Before you bet any futures, it’s important to understand how the league is going to run. Here’s the most important things you need to know:
The regular season will be 10 weeks
There will be no bye weeks
The eight teams are split into two conferences: East and West
Each team plays the other three teams in their conference twice – once at home and once on the road – and then the four teams in the other conference once each
The top two teams from each conference make the playoffs
The playoffs will not see teams cross over to play the other conference in the first round; the top team in the east will play the second-best team from the east
There are also a number of rules that will be different from what you’re used to seeing in the NFL. Here are the bigger ones:
Kickoffs will take place from the 25-yard-line, with the kicking team members lined up at the receiving team’s 35-yard-line, and blockers of the receiving team lined up at their own 30-yard-line
A touchback that travels directly into the endzone through the air will come out to the 35, while touchbacks that bounce into the endzone will come out to the 15
There are no traditional extra points; an extra point will be a scrimmage play from the 2-yard-line, while a two-point attempt will be from the 5, and a new three-point attempt will be from the 10
Teams can throw two forward passes on the same play as long as the ball doesn’t cross the line of scrimmage before the second pass
Overtime will consist of a five-round shootout of two-point conversions
The clock will run continuously outside of the two-minute warning; after the two-minute warning, traditional NFL stoppages will occur