Settings to make Free Agency better?

Spielmer · 04-05-2025, 12:52 PM

I'm 5 years into my new OOTP 26 save and Free Agency has basically turned into mid 3 star players being the best available asking for 20m+ per year. So superstar-ish money for average players at best.

What are some settings to get FA to be boosted and have more stars hit FA? I want guys like Juan Soto, Bryce Harper, Gerrit Cole, Corbin Burnes, etc. from the last few years in real life to actually hit FA consistently. In OOTP these guys all sign garbage extensions for 15m less than they're worth per year and it's making FA boring, a part of the game I love.

I'm thinking of doing this:

-5 years to hit FA instead of 6 (Less chance they extend with less years)
-2 years for arbitration instead of 3 (extra year to be paid makes extensions more difficult as players won't need to avoid those 500k pre-arb years)
-Dropping minimum service time to reach a year to like 130 instead of 172. Makes it so guys will reach FA quicker instead of being held back in minors (?)
-I also added more established international players

Any other suggestions?

I should add that I changed development & aging speeds as well. .8 for aging speed (same for pitchers & hitters) and 1.150 for development (same for pitchers/hitters). Not sure if that contributes to more extensions since the AI might be more inclined to extend guys knowing (does the AI know about the aging/development speeds?) that they are less likely to fall off during the contract?

04-05-2025, 12:52 PM	#1
Spielmer Bat Boy Join Date: Mar 2023 Posts: 2	Settings to make Free Agency better? I'm 5 years into my new OOTP 26 save and Free Agency has basically turned into mid 3 star players being the best available asking for 20m+ per year. So superstar-ish money for average players at best. What are some settings to get FA to be boosted and have more stars hit FA? I want guys like Juan Soto, Bryce Harper, Gerrit Cole, Corbin Burnes, etc. from the last few years in real life to actually hit FA consistently. In OOTP these guys all sign garbage extensions for 15m less than they're worth per year and it's making FA boring, a part of the game I love. I'm thinking of doing this: -5 years to hit FA instead of 6 (Less chance they extend with less years) -2 years for arbitration instead of 3 (extra year to be paid makes extensions more difficult as players won't need to avoid those 500k pre-arb years) -Dropping minimum service time to reach a year to like 130 instead of 172. Makes it so guys will reach FA quicker instead of being held back in minors (?) -I also added more established international players Any other suggestions? I should add that I changed development & aging speeds as well. .8 for aging speed (same for pitchers & hitters) and 1.150 for development (same for pitchers/hitters). Not sure if that contributes to more extensions since the AI might be more inclined to extend guys knowing (does the AI know about the aging/development speeds?) that they are less likely to fall off during the contract?