Draft Guide

The key to any franchise is to keep your talent level high for extended years and the draft is the best way to do this since older players improve very little. Fisrt and most important is to know your team, salries, lenght of contracts, ect.. Your yearly re-building begins at the end of the season.....BEFORE you hit start to begin player improvement there is work to be done.

Go to the RE-SIGN screen in manage roster.

Of course you are still in the current season so any player with 1 year remaining on their current contract will be a F/A next year.... these are our trade bait. Check their salery demands by selecting them on the RE-SIGN screen. if you want to keep them FOR SURE despite if young talent at that position is availible it is best to sign them now before any improvement, I have signed guys to extensions for only 50g more than their current salery here. Make notes on your guys with 1 or 2 yrs on contract if they want a 1 mil.$ raise you'll probably wanna trade 'em.

REMEMBER once you hit start you cannot check to see any info on your contracts untill afer a few stages.

Proceed to player imporvment any vets losing a couple points are godd to shop now before it gets worse and harder to trade.

Start retirement UNLESS you got and OLD F/A you think might retire then trand him NOW.

Check Draft Preview. This is very important to compare your guys with 1 or 2 yrs left on contact to the rookies if you got an uprade or ever a player within 5 OVR of your F/A he will be your draft target. NOTE: the top OVR player is not alway the top at that POS. check for what counts for the POS.

Now AFTER retirement AND BEFORE player Re-Signing is when we trade away the would be F/A and let the other guy pick up his 1 mil.$ raise.... many times you'll see them back in F/A pool. Trade player for picks sometime two guys and a 3rd round pick for a top 5 -1st round your CAP ROOM will jump and rookies sign for less then vets.

GENERAL RULE: In any signing 5 YR contract at 50g less than salery demanded will work. Dont worry about length of contract if a player dosent improve trade or cut him and if will NOT go against your cap. 6 or 7 yrs will cost about 300k more per year....do the math. If he is a star re-sing him with about 2-3 yrs left on contract to another 5 yr deal will save you $$$$.

You can accumulate 7 draft picks total but you can move up fairly easy .... a player and pick will move you up a few slots from the pick you give.SHOP TO ALL TEAMS. It takes time but if you got your trade guy and pick set you can flip thru and once you got an OK skip taems w lower picks.

NEVER ACCECPT FIRST OFFER.

you just went thru 20 teams and got an OK... the top team to take your guy has a # 10 1st rnd pick ACCECT YES OR NO????

NO

try to get two picks some time you can add a scrub and get 1st+ 2ed rnd picks or even an extra player maybe a 23 yr old 75 OVR back up in a year he'll be 80+ if you can play him. GO FOR MORE

Even if you have 7 picks the computer will offer you more in trading later on check the player value vs. availible draft choices for that POS.

OK now you trimed your cap, got rid of any old players losing skills. When you advance to RE-SIGN players there shouldn't be any one left. Keepers should have been signed at end of last season. Others all traded with 0 yrs on contract accecpt K/P which I cut and sing a rookie AFTER DRAFT....do not use ANY pick on a kicker. They will always be availible later.

If you choose to sign F/A go bid but most 80+ F/A go for 2 mil + so watch the cap and try to get a rookie 1st rounder instead.

AND ALWAYS START YOUR 1ST ROUND PICKS ......and watch the improvment grow

good luck

CHIGOM