resigning

[chrisjohns726]

Hey there, my question is for Sp, but i'm sure it applies to MP also. At what frequency and what are the requirements for you to resign drafted players? More to the point would be for average/good players. Age/experience factor in etc, but if you guys have found strategies or anything useful would be appreciated.

thanks

[stevew]

Hey there, my question is for Sp, but i'm sure it applies to MP also. At what frequency and what are the requirements for you to resign drafted players? More to the point would be for average/good players. Age/experience factor in etc, but if you guys have found strategies or anything useful would be appreciated.

thanks


Everyone does it differently, but what I typically do is each offseason sort all of the players on my roster by their skill level in ratings, and then I sort by when their contract expires. If a guy is a highly skilled guy in the last year of his contract, I evaluate what his demands are and typically will offer him a new contract if he's within the first 4-7 years of his career and if I feel like he's an essential part of my team. I typically do not re-sign guys in the later years of their career unless it's for short term. At some point you will figure out what market is for your guys, and what kind of options you might be able to obtain in the free agent market/draft. I usually just give the guy his AI demands unless I am tight against the cap. Remember that you can't pay everyone so if a guy is underperforming it may be wise to let his contract expire. Also if a guy is essential but you can't afford him, keep that in mind so you can franchise him before the next offseason and then make him a contract offer when your cap is less stressed out.

Positionally, you always want to be able to look for guys that might have a bigger role in the future, and if those guys have 2 years on their deal, but are offering a pretty nice price to re-sign, i always do them. Guys that are not starters now, but may become ones in the future are also guys you want to be aggressive about re-signing as their price tag will likely become steep after a year of starting.

[Julio Riddols]

You gotta really weigh the pros and cons before re-signing someone. You want to always try and keep your core players around, but after that I ask myself a couple questions.

1- Do you think they would be cheaper on the open market?

This usually applies to guys who are 35-45 OVR who you drafted or who earned significant playing time with your team. They will likely be asking for a load of cash much higher than their actual value, so the best bet is often to let them test free agency and sign them there for a discount.

Other things to consider for these players before letting them test the market:

A. Is he a mentor/affinity?
B. Is he a productive starter (at any position, including KR/PR) with specific bars that really fit your style of play?
C. Will he be one of the top overall players on the market at his position?
D. Is he a special teams stud or a kick/punt return ace?

I think if you can check off B and 2 others, the player is a priority signing.

If you can check off B and one other, you should resign him if you can afford it.

If you can only check off one (and it isn't B) I think you let them play the free agency game and see if you can get them back cheaper late in the FA period.

If you can check off none, the guy probably shouldn't be on a roster anyway.

Another thing to consider is how much the player wants. If he isn't asking much more than minimum and he has any redeeming qualities, then you're probably better off signing him and keeping him around.

2 - Are they a QB?

Quarterbacks are a luxury and a necessity. You don't have to have a stud, but it is tough to pull off a championship without one. If the guy is really good, you need to make sure he stays around. An outstanding QB is worth probably 3 or 4 studs worth of production at other positions, not to mention that stud QB's usually last 13-15 years.. So unless you have 5 or more stud players that you stand to lose by re-signing a stud QB, then you should probably go with the QB.

Middle of the pack starters at QB are worth keeping if you can afford them. Maybe you have to re-work a deal or two to ease the cap crunch, but middle of the pack starters are still pretty rare and easily worth 60-65% of what a stud top 5 QB is paid.

Backups at QB are guys you can let test the market. There is really no point to re-sign them. If you're fortunate enough to have 2 good QB's on the roster at the same time, it is typically a good move to trade one and get something in return for their inevitable departure rather than re-signing them to an extension.

[chrisjohns726]

stevew, interesting, lets say i have a superstar Qb that i know barring injury im going to have for the next 10 plus years, if i draft another qb that can develop into a potential starter, are you saying i can possibly keep signing him for a huge discount as long as he doesnt start any games etc (i know thats kind of general)

[chrisjohns726]

Julio, I'm not at my personal computer to look again, but I havent been able to find a menu showing mentor/affinity etc. Both og you guys have given good advice/suggestions thanks a bunch. I read somewhere that you can assign a mentor.. how do you do this?

[Julio Riddols]

You will see the mentor designation on the player card, or if the player is on your roster you can see it by going to view roster and then switching to "Attitude Advisory" view in the upper right of the roster screen. Affinities and conflicts will also show up there.

As for assigning mentors, all that is required is that the mentor be on your roster. They take it upon themselves to mentor the young players in their position group.

[Julio Riddols]

Regarding having a cheap but good backup QB - I would argue that it is more valuable to use that player as a trade chip rather than holding on to them, even if the cost is reasonable. The potential of landing a high first round pick in return for a guy who would otherwise be warming the bench is too good of a deal to pass up IMO.