Keeping Teams Together In The Salary Cap Era
 

Using the CSV file that comes with the game, here's a look at how long players in the NFL had been with their teams at the beginning of 2006:

Yr On Team	No. Players	Avg. Per Team	Running Total
2006	557	17.40625	17.40625
2005	368	11.5	28.90625
2004	279	8.71875	37.625
2003	196	6.125	43.75
2002	104	3.25	47
2001	82	2.5625	49.5625
2000	59	1.84375	51.40625
1999	31	0.96875	52.375
1998	23	0.71875	53.09375
1997	17	0.53125	53.625
1996	11	0.34375	53.96875
1995	5	0.15625	54.125
1994	6	0.1875	54.3125
1993	4	0.125	54.4375
1992	2	0.0625	54.5

I don't have the time or patience to track every single year, but I can look at the big picture fairly painlessly, I would think. I have a league run purely with 6.0d saved at the beginning of 2033, and I'm going to take a quick look at how many players each team has who are on their team for the:

3rd year or more: current NFL average is 25.6
4th year or more: 16.9
5th year or more: 10.8
6th year or more: 7.5

Gathering data now. Results should be coming shortly.

FWIW, based on the data above, the average player entered 2006 with 2.04 seasons with their current team. I can't track that number exactly in FOF2K7 with the way I'm studying this, but I can definitely see what ballpark the number is in.

Initial impressions...

• More than anything else, looking at the real-life NFL data was the biggest surprise. This season they averaged roughly 30 players in the first or second season with the team. :eek:
• Overall, when compared to this NFL season, my FOF season holds up fairly well. I'm going to sim forward a few years to see if I get similar results, but upon initial inspection, the big picture appears to be that things are decent.
• FOF teams compare best at keeping long-term players (in their 6th season or more with the team) with NFL teams.
• Overall, the data seems to indicate that the FOF AI is probably a little more aggressive in cutting bait than NFL teams are, but not way out of line, either. For the sake of challenge, I'd rather see AI teams keep 25 solid players and free up some cap room, rather than hold on to 35 a year, which is roughly the NFL average.

Where do I find the CSV file for this in the game?

Thanks.

In the main game folder.

How did you create or get this info for a currently-running FOF league?

I see the csv file for the initial year (2006) but no way to create one for my FOF league.

Thanks.

I just did it by hand. I haven't used the latest version of Interrogator yet, but that info could possibly be in there.

Not yet. I have the historical player stuff dumping now, but have not got to the active player section. I can break off from the game logs to grab that if necessary (we know where it is, and I think I know most of the format, but consider the game logs a higher priority right now).

Agree 100%.

I just had my biggest roster turnover EVER in a FOF game. I went into the offseason with only 25 signed players on the roster. Lots of players only wanting 1 year contracts is definitly putting a wrench in my plans for this team. :)