2009 SUGGESTED NEW RULES - PLEASE READ!

[aholbert]

just prevent people from franchising players after they've signed one year deals. That prevents people from getting a good player long term by doing a one year deal. Its completely realistic that some players will sign just a one year deal for a variety of reasons - like wanting to win a championship. Its easily policable. Only a few players are franchised each year.

THIS is why I hate regulation in these leagues. Understand the desire to do this, but the negatives outweight the benefits.

Just my $.02.

I dont think most people want a free for all league where everything is fair as long as the game allows it. There are glitches in this game that can be exploited and we have rules to prevent that from happening. There has to be some regulation in every league and looking at other leagues we are probably one of the least regulated that i've seen.

[aholbert]

One of the leagues I'm in has a rule (I think) that the 2nd year can never be more than double the first year ( + bonus ?) and 3rd year no more than double the 2nd year --- etc.

Thoughts...

I'm interested in getting more feedback about what other league's do. From some of the suggestions ive seen like this one or a bonus/salary ratio....they seem MUCH more difficult to regulate than me or Pat checking the Grey Sheet to see how many year's a player wants. I could imagine having to check the dollar amount of a 2nd yr in every FA contract or even the ones on the GS.

[Delandis]

I dont think most people want a free for all league where everything is fair as long as the game allows it. There are glitches in this game that can be exploited and we have rules to prevent that from happening. There has to be some regulation in every league and looking at other leagues we are probably one of the least regulated that i've seen.

By far. Another league I'm in here are the set of rules currently in place:

*Player contracts may only be renegotiated in the final two years of the deal. GM's that violate this rule will be forced to release the player and accept any associated cap hit. This rule does not exclude the use of the "Cap Out" option in any year, nor does it prohibit GM's from renegotiating with players holding out.

*Backloading contracts is not permitted - no contract may increase by 2x or greater from year to year (Including years 1 to 2). The only exception is when the GM offers the exact number of years and salary that the player requested.

*Players seeking a contract must be offered a deal that is at least equal to the number of years requested (Ex: Players seeking a 3 year contract must be offered a minimum of 3 years).

*GM's may offer more years than originally requested.

*GM's that violate these rules will be forced to release the affected players and accept the cap hit. Due to the games code, they also will be unable to re-bid on the released player in FA. Repeated violations of these rules may be grounds for dismissal from the league.

Also, in the next year of the league we will be cutting down the reneg rules down to the final year of the contract.

[Guest]

they seem MUCH more difficult to regulate than me or Pat checking the Grey Sheet to see how many year's a player wants. I could imagine having to check the dollar amount of a 2nd yr in every FA contract or even the ones on the GS.

I think the "#4" is KISS and this one would be self-policed by all the mad people who don't get the free agent they want.... the hard part is enforcing a penalty for the instance of malfeasance

( BTW go Steelers --- I was at the game --- priceless)

[nouvelle_vague]

I dont think most people want a free for all league where everything is fair as long as the game allows it. There are glitches in this game that can be exploited and we have rules to prevent that from happening. There has to be some regulation in every league and looking at other leagues we are probably one of the least regulated that i've seen.

yeah. that league is called Shiba and its just friggin insane. lunatics running the asylum.

[Guest]

One of the leagues I'm in has a rule (I think) that the 2nd year can never be more than double the first year ( + bonus ?) and 3rd year no more than double the 2nd year --- etc.

Thoughts...

That this is completely unnecessary. The thing about "backloading" in FOF2K7 is that it doesn't help get a player to sign. The reason that the one-year deal works is that the contract evaluation algorithm is such that bonus per year is the #1 factor, and first-year salary is #2. Therefore, any backloaded deal can be easily trumped just by offering a hair more money in the first year. The only reason players sign backloaded deals in FOF is because no other owner offered them more money in the early years of the deal. Backloading *was* a problem in former versions of the game, and some people who don't understand the new contract system have over-legislated the new game because of it. *shurg*

I'm interested in getting more feedback about what other league's do. From some of the suggestions ive seen like this one or a bonus/salary ratio....they seem MUCH more difficult to regulate than me or Pat checking the Grey Sheet to see how many year's a player wants. I could imagine having to check the dollar amount of a 2nd yr in every FA contract or even the ones on the GS.

See above. Backloading simply doesn't work in a free market. ;)

[Clay]

What about undrafted rookie free agents.... isn't it perfectly normal to give them a 1 year deal?

[Guest]

What about undrafted rookie free agents.... isn't it perfectly normal to give them a 1 year deal?

Heh. Good point there, but it can be worked around. For the ones that people want, I'd think we'd want something held in check here. And for the ones that are true scrubs, just sign them to two-year deals with minimum bonus (20K). If you don't want the guy the second year, you only lose 10K in cap room. That's not gonna have any real impact.

[Guest]

Ben --- what do you think we should do?

rule #4 only and then LFA 1 --- must do multi-year and then no restriction for LFA 2 and on?

--no need for the yr 2 being less than twice year 1, and so on?

(CLAY -- I forgot to check -- did you get your Punter>? I was going to bid on him just to screw you ;0)

[Guest]

Ben --- what do you think we should do?

rule #4 only and then LFA 1 --- must do multi-year and then no restriction for LFA 2 and on?

Heck, I'd say keep the restriction in LFA2, just to keep it simple, and in case someone lets an RFA fly (as happened this year with the RB). As I mentioned above, if you want to give an undrafted guy a minsal type contract, you can still do it for two years with basically no impact to your team. Losing a 10K bonus due to cutting him in the second year really does nothing.

--no need for the yr 2 being less than twice year 1, and so on?

I just don't see it being necessary. Like I said, this is an outdated restriction. FOF handles this just fine now. It has been tried and tested thoroughly. It's my opinion that outside rules should only be used to address a flaw or imbalance in the game, and this is no longer a flaw or imbalance.

[aholbert]

What about undrafted rookie free agents.... isn't it perfectly normal to give them a 1 year deal?

Yes and suggestions 2-4 would not effect UDFA's.

I prefer monitoring the Grey Sheet over outlawing 1 yr deals for every FA w/ 8 yr or less. I think people recognize that the issue is with the top FAs. No one gives a damn if a 6yr WR rated 32/35 signs a one yr deal when he asked for 3. People care when someone signs a top 10 FA to a 1 yr deal when he asked for a 5 yr deal.

Ben just stated that the contract algorithim is that bonus money is #1 and first year salary is #2. This means that more likely than not a player will accept a bonus heavy 1 yr deal than the long term deal the player requested. I think something needs to be done about this.

[Guest]

Ben just stated that the contract algorithim is that bonus money is #1 and first year salary is #2. This means that more likely than not a player will accept a bonus heavy 1 yr deal than the long term deal the player requested. I think something needs to be done about this.

Oh, and for the record, I don't think this is a bad algorithm at all for young or mid-career players like the guy I just signed, particularly when one considers how rare career-limiting injuries are in FOF MP compared to real life. The RB I signed will likely make *more* money over the course of his career because he signed the deal I offered him, since he'll be a FA next year and get another big bonus. The issue isn't that it's a bad algorithm; it's that we throw money around in FOF like real-life guys would never do, since it's not real money. Nothing can be done about that.

[Clay]

(CLAY -- I forgot to check -- did you get your Punter>? I was going to bid on him just to screw you ;0)

Nope... still punter-less... but not worried... I just won't punt.

[Guest]

Nope... still punter-less... but not worried... I just won't punt.

see you after TC

[Clay]

I just offered every single rookie undrafted punter a 1 year deal with no bonus money.... I'll just cut all but the best one. See... problem solved..... plus... I won't punt....