Info on starting a salary cap league?

[egfeldman]

Im looking for some information on starting a salary cap dynasty league. The reason behind the salary cap is not only to avoid getting unbalanced teams, but also to promote roster turnover. It will be boring if there is 0 roster turnover year to year. Obviously core players will be kept, but it just gets stale if the teams are the exact same every year.

I have googled how to make it work, but they all seem very complicated, and if it is too complicated for a majority of the league, they will start to lose interest. My thought was to have an auction draft to start the league (because, from what I've read, apparently no dynasty league is legit without drafting by auction…), and use those auction prices as their cap hit. However, I am not sure if that would work with in-season FA, off-season FA, and the annual (non-auction) rookie draft.

If there are other ways of creating roster yearly turnover without doing a salary cap, or with a relatively simple salary cap, I am happy to hear them. If it makes a difference, we are using ESPN because its convenient, free, easy to use, has live scoring, and it has a great app.

[bruiser]

My suggestion: try getting into a startup as owner and take away from it what you like and don't like. This will give you the best idea of what you want it to be. Search the forum for a free startup of your liking.

[dlf_tomk]

they all seem very complicated, and if it is too complicated for a majority of the league, they will start to lose interest.

we are using ESPN

Agree with Bruiser. Give it a go first to see if you like it. TBH it doesn't sound like the right thing for this league. Salary cap is for owners who crave more complexity, decision-making and management. It's generally not for those who like simplicity. That's not a criticism or an indictment. Different folks = different strokes.

[egfeldman]

My suggestion: try getting into a startup as owner and take away from it what you like and don't like. This will give you the best idea of what you want it to be. Search the forum for a free startup of your liking.

Only problem with this is that we wanted to start the league this season. If I join a dynasty league just to get my feet wet, I will have to wait at least 1 season to get my league off the ground. Plus, I can't just join a dynasty league and then leave after 1 year :/

[egfeldman]

they all seem very complicated, and if it is too complicated for a majority of the league, they will start to lose interest.

we are using ESPN

Agree with Bruiser. Give it a go first to see if you like it. TBH it doesn't sound like the right thing for this league. Salary cap is for owners who crave more complexity, decision-making and management. It's generally not for those who like simplicity. That's not a criticism or an indictment. Different folks = different strokes.

As I said to Bruiser, ill have to wait a year to start my league if I go that route.

I know salary caps aren't easy to manage, but it brings in some complexity to an otherwise boring "keeper" league. Without the salary cap, it seems like there is no way to generate some sort of roster turnover, and thus there would essentially be no off-season free agency.

Is there a way to get that desired roster turnover without a salary cap?

If not, what do you recommend?

[UnsafeAtAnySpd]

First of all, don't use ESPN for a league like that.

There are ways to account for new salaries and rookies like using a rookie wage scale. I can share the rules for the league I commish, if you'd like.

But if you're just looking for turnover without tons of added complexity, just go with a contract league. Cap the number of contract years available for each player and team. You can even run a traditional snake draft. Before the season starts, have everyone assign contract years to players. In season acquisitions only get the year. Then have a free agent/rookie draft every off-season.

[egfeldman]

First of all, don't use ESPN for a league like that.

There are ways to account for new salaries and rookies like using a rookie wage scale. I can share the rules for the league I commish, if you'd like.

But if you're just looking for turnover without tons of added complexity, just go with a contract league. Cap the number of contract years available for each player and team. You can even run a traditional snake draft. Before the season starts, have everyone assign contract years to players. In season acquisitions only get the year. Then have a free agent/rookie draft every off-season.

What do you recommend using if not ESPN? Its free, simple, looks the best, has a great mobile app, and nearly immediate live scoring. I know its got some limitations, but I figured we would hold the rookie draft and off-season FA offline or on another site, and keep the salary cap info in a google doc spreadsheet.

I am curious to see your salary cap rules, if you wouldn't mind sharing.

Not sure exactly how contract leagues work, but what I'm gathering from what you said, each team would have X contract years TOTAL to divvy up among their entire team. Maybe the easiest way to do a salary cap league would be to implement both a contract league and salary cap. Maybe make the amount of total years 72 (18 roster spots x 4 years per player on avg) with a $400 salary cap.

In-season FAs acquisitions would have a predetermined contract length and salary associated with them. Off-season FA auction could be done on MFL. I did a start-up slow auction on there recently and it seemed to work well. Rookie drafts will only be a few rounds (3 or 4), so that could easily be done offline or even on a site like MFL (not sure if they have that feature). The rookies, like the in-season FAs, would have years and dollars attached to them based on when they were selected. Teams would have to make and/or leave room for incoming rookies in the off-season FA.

What do you think of this?

[Vectorgod]

You can generate turnover without using a salary cap by simply using contract years. I currently commish 2 leagues that are contract-year leagues and have been very successful. When player contracts expire they become restricted free agents and go up for auction in the spring. Each team receives a set amount of $$$ each year for both free agent bidding and RFA auctions. PM me if you would like more information or the links to these leagues.

[UnsafeAtAnySpd]

First of all, don't use ESPN for a league like that.

There are ways to account for new salaries and rookies like using a rookie wage scale. I can share the rules for the league I commish, if you'd like.

But if you're just looking for turnover without tons of added complexity, just go with a contract league. Cap the number of contract years available for each player and team. You can even run a traditional snake draft. Before the season starts, have everyone assign contract years to players. In season acquisitions only get the year. Then have a free agent/rookie draft every off-season.

What do you recommend using if not ESPN? Its free, simple, looks the best, has a great mobile app, and nearly immediate live scoring. I know its got some limitations, but I figured we would hold the rookie draft and off-season FA offline or on another site, and keep the salary cap info in a google doc spreadsheet.

I am curious to see your salary cap rules, if you wouldn't mind sharing.

Not sure exactly how contract leagues work, but what I'm gathering from what you said, each team would have X contract years TOTAL to divvy up among their entire team. Maybe the easiest way to do a salary cap league would be to implement both a contract league and salary cap. Maybe make the amount of total years 72 (18 roster spots x 4 years per player on avg) with a $400 salary cap.

In-season FAs acquisitions would have a predetermined contract length and salary associated with them. Off-season FA auction could be done on MFL. I did a start-up slow auction on there recently and it seemed to work well. Rookie drafts will only be a few rounds (3 or 4), so that could easily be done offline or even on a site like MFL (not sure if they have that feature). The rookies, like the in-season FAs, would have years and dollars attached to them based on when they were selected. Teams would have to make and/or leave room for incoming rookies in the off-season FA.

What do you think of this?

Management of full salary cap would be a pain with ESPN imo. Even MFL takes some work as it doesn't handle everything. Anyway, here are our bylaws:
http://www62.myfantasyleague.com/2016/o ... 48586&O=26

We changed a few rules that I haven't updated on this page, but I don't think they're anything crucial as far as function is concerned.

But yeah, as mentioned in a couple posts now, strict contract league sounds best. Either can do the bidding as mentioned above, or just throw them into the rookie/vet traditional draft.

[egfeldman]

First of all, don't use ESPN for a league like that.

There are ways to account for new salaries and rookies like using a rookie wage scale. I can share the rules for the league I commish, if you'd like.

But if you're just looking for turnover without tons of added complexity, just go with a contract league. Cap the number of contract years available for each player and team. You can even run a traditional snake draft. Before the season starts, have everyone assign contract years to players. In season acquisitions only get the year. Then have a free agent/rookie draft every off-season.

What do you recommend using if not ESPN? Its free, simple, looks the best, has a great mobile app, and nearly immediate live scoring. I know its got some limitations, but I figured we would hold the rookie draft and off-season FA offline or on another site, and keep the salary cap info in a google doc spreadsheet.

I am curious to see your salary cap rules, if you wouldn't mind sharing.

Not sure exactly how contract leagues work, but what I'm gathering from what you said, each team would have X contract years TOTAL to divvy up among their entire team. Maybe the easiest way to do a salary cap league would be to implement both a contract league and salary cap. Maybe make the amount of total years 72 (18 roster spots x 4 years per player on avg) with a $400 salary cap.

In-season FAs acquisitions would have a predetermined contract length and salary associated with them. Off-season FA auction could be done on MFL. I did a start-up slow auction on there recently and it seemed to work well. Rookie drafts will only be a few rounds (3 or 4), so that could easily be done offline or even on a site like MFL (not sure if they have that feature). The rookies, like the in-season FAs, would have years and dollars attached to them based on when they were selected. Teams would have to make and/or leave room for incoming rookies in the off-season FA.

What do you think of this?

Management of full salary cap would be a pain with ESPN imo. Even MFL takes some work as it doesn't handle everything. Anyway, here are our bylaws:
http://www62.myfantasyleague.com/2016/o ... 48586&O=26

We changed a few rules that I haven't updated on this page, but I don't think they're anything crucial as far as function is concerned.

But yeah, as mentioned in a couple posts now, strict contract league sounds best. Either can do the bidding as mentioned above, or just throw them into the rookie/vet traditional draft.

Thanks. Thats an intense set of bylaws.

Only reason I am reluctant to going to MFL is because this is the inaugural season, and if it doesn't run as anticipated, isn't as fun as we thought, or some owners just aren't enjoying the dynasty experience, we will probably stop the league after the 1st season. I don't want to say this is a "trial" season, but it is everyones first time in a dynasty league, and my first time running one. I don't really want to pay or take MFL dues out of the league pot just to see how it goes :/

[Goirish374]

you may want to look at realitysportsonline.com

the interface handles all the "rules" of salary cap management and contract signing/releasing/franchise tagging etc. for you, so there is no manual data entry for the commish to do (also none of this "oops, there was a mistake on the spreadsheet and that trade put you over the cap 2 weeks ago" business which causes headache in home made leagues).

it is not free ($10) but this is, literally, their bread and butter.

[egfeldman]

you may want to look at realitysportsonline.com

the interface handles all the "rules" of salary cap management and contract signing/releasing/franchise tagging etc. for you, so there is no manual data entry for the commish to do (also none of this "oops, there was a mistake on the spreadsheet and that trade put you over the cap 2 weeks ago" business which causes headache in home made leagues).

it is not free ($10) but this is, literally, their bread and butter.

Just checked it out, and I've heard a lot of people mentioning RSO on the forums, but honestly it seems like more than what we need at this point. Im not sure about its mobile app or live scoring, but it certainly does have about every feature we need, plus a lot more. Again, I don't want to invest in a league that may not be around for very long. If it does turn out that the league is thriving in years to come, maybe a move to RSO is in our future. But as of right now, it doesn't seem too difficult to keep track of everything manually... I mean think about how people did fantasy football before computers and the internet... Everything was by hand and they got by just fine