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 you want from the original ROM that was never drafted in our first draft, any player cut from a team, or any player not picked in one of the college drafts. Keep in mind that original ROM players will have to be run through the aging/retirement formula if selected. The undrafted players 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, start a thread with simply that player's name. Other owners will have 24 hours to respond to your "claim" to the player. The owner with the worst record from the previous season who responds to your post will receive the player. Keep in mind that you can never have possession of more than 35 players at any time (30 on active roster, 5 on practice squad), so you'll need to cut a player from your team IMMEDIATELY if you win your claim to a player. 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.