I'm beginning to see the need for some form of stricter limitations on bonuses than what we're currently employing. Our only limitation on bonuses right now is a stipulation that bonuses can't be in excess of 50% of the highest yearly salary of a contract. That's not getting the job done, as some teams are taking a "letter of the law" approach and giving out 50% bonuses to every player they sign. Thus you're ending up with silly situations where a nobody $600k reliever (which is near league-minimum) is getting a $300k incentive clause for winning Pitcher of the Year.
I'd like to put a stop to egregiously ridiculous bonus clauses, but I don't want to just throw out a blanket rule that bonuses aren't allowed. I'd still like to see owners negotiate bonuses. The goal is to keep them within reason and prevent them from being used as a tool to "beat" the AI.
What kinds of limitations do some of you place on the use of bonuses? Just to kick things off, I was considering adding these two clauses during the offseason:
- No Hitter/Pitcher of the Year bonuses may be handed out to players signed to contracts with an average salary value of < $5M.
- Bonuses based on AB/IP can be given to any player, capped to 105% of the maximum AB/IP that player has amassed in a single season.
I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on these proposed changes, as well as your own custom rules in this area.