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Rules Page
The Rules page is accessed from the Create New Game page when you are setting up a new game, and it can also be accessed later by navigating to OOTP Menu >> Game Setup >> League Setup >> Rules. This page is used to modify a variety of rules for the selected league, and is divided into the following sections:
Note: The above links will not work from within the in-game browser. However, they all simply link to sections lower in this page, so just scroll down to find the appropriate section.
See Trading for more information on trading in OOTP.
See First-year Player Drafts for more information.
Note: Affiliated leagues never have first-year player drafts. Affiliated leagues receive players directly from their parent leagues. A parent league may or may not have a first-year player draft.
Note: The above links will not work from within the in-game browser. However, they all simply link to sections lower in this page, so just scroll down to find the appropriate section.
Designated Hitter Rule
If the Designated Hitter Rule box is selected, then the selected subleague will use the designated hitter rule. This rule allows teams to have a player other than the pitcher take a place in the batting order, resulting in greater offensive output. In leagues that use the designated hitter rule, pitchers do not bat.Roster Rules
The Roster Rules define how rosters are handled in the selected league. See Roster Rules and Management for more information about rosters in OOTP.| Option | Description |
| Age Minimum | The minimum age for players on this roster. Players under this age cannot be placed on rosters in this league. Set to 0 for no age minimum. Note: Age limits are checked on the first day of the offseason. |
| Age Maximum | The maximum age for players on this roster. Players over this age cannot be placed on rosters in this league. Set to 0 for no age maximum. Note: Age limits are checked on the first day of the offseason. So, you could have a player who is over the age maximum for part of the season. |
| Active Roster Size | The maximum number of players allowed on each team's active roster. Players who are not on the active roster are not eligible to play in the team's games. A league's active roster can have between 15 and 50 players. |
| Reserve Roster Size | The maximum number of players allowed on each team's reserve roster. The default is "no limit." |
| Foreign Players Limit | The maximum number of foreign players allowed on the active roster of each team. A foreign player is defined as any player not from the League Nation defined for the league. The foreign player limit can be between 0 and 10 players. Teams can have as many foreign players as desired on nonactive rosters. |
| Expanded Roster Size | The maximum number of players allowed on each team's active roster after the Roster Expansion Date. Typically, leagues will allow expanded rosters late in the season. Expanded Roster Size can be between 15 and 70 players. Expanded rosters can be disabled. |
| Roster Expansion Date | The date on which expanded rosters become effective. Rosters return to normal size on the first day of the playoffs. |
| Secondary (40-Man) Roster Size | The Secondary (40-Man) Roster Size defines the number of players allowed on each team's secondary roster, which can be between 25 and 70 players. Secondary rosters can be disabled. Note: Even if you set your secondary roster to a number other than 40, some pages in the game might still refer to the '40-man roster.' |
| Minimum Days of Service for One Service Year | The number of calendar days a player must be on a team before he accumulates one service year. Service years impact free agency for players. |
| Waiver Period Length | The number of days a player must remain on waivers before he 'clears waivers.' This time can be between 1 and 30 days, or waivers can be disabled. |
| DFA Period Length | The number of days a player must be designated for assignment before the assignment is completed. This time can be between 2 and 30 days, or DFA can be disabled entirely. |
| Minor League Option Years | If this box is checked, the league will use minor league option years. |
| Disable Right to Refuse Minor League Assignment | If this box is checked, players will no longer have the right to refuse minor league assignment. This option is typically only required in online leagues where the commissioner wishes this ability. |
| Rule 5 Draft | If this box is checked, the league will have a Rule 5 Draft. |
| Disabled List Length | Controls the length of the 15-day disabled list, which can be between 1 and 30 days. This setting does not affect the duration of the 60-day disabled list. |
Trade Rules
The Trade Rules establish league rules related to player and draft-pick trading.| Option | Description |
| Player Trades | If this box is checked, players can be traded within the league. |
| Trading Deadline Date | More accurately, this is the "non-waiver trade deadline." The date after which all players must clear waivers before completion of a trade. See here for more information on trading after the trading deadline. |
| Trades with other Major Leagues | If this box is checked, players can be traded to other parent leagues. Otherwise, trades can happen only within the selected league, if allowed at all. |
| Allow trading of recently drafted players | If this is unchecked, then players with less than one full year of professional service time who were recently drafted cannot be traded. This is the so-called "Incaviglia Rule" from professional baseball. |
| 10/5 rule (veterans have right to veto trades) | Allows players with 10 years of major league service time and 5 consecutive years with a single team to veto a trade. If a player vetos a trade, it will be visible on the Player Trade page. (This option only available in version 11.2.0 and greater.) |
| Allow Draft Pick Trading | If this box is checked, teams can trade draft picks in the upcoming first-year player draft to other teams. Only picks from the upcoming draft can be traded. |
Amateur Draft Rules
The Amateur Draft Rules affect first-year player drafts.| Option | Description |
| Amateur draft | If this box is checked, an amateur player draft will be held each year in the league. Note: If this option is deselected, the game will create fictional free agents during each offseason, so that teams do not run out of players. |
| Use pre-defined draft value for AI | (Only available in historical leagues) The historical database supports a predefined draft value that is used by the AI in the first-year player draft or inaugural draft in order to create more realistic (i.e. "true to history") draft selections. |
| Amateur Draft Date | The date on which the first-year player draft will be held. |
| Amateur Draft Number of Rounds | The number of rounds in the first-year player draft. This value can be between 1 and 50 rounds. |
| Generate Players for X Rounds | This option allows you to define how many rounds' worth of players you want to generate. By default, the game will generate just enough players for all teams to draft in each round. This gives you the ability to create more or fewer players than necessary. This value can be between 0 and 150. |
| Amateur Draft Pool Reveal Date | By default, the annual draft pool is revealed one month prior to the first-year player draft date. However, this option allows you to customize this value. It can be set anywhere between 5 and 75 days before the draft, in increments of 5 days. This option is most commonly used in online leagues, where first-year player drafts typically take place over a longer period of time. |
| Enable Advanced Draftee Signing (Signing Bonus Negotiations) | If this box is checked, OOTP will use its advanced draftee signing feature. This feature forces teams to negotiate with and sign drafted players to contracts. If this box is not checked, all drafted players will automatically sign minor league contracts with the team that drafted them, and there are no signing bonuses. |
| Slot Bonus Baseline | Used to determine the slot bonus recommendations for draft picks, when Advanced Draftee Signing is enabled. The Slot Bonus for the #1 pick in the draft is usually around three times the baseline. |
Note: Affiliated leagues never have first-year player drafts. Affiliated leagues receive players directly from their parent leagues. A parent league may or may not have a first-year player draft.
Financial Rules
The Financial Rules establishes the financial model to be used in the league. See the Financial Model for more information on finances in OOTP.| Option | Description |
| Average Attendance per Game | The average attendance per game in the league. This figure is used as a baseline to determine attendance figures for each team. |
| Average Ticket Price | The average ticket price in the league. Some team owners might set prices higher or lower. GMs can also change ticket prices from the Finance page. |
| Away Team's Gate Share | Percentage of ticket sales revenue at the home team's ballpark that is paid to the away team. |
| Financial System | If this box is checked, the league has a financial system. If unchecked, the entire financial model will be disabled for this league. |
| Minimum Service Years for Free Agency | The number of service years a player must accumulate before becoming eligible for free agency. Can be between 1 and 12, or free agency can be disabled. |
| Allow Free Agents from Other Leagues | If this box is checked, free agents from other leagues can be signed to play in the selected league. If unchecked, players from other leagues cannot be signed. |
| Allow Free Agents to Leave League | If this box is checked, free agents from this league can sign with teams in other leagues. If unchecked, free agents cannot sign with teams from other leagues. |
| Draft Pick Compensation for Lost Free Agents | If this box is checked, teams get draft picks as compensation for players lost during free agency. |
| Minimum Service Years for Salary Arbitration | The number of service years a player must accumulate before becoming eligible for salary arbitration. Can be between 1 and 5, or salary arbitration can be disabled. |
| Minimum Service Years for Minor League FA | The number of service years a player must accumulate before becoming eligible for minor league free agency. Can be between 1 and 12, or minor league free agency can be disabled. |
| Average Media Contract | The average media contract in the league, in dollars. Media contracts affect team income. |
| Media Contract Fixed? | This option determines whether media contracts in the league are fixed, or can change. Contracts can either be equal for each team, or they can vary based on team market size. |
| Salary Cap | Sets a cap on team salaries. Total team salaries must be below this figure. The computer will disallow any contract offer or trade if it would put a team over the salary cap during the current year or the following year. An entry of $0 means there is no salary cap. Note: If you create a game with a salary cap already turned on, be aware that the initial salaries generated by the game will not necessarily fall under the cap. Since player salaries are generated based on the player salary averages in the league setup, it might be best to play with the player salary averages a bit before assigning a specific salary cap. |
| Team Owner Controls Budget? | Determines whether or not the team owner controls the budget. Either the team owner controls the budget, and the general manager has limited use of money, or the team's entire revenue is available to the general manager. |
| Revenue Sharing | Determines whether or not the league uses revenue sharing. There are three options:
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| Soft Cap (% of average payroll) | Only used with Revenue Sharing (Luxury Tax), see explanation above. |
| Tax above Soft Cap (%) | Only used with Revenue Sharing (Luxury Tax), see explanation above. |
| Shared % of Income | Only used with Revenue Sharing (Set Percentage of Income), see explanation above. |
| Cash Maximum | The maximum amount of cash a team is allowed to have at the end of the season. Cash Maximum is calculated on the day the offseason starts. |
| Average Scouting Budget | The average scouting budget for teams in this league. |
| Average Coach Salary | The salary of an average coach or staff member in the league. (This is not the average salary, it's the salary for a coach who has average ratings.) |
| Minimum Player Salary | Minimum player salary in the league. All players who have a major league contract receive at least this amount. |
| Player Typical Salary (multiple) | These settings establish the typical salary figure for players of differing caliber. These values are used by the computer in a number of areas of the game, such as computer GMs determining contract offers and players assessing the value of an offer. The eight categories of players are superstar, star, good, above average, average, below average, fair, and poor. |