Auction Keeper Values For Multiple Years

[skeeze24]

After 12 seasons of a standard H2H keeper league snake draft, we are changing our format this year to an auction style draft. In addition, we have decided to allow up to 5 keepers per team starting next year and each keeper can be kept for up to 5 consecutive years.

I am interested to hear what other leagues use to determine the value of keepers over multiple years. If you are in an auction league and use multi-year keepers, I appreciate any insight you can offer.

So far, we have discussed using the following options:

- 2nd Yr: Keep player at same cost you paid for them in the previous years auction, or paid for them as a FA using an auction system to acquire FA
- 3rd - 5th YR: Flat increase of some dollar amount ($5 or $10) for each year you keep them.

Example: Player A gets drafted at auction for $15 in 2013
2014 Cost = $15, 2015 Cost = $20, 2016 Cost = $25, and final year 2017 Cost = $30

Questions/Concerns:
1. Is $5 too low? Does it allow owners to keep players (like my example above) for the full 5 years in many cases thus keeping those players out of the auction pool every year?

2. Is $10 too high? Does is penalize owners who made smart investments at the draft or FA wire by having to pay a keeper cost in year 3, 4, or 5 that could be above their projected value? Or does this help as now owners HAVE to make decisions on their long term keeper options?

3. Does a flat % increase work better? (say a 10% or 15% flat increase each year) Or does that become more difficult that track/manage?

4. What are your feelings on the idea of no increase in the 1st yr? Good because it rewards the owner for drafting/FA the player? Bad because it keeps the players value low and reduces the chance they get put back in the auction pool?

[ayebatter]

$5 increase per year per player seems to be the best number that I've played with, $10 is too much and a % would be a pain to use. $5 adds just enough to keep good players flowing thru the system each year.

[skeeze24]

Thanks @ayebatter! I guess another option is to have an increase year over year. For example, $5 in yr1, $10 in yr2, etc.

[BDevil]

I have always been a fan of the 10% increase, still get rewarded for bargain players, but high $$ elite players get too pricey quick which gets them back into the draft pool. If you are concerned about someone getting several really cheap guys for many years you can add set escalators at points. $10 minimum @ year 3, and $15 minimum @ year 5 for example but this is really only needed in a dynasty type league where there is a large number of long term keepers.

[NickyEyes113]

My league allows one and two year contracts. first year is +$3 and second year is +$5.

[Brainstorm]

I'm in a similar spot so I'll add to this:

If you do the flat $5 a year increase, does it become eventually that the same star players get thrown into the pool every year? Or does it cycle well enough?

[Mjcdriscoll]

My Dynasty League (CBS) allows you to sign players to contracts. We have options for 1,2,3 & 4 year contracts. The 1 year contract retains the salary from the prior year. The 2 year contract increases the players' salary $4 each year of the contract. A 3 year contract increases the players' salary $3 each year of the contract. And the 4 year contract increases the players' salary $4 in year 1, $3 in year 2, $2 in year 3 and $1 in year 4. We also have CAP Penalties associated with these contracts to deter owners from signing every player to long term deals and dropping them when things go bad. There is no penalty for dropping a player on a 1 year contract. The 2 & 3 year contracts carry a penalty equal to the amount the layers' salary increased for each year remaining on the contract (i.e. if in 2013 player X was dropped while in the 2nd year of a 3 year deal, the owner would be penalized $3 of Cap Space in 2013 and then $3 in 2014). The 4 year contract penalty is reversed, so an owner who drops a player in the last year of a 4 year deal is penalized $4.

Mark D.