2017 Off-Season Update

[JonC]

Not just like free agent bidding, because there is no max in free agency.

Semantics. You can't have a tie. That's my point. You can't just match another team's bid.

[soonertf]

Back to my question way back. What do we do about ties? So if I'm understanding this correctly, the first person to offer 760k a year for 3 years and 100k in signing bonus will be guaranteed that player?

be first

[Ben C.]

Then you just keep increasing the annual salary until the other guy drops out. There is more to it than just the signing bonus.

The key is that if you use up all of your signing bonus on one player then another team can beat your bid on a different player with a small signing bonus.

[vikingfan]

Anybody giving 100K signing bonus to 1 player has too much cap room left.

Back to my question way back. What do we do about ties? So if I'm understanding this correctly, the first person to offer 760k a year for 3 years and 100k in signing bonus will be guaranteed that player?

Yeah, just like FA bidding, highest bid wins, raises have to be at least 5%. So seems to me that if you offer 760k/yr for 3 years with a 100k signing bonus, you win. But then you are done with UDFA unless you offer 0 signing bonus money.

[bpboguta1483]

When signing UDFA's you only have 100,000 to spend. Best strategy is spread the wealth and space the bids out.

[robroach]

Here's more information about signing undrafted free agents to be put onto the market later today. Their bid page will say something to this effect:

so 760K salary with 100K SB is the highest any UDFA could receive.

Am I reading this wrong????

[Goodell]

Reminder about UDFAs hitting the market in the morning.

And actually I have to delay again. Sorry, but with this new feature I don't want to have new problems pop up while I'm not around to monitor and fix as needed. I had one issue pop up in testing I need to resolve tonight and I also have to pick up a friend that will leave me away from a computer at that time. So we'll delay UDFAs hitting the market until tomorrow morning...

THURSDAY MORNING at 9:00 AM ET

[Ben C.]

Here's more information about signing undrafted free agents to be put onto the market later today. Their bid page will say something to this effect:

so 760K salary with 100K SB is the highest any UDFA could receive.

Am I reading this wrong????

That's different from what I've understood this change to be. I thought we were only capping the signing bonus. At least that's all the original vote mentioned.

Can we get some clarification here, Goodell?

[Goodell]

That's different from what I've understood this change to be. I thought we were only capping the signing bonus. At least that's all the original vote mentioned.

Can we get some clarification here, Goodell?

The purpose of this is adding STRATEGY and REALISM. Not just who has the most cap to give 10 UDFAs each 2M contracts. The aim is no more ridiculous, unrealistic undrafted free agent contracts that are 10x higher than draft pick contracts. In the NFL teams have to use their budget there wisely. They do a little circumventing by guaranteeing some salary too sometimes (which we don't have that as an option), but we do give a little flexibility for increasing from rookie salary but not rising above realistic UDFA salary amounts. My original intent was all 450K salaries with no wiggle room, and only bidding by increasing limited SB cap. As examples done with counter-offers it seemed like I might need to make increasing salary an option, but salary weighs heavily on the bid score so tweaked that a little for UDFAs only and limited choices to realistic rookie deals only where strategy is most important not who spends the most fake money.

[Goodell]

Players are now on the market, and teams all have their 100K cap set. There is a "UDFA" tab in the free agency options now.