Free agency bidding- do you HAVE to sign the players you won?

[bostonboy_003]

Im doing a franchise with the Panthers and it is now free agency time. I bidded on 4 players, but now I only want to sign two of them. I won all 4 players. The other two players will leave me with minimal cap space and their contracts are too high on second thought, so can i not sign them and let them go back to free agency? Or do I HAVE to sign them since I won the bid? Last time this happened i just did "simulate free agent bidding and advance" thinking the players would not be signed since I didnt offer them a contract, but they were promptly signed to my team without me doing it. I dont want these two players anymore, what do i do?

[StreetCarp]

Try it and get back to us.

[awkwardmoment]

You negotiated that contract with them, you gotta sign them!

In my franchise, I was out of cap space so it wouldnt let me sign the dude... and it wouldnt let me move forward without signing him... so I had to trade away some big salaried guy to open up space to sign the free agent.

[Calipup]

Yes even if you leave the screen, he will still be signed.

When I get in that moment, I just traded the extra guy I signed for a pick in the draft. So I basically just signed a 3rd round pick in the FA, but you have to pay the penalty I believe.