[AESP_pres]

Do you have the retired as in real life option checked? It's the only reason I can see why this is happening, but on the other hand I don't understand why the teams would sign free agent with real transactions on (only time it happens to me is at the end of the 1871 season and it's because the first transaction log load the 01/01/1872).

for the 2021 it's because you didn't start your game from the beginning, the default date is 2021 for all the players who retired before the first day of your simulation.