Trading and the League Season

[Dean-Atlanta]

I was thinking about this offseason in the NFL where Derek Carr was clearly done with the Raiders.
There was talk of cutting him which they did or even trading him.
The problem was, in the real world no team is trading for an unsigned player.
The player is not going to sign with this new team, he wants to test free agency.
The PNFL did used to do this and we changed it to add trading.
As Matt said, trading may get shifted to the deadline which is fine.
As for trying to decide do I trade my vet QB or hold him, well you're the GM, you figure it out.
We already created a rule to make the unknown, known. (retirements)

The retirement system works well because it simplifies a lot of things that are more related to FBPro than NFL football. We are reminded that, no matter how much we want to be NFL-like, there are limitations and issues with FBPro that limit the degree to which we can be NFL-like. And remember this game was NFL-like as in 1997-98 NFL, not 2022-23 NFL.

[Steve-LA Chargers]

I just had a thought. If we ban trading until free agency starts, wouldn’t that prevent Neil from doing what he did? He certainly wouldn’t have kept on so many vets and wouldn’t have been able to get the draft he did. Justin and I wouldn’t have gotten the retiring vets we got. I think trading should start during resigning/tagging right after physicals are done and we have a draft pool. Otherwise I change my vote to No.

[Jerry-Redskins]

I agree with you Dean on the game engine itself. That's why I have been against a few rule changes as we just cannot recreate the current NFL game we see on TV. We have to accept the 1999 version. This change is different. It has nothing to do with the game software limitations. It actually simplifies the offseason in some respects. It would be cleaner for sure and work in concert with the new retirement process. It seems a logical move to line it up together.

It is also more realistic. Why should a player not on contract be able to be traded. They should be open to everyone if you do not want to pay them. If you want to trade a player, put them on contract and pay for their rights. Ultimately, this should increase the amount of players in FA each season, while still allowing all the trading folks want to do once open. Just puts all the info on the table when it starts. More info is always a valuable thing as you build your team.

[Jerry-Redskins]

Your suggestion does not change the effect I think Steve. I don't think it stops a team from trading their valuable vets. Everyone still makes the call before SNS to cut down. Most of those vets are on contract. They will be available still via trade. A few in FA and the rest still to trade. If a player is valuable enough to trade for, the team would carry them on the 53 man roster thru SNS. If they do not retire, they are all still available. This does stop trading unsigned players, but they are in FA to pick up. The goal is to get all info available before trading and increase FA. Resign or Tag players and trade them all you want. Unsigned ones in FA. Just makes sense in my opinion

[Rich-League Officer]

Steve, why can't Neil/Raiders do what they did at the deadline?
You can still break your team down once trading starts and through week 12.
The drafts are going to be released earlier so everyone can see the future class.
But even in the NFL, while teams know the players, they have not seen them in person and had the combines yet.
What you are suggesting is, teams could still trade players without contracts.
In the real world, players could be traded but they would never sign.
It's like the Carr situation, the Raiders toyed with trading him. Other teams knew Carr was not signing.
We can replicate this easily.

[Mitch-Oilers]

I agree with Rich and Jerry, a player should be under contract if they are being traded.

I also think it creates some realistic decisions for coaches/GM at the deadline. If you have players playing on expiring contracts that you don't have in your plans the next season, you will need to leverage the in-season deadline to trade them if you want to avoid a sign and trade.

Also, if a team wants to go into "re-build" mode, they can start trading players after training camp to acquire picks for future drafts. They can then sign 0 point FAs to fill any holes since those are all 1 yr deals anyway.

Adds some spice and creates a schedule closer to the NFL.

[Charlie-49ers]

Yep, trade requires a contract. Clearly, a negotiating point if the player is that good. The team offering to trade would have to put him under contract to make the trade. That might deter some trading, but it might also put some talent into the FA pool.

[Jerry-Redskins]

A big benefit is FA. Of course there is no sign and trade involved. Teams have exclusive negotiating rights until the league season opens, but if no contract/tag by the team with the rights they go to FA. This should put a bunch more talent in FA.

[Matt-Jacksonville]

If we allowed for trading before the SNS and after the Super Bowl, those players WOULD still be under contract. The contract does not expire till the new league year. Now, once the SNS has occured, the players are NOT under contract anymore and I would tend to agree that at that point you really shouldn't be trading players without a contract.

I propose an amendment to move trading to the period between the SB and the SNS, then no trading till after FA. This doesn't mean teams can't come to an agreement on a trade during the no trading periods. They just can't post it.

[Jerry-Redskins]

No amendment to make Matt. That is the current rule. Then the rule is a no for you. Players contract year ends at the end of the season. They are no longer on contract once the Championship is played as the season is over and no games to pay them for. They completed their contract to the team. The principle of the change is have the offseason be the offseason. Teams make their roster decisions to cut to 53, players have physicals, and teams resign/tag. Then player movement opens back up. This stops the unrealistic process and hopefully expands FA. Same as the NFL. It also means owners know the status of players when they start bidding in FA and trading.