Free Agent Auction suggestions

[PFKFootball]

Guys,

I'm looking to change up our free agent auction a bit this year. We have a party every year for our auction, so it is face to face (FYI). We've always had our big free agents go for big money but just get 1 year contracts. It seems we have many of the same FAs coming up each year. We've always just bid, in an open auction, on the player's year 1 salary. Owners can then assign contract lengths with guaranteed money calculated after the fact. I'd like to hear what you guys do in your auctions to see if it would help us out. I'd like to introduce years some how but I'm always worried about loopholes and gray areas. Is a 1 yr/$12 million deal better than a 2 yr/$7 million dollar deal, etc?

If you like your league's free agency process, please let me know about it.

Thanks in advance.

Andy

[InvestLikeKB]

When a team bids on free agents, you can only sign them for a year? Just trying to understand your rules, so you have contracts but not years attached to contracts?

For our FA auctions the winning bid amt becomes that players salary and then the owner can determine how many years to sign him (1-5 yrs). We also do guarantee money (25% max of total contract) and also frontloading/backloading contracts (15-75% for each yr of remaining contract) to make it as close to being a real GM as possible. When a contract is up each team has 5 resigns per yr they could use on a player but their salary increases by 25% for the new salary amt. Adds to the strategy when each owner uses all the options for his team.

[theone]

If I am understanding the OP's question, you are trying to allow people to bid contracts as different lengths/amounts and trying to compare which is better in auction. If owner A bids 1yr/$12M then what would owner B have to bid for a 2yr or more contract to beat A's bid for example. The basic idea of how I would do it is to come up with a present value calculation based on contract length, salary each year, guaranteed money, time discount factor,... for all contract length and values possible in your auction. Then give everyone in the auction a printed sheet showing all the different contracts that are worth the same present day amount on each row. Probably a somewhat detailed process and one that will make the auction longer but hopefully this gives you an idea of where to start.

As a side note, check out Reality Sports Online as this is basically what they do with their online auctions. This might be an easier auction if everyone has access to a computer during your auction.

[InvestLikeKB]

If I am understanding the OP's question, you are trying to allow people to bid contracts as different lengths/amounts and trying to compare which is better in auction. If owner A bids 1yr/$12M then what would owner B have to bid for a 2yr or more contract to beat A's bid for example. The basic idea of how I would do it is to come up with a present value calculation based on contract length, salary each year, guaranteed money, time discount factor,... for all contract length and values possible in your auction. Then give everyone in the auction a printed sheet showing all the different contracts that are worth the same present day amount on each row. Probably a somewhat detailed process and one that will make the auction longer but hopefully this gives you an idea of where to start.

As a side note, check out Reality Sports Online as this is basically what they do with their online auctions. This might be an easier auction if everyone has access to a computer during your auction.

Yea this makes more sense in what he's asking after reading it again. Though, you'd have to hold the interest rate constant for the auction in order to compare contract's PV with varying years/salary per year. Unless that's a predetermined percent, not sure what would be a good basis for this amount. I can't see it mattering too heavily once one is chosen. It'd work best if the salary per year for a player's contract doesn't change. If you allow that to change a printed sheet would become too complicated and way too long to use.

For the cap league I'm in we're just basically bidding on the per year salary that will be used going forward. Highest bid wins and then the owner can determine how to construct the contract(yrs/salary per yr/guarantee money/frontloading-backloading).

[PFKFootball]

Thanks to both of you for adding to the thread. Our auction currently allows teams to bid a value that represents the annual salary. The owner can then determine the years. A spreadsheet calculates annual salaries and guaranteed money based on the player's tier, position and contract length. I'm trying to add a "value" for an owner bidding years along with the salary. The present value calculation is a great idea. I will start working on that.

Once again, much appreciated for the input. Enjoy the draft next week and good luck this year.

Andy

[JoeDude]

A simple way to do it might be to compare the guaranteed money over the whole contract/bid. Highest total guarantee wins.

Bid 1: $10M/1Yr = $2.5M guaranteed
Bid 2: $8M/2Yr = $4M guaranteed

Bid 2 wins.

[dlf_tomk]

And if it's equal fewest years wins.

ie:

A) $8 / 4 years
B) $8 / 2 years

B wins