FREE AGENCY

After the draft it may still be conceivable that an owner may not have enough players to field a team if they had a lot of retirements the previous season.

In this case, we have to have a system in place so that owners can pick up players off the scrap heap to complete their roster. Owners may also have a practice squad consisting of up to 5 players.

The way it will work is simple. You can choose any player cut from a team or any player not picked in one of the college drafts that has not retired. The undrafted rookies WILL RECEIVE THEIR WORST POSSIBLE RATING. Free agency is not a place to pick up good players; it is a place to pick up enough players to field a team and to fill up a practice squad of marginal talent.

If you want to pick up a player use the Free Agency page on RETROphile to select a player and submit your claim. Other owners will have 24 hours to "claim" that player. The owner with the worst record from the previous season who submits a "claim" will receive the player. Keep in mind that you can never have possession of more than 35 players during any given season (30 on active roster, 5 on practice squad), so you'll need to cut a player from your team before the next season begins if you win your claim to a player and your roster then exceeds 35 players. This will help naturally eliminate any blatant manipulation of the system. Also, ONCE YOU WIN THE RIGHTS TO A PLAYER YOU MAY NOT CUT THAT PLAYER IN THE SAME OFFSEASON. This will also prevent manipulation of the system or selecting players just so other teams don't get them.

Also, once you claim a player, the claim cannot be revoked.