GM strategy and tips to help build your franchise

[Gatorfan89]

Good stuff OP.

I didnt read everyone posts, so sorry is this is already mentioned.

Something I do is I offer guys no signing bonus and cover the difference in their actual salary. That way if a guy isnt performing the way I thought he would, I can cut him and not get killed by the cap penalty. Especially at RB, lets say I sign a RB at 28 to a 5 year deal, and by age 31 he is regressing, and I have another guy I want to play. I can cut the old guy like many teams do in real life and move forward.

I do this because I discovered that signing bonuses are virtually meaningless when determining whether you sign a FA or not. For example. I saved before FA and offered Darren McFadden a 5 year deal for 25 mil. 5 mil a year, with 3 mil base salary and 2 mil as a the bonus. He accepted. I then quit and reloaded it, and offered him the same 5 year 25 mil deal. Except this time I did 5 mil base salary, 0 bonus. He accepted again.

Well now this way if he is underperforming after 2 season I can cut him and free up 5 million in salary with no penalty. Had I stuck with the first contract and cut him after two season I wouldve cut his 3 mil in salary, but I wouldve had 6 mil left over on his bonus for a 6 mil cap penalty. So cutting him in that instance would take away 3 million in cap, while the other gave frees up 5.


Just something to keep in mind. It's especially useful when signing Vets, who you are worried might regress in a big way during the term of their contract.

[jmik58]

Quote: Originally Posted by Gatorfan89

Good stuff OP. I didnt read everyone posts, so sorry is this is already mentioned. Something I do is I offer guys no signing bonus and cover the difference in their actual salary. That way if a guy isnt performing the way I thought he would, I can cut him and not get killed by the cap penalty. Especially at RB, lets say I sign a RB at 28 to a 5 year deal, and by age 31 he is regressing, and I have another guy I want to play. I can cut the old guy like many teams do in real life and move forward. I do this because I discovered that signing bonuses are virtually meaningless when determining whether you sign a FA or not. For example. I saved before FA and offered Darren McFadden a 5 year deal for 25 mil. 5 mil a year, with 3 mil base salary and 2 mil as a the bonus. He accepted. I then quit and reloaded it, and offered him the same 5 year 25 mil deal. Except this time I did 5 mil base salary, 0 bonus. He accepted again. Well now this way if he is underperforming after 2 season I can cut him and free up 5 million in salary with no penalty. Had I stuck with the first contract and cut him after two season I wouldve cut his 3 mil in salary, but I wouldve had 6 mil left over on his bonus for a 6 mil cap penalty. So cutting him in that instance would take away 3 million in cap, while the other gave frees up 5. Just something to keep in mind. It's especially useful when signing Vets, who you are worried might regress in a big way during the term of their contract.

Very good tip. I don't think anyone has mentioned that. I think the one thing that might hold me back is that I know in real life players get signing bonuses and when players get cut there is that risk. I also know that is how the other teams are doing contracts and how they are affected when they cut someone.

Basically I'm saying that I love your strategy, but it leans a little towards the arcade side so it might not be for everyone. I almost feel like it gives an unfair advantage, although it doesn't guarantee anything because you can sign everyone you want (as I've found). Bottom line though is that I'll probably still try this Great addition to the thread!

[Gatorfan89]

Quote: Originally Posted by jmik58

Very good tip. I don't think anyone has mentioned that. I think the one thing that might hold me back is that I know in real life players get signing bonuses and when players get cut there is that risk. I also know that is how the other teams are doing contracts and how they are affected when they cut someone. Basically I'm saying that I love your strategy, but it leans a little towards the arcade side so it might not be for everyone. I almost feel like it gives an unfair advantage, although it doesn't guarantee anything because you can sign everyone you want (as I've found). Bottom line though is that I'll probably still try this Great addition to the thread!

Yeah I try not to abuse it. I mean I wont use that on a 25 y/o Julio Jones if I see him on FA or something.

However, if I see a 37 y/o Champ Bailey on there at 87 overall, and he wants 6 mil for 3 years with 3 mil signing bonus each season, thats when I will use it. When Vets in the real world get signed to big deal at that age, for the most part they take some of the risk too, to get that big deal. In most cases those risky deal with aging Vets dont have tons of guaranteed money, but instead have small bonuses that are loaded with incentives that will get he Vet paid as long as they play well. Think the Donovan McNabb contract with the Redskins. He got his big deal, but it was upon him to perform. The Skins set it up so if he didnt perform, they could cut him with very little penalty since it wasnt set up with that huge bonus money.

Back to Champ, at his age, even in the NFL now, he would have to take some of the risk himself to get that big deal based on his performance. So in the game instead of giving him a 3 year 18 million dollar deal at 37 years old with a 3 million dollar bonus each season, I'll give him the same 3 y/18m dollar deal with a 1 million dollar bonus each season, or zero, etc.

That way, if he comes in and performs well and keeps his 87 rating, I'll in turn keep him for another year and he gets his full 6 million. However, lets say he comes and and has lost a step and doesnt achieve his goals and falls to an 83 overall. Well then I will cut him since he doesnt deserve his 6 mil a year for the next year. He didn't hold up his end and hit his bonuses (or goal in the game) so why should I be punished for 'giving the old guy a chance'.

[Brandwin]

Great tips. Thanks for sharing