free agency needs to be fixed

[ctorg]

Originally Posted by Erithtotl

I would like to point out a related problem is that a lot of players will ask for half their free agent value when resigning with their current team. While I like being able to resign my superstar A-Rod type SS to a 10M a year deal at age 26 for 5 years, I know that if he knew in real life he could get 23M a year he'd test the waters. Once in a blue moon this is ok but it's actually quite frequently.

I've noticed this. It makes it easier to be one of those teams that builds from within and doesn't sign many free agents. Unless a guy is greedy or unhappy, you can usually get him to sign for significantly less than his market value.

[RchW]

Originally Posted by Erithtotl

I would like to point out a related problem is that a lot of players will ask for half their free agent value when resigning with their current team. While I like being able to resign my superstar A-Rod type SS to a 10M a year deal at age 26 for 5 years, I know that if he knew in real life he could get 23M a year he'd test the waters. Once in a blue moon this is ok but it's actually quite frequently.

I seem to be the odd-man out in this thread. I see exactly the opposite. Marginal players ask for 6-10M per season when they are only worth 3-6M. Good players want 13-17M. Generally I let them go to FA and they end up signing for less than they ask for (not always) or I re-sign them for realistic amounts.

This is much more like real life IMO where teams often encourage middling stars to see what the market is and then re-sign them when they get a dose of reality. I'm not suggesting the FA system is perfect but it is vastly superior to v6.5.

The AI still overrates aging players and signs them to ridiculous high dollar long term contracts. When these guys tank, the money they suck out affects the competitive balance of the league. That is a problem I'd like to see fixed.

[Curtis]

Originally Posted by biggamejrs

I think after the player realizes his value is not where he thought, he would contact the teams that made him any offer. Like in the example above, before he agreed to the 3.1, if he had sent an email to see if tou were still interested for the 7. mil. Like the player should have a "memory" of his offers.

This is my favorite solution to this problem.