RULES
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The British Football League (BFL) uses a unique system based on the performance of NFL affiliates. These rules define how standings, playoffs, overtime, and bye weeks are handled each season.
1. Standings
1.1 NFL Affiliate Assignment
From the 2025 BFL Season onward, each BFL team is assigned an NFL affiliate based on the previous NFL season’s playoff field:
- 7 AFC playoff teams
- 7 NFC playoff teams
- Plus the next-best non-playoff team in each conference
This creates 8 affiliates per conference. Teams are seeded 1–8 within their conference, regardless of NFL division champions.
Before 2025, the top six NFL affiliates were selected strictly by overall record, without using the NFL’s playoff qualification system.
1.2 Final Standings Calculation
Final BFL standings are determined after NFL Week 11 using:
- NFL affiliate win–loss record
- NFL tiebreakers
Net Points (NP) were discontinued after the 2024 season.
1.3 Tie Rules
If an NFL affiliate finishes with a tie:
- If only one affiliate has a tie that season, that team is awarded an automatic win.
- If two or more affiliates have ties, they are ranked using NFL tiebreakers, with priority given to any BFL division champion among them.
To date, only one affiliate tie has occurred in a season (2021 and 2025), and both resulted in an automatic win.
2. Playoffs
2.1 Overtime Procedure
The final full-time score determines the winner. If tied:
- Quarter-by-quarter scores are added sequentially as overtime (Q1 → Q2 → Q3 → Q4).
- If still tied, individual scoring plays (TD, FG, Safety) from the game week are added in order.
- This continues until an outright winner is determined.
There is no limit to the number of overtime scores used.
Example:
2023 BFL Championship Game — tied 33–33 after regulation.
OT used 1st-quarter scores:
Caledonian Knights (3) & Sussex Pirates (7).
Final: Sussex Pirates 40–36.
2.2 Bye Weeks During Playoffs
Since the NFL expanded to a 17-game season in 2021, BFL playoff weeks may include NFL bye weeks.
- BFL Playoffs correspond to NFL Weeks 12–14 (Weeks 14–16 during 2020–2024).
- If an NFL affiliate has a bye during the playoffs, the team uses its most recent played week for its score.
Division Champions no longer receive automatic byes but are assigned higher seeds and host Conference Semi-Finals.
3. League Structure
The BFL consists of two conferences, made up of 2 divisions made up four teams. Division Champions receive priority seeding but do not receive automatic byes.