Room under cap

[General Tso]

How is the "Room Under Cap" calculated? I had assumed it was roughly:

[Salary Cap] - [Cap Used, Next Year] = [Room Under Cap]

But this is not even close to the number. What pieces are missing?

[Pyser]

it gets kinda complicated. i think something like only the highest 51 salaries count towards the cap - so depending who you sign that shifts who the top 51 are.

also, as the season progresses, players gets paid 1/17th of their salary per game. so that affects how much cap room you have left as the season goes on.

[stevew]

Top 51 cap hits plus dead money subtracted from the total cap(roughly). Once you get over 51 then I believe it's more complex and it's approx "room under cap plus rookie min" you can offer. After season starts it's even weirder

[General Tso]

Thanks for the replies. I assume the top 51 contracts are reflected in the "Cap Used, Next Year" number. My numbers are:

Cap Used, Next Year: $92M
Salary Cap: $140M
Room Under Cap: $18M

That means I have $30M in dead money? That seems like a lot....but maybe I'm wrong. Where can I see this dead money?

[stevew]

Room under cap is for this year.

[General Tso]

Well yeah, I knew that. I guess I'm getting my years confused. I'm currently in "Pre - free agency" so I assumed "Cap Used, Next Year" meant the upcoming year.

Where can I find "Cap Used, This Year"?

[aston217]

Cap used this year would be Salary Cap - Room Under Cap + Cap Penalties, This Year.

Of course, the really pertinent number there is just Room Under Cap.

[aston217]

The top 51 players (in individual cap cost) count towards your cap, as stated above. Others don't.

As your season goes on, your cap number doesn't change. However, the amount you can save by releasing a player does. Let's say you have a guy who has $17M in salary. Releasing him before Week 1 clears all $17M off. Releasing him after Week 1 frees up $16M, then $15, etc, etc, etc.

Renegotiating a player, though, will make it as though his salary was that all along. For example, if you bring that $17M salary down to $2M, then you give yourself an extra $15M - (any bonus spent as part of the deal) in cap space, no matter when you do the negotiation.

However, the game is finicky about some things. If the annual bonus of your extension offer exceeds Max Available For New Player, then the game won't let you do the deal -- EVEN if the move would free up cap room for you.

Cap Used, Next Year simply sums up all the cap costs of your players for the *next* calendar season -- in other words, only including the guys who have 2 or more years on their deal currently.

[General Tso]

Okay. Thanks everyone.
Where can I find current (and future) cap penalties? Total signing bonuses?

[aston217]

"Lost Cap, Next Year" is next year's cap penalty.

"Lost Cap Room" is this year's cap penalty (Room Under Cap takes this into account). These are on your roster screen right below the salary numbers.

When you cut a guy, any bonus he is scheduled for this year goes into this year's lost cap. Any bonus in any remaining years of the deal becomes part of next year's lost cap.

Total signing bonus, I don't think there's an easy way to see that. Although if you're in the offseason, you can go to "Contract View" on your roster screen and compare the "Cap Cost" and "Save if Release" values, it'll give you an idea at a glance for each player, how much of their deal is bonus.

[General Tso]

Cool - thank you sir.
I feel like this screen could use one more column of bonus money and one more row for totals. But I guess I can use my arithmetic skills.

[aston217]

Oh, yeah. Cap management is a whole tricky area.

For my MP leagues, I keep an excel spreadsheet in the offseason to try to make sense of things.

[General Tso]

Yeah I will definitely be doing the same. A lot could be done with that.
I was hoping roster/cap management would be more explicit, given that's why I'm interested in the game.

[Pyser]

Yeah I will definitely be doing the same. A lot could be done with that.
I was hoping roster/cap management would be more explicit, given that's why I'm interested in the game.

almost the entire game is roster and cap management. youre in the right place.

[General Tso]

How soon can we expect the game to be updated so that a new game begins prior to the 2015-16 season?

[Ben E Lou]

How soon can we expect the game to be updated so that a new game begins prior to the 2015-16 season?Jim typically does either a free update to the current game or a new game in the fall. I'll be very surprised if we don't see either FOF7.2 (a free update with 2015 rosters and schedules) or FOF8 (a new game) some time between August and December.

[General Tso]

I guess I'll have to update my players csv file to get any adjusted ratings then.
Thanks

[General Tso]

New question: none of the depth chart changes I make between games will stick.

I view roster, right-click to make a certain player inactive, and simulate a week. He still plays. I check the roster screen - he has been reactivated...

I go into backfield depth chart and completely substitute other players for him, also checking "lock", and simulate the week. He still plays. I check the depth chart - he is once again the starter...

Why?

[Ben E Lou]

Open the "Edit Single Player Options" screen and make sure the "Staff Sets Depth Chart" (or whatever it is called) is set to OFF.

[stevew]

Open the "Edit Single Player Options" screen and make sure the "Staff Sets Depth Chart" (or whatever it is called) is set to OFF.

really seems like it should be considered to setting this to OFF in subsequent versions by default, just due to the general noob confusion

[General Tso]

Thank you once again. I'm definitely still a noob.

Perhaps the best solution would be to make it impossible to change the depth chart when this option is on (and be alerted why of course). If the settings don't stick, what's the point of allowing you to edit them?

I'm sure you've all heard this a million times before, but it's astounding how bad the menu and ui are in this game considering it's been around for so long...

And yet I'm still pretty excited about it.

[aston217]

Oh, yeah.

Jim is a master with the work he's done in creating a game, including all the changes over the years.

The UI, on the other hand....

[Caligari]

... is pretty good for a programmer with other fish to fry. :)

[Pyser]

Perhaps the best solution would be to make it impossible to change the depth chart when this option is on (and be alerted why of course). If the settings don't stick, what's the point of allowing you to edit them?

this is a great idea