A drafted player costs a pick two rounds earlier than the round in which he was originally drafted for each keeper season.
Example: a player drafted in Round 6 in 2026 costs a 4th-round pick in 2027 and a 2nd-round pick in 2028.
Undrafted players cost a 10th-round pick in their first keeper season. If kept again, that cost moves two rounds earlier the following year.
Example: an undrafted player added in 2026 costs a 10th-round pick in 2027 and an 8th-round pick in 2028.
Keeper Timeline
Players may remain under keeper control for a maximum of three total seasons with the same manager: the acquisition season plus the next two seasons after that.
For drafted players, the acquisition season is the season in which the player was drafted. For undrafted players, the acquisition season is the season in which the player was added to the roster.
Trade Reset Rule
If a player is traded, the keeper timeline resets for the acquiring manager.
However, the player's keeper penalty does not reset. The acquiring manager inherits the player's current keeper cost basis rather than the original draft round.
Example: if a player was drafted in Round 6 and has already moved to a 4th-round cost, a new manager who acquires that player starts at Year 1 on the new timeline but still pays the 4th-round cost on the first keeper season after the trade.
If that same manager keeps the player again the following year, the cost moves to a 2nd-round pick and that becomes Year 2 on the new manager's keeper timeline.
Dropped and Re-Added Players
Dropping and re-adding a player does not reset keeper years.
This is true whether the player is re-added by the same manager or claimed by a different manager through waivers or free agency.
A drafted player who is dropped and later added still keeps the original draft-round cost basis and existing keeper timeline.
Example: a player originally drafted in Round 8 who is later dropped and claimed still carries the same Round 8 origin and the same keeper-year progression already attached to that player.
Anti-Circumvention Disclaimer
Managers may not use intentional drop-and-reclaim activity, coordinated waiver behavior, or other transaction sequencing to manipulate keeper eligibility, keeper cost, or keeper years.
The only transaction type that resets keeper years is a trade. In all other cases, the commissioner's enforcement should follow the player's true keeper history.
Draft Board Floor
Round 1 is the hard keeper-cost floor.
If a player's next calculated keeper cost would move earlier than Round 1, that player may be kept for a 1st-round pick in the final eligible season and may not be kept again after that season.