Negotiating player extensions--- what am I doing wrong?

allenciox · 05-15-2019, 04:36 PM

Ok, I am fairly new to the game... at any rate, I started up a league starting 2019 with the Atlanta Braves. In 2021 season, my GM listed as a goal getting an extension for Freddie Freeman. So I tried negotiating extension for him. However, he was demanding $48 million per year for eight years, which seemed outrageous and was far more than any other player in the entire major leagues was getting. I countered with 38 million for 5 years, which he laughed at. I finally went up to 40 million for 5 years (which was all the money I had available for extensions), at which point, he broke off negotiations he was so offended. I tried several more times during season to negotiate it, with no more success. So after the season, as soon as he became a free agent, I tried again, but he was still making the same demand. Two weeks after he became a free agent, I saw he had signed with another team... his contract? 28 million per year for five years.

What did I do wrong? Am I just completely misunderstanding how contract negotiations should work?

LegalEagle80 · 05-15-2019, 04:47 PM

No, that's kind of how it goes during the season, unfortunately. Sometimes I wish the players had agents reminding them that $40 million a year for a 1B in their 30s is borderline felony theft, but alas.

If a player is having a good year, they almost always want an insane amount of money. The only way to resign them at a reasonable extension is to wait until they hit free agency and drop their demand when they don't get any offers. The problem with that is that you risk losing the player because often there's zero sign they're close to a contract with another team, so one day you'll look and they're still demanding $40 million and literally a day or two later they've not only received an offer but also signed for $28 million. It's frustrating.

And on top of that, you risk angering them if you "lowball" them a few times in a row, so you basically have to make an offer, and then wait a day or two to make another offer so let them cool off if they're mad at you.

andyhdz · 05-15-2019, 05:36 PM

a few versions ago it was tilted the other way around and it was waaay to easy to lock up players to long term contracts. Now only the most loyal player will easily do that while the rest you are going to have to pay up or try those tricks that were mentioned in the previous post. It's frustrating but a bit more realistic than locking up everyone to long term contracts like before.

esmeet7 · 05-15-2019, 06:57 PM

I have a somewhat related question, though I hope I'm not thread-jacking this one. I'm also new to OOTP, and I decided to try an negotiate an extension and to sign a free agent. In both cases, I made my offers and the response was very positive. Both players ultimately came back and said they want more money or years.

What I can't figure out is what happens if I hold with my current offer. For the free agent, he mentioned another team offering more money for a shorter period, so I left my offer out there. For the extension, the player said he wants more money, but he didn't "reject" the offer.

If the offers are still outstanding and a player has said he's looking for more money or longer terms, do I just leave the offers outstanding and expect the players to get back in touch with me about ultimately accepting/rejecting the offer?

Mike D · 05-15-2019, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by allenciox

Ok, I am fairly new to the game... at any rate, I started up a league starting 2019 with the Atlanta Braves. In 2021 season, my GM listed as a goal getting an extension for Freddie Freeman. So I tried negotiating extension for him. However, he was demanding $48 million per year for eight years, which seemed outrageous and was far more than any other player in the entire major leagues was getting. I countered with 38 million for 5 years, which he laughed at. I finally went up to 40 million for 5 years (which was all the money I had available for extensions), at which point, he broke off negotiations he was so offended. I tried several more times during season to negotiate it, with no more success. So after the season, as soon as he became a free agent, I tried again, but he was still making the same demand. Two weeks after he became a free agent, I saw he had signed with another team... his contract? 28 million per year for five years.

What did I do wrong? Am I just completely misunderstanding how contract negotiations should work?

Nope, OOTP in a nutshell. Players will almost always demand outrageous numbers from the teams that they play on when approaching FA then sign for less.

MCDForm · 05-15-2019, 07:12 PM

Was listening to an interview with Ned Colletti yesterday and a question was asked about extending a player during the season. He responded that he had probably signed 500 contracts in his career and only 5 of those were "in season" extensions.

Doesn't really help your case since it played out strangely in the offseason but the in season portion was somewhat accurate.

Arobbins · 05-15-2019, 08:40 PM

Oh just wait until your superstar player will take no less than 50M over 8 years in their age 30 season

Let'sGoBraves · 05-15-2019, 09:08 PM

In the offseason before the 2021 season I got Freddie to take 36 for 5. He wanted 48 during the season. It was 42 at the end of the season. I didn't offer at all when he asked for 48 and his demand lowered. I gave him an opt out after year 3 I hope he exercises it honestly. Betts signed with the Mets for 51 a year over 7 years by the way. He also has an opt out. Largest contract I have personally ever seen in OOTP.

LegalEagle80 · 05-15-2019, 10:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by esmeet7

I have a somewhat related question, though I hope I'm not thread-jacking this one. I'm also new to OOTP, and I decided to try an negotiate an extension and to sign a free agent. In both cases, I made my offers and the response was very positive. Both players ultimately came back and said they want more money or years.

What I can't figure out is what happens if I hold with my current offer. For the free agent, he mentioned another team offering more money for a shorter period, so I left my offer out there. For the extension, the player said he wants more money, but he didn't "reject" the offer.

If the offers are still outstanding and a player has said he's looking for more money or longer terms, do I just leave the offers outstanding and expect the players to get back in touch with me about ultimately accepting/rejecting the offer?

I'm no authority but in my years of playing I've never seen a player tell you that he has a bigger offer from somewhere else but then come back and take yours if you hold firm. I think any time you get a message and another team has made an offer, it's labeled as a BETTER offer, not just a "different" offer.

Mat · 05-16-2019, 02:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by esmeet7

I have a somewhat related question, though I hope I'm not thread-jacking this one. I'm also new to OOTP, and I decided to try an negotiate an extension and to sign a free agent. In both cases, I made my offers and the response was very positive. Both players ultimately came back and said they want more money or years.

What I can't figure out is what happens if I hold with my current offer. For the free agent, he mentioned another team offering more money for a shorter period, so I left my offer out there. For the extension, the player said he wants more money, but he didn't "reject" the offer.

If the offers are still outstanding and a player has said he's looking for more money or longer terms, do I just leave the offers outstanding and expect the players to get back in touch with me about ultimately accepting/rejecting the offer?

What will happen is they will usually accept a higher offer with another team. You can just leave the event sitting in your 'pending offers' list and it will disappear once he signs with someone else.

There are also times the interest in the player dries up. The player can sometimes come back to you (after you ignore their request for more money) asking if you are still interested and usually with a lower price.

Boomcoach · 05-16-2019, 08:14 AM

With big contract players, I usually look at upcoming FA for the season and offer extension during Spring Training. Once the season gets going, their asks seem to get exorbitant.

wallewalls · 05-17-2019, 01:59 PM

I usually just let them go to FA and their demands usually get a lot more reasonable. There are risks with that though, as there can be a bidding war and you might lose the player, but it usually works out better than bidding against yourself prior to free agency and having a bloated contract on your payroll

05-15-2019, 04:36 PM	#1
allenciox All Star Reserve Join Date: Dec 2015 Posts: 735	Negotiating player extensions--- what am I doing wrong? Ok, I am fairly new to the game... at any rate, I started up a league starting 2019 with the Atlanta Braves. In 2021 season, my GM listed as a goal getting an extension for Freddie Freeman. So I tried negotiating extension for him. However, he was demanding $48 million per year for eight years, which seemed outrageous and was far more than any other player in the entire major leagues was getting. I countered with 38 million for 5 years, which he laughed at. I finally went up to 40 million for 5 years (which was all the money I had available for extensions), at which point, he broke off negotiations he was so offended. I tried several more times during season to negotiate it, with no more success. So after the season, as soon as he became a free agent, I tried again, but he was still making the same demand. Two weeks after he became a free agent, I saw he had signed with another team... his contract? 28 million per year for five years. What did I do wrong? Am I just completely misunderstanding how contract negotiations should work? __________________

05-15-2019, 04:47 PM	#2
LegalEagle80 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 113	No, that's kind of how it goes during the season, unfortunately. Sometimes I wish the players had agents reminding them that $40 million a year for a 1B in their 30s is borderline felony theft, but alas. If a player is having a good year, they almost always want an insane amount of money. The only way to resign them at a reasonable extension is to wait until they hit free agency and drop their demand when they don't get any offers. The problem with that is that you risk losing the player because often there's zero sign they're close to a contract with another team, so one day you'll look and they're still demanding $40 million and literally a day or two later they've not only received an offer but also signed for $28 million. It's frustrating. And on top of that, you risk angering them if you "lowball" them a few times in a row, so you basically have to make an offer, and then wait a day or two to make another offer so let them cool off if they're mad at you. Last edited by LegalEagle80; 05-15-2019 at 04:48 PM.

05-15-2019, 08:40 PM	#7
Arobbins Minors (Double A) Join Date: Aug 2018 Posts: 132	Oh just wait until your superstar player will take no less than 50M over 8 years in their age 30 season __________________ 20 21

05-16-2019, 08:14 AM	#11
Boomcoach All Star Reserve Join Date: Nov 2017 Posts: 811	With big contract players, I usually look at upcoming FA for the season and offer extension during Spring Training. Once the season gets going, their asks seem to get exorbitant. __________________ Boomcoach Let's Go Crew

05-15-2019, 05:36 PM	#3
andyhdz All Star Starter Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Fresno, CA by way of Texas Posts: 1,754	a few versions ago it was tilted the other way around and it was waaay to easy to lock up players to long term contracts. Now only the most loyal player will easily do that while the rest you are going to have to pay up or try those tricks that were mentioned in the previous post. It's frustrating but a bit more realistic than locking up everyone to long term contracts like before.

05-15-2019, 06:57 PM	#4
esmeet7 Bat Boy Join Date: Mar 2019 Posts: 18	I have a somewhat related question, though I hope I'm not thread-jacking this one. I'm also new to OOTP, and I decided to try an negotiate an extension and to sign a free agent. In both cases, I made my offers and the response was very positive. Both players ultimately came back and said they want more money or years. What I can't figure out is what happens if I hold with my current offer. For the free agent, he mentioned another team offering more money for a shorter period, so I left my offer out there. For the extension, the player said he wants more money, but he didn't "reject" the offer. If the offers are still outstanding and a player has said he's looking for more money or longer terms, do I just leave the offers outstanding and expect the players to get back in touch with me about ultimately accepting/rejecting the offer?

05-15-2019, 07:12 PM	#6
MCDForm Bat Boy Join Date: Nov 2018 Posts: 1	Was listening to an interview with Ned Colletti yesterday and a question was asked about extending a player during the season. He responded that he had probably signed 500 contracts in his career and only 5 of those were "in season" extensions. Doesn't really help your case since it played out strangely in the offseason but the in season portion was somewhat accurate.

05-15-2019, 09:08 PM	#8
Let'sGoBraves Minors (Single A) Join Date: Aug 2013 Posts: 98	In the offseason before the 2021 season I got Freddie to take 36 for 5. He wanted 48 during the season. It was 42 at the end of the season. I didn't offer at all when he asked for 48 and his demand lowered. I gave him an opt out after year 3 I hope he exercises it honestly. Betts signed with the Mets for 51 a year over 7 years by the way. He also has an opt out. Largest contract I have personally ever seen in OOTP.

05-17-2019, 01:59 PM	#12
wallewalls All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2016 Posts: 774	I usually just let them go to FA and their demands usually get a lot more reasonable. There are risks with that though, as there can be a bidding war and you might lose the player, but it usually works out better than bidding against yourself prior to free agency and having a bloated contract on your payroll