League rules for the CCFL - NFL on Madden 2023 have been updated and clarified. Reading through the Rules page you will find that we don't have many game rules - other than no player control at anytime. Most of our rules are about Scheduling / Playing your games and Sportsmanship.
Our CCFL settings-rules Discord channel has all this same information and is also a great resource for links and general rules and helps info for gameplay, broadcasting, and league participation expectations.

SECTION 1 - General Rules

1. Coaches that display poor sportsmanship may be removed from the league, or suspended for a period of time to be determined by the Commish and/or Coaches  Committee. Coaches should be respectful of the language they use and if nothing else simply say "Good Game" following games. The Commish will delete any messages in Discord that display immaturity or poor sportsmanship. This includes coaches complaining about the scheme of the opponent, playcalling, using no huddle, milking the clock, etc. If it happens once, you may be warned... if it happens twice you are will be removed as coach or suspended by the Commish.

2. There are no in-game rules for not running the same play too much or passing too much, or going for it on 4th down too much. All of those sorts of things need to be handled in the game on the field.  We have no limits on any type of play calling. Again, coaches should handle this stuff on the field and not whine about it in Discord in forums or in private messages. There are no unbeatable plays in Madden 2020, so if a coach finds a weakness in your scheme you will have to coach things up and figure it out.

3. Special Teams in Madden have been fixed so coaches may call any type of punt, fake field goal, etc during the game. No rules are needed, but be aware some phases of special teams calls leave you vulnerable and it's an important call during the game, not just an afterthought.

4. In game, coaches may "use the clock" (milk the clock) as much as the game allows, as this is a real game strategy used in real time football. There should be no complaints about this in-game strategy. The same goes for running a hurry-up offense all game or frequently. No limits. It's in the game. However - Coaches may not turn on Accelerated clock. If you want to milk the clock because you are winning or losing you MUST do it in real time, not by altering game settings. Coaches that alter settings on this MAY be suspended from the league after receiving a warning.

5.  All CCFL coaches should broadcast the game. All coaches broadcasting should also have Twitch set up to SAVE the broadcast so that it may be converted to a HIGHLIGHT after the game (which will never erase) as a way to not only scout opponents but also to check on participating coaches and ensure they are in compliance with league settings. All coaches will be given a CCFL watermark to use if they choose to use it, and then games will be posted on a 16,000 member Madden Reddit each week to help promote the CCFL as the "Leader in Madden Online Franchise Since 2002"...
Stop by Discord for links that will instruct you how to set up broadcasting, how to save broadcasts on twitch as Highlights so they never erase, etc.  https://discord.gg/7fzBRd2 (settings page with working links)

6. Any broadcasted games should have their link posted in our Game Broadcast channels. All Games should be broadcasted. Our goal is to have all coaches broadcast all games. This means not a link just to your twitch, but a link to the actual HIGHLIGHT you created from the saved game. This takes 2 minutes to do each week so coaches can scout opponents and allows us to promote the league as something unique. https://youtu.be/BoqAINXBZ8Y (How to make a saved broadcast a highlight)

7. The offense may snap the ball anytime it wants and does not have to wait for the Defense to set up. This can come quickly or may take place after hot routes, motion, audibles, etc. During this time the defense may also make adjustments, but is not guaranteed getting to be completely set up. In other words the Offense controls the tempo of the game, and does not have to wait for the defense on any of its calls or adjustments.

8. If approved by the Commish, CCFL Coaches may own up to two teams. One in the NFC and one in the AFC. One of the teams will be designated as the Primary team and the other as Team 2. The CCFL - NFL on Madden 2020 is able to do this because coaches in our league are not the CCFL GM. We use the NFL GM's to manage our player roster. This means that whenever an NFL team makes a cut, trade, or FA signing, the CCFL Coach makes that same roster move in our CCFL Online franchise. We do not allow any other kinds of trades, or Free agent signings in the CCFL.
If new coaches want to claim a Team 2 they may take those teams when they are approved by the Commish

9. YOU MAY NEVER MANUALLY MOVE ANY PLAYER ON EITHER SIDE OF THE BALL. No  single Player control at any time in Coach Mode. ONLY in game movements allowed such as motion, sliding OL / DL or LB's,  shifting, rolling up or back DB's (function button not manual player movement). Coaches found to be controlling Madden players during gameplay may be warned, suspended or removed as coach depending on the infraction. Coaches need to be aware this is a form of cheating in COACH MODE gameplay.

Note: When we say that coaches should never have any control after the ball is snapped we understand that there are varying degrees of this infraction. More serious offenses would be throwing the pass, making spins or juke moves with a ball carrier, sacking the QB, catching the ball functions, causing a fumble, etc. These serious infractions would have some potentially serious results. They would receive a warning from the league office, and if the play involve impacted the game results it could result in a sim loss by the commish. A second infraction would be a TWO game suspension (not a two week....two game), and a third violation on it could lead to removal from the league. Lastly, If a coach mistakenly has player control of an LB or DB at the start of a play and realizes it because the player is not moving , he may use the B function to switch to another player (that will be under cpu control so they original LB or DB can get into the action. This is not a problem. That said it is HIGHLY recommended to maintain the controlled players on the DL and not on DB's or LB's.

Less serious infractions on taking player control might be thing like calling for a fair catch, accidently moving your DL into an OL (easy to do actually), and things more along the lines of brief control then corrected mid play (accidently having control on an LB at start of play then letting it go (player stands still). These are things to watch for and worth mentioning by our Game quality controllers (Coaches Committee members) but not as likely to result in suspension. I'm hoping a day is coming where we can have a proper Coach Mode and these things not even be an issue.

10. There are no banned plays or audibles in Madden 2023.

11. The offense may snap the ball anytime it wants, and does not have to wait for the Defense to set up.

SECTION 2: Scheduling and Broadcasting Rules (This is where most coaches get themselves REMOVED from the CCFL)

1. Coaches must make an effort to schedule their next game by Monday (11:59 pm pst) each week. Coaches should use the Discord scheduling channel to schedule games since it is easy to verify by both coaches and the Commish. Coaches should use in Discord messaging to schedule games, since it is easy for me to verify. Once the game is scheduled, coaches are responsible to post the game time and day in the game schedule text channel.

2. Failure to do so will allow the opposing coach (if he did make an attempt) to grab a sub for your game or play the cpu (the CPU has improved sliders that will make gameplay more of a challenge).

3. Coaches that consistently fail to schedule their games, or miss game times WILL lose ownership in the CCFL as it is cancer to Online franchise. We are an adult league and coaches need to be respectful of our fellow coaches time. You won't get more than a few warnings on this before we move on from you.

4. When you broadcast your games, you will receive the below linked Broadcast Bonuses.
Because we are a coach mode league, scouting is an important aspect in participation.
Broadcasting ALL Month reward (Requires all of your games in a given month to be Broadcasted and in discord Broadcast channel):
Rewards:
COACHES MAY SELECT ONE OFFENSIVE AND ONE DEFENSIVE REWARD EACH MONTH FOR BROADCASTING.

For every 4 games Broadcast during our season coaches get 1 week grace to cover in case a broadcast doesn’t save or is otherwise a fail.

Commish will keep a running list of ALL broadcast activity and “Grace Points” in our CCFL forums.
Offense and defense traits:  Select Any player with Trait :

- Each coach gets two "Grace" weeks per season in case broadcast malfunctions or coaches mistake....Games not posted by the next Saturday receive NO BONUS.
- ALL coaches must broadcast all their games. It is a league requirement.
- Coaches may not use any form of play view blocking / blurring or any form of editing to game film! Doing so may result in loss of Broadcast bonus points.
- All posted links MUST take you immediately to the game the link represents. Simply linking to your Twitch is not enough to get the Broadcast bonus. Nobody wants to fish around your gaming channel in search of a game it only takes you seconds to link up.

*For more info on our CCFL Broadcast bonus, stop by our Broadcast Bonus info channel in Discord. https://discord.gg/jUcSFWu

Section 3: Management Related Rules
Limitations on Position Changes:
Players may be repositioned at anything the game allows. However, Coaches may not triple up on position changes. For example Player A may be moved from HB to FB, but then may NOT be moved from FB to TE without approval from the Commish (Don't bother asking unless the move was made by the NFL team). This move may require a rediting of the player to stay within our position guidelines for ratings (no 99 speed TE's, etc)
When doing simple position changes that fall under your basic Coaching responsibilities, Coaches may make the the following position changes in game without notifying the league. CB/S, OLB/MLB, OLB/DE, DE/DT, OL/C,G,T, HB/FB, FB/TE. The CCFL does not allow WR to be moved to TE without a reddit on ratings by the Commish.
Coaches will notice in the in-game subsets by formation you may sometimes put LB's or SS/FS in the same position in nickel and dimes sets. OL may be put in at TE in sub sets. Anything allowed in game on Subsets is allowed. Subsets are found in game under Coach Management.

Trades: The NFL GM is also our CCFL GM.
Coaches must process all trades in our franchise that are made by NFL GM's.
Coaches may not trade for players in the online franchise that are not on that NFL team. The NFL GM is your CCFL GM. Thus we are the CCFL - NFL on Madden 2020. Coaches may however decide whom to start on the depth chart, whom to focus on in progression, and whom to give Broadcast rewards (player traits given to one O and one D player each month. This will allow coaches to put their stamp on their team and decide which players to emphasize in their scheme.

Free Agents
Coaches must sign FA's that are signed by the NFL GM's and cut the players cut by NFL GM's
Coaches need not post any FA moves or cuts in our forums. We can see them in game under "Transactions"...
Coaches may not sign anyone in the CCFL online franchise that isn't on the NFL team.

BAD OWNER CLAUSE:
If an owner leaves the league and his team roster is a complete mess, the Commish reserves the right to upgrade that teams roster and player ratings in order to make the team competitive. The team may not be upgraded any higher than whatever the league average is for team overalls.

Section 4: SPORTSMANSHIP:
- Coaches that rant in Discord and create problems in Discord may be suspended by the Commish. Your posts will be immediately deleted if it happens. Nobody wants to hear you whine about your loss. Be a man and suck it up. Git Gud.

- Coaches may not provide coaching help inside Twitch channels or any other source during the game. It is considered CHEATING to be providing game feedback of any kind to a coach while the game is going on. Any coach that violates this rule will be suspended and may be released from the league.

- When viewing a game, visitors should simply be fans watching the game. No coaching input of any kind is allowed. Watching another coaches feed and sharing the play calls, adjustments, or anything else is immediate dismissal from the league.
- Any coach that quits a CCFL game mid game is immediately released from the league. All Coaches are expected to finish all of their game once the game begins.
- Any coach that is suspended from the league (regardless of if its a few weeks suspension, a full season Suspension, etc) and tries to resume CCFL activities while suspended will receive a PERMA BAN from the league Commish. If I decide you are suspended, that is it. Trying to rejoin and pretending to be someone else will result in be locked out for good.

Section 5: CCFL Game settings
Game Settings for the CCFL - NFL on Madden 2021
Please go to our discord channel to review pictures of our league settings. Coaches MUST have the correct league settings for all CCFL games.
https://discord.gg/7fzBRd2
Visual Feedback is crucial to have right. Having the wrong settings on allows for Madden helps (cheats). We play on SLIM playcall mode to avoid these.  The Visual Feedback settings MUST be set correctly in your Madden Main menu because this is what controls these functions even when in an online Franchise game. YOU MUST MANUALLY FIX these in the Madden Main Menu settings.

1. You must use only the SLIM "play call style."
2. You must use these settings:

Visual Settings
Visual Feedback: These settings are VERY important as some of them enable Madden cheats. We are making SLIM our Official Playcall style. Visual Feedback is crucial to have right. Having the wrong settings on allows for cheats using Visual Feedback features (Madden helps). We play on SLIM playbook to avoid these as well.
And don't forget to turn on Coach Mode! It's in the Madden Main Menu settings! This is NOT a Online Franchise setting. It can only be "turned on in the Madden Main menu.

Go into Madden Main Menu - select settings wheel / game options / coach mode

CCFL Discord is REQUIRED in order to participate in this league. It is our communication hub.