Signing Terms for Gems in 5th round and later...

[eraserx13]

Do you think it is unfair to sign Gems found in the later rounds to longer contract terms (ie 3 years) and pay them the league minimum while the CPU signs late picks to 1 year deals?

At first I was signing all my picks to 3 year deals. I figured with the potential Gems found in rounds 5-7 who do not ask for a signing bonus, there is practically no downside. If they are busts, you can cut them with no cap penalty but if they are gems, then you have a great player at a discount for 3 years.

Now, I am just signing them to whatever contract term they want. If I want to keep them the following off season after their rookie contract expires, I pay whatever it takes and deal with the salary cap squeeze.

What do you guys think?

[Dianwei32]

Forget 3 years. I usually sign all my draft picks to at least 5 year deals, many of them to 7 year deals. Will it be unfair/unrealistic a few years down the road of progression to have a 95+ OVR SS playing for 320k a year? Probably, but A) It's my game, so I can do it if I want to (I have enough trouble staying under cap with Romo and Ware eating up over $11M a piece) and B) They're still making over $300,000 a year to play a game. Sure they're professional athletes and all that, but they're still playing a game, they don't really need to be making $10,000,000 a year. I would play in the NFL for less than the league minimum if it meant I actually got to play football as a career.

[Guggy107]

it kind of balances out the fact that the cpu can sign free agents for WAY less money than you can

[txfalconfan]

i like that maybe a player doesnt want to play for a **** team or my **** team and maybe they would if i paid them the amount of the salary cap but it shouldnt let cpu turn around and pay them vet. minimum like it does.

[imskykid]

I would say 3 year deals are realistic for all your players. Most teams do that anyways. Very rarely to teams sign rookies to one year deals unless they are free agents.

Heck, I could justify signing them all to 4 year deals to simulate restricted free agency. You could just cut the ones you don't want after 3 years and put the ones you want to keep on the trading block with the equivalent for whatever tender you would give them.

You would have to be realistic in what you are asking, but if you have a player in the 90's after a few years, then you could ask for a 1st and 3rd based on the restricted tender you would give him if Madden had restricted free agency.