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Quote: Originally Posted by ajra21

First, the best time to sign players is around week 3 to week 6. For some reason, their demands aren't as high. I've noticed you can get around a 20% discount if you time it right. Example: my best CB (29yo) started the season asking for $2.85m per year. I didn't offer him a contract. By week 4, the price had dropped to $2m. I didn't offer him a contract. By week 6, it had gone back up to $2.25m. By the end of the year, he wanted the full $2.85m again. Second, identify the players you know you're never going to cut, i.e. your star QB, top pass rushers etc. give these guys big bonuses and small salaries but in a smaller over all contract. Example: Michael Crabtree (28yo) wanted four years with and overall $28m. He asked for $5.5m salary and $1.5m bonus. I knew I'd keep him for the four years so I offered him $1m salary and $4m bonus ($20m total over four years). Third, the backups (who might not be kept around for the length of their deal) should get as small a bonus as possible. I like to sign these guys for as long as possible so the early years are cheaper, so that if you cut them down the line, you save more money. Example: my backup 29yo LOLB wants a two year deal with a salary of $1m with a bonus of $300k bonus. I dropped the bonus to $150k but raised the salary to $1.4m but also extended the contract to four years. After one year, I cut him for a cheaper rookie saving far more than I would have if I'd given him the contract he wanted, yet at the time, it looked like he could actually get more. Fourth, be aware of age. I never give a player over 30 more than a three year deal but I'll give younger players as long a deal as I can and try to get them to be FA around the age of 32. This seems to be the age that players' demands start going down. I often use my strategy in paragraph two to give a veteran 32yo plus player one year deals. That way you can keep the number down and then see another drop the following year. I try to never have a contract that will keep a player when he's 35yo, perhaps with the exception of an elite QB. I also try not to keep CBs after they turn 32 as their speed starts to drop. It the only position that can be affected very quickly when speed goes. Fifth, this might be the hardest to do at times, try not to have young players start for the whole four years of their rookie contracts. Even if you take a player in the first round, try to keep him as a backup in their first year. A four year starter asks for considerably more than a three year starter after their rookie contract ends. Other keys are not investing all their XP until after you've extended them and certainly not increasing their AWR too high (I try to keep it under 69 until I've extended them) as this keeps their asking price down. Sixth, identify which positions in your scheme don't require top level players. In mine it's WR and CB. With the exception of Crabtree and one CB I've never given a WR or CB more than $2m per year. I draft them low to develop them. Get any of them with A for SPD and raise their key position ratings. If you need a player to start while they develop, you can pick one up in preseason on the cheap. Using these methods, I've managed to get through 11 seasons with an elite roster without ever having to cut players for cap space. One season, I had less than $1m cap space but in the other 10 seasons I've usually $10m in space and often a lot more. Sorry for the long post.

Excellent post.