Rule 1: Each owner is allowed to keep a maximum of five players.

Rule 2: Owners are not allowed to keep first or second round draft picks.

Rule 3.1: If an owner decides to keep a player at the end of a year, he must forfeit his next year’s pick from the same round in which he obtained or retained the player at the beginning of the first year.

Rule 3.2: An owner may keep the same player for a maximum of four consecutive times. However, he must continue to forfeit draft picks in the following sequence: first year – draft pick from the same round; second year – draft pick from the same round; third year – draft pick one round ahead of the round in which he obtained or retained the player at the beginning of the first year; fourth year – draft pick two rounds ahead of the round in which he obtained or retained the player at the beginning of the first year.

Rule 3.3: A player may only be kept a total of 4 times in a row before returning to the draft pool. Changes of ownership of a particular player do not reset the keeper clock for that player.

Rule 3.4: Drafted or retained players picked up on waivers during the course of the season may be kept, but the owner must forfeit a pick according to Rule 3.1, based on the player’s draft round (or retention round) at the beginning of that year. Undrafted players picked up on waivers during the course of the season may be kept according to Rule 3.1, with the initial cost of a second-to-last round draft pick.

Rule 3.5: Should an owner choose to forfeit two or more picks from the same round, each pick shall be for the round preceding. For example, if an owner wants to keep three players at the cost of an eighth round pick each; he shall forfeit his eighth, seventh, and sixth round picks. In the unlikely scenario that there are not enough rounds to keep all the picks (such as if a player wants to keep four third round picks), a player can only retain as many players as he has appropriate picks.

Rule 4.1: Draft order is determined by each team’s performance the previous year.

Rule 4.2.1: The first 6 picks (teams that did not make the playoffs) will participate in the lottery to determine the order.

Rule 4.2.2: The winner of the playoff consolation bracket earns a 15% entry in the draft lottery.

Rule 4.2.3: The probability for the lottery teams to win the first pick selection will be the following: 14th place – 25%; 13th place – 15%; 12th place – 15%; 11th place – 12%; 10th place – 10%; 9th place – 8%; Winner of the playoff consolation bracket: 15%.

Rule 4.3: The order of the final 7 picks will be determined in the order of how each team finished in the playoffs.

Rule 4.4: Draft order will not mandate a certain pick. Rather, owners will choose which pick they have in the draft, in the order of the draft that has been determined by Rules 4.2 and 4.3.

Rule 4.5: The draft will be in a serpentine (snake) format.

Rule 5: Draft picks may be traded at the discretion of the owners.

Rule 6.1: Keeper league rules may be amended, but only prior to each season’s fantasy draft.

Rule 6.2: For an amendment to pass, it must win a 2/3 majority vote from the league.

In my opinion the 1st thing you have to do is go to an auction format. Then after the auction you can sign your players for 1, 2 or 3 years for the amount they went for in the auction (with a salary cap). This will take the level of strategy in your league to a whole new level. All of the elite players will be in the auction at least every few years, and most owners will be afraid to sign the players with a big contract for more than 1 year in case they’re a bust or have a major injury.