Advice needed please on two things.

1- I have taken over a new team and have 3 top guys with mutual options. I’ve always wondered if he’s a stud, say rated 85 and you decline this option and pay the 25 percent fee, does he then act like a normal free agent and you then get the type A sort of free agent clause offered? Or is he then just a FREE agent and if you don’t sign him then that you get no return Of supp picks? I’ve always been a bit scared to try it out, and any help would be much appreciated.

2- If I have 20 Mil in high school draft class(or ifa) ,The guy looks amazing. I take Him pick one. Then when signing he drops 10 overall. IF i have zero ADV. That’s why right? I’ve always taken that it’s fact that the advance scouting is lying. But just wanted to make sure that the 20 mil spent on scouting is the one I should be valuing my new shiny first pick at yes? Not the new crappy overall shown due to my low advanced scouting.

Thanks in advance for all the wisdom that will be shed on these two questions.

1. If the player declines the mutual option you get a compensation pick. If you decline the option then you do not get a pick.
2. If you have zero ADV then your projected ratings once you sign the player are horribly inaccurate, so your 20 in HS pre-signing projections are more accurate. However, even with 20 in HS a fraction of your prospects, 15% the one time I actually looked at it, will WAY underperform your HS projections. So yes, his drop in projected OVR is due to your zero ADV-- but he also has a chance of not getting anywhere near his pre-draft projections.

Thanks for the help