Im about to make my first real attempt at signing free agents, my question is:

Does contract total trump everything else (ie. years, options etc)?

so for instance, you offer a player $10 million for 5 years ($50 mil value)

and someone else offers $14 million for 4 years ($56 million value, but 1 less year)

the highest contract value, will win out?

Yes, total value controls, assuming it is different.

yeah and players value mutual options the same as a guaranteed year, which is why they are so awesome.

i think team options devalue the contract a bit and player options increase the value a bit, but i never use either so i wouldn't know by how much.

Posted by deanod on 11/30/2011 12:54:00 AM (view original):
yeah and players value mutual options the same as a guaranteed year, which is why they are so awesome.

i think team options devalue the contract a bit and player options increase the value a bit, but i never use either so i wouldn't know by how much.

Player options do not increase the value at all. They are irrelevant unless the player specifically demands it.

It would make sense that team options devalue the contract a bit, but I doubt that is actually the case.

Posted by zbrent716 on 11/30/2011 3:18:00 PM (view original):

Posted by deanod on 11/30/2011 12:54:00 AM (view original):
yeah and players value mutual options the same as a guaranteed year, which is why they are so awesome.

i think team options devalue the contract a bit and player options increase the value a bit, but i never use either so i wouldn't know by how much.

Player options do not increase the value at all. They are irrelevant unless the player specifically demands it.

It would make sense that team options devalue the contract a bit, but I doubt that is actually the case.

whenever i tried to offer a player his exact demands w/ a team option in the past, he always rejected.

i know NTC's are a function of whether a player cares or not, but a max w/ player option > max w/ mutual option, no?

Posted by deanod on 11/30/2011 3:54:00 PM (view original):

Posted by zbrent716 on 11/30/2011 3:18:00 PM (view original):

Posted by deanod on 11/30/2011 12:54:00 AM (view original):
yeah and players value mutual options the same as a guaranteed year, which is why they are so awesome.

i think team options devalue the contract a bit and player options increase the value a bit, but i never use either so i wouldn't know by how much.

Player options do not increase the value at all. They are irrelevant unless the player specifically demands it.

It would make sense that team options devalue the contract a bit, but I doubt that is actually the case.

whenever i tried to offer a player his exact demands w/ a team option in the past, he always rejected.

i know NTC's are a function of whether a player cares or not, but a max w/ player option > max w/ mutual option, no?

You're right, I read/posted quickly and mixed up the NTC and option. Here's the relevant portion from a ticket exchange I had with support regarding a max contract:

"Yes, options do have value. Player options have the most value followed by mutual options and then team options."

Alas, support declined to share where "no option" fell on that hierarchy (that is, is a team option actually a negative as compared to no option at all - logic would indicate it would be).

I've always assumed that "no option" and "mutual option" were equivalent in terms of value.