COMCOMM may have to get serious about the possibility of an NFL lockout in 2011. In one of his last acts as QFL1 Commissioner, Pope Paul appealed for COMCOMM to put in place a contingency plan should the worst happen.
From Pope Paul.
Lockout Proposals
Comp Comm, I hate to have to do this, but with the labor unrest in the NFL, I think we need to be prepared for some sort of significant carryover issues in our beloved keeper league and the possibility of a shorter season (or longer season if the NFL starts scheduling 18 games). Please see the following lockout/labor strife proposals and let me know what you think:
1. If an NFL lockout seems inevitable on August 1, 2011, the Commissioner will declare “lockout rules.” Under lockout rules, on August 20, 2011, all owners must cut to 8+QFLE players on their active rosters, as usual. At some point in September, the league will conduct its auction and draft, as usual, (I imagine many will be phoning it in since its tough to convince wives and significant others that they need to travel to DC for a fantasy draft when NFL football has been tentatively cancelled. If we don’t hold a auction/draft in September, however, we run the risk of the NFL and players reaching a settlement and starting play before all of the QFL owners can schedule a draft/auction).
 2. Replacement Players and the QuIntense Football League: Following the conclusion of the rookie draft, each team has the option of declaring up to 4 “replacement players” and placing 2 players in the QuIntense Football League. In the event that there is a significant lockout that cancels the 2011 NFL and/or QFL season, the 4 scabs/replacement players can be kept during the 2012 season under their 2011 contracts (protecting teams have been building from within). The QuIntense Football League works just like QFLE, allowing teams to protect two additional players in 2011 that can carry over to the 2012 cut to eight deadline. A player may have both a scab tag and a QuIntense tag, but any player who is not designated as a scab will have their 2012 contract determined as if the 2011 season had occurred (e.g. a 2010 L1 non-scab will be a L3 in 2012; a 2010 L1 scab will be a L2 in 2012). Usual cut to eight rules will apply in 2012 (the Scab rule only deals with the non-escalation of certain players’ contracts).
In the event that the NFL labor dispute ends so that the 2011 QFL season does not have to be cancelled, the locked-out players will reconcile with the players who crossed the picket lines and the QuIntense Football League will fold. Quite simply, we already have conducted the draft/auction, we waive any transaction fees/practice squad designations, and start the season as usual, except for the shortened season rule below:
 3. Shortened season: In the event that the NFL schedules 14-16 games, the QFL playoffs and the Superquince formats will not change (except perhaps, the scheduling of fewer QFL regular season games). In the event that the NFL schedules 10-13 games, a shortened QFL season will occur where the teams will be seeded as usual before the final two weeks of the NFL regular season. During the final two weeks of the NFL season, individual leagues will compete in three Round Robin tournaments (seeds 1-4, seeds 5-8, seeds 9-12). The first two picks in the 2012 rookie auction will be awarded to the 5th and 6th place teams after the round robbin tournament. The third pick in the 2012 rookie auction will be awarded to the winner of 9th place. All other picks will be handled as usual (5, 6, 9. . . ). The Superquince will basically be the same, except obviously, shorter. If the NFL schedules fewer than 10 games, the QFL season will be cancelled 🙁
 4. Longer season: In the event that the NFL schedule 18 games in 2011, everything stays the same except the QFL will add 4 weeks to its regular season. An exploratory committee will be formed to see if any roster or playoff rules need to be tweaked.
Shades