000,000 base salary, you must award the player at least a $300,000 bonus

If you fail to meet this bonus requirement, you will be forced to release the player and eat the cap penalty. You can also elect to have the commissioners utilize the “Undo” button for FAs, at the expense of a current 2nd round pick (commishes can use discretion on the penalty if there is no 2nd).

Age Adjusted Structuring

Only 32 years and older OR 70 OVR & Under can be signed for 10+% bonus money, AND/OR can be signed to 1 or more year deals

Franchise Player

Once per cycle, a team may re-sign one of their players to a 5 or 6 year deal. This can be any player on your roster.

Once you sign your franchise player, it must be posted in the Franchise Player Chat in Discord IMMEDIATELY.

Franchise Contracts include mandatory “No-Trade” clauses and players on Franchise contracts MAY NOT BE TRADED UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE while on their Franchise deal.

3 + 1 Rules

Every season we will release a sheet entitled the ‘3+1’ which dictates what each team can re-sign prior to the offseason:

⁠
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/172_yCZHyfFw13nyF4YLAbMN4HTjK0KWkU_FUa_od1bI/edit#gid=1310066657⁠
⁠

The list contains all 75+ OVR players in the final year of their deal

3 means that you can sign up to THREE players on your list

1 means that you can tag ONE player on your list

Players can only be franchise tagged once. They are not allowed to be tagged in back to back years by the same team.

The remainder of your players will go into free agency on the open market, which you can bid on.

Contract Negotiation

ONCE per cycle, you may "restructure" ONE contract on a current real player on an existing real contract given by the NFL franchise

To execute the negotiation:

Cut the player (taking any cap penalty in the process)

Immediately re-signing them out of FA to a 1-year deal

Player is then added on your 3+1 (if they were not already).

You MUST post this transaction in the # contract-negotiation chat.

Pay attention to your cap penalty and stay cap compliant.

Age Adjusted Structuring

Franchise Player

3 + 1 Rules

Contract Negotiation

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