[endgame]

I'll just add this while it's fresh on my mind, but have no idea whether it has any bearing or how it works. In a scouting league, scout's learn just like player's seemingly change. While you did indicate your scout was the same one, but did his ratings change? Is it a possibility his evaluations are changing; becoming more accurate, and giving the appearance the player's themselves are undergoing changes. As I think about it, in a scouting league, unless we can verify a scout's actual rating change, how would we be sure of the difference? The fact that this occurs at year end makes me wonder if it's a trigger date for eval changes beyond that of a player.