Associated Fantasy

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AFFL AFFL2022 AssociatedFantasy 

2022 AFFL Free Agent Auction Guide

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In any instance where the guidelines in this guide may contradict those in the Contract Free Agency Section of the rules, specifically, or on the Contract Rules Page, generally, the guidelines in THIS GUIDE will supersede

Welcome to the AFFL 2022 Free Agent Auction Guide…..hopefully this lays everything out as simply as possible to understand while also covering it all, but you should still familiarize yourself with the Contract Free Agency section of the AFFL Contract Rules 

FIRST, the KEY to understanding the Free Agent Auction is to stop thinking about the way you think of traditional fantasy football free agents AND dynasty auctions.

This isn’t really an auction; this is the AFFL Free Agency Period. It’s designed to mimic the NFL’s Free Agency Season. Instead of thinking of it as a traditional auction draft that just happens to be stretched out over several weeks, try to think of it this way……,.

In our league, our AFFL players that are on AFFL teams and not under contract (and certain other players) have the ability to go out and see if another team is willing to pay them more money….and the auction is just the tool we use to make that happen. If you think of it that way, understanding the bidding and contracts that go with it will make better sense.

START/FINISH

  • The 2022 Free Agency Period will start on June 8, 2022 @ 0800 EDT
  • And will end on July 31, 2022

PLAYERS – which players can be nominated / bid on?

  • 3 types of players will be available in the Free Agent Period
    • Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA’s) – Players currently on teams but without benefit of contract
    • Restricted Free Agents (RFA’s) – Players on teams in their final year of contract
    • Contract Free Agents (CFA’s) – Players on rosters and under contracts, but who have been given permission by their franchise to enter the auction (basically because their franchise is trying to get out from under their contract)
  • NOTE: THESE ARE THE ONLY PLAYERS ELIGIBLE FOR NOMINATING AND BIDDING ON IN THE AUCTION…..(more on that in a minute)
  • These ELIGIBLE players have been published on the AFFL 2022 Free Agency Player List (NOTE: This list is still being built, but the link is active and you can watch the progress as the list is put together)
    • Available players are listed on this list with their Minimum Opening Bid (MOB) along with other info (more on that in a minute)

NOMINATING PLAYERS

  • Teams will be making their own nominations this season
    • Beginning on Day 1 of the auction, teams may nominate any player on the AFFL 2022 Free Agent List at a rate of a maximum of 1 nomination per day
    •  UFAs, RFA’s, and/or CFAs can be nominated by teams at any point in the draft
    • Players must be nominated with a bid equal to or greater than their Minimum Opening Bid (MOB) which will be listed on the Free Agent List
    • NOMINATING A PLAYER MAKES YOU AUTOMATICALLY THE HIGH BID
  • WARNING:  Because of the way the system is set up, the SYSTEM WILL ALLOW you to nominate a player that is not on the list and/or will allow you to nominate for an amount less than the MOB – however THESE ARE NOT LEGAL NOMINATIONS AND WILL RESULT IN A PENALTY
  • Once nominated, a 120 hour (5 day) timer will start

BIDDING -PART ONE

  • This is the hardest part of the auction both to explain and to understand the concept of
  • Unlike a traditional auction where you’re just bidding on what you’re willing to pay for a player for the upcoming season, in our auction, you’re bidding the TOTAL amount you’re willing to pay the player; this could be for one season, or it could be for multiple seasons
    • A bid of $30 million dollars for example, could be a 1 year offer for one player or it could be a 3 year offer on a different one
    • Also, the money you owe the player on the new contract – the high bid amount – can be structured between years and signing bonus
    • To fully understand your bidding amounts you’ll have to understand the contract process (in a minute, just stay with me)
  • Bidding always starts with the individual player’s listed Minimum Opening Bid (MOB) and proceeds in increments of $0.5m dollars (you can bid more than half a million at a time, of course, but not less, and only in chunks of half millions)
  • The 5 day timer will reset each time the high bid changes (this timer will be lowered to 3 days, 2 days, 1 day, and 12 hours at the discretion of the Commissioner as the auction winds down to the end)

NOTE:

  • There are no specific personnel requirements that any team needs to fill in the Free Agency Period – remember, this isn’t like a traditional auction draft
  • Think of it as shopping for players – you may be at the store because there’s something you need – maybe just one or two pricey things, or maybe you’re stocking up on staples, or maybe you don’t need anything and you’re just looking for a good deal, or maybe there’s something you really want and are hoping to find on sale…….. the point is, each franchise will be going into the auction with entirely different roster and financial situations
  • IT IS IMPERATIVE TO UNDERSTAND YOUR FRANCHISE’S INDIVIDUAL PERSONNEL AND FINANCIAL POSITION
  • More on franchise budgets in a minute, BUT, because of the way this has to be set up, franchises will be able to spend more money than they can actually afford to be spending – I will not be holding anybody’s hand through this, franchises can overspend and end up getting themself into some serious long term financial problems
  • Remember, Cut Caps and Contract Caps and Position Limits do not count during the auction, but they will down the line.  your auction budget may appear very high when you actually can’t afford to bid at all, so again:
  • IT IS IMPERATIVE TO UNDERSTAND YOUR FRANCHISE’S INDIVIDUAL PERSONNEL AND FINANCIAL POSITION
  • If you are unclear or unsure in any way on your franchise’s financial position, get with me by email…..throughout the auction, if you have a question, email me

BIDDING PART TWO

  • This part explains how the bids you make on a player translate to the money you’ll pay them in a contract…..the process is a bit more structured than last year
  • The easy explanation of the new rules first, then the official guidelines will be below….
  • When you win a player, you have to sign him to a Free Agent contract
  • Once bidding starts, whatever the High/Winning Bid for the player is, that’s what the Base Salary for that new contract will be…..up until it reaches a new number called the Maximum Base Salary (MaxBase)
  • The MaxBase is different for every player, and there’s a set formula and scale for it explained in the guidelines below…..But the easier explanation is this:
    • Look at the 2022 Free Agent Sheet….that’s the available player list
    • Look at a player…any player, there’s his name, thenm position, team he’s on….
    • And then the first numbers you see is his current 2022 salary….next
    • The numbers in green are the player’s Minimum Opening Bid (MOB)…..that’s the bid you have to make to nominate the player
    • Once you nominate, the Base Salary for the contract equals the high/winning bid…..UNTIL….
    • High Bid reaches the MaxBase, the number in red in the next column
    • Once bidding on that player reaches the player’s MaxBase, his Base Salary is frozen at that number, but bidding still continues as high as it takes to win the rights to the player
    • For your convenience, the eligible points for a 2, 3, 4, or 5 year salary is listed also.
  • NOTE: Free Agent Contracts are now 100% Guaranteed Money, meaning 0% back from any current AND future years if they’re ever cut)
  • EXAMPLES:
    • A player with a MOB of $10m……look on the sheet, he has a MaxBase of $15m…..so, if he’s nominated and won at $10.m he gets a 1 year contract for $10m with a base of $10m….OR
    • If he’s won for $13, he gets a 1 year contract worth $13m with a $13m Base…..OR
    • If he’s won for $15, he gets a 1 year contract worth $15m with a $15m Base….that’s the maximum his base Salary can be, so……
    • If he’s won for $18, he gets a 1 year contract worth $18m but still with a $15m Base…..the extra $3m can be paid as signing bonus or salary
    • If he’s won for $25, he gets a 1 year contract worth $25m….still a $15m Base….extra $10 paid as salary or base
    • If he’s won for $30, he can get a 1 year contract worth $30m with a $15m Base….OR a 2 year contract, $15.0m Base and $30.0m total….
    • And so on
  • Now here are the NEW official Free Agent Contract Rules…..the official version of what’s explained above:
    • All players ‘won’ at auction must be signed to a Free Agent type contract for at least 1 year with the total amount of the high (winning) bid being paid as the Total Contract Value (All years + any signing bonus)
    • Guidelines for setting the Base Salary for this contract is as follows:
      • Minimum Opening Bid is as listed for each player and includes at least 1 year of contract
      • Base Salary will equal Winning Bid UNTIL 
      • High Bid equals Maximum Base Salary
      • Maximum Base Salary (MaxBase) will be determined according to the following scale:
        • If Minimum Opening Bid is $5.6m-$15m MaxBase is 150% of Minimum Opening Bid
        • If Minimum Opening Bid is $16.0-24.0m MaxBase is $8m above Minimum Opening Bid
        • If Minimum Opening Bid is $25.0m-$39m MaxBase is $10.0m above Minimum Opening Bid
        • If Minimum Opening Bid is $40.0m or higher MaxBase is $12.0m above Minimum Opening Bid
        • see 2022 MaxBase Chart
      • Winning Bids above the Maximum Base Salary can be paid as additional salary or signing bonus
      • At 200% of Maximum Base Salary, contract is eligible for 2 years; at 300% – 3 years; 400% – 4 years; 500% – 5 years
      • All monies bid in excess of Base x # Years can be paid as either additional salary or signing bonus
    • 100% of winning high bid for UFA’s will be guaranteed money (meaning 0% back for any current or future years if cut)

WINNING A PLAYER

When the timer expires on a nominated player, the highest bid will be the winning bid, but what happens next depends on the type of player – UFA, RFA, or CFA?

  • High Bid on a UFA
    • The High Bid on a UFA means you win that player, and have to give him a contract and pay him the amount of the high bid
    • That’s covered above
  • High Bid on a CFA
    • These are contract players whose franchises have put them in the auction to try to ‘sell’ their contract at a discount; their Minimum Opening Bid (MOB) is $5.6m (current league minimum)
    • The team that owns the rights to these players, can accept or deny the highest bid
    • Basically what’s going on with these players is that the franchise wants to get out from under their contract, but owes x amount of money if they cut them…….whatever you offer to pay this player, pays off some of that dead money ($1 for $1) so you have to find the amount the current owner is willing to release at
    • Also note, there’s no rule against negotiating with the owner to find a price point they’ll accept…..and an owner is free not to respond to negotiation
    • We only have a handful of these players this year, so if you’re interested in one, please review the rules about them in the Contract Free Agency section of the Contract Rules Page and email me if you have any questions
    • And these also follow the same Base Salary rules
  • High Bid on an RFA
    • These are players in their final year of contract, their franchises have declined to give them an extension, so they get to go out and see if somebody’s willing to give them a contract; their Minimum Opening Bid (MOB) is $1 million dollars more than what they’re scheduled to make this year and is listed for each of them on the 2022 Free Agent List
    • The team that owns the rights to these players, gets the chance to match the highest bid, or be compensated with a draft pick in exchange for releasing them from contract 
    • It’s a little more complicated than that with the negotiations between high bidder and contract owner, so if you’re interested in bidding on one (or own one being bid on) familiarize yourself with the rules in the Contract Free Agency section of the Contract Rules Page and email me if you aren’t clear on anything
    • And these also follow the same Base Salary rules
    • RFA COMPENSATION
      • I’ve been asked to make the RFA Compensation Rules (from the Contract Free Agency section of the Contract Rules Page) more clear, so here goes:
      • If a team wins an RFA, the original team is compensated by a draft pick
      • Which pick is given is listed on a chart on the Contract Rules Page and is based on which “TIER” the RFA is in (Tier 1, 2, or 3)
      • Which Tier an RFA is in is listed with them on the 2022 Free Agent List…….this will be updated as soon as I get all of the data entered
      • Here is how that Tier is determined:
        • Once ALL available players (all UFAs, RFAs, and CFAs) are determined, they are listed from most expensive to least expensive according to their Minimum Opening Bids (MOB) 
        • RFA’s with an MOB putting them in the top third of all of these are Tier 1
        • RFA’s with an MOB putting them in the middle third are Tier 2
        • RFA’s falling into the bottom third are Tier 3

BUDGETS

  • It seemed to flow better putting this at the end
  • Teams will have individual, specific budgets this year
  • Each franchise will have an individual auction budget based on the following formula:
    • Current Season Cut Cap times 5
    • Minus Each Franchise’s Total 5 year Commitments and current 5 year dead money charges
    • Equals Auction Budget
    • (Tagged players’ full salary will count against total, Base Salary amount will be used for the future salary commitments for adjustable rate contracts, and suspended salaries and all potential (existing, not projected) activation costs will count against total)

PENALTIES…..Yes, Unfortunately

  • Nominating an ineligible player (one not on the list) or making an otherwise accidental nomination that needs to be withdrawn (first time) – 10% reduction of auction budget (can be waived at Commissioner’s discretion 
  • (Second time) – 10% reduction of auction budget and $10 million dollar dead money penalty
  • (Third time) – 20% reduction of auction budget and $20 million dollar dead money penalty and nominating privileges revoked
  • Requesting HIGH bid be withdrawn (finished auction)(first time) – 20% reduction of auction budget and $10m dollar dead money penalty
  • (Second time) – 20% reduction of auction budget and $25 million dollar dead money penalty
  • (Third time) – $25m dead money penalty and suspension of auction privileges for duration of the auction
  • Cutting a player acquired at auction on or before Cut Day 2022 – Franchise will lose its highest overall draft pick in the 2022 draft; if highest overall draft pick is not in round 1 or 2, highest TWO overall draft picks will be forfeited.