2015 RULES: Free Agency (Clock and First Bidders)

[robroach]

Instead of signing soon, could we set up a system where we identified first 12 and second 12? Maybe the the players name changes to yellow or red in the second 12 hours of a bid. This way no last minute bidding. Once a player turns yellow, you better place a bid or you have no one to blame but yourself. This could also give the commish a little cushion if he's an hour early on a signing or an hour late.

[Joe]

Wheres the keep it as is option? Last minute bids are part of the deal. Ive been on the wrong side of that plenty, but there have also been occasions when I had to wait til the last minute because I didnt have any bids available until then. This first bid of the day also screws the guys who cant sit on the internet all day. I know when I get home, my bids will be coming available again and I shouldnt be shit outta luck and have to pay more because I wasnt the first bidder.

[Goodell]

Wheres the keep it as is option? Last minute bids are part of the deal. Ive been on the wrong side of that plenty, but there have also been occasions when I had to wait til the last minute because I didnt have any bids available until then. This first bid of the day also screws the guys who cant sit on the internet all day. I know when I get home, my bids will be coming available again and I shouldnt be shit outta luck and have to pay more because I wasnt the first bidder.

This was just throwing out some ideas talked about in forums this past year and seeing which had the most support for further consideration. Took some of this feedback on most popular and added it to this later poll which has the pretty much keep it as it is option: http://www.fangm.com/sportstalk/viewtop ... f=7&t=1196

[stevebarrett24]

If we were to do the generalized time, how general would we be going out of curiousity. Would it just like be like Monday morning, Monday afternoon, and Monday night (3 8 hour time intervals) or would it be broken down more.

[Goodell]

If we were to do the generalized time, how general would we be going out of curiousity. Would it just like be like Monday morning, Monday afternoon, and Monday night (3 8 hour time intervals) or would it be broken down more.

There are a couple options. Not sure exactly, but if that idea in general is supported in this poll and the other about peak/non-peak preferences, we'd dig into that further or get opinions there. Something like you mention above would be likely. Perhaps broken down a little more for an easier transition like 'early morning' or 'late afternoon'. The idea being no exact time in part for avoiding last minute maneuvers as well as adding a little bit of realism to situations where negotiations aren't usually done by stop watch at the exact stroke of a clock, but teams probably generally are given time frames when they know when they generally need to get back to an agent one would think before he signs somewhere else if nobody's calling.