Some contract ideas...

5cards · 09-12-2011, 02:14 PM

There are a few things I'd love to see improved for OOTP 13 in the realm of contracts:

1) The ability to restructure a player's contract through an extension. For example, Chris Carpenter signed an extension for the next two years, even though the Cardinals had a $15 million club option on him for next year. By restructuring the option year and adding a second year, the club was able to save an estimated $4 million. It'd be great if I could take a player who was about to have option years come up and sign an extension that allows me to restructure the option years and extend things out.

2) Revamp/revise the contract method. Give the ability to informally gauge what it might take to sign or re-sign a player. Maybe there's something that lets you "feel out" the agent or the player about what it might take to sign them. Set up something where you can contact the player's rep while contract offers are pending to see what the status is. Maybe even give both manager and player/agent the ability to set hard and firm deadlines on negotiating.

3) I'd love to see some more info on what's motivating a player to act the way he is in this arena. Perhaps we need to get a bit more into the player specifics such as motivations and such, but some players take a "hometown" discount to remain with a team. Some also decide on a team because they have great fans or they always field competitive teams. Others hear good things (or bad things) about the manager.

4) Give the ability to designate a time in a minor/major option contract before the player must be called up or become a free agent. Some players go with the 30-day line, but others might go for six months or a year. This can be especially attractive to older players who are just trying to get one more crack at the major-league team before they call it a career.

5) More bonus clause opportunities. Give a bonus if a player bats .280, for example. Or a bonus if the player wins 20 games in a season as a pitcher. Also bonuses if they finish in the top X of award balloting (which I'd like to see added - not just the winners but who the runners-up were in MVP, Cy Young, etc.)

6) Add a poison pill option to contracts. Some clubs put in a "poison pill" option year to player contracts. If the player is traded, this triggers the option year which is both good and bad; it is good because the parent club does not have to pay the poison pill and it gives the player some added security, but bad in that the club has to work around it in order to complete a trade. Others put in an assignment bonus that triggers when a trade happens.

7) Deferred payments to players. Allow a portion of a player's contract to be deferred and paid out over a period of time. (Example: Matt Holliday has a contract that pays $17 mil a year. $2 mil of that a year is deferred and will be paid out from 2020 to 2029. This gives some added fiscal flexibility for teams. It can also backfire - if a team's finances go down the hole, then you have to balance that out.

OBSL Commish · 09-13-2011, 10:41 PM

All great ideas that will add dimensions to the immersive quality of this great game..

KevinWI · 09-13-2011, 11:25 PM

Like them all. #7 is badly needed, specially for those of us who have a tenancy to manage a certain mid-market team in the Midwest.

RchW · 09-14-2011, 12:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5cards

7) Deferred payments to players. Allow a portion of a player's contract to be deferred and paid out over a period of time. (Example: Matt Holliday has a contract that pays $17 mil a year. $2 mil of that a year is deferred and will be paid out from 2020 to 2029. This gives some added fiscal flexibility for teams. It can also backfire - if a team's finances go down the hole, then you have to balance that out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinWI

Like them all. #7 is badly needed, specially for those of us who have a tenancy to manage a certain mid-market team in the Midwest.

Not criticizing the idea but pointing out that deferred payments to players are secured by annuities (big benefit to the team) that must be accounted for now and each year until mature. Put another way, the club in no way expects to have $2M/yr coming out of its revenue in the years 2020-2029. AFAIK the payments to Holliday will have no effect on the clubs finances in the future unless they declare bankruptcy before the annuity is paid up.

DustinthePOWERHOUSE · 09-14-2011, 05:46 AM

I love the Deferred payments idea...

It worked in the ABA why not here?

5cards · 09-15-2011, 12:00 PM

So, if I read correctly, deferring the money does absolutely nothing - all a deferred payment does is set aside the money and it is then paid out later? Looking at How 'dead money' affects major league baseball economics - Page 2 - Los Angeles Times that article, on page two it reads:

"The payments to Ramirez and Jones pale in comparison to the deal Bobby Bonilla worked out. When the Mets released him in 2000, they were still on the hook for $5.9 million remaining on his deal. Needing cash to sign free agents, they asked to defer those payments for more than a decade, with interest."

So yeah - I admit I'm no economist or such, so if there is more clarification on this point that would be great.

09-12-2011, 02:14 PM	#1 (permalink)
5cards Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 215 Thanks: 30 Thanked 20x in 19 posts	Some contract ideas... There are a few things I'd love to see improved for OOTP 13 in the realm of contracts: 1) The ability to restructure a player's contract through an extension. For example, Chris Carpenter signed an extension for the next two years, even though the Cardinals had a $15 million club option on him for next year. By restructuring the option year and adding a second year, the club was able to save an estimated $4 million. It'd be great if I could take a player who was about to have option years come up and sign an extension that allows me to restructure the option years and extend things out. 2) Revamp/revise the contract method. Give the ability to informally gauge what it might take to sign or re-sign a player. Maybe there's something that lets you "feel out" the agent or the player about what it might take to sign them. Set up something where you can contact the player's rep while contract offers are pending to see what the status is. Maybe even give both manager and player/agent the ability to set hard and firm deadlines on negotiating. 3) I'd love to see some more info on what's motivating a player to act the way he is in this arena. Perhaps we need to get a bit more into the player specifics such as motivations and such, but some players take a "hometown" discount to remain with a team. Some also decide on a team because they have great fans or they always field competitive teams. Others hear good things (or bad things) about the manager. 4) Give the ability to designate a time in a minor/major option contract before the player must be called up or become a free agent. Some players go with the 30-day line, but others might go for six months or a year. This can be especially attractive to older players who are just trying to get one more crack at the major-league team before they call it a career. 5) More bonus clause opportunities. Give a bonus if a player bats .280, for example. Or a bonus if the player wins 20 games in a season as a pitcher. Also bonuses if they finish in the top X of award balloting (which I'd like to see added - not just the winners but who the runners-up were in MVP, Cy Young, etc.) 6) Add a poison pill option to contracts. Some clubs put in a "poison pill" option year to player contracts. If the player is traded, this triggers the option year which is both good and bad; it is good because the parent club does not have to pay the poison pill and it gives the player some added security, but bad in that the club has to work around it in order to complete a trade. Others put in an assignment bonus that triggers when a trade happens. 7) Deferred payments to players. Allow a portion of a player's contract to be deferred and paid out over a period of time. (Example: Matt Holliday has a contract that pays $17 mil a year. $2 mil of that a year is deferred and will be paid out from 2020 to 2029. This gives some added fiscal flexibility for teams. It can also backfire - if a team's finances go down the hole, then you have to balance that out.

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09-13-2011, 10:41 PM	#2 (permalink)
OBSL Commish Minors (Double A) Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 129 Thanks: 491 Thanked 17x in 14 posts	All great ideas that will add dimensions to the immersive quality of this great game..

09-13-2011, 11:25 PM	#3 (permalink)
KevinWI Minors (Single A) Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 76 Thanks: 26 Thanked 13x in 10 posts	Like them all. #7 is badly needed, specially for those of us who have a tenancy to manage a certain mid-market team in the Midwest.

09-14-2011, 05:46 AM	#5 (permalink)
DustinthePOWERHOUSE Minors (Double A) Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Boston Posts: 125 Thanks: 21 Thanked 27x in 19 posts	I love the Deferred payments idea... It worked in the ABA why not here?

09-15-2011, 12:00 PM	#6 (permalink)
5cards Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 215 Thanks: 30 Thanked 20x in 19 posts	So, if I read correctly, deferring the money does absolutely nothing - all a deferred payment does is set aside the money and it is then paid out later? Looking at How 'dead money' affects major league baseball economics - Page 2 - Los Angeles Times that article, on page two it reads: "The payments to Ramirez and Jones pale in comparison to the deal Bobby Bonilla worked out. When the Mets released him in 2000, they were still on the hook for $5.9 million remaining on his deal. Needing cash to sign free agents, they asked to defer those payments for more than a decade, with interest." So yeah - I admit I'm no economist or such, so if there is more clarification on this point that would be great.