Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that when Free Agents are considering offers that they value $$ in the 1st year the same as $$ in the 5th year.  That is unrealistic for many reasons.  No player should turn down a 4/$50 for a 5/$51 deal.  Front loaded contracts should have an advantage over back loaded contracts.  Thoughts Gentlemen, Mike? 

You're looking at it from a math nerd perspective.   While I'd be hard pressed to argue 4/50 or 5/51, I'd have no issue with 5/55.   Especially if you consider the age of the player.   In this game, most guys looking at their first big FA deal are 28 or older.   At the end of their 4 year deal, they're at least 31.  In this game, 31 is an age where the physical skills are eroding or on the cusp of eroding.    So some pretty good players go unsigned or, at the very least, aren't signed until FA is over and the asking price is greatly reduced.    Now, moving it back to real life, I think most of us would like another 5m in guaranteed money for one more year. 

I had similar thoughts. But I'm not sure the future value of money rule applies here because the budgets are always the same. There isn't any inflation and you can't make interest. 

That is an excellent point that I had not considered. 

If you really wanted to argue the point, you could argue that we know who is paying S1 of any deal.  The current owner.  There's no guarantee who is paying future seasons.    I'd fully support S1 being infinitely more important than any future season.

Posted by WiredTiger on 10/7/2010 12:48:00 PM (view original):
I had similar thoughts. But I'm not sure the future value of money rule applies here because the budgets are always the same. There isn't any inflation and you can't make interest. 

Nevertheless, value in the current season still trades over future value, as well it should.  I.e. the closer a prospect is to ML ready, the more valuable he becomes.

Of course, I think it's still best to keep it simple.  The game is complex enough as is, we don't need people complaining "Why did this guy sign for 5/25 when I offered him 5/25.5?"