Taxi Squad in Salary Cap league

[Niceguy]

Do salary cap leagues usually have taxi squads? If so, could you please tell me a little bit about how it works?

[bigroddy]

Both of my salary cap leagues have a taxi squad.

One, the salary counts against your cap, but you don't assign them a contract until you take them off. This league has a contract years cap.

The other, the salary doesn't count against your cap, but they can only go on as rookies (draft or udfa, prior to the season), and burn contract years. There is no contract years cap in this league.

[MEuRaH]

Do salary cap leagues usually have taxi squads? If so, could you please tell me a little bit about how it works?

I know of one. I'm not in the league.

You draft a rookie. Where that rookie is drafted gives that rookie an automatic salary. You get to choose how many years you want that salary to count for. 1 year? 5 years? 7 years? Whatever the max allowed.

You can elect to put that rookie on your taxi squad for X number of days, weeks, or years. The salary for that rookie doesn't count, and the contract doesn't decrease UNTIL you activate that rookie. Now I'll give you an example that didn't really happen, but theoretically could.

I drafted Eddie Lacy 11th overall. His given salary was 2.5 million with a 10% increase every year. I signed him to the max of 5 years, and immediately put him on my taxi squad. Week 1 starts, but Eddie's salary does not count against my team because he's on the Taxi squad.

Let's assume that I see Eddie Lacy DOMINATING games, and I want to start using him on a weekly basis. Let's also assume that my team is headed towards the playoffs. It would be wise to activate him, even if it's week 8. I can only do so if I have $2.5 million in salary cap space, AND 1 extra roster space. If I have those available, he joined my team, and his contract starts ticking down. Whether he plays 1 game in 2013, or all 16 games, his contract depreciates by 1 year when 2014 starts, and now his salary is 10% higher. His salary will count $2.75 million against my team, and 4 years will be remaining on his contract. He cannot be put back onto the taxi squad ever again.

Let's NOW assume that it's week 8, my team is 0-8, and Eddie Lacy is dominating. I elect to keep him on my taxi squad since it will do me no good to activate him now. It becomes 2014, and Eddie Lacy is STILL on my taxi squad. I can keep him there, and will do so, until week 1 starts. I can then activate him for $2.5 million against my cap. He still has 5 years left on his contract.

Some leagues allow unlimited taxi squad spots. Some have a limit of 4-8 players. Some allow drafted rookies only, others allow drafted & undrafted rookies. Some leagues allow you to trade taxi squad players and they remain on the taxi squad then you trade them, others force you to activate them if you trade them.

That's basically how it goes, though. Any league can make any rules they want, though.

[sportstalkryan]

In my old sal cap league, we had a taxi squad for up to 6 players. The # of contract years did not go down for players on the TS but the annual contract $ increase still applied. So a player with a $1.00 / 3 yr contract on the TS would have his contract go to a $1.30 / 3 yr contract at the end of the season.

[chumway6]

Thanks everyone for the details. I have been trying to put a taxi squad in place in our league for a couple years, but no dice. For perspective, the arguments against it have been: 1) bad teams will taxi squad viable players in order to "tank" and secure better rookie draft picks; 2) adding a taxi squad will limit players available in the FA auctions and waiver wire; and 3) "I fear change."

[junk_monkey]

In the league I'm setting up at the moment we're proposing it ever so slightly differently. The rules are:

1. Any first or second year player on a $1-3 salary may be entered straight onto the practice squad
2. A player may not be moved from the main roster or IR to the practice squad, except when first bringing the player into the squad
3. The salaries for players on the practice squad will not count against the team’s salary cap
4. Players on a team’s practice squad may be claimed by a rival team prior to the kick off of the first game of the week. The owner of the player may elect to move the player to their own main roster or to lose the player to their rival
5. Any taxi squad player claimed must be moved into the main roster that week by the claiming team and his salary will count towards the cap

This way you can't just stash a player away from everyone else, and it's only players at the lower end of the salary scale that you can put there in the first place.

[bigroddy]

Thanks everyone for the details. I have been trying to put a taxi squad in place in our league for a couple years, but no dice. For perspective, the arguments against it have been: 1) bad teams will taxi squad viable players in order to "tank" and secure better rookie draft picks; 2) adding a taxi squad will limit players available in the FA auctions and waiver wire; and 3) "I fear change."

Limit your taxi squad to rookies then. There won't be many rookies each season that are the difference between a terrible team being good. I think 3 is probably the biggest point. I'm pretty sure whenever we hold a vote on a rule change, the same 2 or 3 owners always vote no for that reason.