Fa

What should be the FA age when the new CBA comes around

In my opinion it should be after their first contract since there is a salary cap. One condition I would like to add is that teams should be compensated with a draft pick if the player is under 27.

 

No lower than 28. Give the teams that developed these guys at least a couple years of their prime before they're free to bolt.

 

I am pro-owner, but with a salary cap the players have to be given more rights to choose. After their first contract they should be free to go anywhere because they can be replaced more easily.

 

i disagree, i think they should get longer because of a cap. because its gonna be tough to keep good/core players on the same team if they can jump ship for the highest bidder early, cause teams wont be able to pay everyone. i do agree compensation needs to be given like baseball does when a free agent leaves.

i think 28 is good personally.

 

i disagree. if that happens players will be changing teams so often you would actually need to buy a media guide every year

personally, i like the nba system. with contracts that are basically set up. max, mid level, rookie, etc

 

i like the NFL system where teams are compensated with draft picks.

 

I like 29. Gives a club 7-11 year with their players.

 

same as baseball. i like baseballs way of dulling(sp) out the picks better though. they determine the players level of value then give out picks corresponding to that. you can get as high as the other teams first(etc) or a comp 1st, 2nd, etc

 

28 is the magic number.

The rumor is:

30 this July.

29 next july.

Then 28 every July after that.

 

Hypothetical for those who support a salary cap, changes to arbitration, qualifying offers and a high UFA age.

If the rookie max is $850,000 plus bonuses, what leverage (besides a hold out) does a good player ever have to get a raise?

Do you honestly think that relying on the owner;s generosity is the only way a player should get a raise?

 

That's what I think is going to happen, and I agree with it. It'll be fun!

 

That's what I think will happen and what should happen. I thought it could be much lower than that based on other sports. Next time the CBA rolls around, you can expect that number to drop.

 

But wait.....I thought the reason everyone wanted a salary cap was so that teams like Edmonton wouldn't be losing their core player to the highest bidders. Now your saying that ain't so.

 

A few thoughts

1. As McDonald pointed out, Free Agency should be reduced gradually rather than all at once. With all of the changes due with a new CBA, I believe the market place will be flooded enough without having the total free for all drastically reducing the free agency age would create.

2. I've never really been too concerned with the "age" eligibility of Free agency. The biggest problem with the old system was more about the ecomonics of the "arbitration system" which allowed for rediculous Free agency awards.

Hopefully the new CBA will address the problem of absurd contract that would price teams out of trying to resign their own free agents, and that the abitration system is fixed to correct the dominoe effect that the previous system created with players comparing themselves to ridiculous contracts in the past.

 

I'm wondering if this is a case of 'be careful what you wish for'.

A lower free agent age will definitely benefit franchise type players but with more free agents available, ultimately there could be less money to spread around, especially with a cap.

 

Which is why the PA shouldn't want the drop immediately, the last thing they need is more players dumped on the market.

 

thats the misconception about a cap. a cap allows everyone to play on a level field. so if everything is equal(all have same talent level as far as managers, coaches, talent evaluaters, etc) then everyone has equal chance to win. so the teams who win are the teams who work harder or have better management and coaches.


but a cap does not allow teams to hold onto all players like some think. only way that happens is if you have a smart cap guy. look at football, guys are cut for cap relief all the time. the team with the most cap room can give the most money to the best players. sure if done right, you can keep most of your core together, if there is a max on player salaries, but if there isnt some team will always be stupid and overspend for a player, which will raise all fa salaries. and players will be moving all over

 

who cares about the players they are replaceable within a cap system. Except for the core players they can interchange as much as they want to. The NFL has proven this to be true.

 

I agree that 28 is a reasonable UFA age, but one change I would like to see is a reduction in the rediculously high draft pick compensation for RFA's.

From the expired CBA - thresholds for 2004:

OFFER / COMPENSATION
$743,725 or below / None
Over $743,725 - $1,022,622 / Third-round choice
Over $1,022,622 - $1,208,554 / Second-round choice
Over $1,208,554 - $1,487,452 / First-round choice
Over $1,487,452 - $1,859,312 / First and third-round choices
Over $1,859,312 - $2,231,175 / First and second-round choices
Over $2,231,175 - $2,603,038 / Two first-round choices
Over $2,603,038 - $3,160,831 / Two first-round and one second-round choice
Over $3,160,831 / Three first-round choices
Each additional $1,859,312 / One additional first-round choice to a maximum of five

I would expect these thresholds would also be dropped by the 24% rollback:

$910K - One First Rounders
$1.7M - Two First Rounders
$2.4M - Three First Rounders
$3.8M - Four First Rounders*
$5.2M - Five First Rounders*
(*) each add'l $1.4M - one First Rounder

I would love to see compensation significantly lowered, topping out at maybe one or two first round picks. Now that the salary cap has greatly reduced the financial disparity between teams, open up the RFA market so that teams will actually consider RFA offer sheets (unlike the current system with VERY rare exceptions). Teams would still keep the right to match or receive some compensation. I think a real RFA market would actually be less inflationary than arbitration.

A real RFA market would also allay the fears of players (and posters here) of no raises (100% QOs) until the players become arbitration eligible or holds out.

 

Personally i would dislike any under30 age limit for UFA.