Description: Player Contracts are the amount of money a player makes per season to play for a team. They also include the number of seasons that a player will play under that contract.
Topics
Salary Amount
Contract Length
Contract Satisfaction
Holdouts
Re-Negotiating
Long Term Contracts
Guaranteed Contracts
Short Term ContractsRelated Topics
Locker Room Negotiate Button
Player Potential
View Player Screen
Salary Amount: Each player makes a different amount of money to play for a team. Owners are responsible for negotiating with a player to determine the amount of money he makes. Teams are not responsible for paying the salary of the player. It is assumed that certain overhead for a team is taken care of with revenue beyond the revenue made on ticket sales, etc. A player's salary only counts against a team's salary cap. So, teams may only have a certain level of talent on their team. Essentially, salaries are a rough estimate of the talent level of a player. You can view the salary that a player is making by either viewing the vitals screen in either the locker room (your team) or team scouting screen (if subscribed). You may also view the salary on the View Player Screen.
Contract Length: In addition to the dollar amount of the player's contract, there is also the term of the contract (how long it will last). Typically displayed with the salary amount itself, contract length is also viewable in all locations that the salary is displayed. It is usually after the salary and reads something like "X year(s)" where X equals the number of seasons remaining in the contract. It is important to note that contract length is always read as "X years remaining after this year". So, a player with "2 year(s)" in a contract, is under contract for this season and two additional seasons, or "2 years remaining after this year". So, players often have "0 year" contracts. This simply means that the player's contract expires after this season. If that player is not signed by the end of this season (when the player's statistics zero out after the Championship), he will likely go to the free agent list to be signed by another team. Players are usually not interested in re-negotiating a contract unless they are in the 0 year of their deal, so, don't be alarmed when a player with one year left on his contract won't talk with you. Wait until he is at 0 years left and then talk. There are rare cases where a player will re-negotiate before that 0 year, but, they are (as mentioned) rare. All contracts decrease one year at the end of a season (when the player's statistics are zeroed out after the Championship).
Contract Satisfaction: There are six degrees of contract satisfaction. From best to worst they are:
Very Pleased (Blue)
Pleased (Blue)
Satisfied (Green)
Indifferent (Green)
Unhappy (Red)
Very Unhappy (Red)
These levels gauge the happiness of the player with their contract. The levels are also color coded, blue=good, green=fair and red=bad. As players increase in talent (either through training or off-season increases) they will be less and less pleased with the contract which they are currently signed to. Teams have quite a bit of room to increase a player's talent if the player was Very Pleased with his initial contract. When a player gets to the Very Unhappy level, he will re-negotiate his contract no matter how many seasons are left. At that point, the player may also become a holdout. It is important to keep an eye on a player's satisfaction.
Holdouts: When a player becomes very unhappy with his current contract (see contract satisfaction) they may holdout. When a player holds out, they refuse to play under the current contract. At this point you can re-negotiate with the player and sign them to a new contract that is more to their liking. They will continue to count against your salary cap even though they are not playing. Holdouts will be visible in your lineup. They will be highlighted in gold (or a dark yellow).
Re-Negotiating: Inevitably, through holdouts, contract expiration or free agent signing, teams will eventually have to negotiate with players. When a player is currently on your team, this is re-negotiation. Use the negotiate option in the locker room to open negotiations with a player. It is important to stay on top of re-negotiations with players so they don't leave your team at the end of a season.
Long Term Contracts: Long term contracts are slightly different than in real life. In Franchise Basketball, players want more money per year for a long term contract, not less as is often the case in real life. This is because part of the object of Franchise Basketball is to develop your players through training and experience. By doing so, players get better and should be making more money. The system assumes that by signing a player to a longer contract you are planning on improving them, and calculates that into the contract. So, a percentage increase can be assumed for each additional season of a contract. When a team does end up training the player, eventually the effort should result in a player who is better than his salary would indicate. Long term contracts are any contracts that are over 1 year.
Guaranteed Contracts: The last two seasons (year 0 and year 1) of a long term contract are not guaranteed. Every other season in the contract is. In other words, if you sign a free agent to a 1 year deal worth $4 Million per season, you may release him at any time and not incur any penalties. If you, however, sign a free agent to a five year deal worth $4 Million per season, the first three seasons of the contract are guaranteed. Year 4 and 5 are not. So, if you turn around and release that player right after signing him, you incur a salary liability for the next three seasons. You will be responsible for paying that player's salary no matter where he ends up or how soon he gets another job (if he does). His salary will count against your cap.
Short Term Contracts: Short term contracts are basically 0 and 1 year deals. Anything over that qualifies as a long term contract. Be careful signing players to 0 year contracts. Since you are only allowed to negotiate one contract per season with a player, signing a free agent to a 0 year deal will not allow you to re-negotiate before he returns to the free agent pool.
