[yajeflow]

our league has no revenue sharing, salary caps or inflation. we have a 50% split of gate receipts. our budgets are typically in the $2-3 million range. we have a maximum cash reserve balance limit at $20,000,000. no team currently has more than $1.5m in the bank.

i came up with a concept for a team with no money to follow. over budget? who cares? no cash? who cares. trade young players and recently drafted players for veterans with huge contracts. if they are in the final year, then this team might also get a free agent compensation pick as well. $500,000 over budget...$2,000,000 in the red...$40,000,000 in the red - it doesn't matter. there will always be teams out of it that want to get young players for their old and expensive guys.

one team in our league picked this up and ran with it. and they are successful. it appears as though this could go on indefinitely. it makes sense, as there are no 'real' financial implications to deal with. this is a perpetual winning machine. new draft picks show up every year. new high-priced guys show up every year.

so the question is...what do i do, as a czar, about this?

1. place an artificial limit on going in the red? maybe a maximum of -$20,000,000. i hate to hamstring a team from running their team as they see fit in any way.
2. make teams operate within their budget? that would constitute keeping a close eye on payrolls around the trading deadline. naw - bad idea, for sure.
3. nothing? hey - what's to keep other teams from attempting to do this, too? even if so, is this what is best for the league - half the teams with no financial control and half the teams selling out? maybe it will be fun having a 'yankee' team to confront each season.

i'm looking for a good Final Solution on this. i am a strong advocate of being allowed to run the team as you see fit, even if it is straight into the ground. but if handcuffs need to be in place, then so be it. league integrity comes above all else.