Ok, this is one that probably has 0 chance of making it but I've had the thought for a while.
Might as well see if it flies.
Numbers displayed are for illustration purposes only. Debate the thought first.
Set up a version of this that uses the funds you pay for a team to generate the available budget to run your team.
ie. $1 = $10 million of budget, to a minimum of $5 paid (for a minimum $50M budget) and, say, max of $50 (for a maximum $500M budget).
You have no idea what anyone has spent, and thus has for a budget, until the league rollover is complete (ie. 32 full spots).
First season, all players are assigned by simmy based on capability of the team to handle the payroll.
Everything else about the HBD set up stays the same; distribution of budget, FA, coach hiring, draft, etc.
End of season rewards are based on a percentage of what you paid; ie. if you win the league, 100% of what you paid in credits. WS loser, 50%. And so on, with a sliding scale down.
Next season rollover, previous season's owner has the chance to re-up for any amount.
If you/the next owner pays less and are unable to retain all of the players signed after budget distribution is set, they become FAs, starting with highest priced down to lowest until 80% of payroll budget is met (allowing 20% for the team to resign/promote players to make the full roster).
Last thing would be that this is not a newb league. Admittance is for experienced HBD owners only (define "experienced" as you will)
Fire away.