FA Question

[Liquid Swords]

Here's a section of the In-Season FA Rules:

The In-Season Free Agency period begins at 12:00am ET the same evening the Off Season UFA period ends, (for the 2005 season this will be Wednesday, August 30, 2005), and ends at the start of the 1st game in week 16 of the NFL season, however, Rosters are frozen at the beginning of the week 14 games for non-playoff teams, and the minute a team is eliminated from the playoffs or wins the Frenzy Bowl, whichever comes first. Any players acquired by playoff teams between weeks 14 and 16 may only be assigned 1 year contracts and CANNOT be declared as RFA's the following season.

What happens to current FA bids for those teams who will not qualify for the playoffs, considering their rosters are frozen at the beginning of week 14? I take it that they are they just shit-out-of-luck on bidding with those that have not been eliminated from playoff contention? or does bidding end at 12:00am Tuesday?

[Preds]

All bids from Saturday onward will close wk 14, and thus can only receive a 1 year deal without RFA rights, so there really is no reason for a non-playoff team to bid beyond that point.

If there is a player you want for next year, just keep your bidding in mind. Come Friday, you may want to think about your max, because any bump on Saturday will take you out of it.

[Liquid Swords]

Originally Posted by Preds

All bids from Saturday onward will close wk 14, and thus can only receive a 1 year deal without RFA rights, so there really is no reason for a non-playoff team to bid beyond that point.

If there is a player you want for next year, just keep your bidding in mind. Come Friday, you may want to think about your max, because any bump on Saturday will take you out of it.

I'm still confused...especially with your last paragraph. Let's take TO for a real life example. Is it just futile for me to continue bidding on him because to me it looks like in-season FA for me (being a non-post-season team) may end at midnight tonight and any bid won beyond this point will only get you a 1 year deal (but I'm confused and could be missing something)?

Or can I still bid on TO and acquire his services for next year and beyond? If so when does my window of opportunity end?


Side note: I'm beginning to wonder, especially with what has transpired these past couple weeks with my sac'd and frenzy teams, if i'm just in over my head with too much stuff since during this time that i've been busted with my first penalty...and then it snowballed into multiple one. or if it's just because my teams have sucked and brought me down with them in this spiraling hole of despair?

[Preds]

Originally Posted by Liquid Swords

I'm still confused...especially with your last paragraph. Let's take TO for a real life example. Is it just futile for me to continue bidding on him because to me it looks like in-season FA for me (being a non-post-season team) may end at midnight tonight and any bid won beyond this point will only get you a 1 year deal (but I'm confused and could be missing something)?

Or can I still bid on TO and acquire his services for next year and beyond? If so when does my window of opportunity end?


Side note: I'm beginning to wonder, especially with what has transpired these past couple weeks with my sac'd and frenzy teams, if i'm just in over my head with too much stuff since during this time that i've been busted with my first penalty...and then it snowballed into multiple one. or if it's just because my teams have sucked and brought me down with them in this spiraling hole of despair?

You are misreading the rule. The rule states:

*snip* however, Rosters are frozen at the beginning of the week 14 games for non-playoff teams *snip*

i.e. beginning of the games themselves, not the beginning of the week itself.

You can continue to bid on TO (and any other player) through the end of this week and still give them mutliyear deals or be tagged.

The players who sell AFTER the week 14 games start are the ones who cannot be tagged or assigned contracts for longer than 1 year.

If they sell before the week 14 games start (i.e. players bid through Friday, sold by Saturday), then they can be assigned a multi-year deal, and or a 1 year deal with tagging rights.

Now continuing using your TO example, say you bid him to 1700 on Friday...and on Saturday, some TOol (pun intended) bids 1720. TO then wouldn't sell until after the week 14 games start, and thus would be ineligible to receive a contract longer than 1 year. Additionally, the winning bidder wouldn't have RFA tagging rights.
However, if your bid of 1700 on Friday went unchallend on Friday, he would sell to you at 1700 on Saturday and you could assign whatever contract terms you prefer.

[Liquid Swords]

cool. that's what i was hoping was the case but just wasn't too sure after reading the rules. thanks for the explanation mike!

[Preds]

Originally Posted by Liquid Swords

cool. that's what i was hoping was the case but just wasn't too sure after reading the rules. thanks for the explanation mike!

No problem!