Financials Question

[JHopkins19]

So I guess I should have gathered all of my questions and then asked them all in one thread...sorry about that.

Anyways, I did a search on the forums about financials and wanted to run my conclusions by the vets here.

My goal is to give my league the best chance at financial stability (most if not all teams in the black) right from the start.

To achieve this I should: (theoretically using 100 mil since its a round number)

1. Hard Salary Cap of 100 Mil
2. Media Contract of 100 Mil
3. Max cash of 5 mil
3. Forced Revenue Share of 20%.

Also, if my goal is to keep salaries down, what is the suggested numbers I sue for "Super Star Player" "Star Player" etc. I've noticed from my short experience and from searching on the forums that even if "Super Star Player" is set to 12 mil for example, there will still be guys signing 20 - 30 mi/year contracts. I'm guessing this is due to teams being flush with cash?

Thanks!

[Flying Dutchmen]

I'm not an expert on the salary cap/media contract questions, but I will go ahead and talk about the later points. Cash is typically the big driver of free agent demands. From my experience, the 7 salary numbers in the league setup are more of suggested numbers for players in those categories than a strict guideline. Any number of factors including available cash, loyalty, greed, position/pitcher role, and player popularity will impact what players ask for and receive. In the MLB quick start, for example, as the real life contracts begin to end you will see a number of very large contracts given out as several teams have a lot of cash as a result of the modified financials that allow them to handle the higher real life payrolls of these teams (NYY, BOS, etc.). These will override the suggested numbers. Perhaps others will be able to jump in but I'm guessing a cash cap may help to limit that phenomenon although I've never tried it.

[JHopkins19]

Originally Posted by Flying Dutchmen

I'm not an expert on the salary cap/media contract questions, but I will go ahead and talk about the later points. Cash is typically the big driver of free agent demands. From my experience, the 7 salary numbers in the league setup are more of suggested numbers for players in those categories than a strict guideline. Any number of factors including available cash, loyalty, greed, position/pitcher role, and player popularity will impact what players ask for and receive. In the MLB quick start, for example, as the real life contracts begin to end you will see a number of very large contracts given out as several teams have a lot of cash as a result of the modified financials that allow them to handle the higher real life payrolls of these teams (NYY, BOS, etc.). These will override the suggested numbers. Perhaps others will be able to jump in but I'm guessing a cash cap may help to limit that phenomenon although I've never tried it.

Have you ever used a hard salary cap before? I'm guessing (and hoping) that a hard salary cap would also keep salaries down...

[Flying Dutchmen]

Originally Posted by JHopkins19

Have you ever used a hard salary cap before? I'm guessing (and hoping) that a hard salary cap would also keep salaries down...

I have not since I tend to play leagues that reflect a modern-day MLB setup. I would have one potential concern with a hard cap league though and it may not even occur in the game:

What happens if you have an off-season, particularly early in the league, where a number of high-value contracts come off the books? My fear would be that teams, and perhaps a cash cap would mitigate this, would give out league contracts because of the cap room they had and this would make their salary distribution/space unwieldy for 5-6 years. It seems in a league like that, choosing sensible suggested salary levels would be particularly important.

Hopefully someone with more expertise on this topic can join the discussion.

[JHopkins19]

Originally Posted by Flying Dutchmen

I have not since I tend to play leagues that reflect a modern-day MLB setup. I would have one potential concern with a hard cap league though and it may not even occur in the game:

What happens if you have an off-season, particularly early in the league, where a number of high-value contracts come off the books? My fear would be that teams, and perhaps a cash cap would mitigate this, would give out league contracts because of the cap room they had and this would make their salary distribution/space unwieldy for 5-6 years. It seems in a league like that, choosing sensible suggested salary levels would be particularly important.

Hopefully someone with more expertise on this topic can join the discussion.

Totally agree. Thats why I'm hoping someone can chime in with the correct balance of xxxxx salary cap with xxxxx types of salaries...

[TGH-Adfabre]

Have you ever used a hard salary cap before? I'm guessing (and hoping) that a hard salary cap would also keep salaries down...

I did not build the system we use in my online league. We have a hard cap and here are the numbers we use. The commisioners that built it spent 2-3 seasons tweeking the approach and numbers. The objective was to make the finances relevent. If a team does not attend to their money with some measure of prudence they will be effected but be able to recover. I was very aggresive with trades and FA. On a 20-80 scale I ended up with maybe 3 players in the minors above a 30 POT. Consequently my rebuild has taken finances into account. I posted a profit of $4mil. last season which allowed me to be a bit of a player in FA this off season. If you are looking for stability this has worked very well for us.
Good luck,
LP

Financial System: Enabled
Average Attendence per Game- 28,000
Average Ticket Price- $10
Visiting Team Gate Share- 20%
Minimum Service Years for Free Agency- 6
Free Agents from Other Major Leagues Can Be Signed- Yes
Free Agents May Leave This League- No
Draft Pick Compensation for Lost Free Agents- Disabled
Minimum Service Years for Salary Arbitration- 3
Minimum Service Years for Minor League FA- 6
Average Media Contract- $35,000,000
Media Contract Fixed- Yes
Cash Maximum- $80,000,000
Revenue Sharing- Disabled
Salary Cap- $80,000,000 (does not change; league revenues are adjusted as necessary to ensure balance; suspended during offseason)
Team Owner Controls Budget- No, Entire Revenue Available

TYPICAL PLAYER SALARIES
Superstar: $11,000,000
Star: $7,000,000
Good: $4,000,000
Above Average: $2,000,000
Average: $1,000,000
Below Average: $650,000
Fair: $450,000
Poor: $300,000
Minimum Salary: $300,000

The full rules can be found here.

BJHL Rules