4YOU PAT TILLMAN LEAGUE RULES

League Features: 30 Man Roster Individual Defensive Players (IDP League) Serpentine Draft Partial Keeper (11 players) Draft begins - when league fills and payments confirmed Off-season activity periods (Year Round Action!) Prize Structure: Pat Tillman League with Franchise Fee of $100 $400 Grand Prize $200 Runner Up $50 each to two other final 4 teams win Prize Structure: Pat Tillman League with Franchise Fee of $60 $300 Grand Prize $120 Runner Up 1. Overview: 4You Pat Tillman League(s) will consist of 12 teams. Each league will have 2 conferences consisting of 6 teams each.  The regular season will begin with all Week 1 NFL games and go through Week 13 games.   Teams will compete in head-to-head competition each week. The top 3 teams in each conference with the best overall records will earn playoff spots.  Playoff seeding will be determined as follows:   Best win/loss record Total Points Scored Conference Record (will be included to decide Conference winners only) Head to Head match-ups Coin Toss Conference Record will be included to decide Conference winners only and does not affect overall seeding for the playoffs.       All 6 playoff teams will be seeded according to the information above.  Both Conference winners will have a week 14 bye while the 3rd & and the 6th seed square off as well as the 4th & 5th seeds in week 14.  Winners advance to the week 15 Finals.  The top Division winner will face the winner from the 4th and 5th seed match from week 14 in week 15.  The 2nd division winner will face the winner of the 3rd and 6th seed game from week 14 in week 15.  Winners of the week 15 Finals advance to the Leagues 4You Fantasy Bowl to be held during week 16 of the NFL season.  The two other teams that lose during the week 15 contest in the leagues with the $100 Franchise Fee win a $50 prize each.  The winner during week 16 will be declared the 4You Fantasy Bowl Champion and receive the top prize!  The league runner up in the week 16 game will receive the Runner Up Prize.

2. Draft: A. Leagues will hold their initial drafts online through e-mail formats on each league site.  Initial draft start dates will be set once the league is full and all payments are confirmed (generally within 1-2 weeks).     B. Drafts will be serpentine, each round draft order a reverse of the previous round.  EX. the draft order will go 1 to 12 in Round 1, 12 to 1 in Round 2 etc. throughout each round or 3rd round reversal, each round draft order will be a reverse of the previous round except round 3 which will be the same as round 2 and serpentine again from there.  The 3rd round reversal draft format is as follows:     Round 1: 1-12; Round 2: 12-1; Round 3: 12-1; Round 4: 1-12; and serpentine for the rest of the draft.    Players can be drafted at any position during the the draft but owners must come out of the initial draft with enough players at each position to field a srarting lineup   C. When all entry fees are confirmed  the commish will shuffle the draft order.  The draft order will be shuffled randomly by the league software.  Once the draft order is shuffled no refunds will be allowed.  If someone chooses not to be a part of the league they must let the commissioner know before the draft order is shuffled. If you choose not to play in the league or are banned from continuing to play in the league by the commissioner after the initial draft begins, after the beginning of the 1st off-season round, or after paying an entry fee in advance due to trading a future draft pick, no refunds of entry fees will be given.

3. Roster Requirements: A. Minimum to field a starting line-up of active players must be maintained at all times even during the off-season.    B. Each team must start a weekly lineup of 12 players and the team roster cannot exceed roster limits of 30 players at any time for trades, free-agent acquisition, or during any draft.  Owners must designate a player to be dropped for a trade or free-agent acquisition that would take them over roster limits in order for the transaction to be processed.  Transactions will not be processed if owners do not responsibly insure the roster requirements are met.   C. Rosters must be cut down to the off-season limit of 11 keepers, regardless of position, by May 1st.  If an owner does not keep rosters according to requirements and restrictions including roster cut deadlines, the commissioner reserves the right to make roster cuts/changes for the owners in order to enforce league rules.    D. The restocking draft will begin on June 1st and will consist of 17 rounds. Teams may draft any rookie/free agent player available during the entire off-season restocking rounds.  Teams must come out of the first restocking round with enough players to field a complete starting lineup.  There will be two additional off-season rounds with round 18 beginning on July 15th, and round 19 on August 25th.   All off-season rounds will be serpentine (1-12, 21-1, 1-12, etc).

4. Starting Lineup Requirements: A. Fantasy Football 4You Leagues' goal is to maintain integrity throughout the season concerning starting lineups.  In that spirit all owners must be responsible to adhering to the following requirements each week of the FF season.    Starting lineups will consist of 12 players:   1 Quarterback 1-2 Running Backs 3-4 Wide Receivers 1 Tight End 1 Kicker 1 Team Defense/Specials Team 1 Defensive Lineman (End or Tackle) 1 Linebacker 1 Defensive back (Cornerback or Safety)   B. Each owner must submit a complete starting lineup each week of active players.  No bye week players can be used.  An owner must ensure they make the necessary transactions during the week to ensure that their lineups meet these requirements.  Failure to do so places owners in jeopardy of the rules concerning either not participating actively in the league or throwing games under the section on "Possible Reasons for Expulsion" below.   C. Owners need to submit valid starting lineups each week and beware of submitting bogus lineups in order to try to throw games which will also put owners in jeopardy of possible expulsion.    D. All lineups may be submitted on the league web site.  Players must be submitted as part of your line-up before kickoff of that respective player’s game.    E. Be aware of the special NFL weeks where games begin on Thursday, Saturday etc, i.e. Thanksgiving Day and later in the season.  Players you want included in your lineup must be submitted by the start of their respective game time but other players to complete your starting lineup can be included later as that NFL week progresses as long as you have inputted a valid and complete starting lineup before the last game of the NFL week is played.

5. Scoring: Players can accumulate points by the following: RUSHING - .1 point every 1 yard, 6 every touchdown, 2 for conv., 1 point every 10 carries RECEIVING - .1 point every 1 yard, 6 every touchdown, 2 for conv., 1 point every 5 receptions PASSING - .05 points every 1 yard, 4 every touchdown, 1 for conv., 1 point every 10 completions KICKING - 3 points every field goal (0-49 yards), 4 points every field goal (50 yards plus), 1 point every PAT INDIVIDUAL DEFENSIVE PLAY - 6 points for TD (Fumble, interception, blocked punt, blocked FG return), 2 points for safeties, 2 points for interceptions, 2 points for fumble recoveries, 2 point for sacks, 1 point for tackles, .5 points for assists NFL TEAM - 6 points for Special Teams or Defensive TDs (Fumble, interception, blocked punt, blocked FG return, missed FG return, punt return, kickoff return), 2 points for safeties, 1 point for interceptions, 1 point for fumble recoveries, 1 point for sacks, 3 points each "team" victory, 10 points each "team" shutout, 8 points for allowing 1 to 6 points, 6 points for allowing 7 to 12 points, 4 points for allowing 13 to 17. Touchdowns on special teams plays (punts, kickoff, etc) will be rewarded to Defensive Special Teams (DST) and not individual players FantasyFootball4You.com will use a head-to-head scoring system. Scoring will be accumulated each week from your 12 starters.  Ties will be broken each week by designating a reserve player.

6. Free Agent Acquisition/Waivers: Free agents will be processed twice a week on a worst-to-first order.  Waiver Wire order for weekly (during the season) Free Agent acquisition will be determined as follows:   Worst overall league record Lowest total points Head-to-head match-ups of teams (losing team = higher seeding) Divisional Winning Percentage Coin toss Free Agents/Waiver Request periods will begin during the week after NFL week 1's games and will continue until the Saturday before week 13's games.  No free agent players may be acquired through waivers after this point until designated free agent periods during the league’s off-season.    Free agents/ Waiver Requests can be made each week from the start of Sunday's games until Wednesday at 11 p.m. ET.  The first waiver period will be processed at 11 p.m. ET on Wednesdays.  Free agents/ Waiver Requests for the 2nd period of the week can be made from 12:00 a.m. ET Thursday until Saturday at 11 a.m. ET.  The second waiver period will be processed at 11 a.m. ET on Saturdays. Each waiver period will consist of two rounds.  Players dropped automatically become free agents and become immediately available for acquisition.  Any team that does not designate players to be dropped, if picking up free agents for that period will put them over the roster limit, will forfeit their free agent request(s) for that period.  No make up picks will be allowed in such cases.

7. Trading: A. Trading is allowed until the 1st deadline to submit waivers after week 10’s games.  Any trades not submitted for commissioner approval by this deadline will not be processed.  Owners are allowed to trade future draft picks but the trade will not be processed without a full league payment for that season(s).  When an owner trades a future draft pick they are committing to their team for the season in which the draft pick was traded, therefore, owner's who decide not to return to the league for any reason after trading future draft picks, and subsequently paying for the upcoming/following season, will not receive a refund on their pre-payed entry fee if they decide to quit the league, cannot continue in the league or the owner gets expelled from the league.     B. Trades can be protested by owners in a particular league if an owner feels that the trade is one-sided or that there might be collusion involved.  Owner(s) wishing to challenge the trade must submit their reasoning via e-mail to the commissioner and the entire league within 48 hours of the trade being processed.  The trade will be reviewed by the Great Lakes Fantasy Football Leagues (GLFFL) Board of Directors (BOD) and it will be decided by them whether the trade will stand or be vetoed.  No member of the league that is also a member of the GLFFL BOD may participate in the voting; however, they are welcome to offer comments if they would like.  Trades will be vetoed if 60% (nine panelist) vote for a reversal.    C. Owners cannot trade transaction slots, i.e. waiver position slots.    D. When trading an uneven combination of players make sure the trade will not result in a roster violation or the trade will not be process or reversed if it was processed and caught later.  Also be sure to make necessary drops or inform Commissioner of who you want dropped immediately upon accepting the trade if the trade will take you over roster limits.  Failure to make a drop to free up necessary roster space or inform the Commish of who to drop will cause your trade not to be processed and the Commish has the right to reject the trade if this is not handled in a timely fashion.    E. Once a trade is accepted by another owner it is official, even before the Commissioner processes the trade.  The league software will prompt you to be sure you want to accept the deal before doing do.  Making careful choices during trading is the responsibility of each owner.  Once an owner accepts a trade, it cannot be reversed unless both owners willingly agree within a reasonable period with "reasonable" being deemed solely by the Commissioner.   F. Players cannot be traded back to a team during the regular season until after 4 games for that respective player have passed.

8. Off-season: A. In order to keep to our commitment of year round action there will be 3 off-season rounds for this league with one round commencing on each of the following dates June 1st, July 15th and August 25th.  Each off-season draft round will begin at 11:00 a.m. ET on the respective draft date, have a 12-hour timer between each draft pick, and end when the round is over.   B. Off-season draft rounds will be serpentine or switch-back (1-12, 12-1, 1-12, etc)   C. Conferences will remain the same from year to year.   9. Prize Winnings: A. Your winnings will be sent to you via Paypal or regular mail (your choice) within 3 business days of the conclusion of the final game for that particular league.  See prize structure for each league listed above.   B. Fantasy Football 4You or anyone associated with running the site is not responsible for taxes on the prizes of the winners.   10. Rights Reserved: FantasyFootball4You.com reserves the right to cancel any entries not comprising a full league. If such a cancellation occurs your money will be promptly refunded or applied towards other leagues (your choice).  If the participants agree to compete in a league with less than the originally specified number of owners, the prize payout will be reduced and shared with owners prior to the initial draft/auction commences. All pre-registered applicants would have the right to a full refund or agree to play for the newly announced prize structure.   11.  Possible Reasons for Expulsion from the League/Fantasy Football4You.com FantasyFootball4You.com reserves the right to expel an owner from a league/the site for the following:   Collusion (working with another owner within a league to give one team an advantage. Blatantly disrespectful behavior towards other owners or the commissioner.  Everyone is allowed friendly (or not so) banter and has the right to express their opinion as long as it is not communicated in a manner that infringes on the rights of others.    Throwing games in order to advance draft position or another teams position. Not actively participating in a league. Involving Fantasy Football 4You Leagues in any type of gambling.  The above mentioned reasons for expulsion from a league or the site will be due to behavior that is harmful to the integrity of the game and other owners involved.  Expulsion for the aforementioned reasons will be without refund of any kind.      12.  Further Considerations:  For the most part owners can post the graphics they want associated with their particular franchise(s); however, I ask each of you to refrain from pornographic material on the site or posting links to it from the site.      FantasyFootball4You.Com is not directly affiliated with the NFL or NFLPA.

1. The Franchise Fee is $100.00.

2. Each of the three (3) divisions will consist of four (4) teams.

3. The draft will be held on-line. Teams will be formed in a draft that will be carried out in 1-12 then 12-1 order (known as 'serpentine' or 'switchback'). Drafts may be done in live draft format (4-6 hours on a chat site) or in email format (over several weeks). The order for all initial drafts is decided randomly.

4. Teams will keep a total of eleven (11) players from year to year, without restriction to specific positions. Cuts must be decided by the owner no later than May 1st of each year. The restocking draft order will be determined by a reverse order of the standings from the previous season. The restocking draft, lasting for 11 rounds, will commence each year on May 15th. There is no restriction as to whether teams use the May draft round for rookies or free agents that became available in the May 1st cuts.

5. Additional rookie and free agent drafting periods will be held on June 15, July 15, and August 31, with the order being serpentine or switchback. Rosters may be expanded to 25 players during the summer months, with each owner being required to cut back to 21 players by Sept. 1. In subsequent years, the teams with the worst regular season records the previous season will have the first opportunity to select rookies and free agents the following off-season.

6. Each draft round will start at 12 noon ET on the respective dates listed above and a 12-hour time limit will be employed. When a pick is missed, that owner has to get in contact with the commissioner ASAP in order to make a replacement pick. The longer he waits, the further down in the round his team will drop. Teams may request a replacement selection for a missed draft pick, provided the current draft round has not been completed. For example, an owner who misses the 5th overall pick in May, can only request a replacement selection up until the time the final pick is made during May's round. Missed draft picks may not be traded, beginning with the 2006 season.

7. All teams must come out of the initial draft, as well as all off-season draft rounds, with the necessary components to field a starting lineup (i.e. teams can't elect to go without a kicker, tight end, defense during the off-season).

8. Any player or future draft pick for the subsequent year may be traded during the off-season. Before trades are approved involving players or picks in the off-season or future picks in the regular season, both owners must pay their full entry fee for the future year to ensure that they will return for the upcoming season. This is to prevent owners from dealing away multiple future picks and then walking away from the franchise, making it nearly impossible to sell off to a new owner.

Section II - Scoring

1. The decimal scoring method will be combined (basic + performance) with points awarded as follows:

• RUSHING - .1 point every 1 yard, 6 every touchdown, 2 for conv., 1 point every 10 carries
• RECEIVING - .1 point every 1 yard, 6 every touchdown, 2 for conv., 1 point every 5 receptions
• PASSING - .05 points every 1 yard, 4 every touchdown, 1 for conv., 1 point every 10 completions
• KICKING - 3 points every field goal (0-49 yards), 4 points every field goal (50 yards plus), 1 point every PAT
• INDIVIDUAL DEFENSIVE PLAY - 6 points for TD (Fumble, interception, blocked punt, blocked FG return), 2 points for safeties, 2 points for interceptions, 2 points for fumble recoveries, 2 point for sacks, 1 point for tackles, .5 points for assists
• NFL TEAM - 6 points for Special Teams or Defensive TDs (Fumble, interception, blocked punt, blocked FG return, missed FG return, punt return, kickoff return), 2 points for safeties, 1 point for interceptions, 1 point for fumble recoveries, 1 point for sacks, 3 points each "team" victory, 10 points each "team" shutout, 8 points for allowing 1 to 6 points, 6 points for allowing 7 to 12 points, 4 points for allowing 13 to 17.

2. Points for kickoff and punt returns for touchdowns will only be awarded to the NFL Team, not individual players.

3. Overtime Games: Tie games will be broken by using reserve players. Tie games will be broken using the same performance point system used by the rest of the players in the starting lineup.

Section III - Trading and Transactions

1. All transaction requests must be submitted via the web site to the commissioner's office no later than 11 p.m. EST on WEDNESDAY night. Free agents will be awarded to teams on a worst-to-first basis (record, total points, power ranking). These requests will be processed and posted to your respective teams immediately after transactions are processed. You can select up to TWO Free Agents to be processed on WEDNESDAY night. If adding a player or players will take you over the roster size limits for this league, you will also need to designate a player to be dropped for each player you are requesting to add. Leaving the dropped player field blank will cause the following to happen - the system will SKIP OVER anyone who would be in violation of the roster size restrictions by adding a player. You could be the first owner on the waiver priority list but you WILL NOT get your player if you fail to designate a drop at the same time.

2. The next two rounds of weekly transactions will take place on SATURDAY at 1 p.m. EST. Free agents will again be awarded to teams on a worst-to-first basis (record, total points, power ranking). Please note-- Players dropped on WEDNESDAY night ARE eligible to be added during the second transaction processing event on SATURDAY afternoon.

3. If a trade is made with an uneven combination of players (2 for 1, 3 for 2, etc.), the team receiving the extra player must immediately notify the commissioner's office regarding who will be dropped to keep the roster size at 21. While teams are permitted to start play with a roster size below 21, they are not allowed to go above that number. Failure to report a drop to the commissioner in this circumstance will result in the trade being voided. All trades must be approved and forwarded to the commissioner's office no later than Saturday evening at 9 p.m. EST in order to ensure that the players involved are available for Sunday's games.

4. Both teams need to give approval and list terms of the trade for it to be confirmed. This must be done through the league's web site. Once approved by the league commissioner, the trade will be official. Trade results will be posted on the web site for each league. As a trade is approved, the team(s) rosters will automatically be updated and a transaction record will be listed.

5. A player cannot be traded back to a team until four (4) games have passed.

6. The league has the ability to call for a trade veto within 48 hours of the trade becoming official during the regular season and 72 hours of the trade becoming official during the off-season. Making a case to call for a veto vote must consist of something more substantial than "I don't agree with the trade and I want to vote against it." The owner calling for the veto should post a rationale on the league message board and send out an email to the commissioner for consideration by the entire league. Once this occurs, the trade will be voted on by a 12-member panel of the GLFFL's Board of Directors, consisting of the owners who have the longest tenure and most representation in the GLFFL. This way, deals can be decided by individuals who are unbiased since they are not a part of the league in question. In the event that members of the Board of Directors are involved in the trade in question, they must abstain from the voting procedure. Trades will be vetoed if 60 percent (seven panelists) vote for a reversal within the 48-72 hour period.

7. During the off-season, you can make as many trades per month as you wish. They also have to be submitted via the web site by both parties to the league commissioner. Upon approval, they will be listed on the web site.

8. Owners are permitted to submit the names of starting players up until the respective player's game time. Once a game has begun, all players participating in that game are either locked in as a starter or as a bench player. Lineups should be submitted through the league's web site.

9. Owners are not permitted to trade transaction slots.

10. You will be responsible for fielding a complete team during bye weeks. No carryover points will be awarded for position players or NFL teams.

11. No trades will be permitted following the kickoff of Week Nine's games. The Thursday after the 12th regular season game is the last week to make drop/add transactions.

Section IV - Playoffs and Payouts

1. In order to determine division championships and playoff seedings, the following tiebreaker system will be used:

• 1.) Best W/L Record,
• 2.) Head to Head Competition,
• 2a.) Best Division Record,
• 3.) Most Points Scored All Games,
• 4.) Best Net Points Head to Head,
• 4a.) Best Net Points Division Games,
• 5.) Least Points Allowed All Games,
• 6.) Coin Flip.

2. Division statistics (2a,4a) are used to resolve division ties only. Playoff seedings WILL NOT consider these values. With playoff seedings, once the division winners have been seeded, all other teams will be seeded based on overall record, head-to-head and then total points scored. In the event of a tie involving three or more teams, head-to-head can only be used as the tiebreaker if one team has a definitive advantage over the others (i.e. Team A defeated both Team B and Team C, therefore they earn the higher seed based on head-to-head.) If no definitive advantage can be derived for any one team (teams split season series, some teams involved in the tie did not play), the tiebreaker will automatically be decided using total points scored.

3. Three (3) division champions and three (3) wild-card teams will qualify for the playoffs. The two division winners with the best records will receive a first round bye and the first and second seeds. The other division winner will be the third seed and the wild-card teams will be seeded fourth, fifth and sixth using the tiebreaking formula above. Division Winner (#1 seed) plays #4 and the #2 seed plays #3. Wild-card weekend will be held during week #14 of the NFL season.

4. The winners advance to the conference semi-finals. The lowest seed to advance plays the highest seeded division winner, with each successive seed taking on the lowest advancing seed. This action will take place on week #15 of the NFL season.

5. The winners will square off for the GLFFL Dick Butkus League Championship. This action will take place on week #16 of the NFL season. The champion will receive $500 while the runner-up receives $200. GLFFL is not responsible for the taxes on the prizes of the winner.

6. The six (6) non-playoff teams are entered in a single-elimination consolation tournament that will run through NFL weeks 14, 15 and 16. The seeding will be determined using the formula listed above. The top two seeds will receive a bye during NFL week 14. Seed #3 will play #6 and #4 will play #5 during that week. The winners advance to play the two teams receiving byes during NFL week 15.  The winner of the consolation tournament earns a compensatory draft pick in next May's Rookie and Free Agent Draft (the pick will be an extra pick at the end of the first round).

Section V - Miscellaneous Items

1. All lineups must consist of 12 starters: a Quarterback, 1-2 Running Backs, 3-4 Wide Receivers, a Tight End, a Place Kicker, a Defensive Lineman, a Linebacker, a Defensive Back and a Team Defense.

2. Rosters will consist of 21 players. The nine (9) reserves on your roster may consist of any number of quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, kickers, defensive players or NFL teams. It is your responsibility to maintain your roster at all times. If a team goes over the 21 spots (by free agent pickup or trade) the transaction or transactions will not be processed for that week.

3. The act of "throwing games" (losing on purpose by turning in a lineup filled of players that normally would not play) is not tolerated in the Great Lakes Fantasy Football Leagues. We will revert your starting lineup back to a typical lineup for games that are tried to be thrown and further action will also take place (i.e. possible removal from the league without refund).

In every instance where a team has found to intentionally lose a game by submitting a bogus lineup, that owner will immediately be REMOVED from the league in question. When other instances arise, teams will be REMOVED the moment the indiscretions are discovered, whether they happened this year or in a previous year.

The REMOVAL involves the leagues in question only. After one year has passed, the offending owner has the opportunity to apply for reinstatement to that league. Reinstatement can only take place if 60 percent (seven panelists) of the GLFFL's Board of Directors vote for REINSTATEMENT. Other leagues are not impacted, although a meticulous study will begin on those other franchises to see if tanking games occurred at any time in the history of that club.

In addition, the offending owner will be placed on a PERMANENT PROBATIONARY STATUS in all other leagues, meaning any other incident of intentionally throwing games will result in PERMANENT EXPULSION from ALL GLFFL LEAGUES for LIFE.

4. ACTIVE OWNER CLAUSE - If the commissioner has not heard from you (by phone, e-mail or web evidence) or your authorized representative for 3 consecutive weeks (no transactions or lineup changes) you may be declared an inactive owner, banished from the league, and your team repurchased by the league on a pro-rata basis and resold or dissolved. It is unfair to the active owners to have a disinterested owner. This becomes especially critical as the season winds down and you find yourself "out" of the running. You may appoint a designated representative in writing to the commissioner anytime prior to a known absence.

5. Conduct that is deemed detrimental to the league or to the GLFFL will not be tolerated. This includes, but is not limited to, posts and or emails that are harassing in nature and serve no legitimate purpose other than to cause discord within the league or the GLFFL organization. There is a difference between expressing viewpoints or likes/dislikes of a league or format and personal attacks toward fellow owners, the commissioner or the Board of Directors. Failure to comply may result in IMMEDIATE EXPULSION WITHOUT REFUND. In addition, attempts to negatively impact the integrity of the league (i.e. threatening or outright refusal to submit lineups, partaking in bogus trades, etc.) will result in an immediate expulsion, without refund, from the GLFFL.

6. Each season, divisions will be realigned based on performance from the previous season. The Black Division will feature the four teams with the lowest winning percentage through the regular season weeks, with total points being used as the tiebreaker. The Blue Division will feature the 5th through 8th lowest winning percentage through the regular season weeks, with total points being used as the tiebreaker. The White Division will feature the remaining four teams, including both the conference champion and runner-up.

A first round draft pick in 1965, Dick Butkus possessed a desire to excel that few have ever equaled. He played as the Chicago Bears' middle linebacker for nine years with only one goal in mind – to be the best, and from the very start, he was just that. In his rookie season, Butkus was named first-team All-NFL, an honor he would record five more times. Butkus also played in the Pro Bowl following his rookie season and in each of the next seven years.

He even figured in the career statistical columns with 22 interceptions and 27 opponents' fumble recoveries. Butkus had drive, meanness, a consuming desire to pursue, tackle, and manhandle – anything he could do to thwart the enemy on every play. Still he was a clean player, totally devoted to his career, a man who by his own admission played every game as though it were his last one.

Butkus had the speed and agility to make tackles from sideline to sideline and to cover the best tight ends and running backs on pass plays. He had instinct, strength, leadership and, maybe most important of all, anger. “When I went out on the field to warm up, I would manufacture things to make me mad,” he once said. “If someone on the other team was laughing, I'd pretend he was laughing at me or the Bears. It always worked for me." It was inevitable that injuries would eventually come to someone who threw himself so completely into a contact sport such as football. For Butkus, it was a serious right knee injury in 1970 that didn't respond completely to surgery. Three years later, he retired. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979, his first year of eligibility.